Looking back at the Dallas Mavericks first playoff series win

The Dallas Mavericks made the playoffs for the first time in 1984. They managed to defeat the Sonics in the first round. Here is a look back at the series.

The Dallas Mavericks became a franchise in 1980. There was measured improvement over three seasons, but the records were not pretty. They were slowing building through the draft. It was the only way back then. Free agency did not begin until 1988.

The Mavs finally broke through in year four and reached the playoffs for the first time. Mark Aguirre was Dallas’ leading scorer that season by averaging 29.5 points per game. Brad Davis was the starting point guard. He put up 11.1 points and 6.9 assists per game. Rolando Blackman scored 22.4 a night to give the Mavs a strong one-two punch.

They were not happy just qualifying for the postseason, though. The Mavericks finished fourth in the Western Conference. They had home-court advantage in the first round against the Seattle SuperSonics. It was a best of five series back then.

The Sonics had a balanced attack. A prime Jack Sikma was their leading scorer. He averaged 19.1 points, 11.1 rebounds, 1.1 steals, and 1.2 blocks per game. Gus Williams and Tom Chambers both scored over 18 a night for Seattle in 1984. Williams also finished seventh in assists and third in steals per game. Seattle was heavily favored to defeat the Mavs in the first round.

Let us take a look back at that series including the concluding game five that earned the nickname “Moody Madness”.

Next: Games 1 & 2

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