The Mavs do not mess around in elimination games. They are 3-0 when they have a chance to close out a series this postseason.

"It's been a killer instinct," center Tyson Chandler said. "Understand that you don't want it to go on, that you don't want to give the other team any hope, any chance. You finish them while you can."

One of those elimination games ranks among the most dominant performances in Dallas history. The Mavs rudely sent Phil Jackson into retirement with a 122-86 rout of the Lakers to complete a stunning sweep of the two-time defending champions.

The Mavs’ other elimination games were a 103-96 win over the Trail Blazers, a win at the Rose Garden that ended a long run of playoff road misery, and a 100-96 win over the Thunder in which the Mavs punched their Finals tickets with a series-ending 14-4 run.