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2007 NBA Mavs, Raps on the brink A pair of important Game 5?s hit the hardcourt on Tuesday night as both the Toronto Raptors and Dallas Mavericks need victories or their seasons are over. The Mavericks take on the Golden State Warriors after falling into a shocking 3-1 series deficit. Golden State has surprised everyone by easily handling the powerful Mavericks in three of the four games already played in this series. The difference has been the play of Baron Davis. The Warriors? point guard scored 33 points to go along with eight rebounds in Game 4, and he?s averaging 25.7 points and 5.7 rebounds per game in the series. The impact Davis has on the Warriors can be discerned by taking a look at his stats in Golden State?s Game 2 loss. Davis only scored 13 points in that game ? his lowest point total of the postseason. Unless the Mavericks can find a way to shut down Davis and get the game of their lives from their big guns, Dirk Nowitzki and Josh Howard, they?ll end up as only the third No. 1 seed in NBA history to get knocked off by a No. 8 seed. Toronto?s first trip to the playoffs in five years may end up being a short one. The Raptors are on the brink of elimination trailing the New Jersey Nets 3-1. One plus for the Raptors is that they?re heading back home for Game 5. Vince Carter burned up the Raptors in Games 3 and 4 in New Jersey , but his numbers in Toronto don?t compare. In two games north of the border Carter scored a combined 35 points, compared to the 64 combined points he netted in two games back home in Jersey. The main difference is that Carter doesn?t have to face a barrage of boos whenever he touches the ball at home. But the young Raptors can?t just rely on Carter choking in Toronto, they also need a big game from Chris Bosh. Toronto?s leading scorer has only come through in the Raptors? Game 2 win, when he scored 25 points and pulled down 13 rebounds. In the Raptors? three losses Bosh is averaging only 15.3 points and 8.6 rebounds per game. If Bosh delivers numbers like that again on Tuesday night, the Raptors? playoff trip will end with a whimper. Check out the NBA Basketball Betting Odds at WagerWeb Sportsbook
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