Schedule and 2005-06 Results
Regular Season Records: Dallas 60-22, Phoenix 54-28
Game 1 on Wednesday, 24 May: Phoenix wins at Dallas, 121-pts-118
Game 2 on Friday, 26 May: Phoenix loses at Dallas, 105-pts-98
Game 3 on Sunday, 28 May: Dallas wins at Phoenix, 95-pts-88
Game 4 on Tuesday, 30 May: Dallas loses at Phoenix, 106-pts-86
Game 5 on Thursday, 01 June: Phoenix loses at Dallas, 117-pts-101
Game 6 on Saturday, 03 June: Dallas wins at Phoenix, 102-pts-93

SERIES NOTES:

After Game 6: The Dallas Mavericks visited and defeated the Phoenix Suns 102-pts-93 in best-of-7 MLB/NBA/NHL playoff series 985 Game 6, thereby winning the series 4-games-2. With the series 985 win, the Dallas Mavericks improve their best-of-7 NBA playoff series record to 7-8; with the series 985 loss, the Phoenix Suns see their best-of-7 NBA playoff series record fall to 12-17. The win order for the victorious Dallas Mavericks in series 985 was LWWLWW: Series 985 thus becomes the third NBA Semifinals series, the sixth NBA series (all rounds), and the 25th MLB/NBA/NHL series (all rounds) to follow such a win order. After one quarter of series 985 Game 6, Dallas trailed Phoenix by fifteen points. In the history of best-of-7 NBA playoff series from 1947 through 02 June 2006, road teams trailing by fifteen points after one quarter had only a 2-16 (.111) game record. Ironically, the first road team to trail by fifteen after one quarter but win the game was the Phoenix Suns, which trailed the Lakers in Los Angeles 35-pts-20 after one quarter but won the game 106-pts-103 in series 569 Game 5 (in the 1990 NBA Quarterfinals).

After Game 5: With best-of-7 MLB/NBA/NHL playoff series 985 Game 5 in Dallas, the host Mavericks defeated the Phoenix Suns 117-pts-101 to take a 3-games-2 series 985 lead. When leading a best-of-7 NBA playoff series 3-games-2, the Dallas Mavericks have a perfect 5-0 series record. When trailing a best-of-7 NBA playoff series 3-games-2, the Phoenix Suns have a 2-7 series record, with the two wins book-ending the seven losses chronologically. The most recent Phoenix win in this situation occurred in series 977, over the Los Angeles Lakers in the 2006 Preliminary round earlier this playoff season; in that series, the Suns had surmounted a 3-games-1 deficit to win the series.

After Game 4: The Phoenix Suns hosted and defeated the Dallas Mavericks 106-pts-86 to tie best-of-7 MLB/NBA/NHL playoff series 985 at 2-games-all. When tied 2-games-all in a best-of-7 NBA playoff series, the Phoenix Suns have a series record of 5-5, while the Dallas Mavericks have a series record of 3-3. Phoenix defeated Dallas at home by 20 points in series 985 Game 4. In the history of best-of-7 NBA playoff series from 1947 through the 2006 Quarterfinals, when a home team (Phoenix) wins Game 4 by 10+ points to tie the series 2-games-all, its series record is 6-35 (.146) ... but when said home team wins Game 4 by 20+ points to tie the series 2-games-all, its series record is 3-4 (.429). (For some context, note that when a home team in a best-of-7 NBA playoff series wins Game 4 by any margin to tie the series 2-games-all, its series record is 27-107 (.201)).

After Game 3: The Dallas Mavericks visited and defeated the Phoenix Suns 95-pts-88 to take a 2-games-1 lead in best-of-7 MLB/NBA/NHL playoff series 985. When leading a best-of-7 NBA playoff series 2-games-1, the Dallas Mavericks have a series record of 2-0 (having won their 2003 and 2006 NBA Quarterfinals series in that situation). When trailing a best-of-7 NBA playoff series 2-games-1, the Phoenix Suns have a series record of 2-8, with the two wins sandwiching the eight losses. The win/site order for the Dallas Mavericks is now LWW @ HHV. NBA teams following that win/site order have an 18-4 (.818) series record in best-of-7 NBA playoff series from 1947 through the 2006 NBA Quarterfinals. The Phoenix Suns will note that in best-of-7 MLB/NBA/NHL playoff series 951, the Miami Heat posted this win/site order against the Detroit Pistons in their 2005 NBA Semifinals series ... but lost to the Pistons in seven games. The 2005 Detroit Pistons thus set a favorable precedent for the 2006 Phoenix Suns.

After Game 2: Tying best-of-7 MLB/NBA/NHL playoff series 985 at 1-game-all, the Dallas Mavericks hosted and defeated the Phoenix Suns 105-pts-98. When knotted at 1-game-all in a best-of-7 NBA playoff series, the Phoenix Suns have a series record of 10-3 with a three-series winning streak (and a 2-0 series record in the NBA Semifinals [1976, 1993]), while the Dallas Mavericks have a series record of 3-3 (and a 0-1 series record in the NBA Semifinals, with that sole decision occurring in 2003).

After Game 1: The Phoenix Suns visited and defeated the Dallas Mavericks 121-pts-118 to take a 1-game-nil lead in best-of-7 MLB/NBA/NHL playoff series 985. When leading a best-of-7 NBA playoff series 1-game-nil, the Phoenix Suns have a series record of 9-4. When trailing a best-of-7 NBA playoff series 1-game-nil, the Dallas Mavericks have a series record of 4-7. With the Game 1 loss, the best-of-7 NBA playoff Game 1 record for the Dallas Mavericks falls to 3-12. Within the NBA among teams with 10+ decisions, only the Atlanta Hawks (2-14) have a worse best-of-7 NBA playoff Game 1 record.

Pre-series assessment: In the 2005-06 regular season, Dallas finished six games ahead of Phoenix. From 1947 through the 2006 NBA Quarterfinals, when NBA teams led their best-of-7 playoff series opponents by six regular-season games, they have posted a 14-3 (.824) best-of-7 series record in those series against those opponents. Best-of-7 MLB/NBA/NHL playoff series 985 is the 29th best-of-7 NBA playoff series for Phoenix, and the 15th for Dallas. In best-of-7 NBA playoff series, Phoenix has a 12-16 series record, a 2-5 Semifinals-round series record, and a 13-15 Game 1 record, while Dallas has a 6-8 series record, a 0-2 Semifinals-round record, and a 3-11 Game 1 record. Series 985 is the second best-of-7 NBA playoff series meeting between the Phoenix Suns and the Dallas Mavericks; in series 949, Phoenix defeated Dallas in the 2005 NBA Quarterfinals in six games.