SALT LAKE CITY — By the spring of 2001, the Dallas Mavericks had missed the playoffs for 10 straight years before they finally broke through to win 53 games in the 2000-2001 campaign, led by third-year pro Dirk Nowitzki. Their 53-win mark tied them with the Utah Jazz, who won the tiebreaker, and the teams met in the postseason’s first round, with the Jazz getting the Western Conference’s fourth seed and home-court advantage.
The veteran Utah team quickly asserted itself, winning the first two games of the series, and was in position for the sweep (the first round was best-of-five then).