Even though it was Chris Paul's first-ever NBA playoff game, Byron Scott knew what he had to do with his team down 12 at halftime and in an offensive funk.

He talked to his young star and told him to take over.

"Before we started the second half, I told him superstars that are MVP candidates, when games like these are up in the air, they impose their will," said Scott. "I told him he probably wouldn't come out in the second half."

Paul did come out, but not before torching the Mavs with 24 second half points and 7 assists to contribute to his game totals of 35 points and 10 assists. He sliced and diced Dallas' attempts to trap him, finding open teammates, or more often ending up with open eight footers in the lane.

Despite explicit instructions from head coach Avery Johnson to trap Paul at every turn, it didn't happen often, and when it did, Paul was too much to handle.

"He just dominated the game," said Johnson. "One on one he made the shots. When we tried to double team him, he split our double teams. We've got to do a better job of trying to keep it out of his hands."

Johnson looked exasperated at the post game press conference, as he tried to explain how his team had a 12 point halftime lead turn into as much as a 15-point deficit in the fourth quarter, squandering a chance to school their less experienced opponents.

"If this was single elimination, we'd be more disappointed," he said.

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