Jean-Jacques Taylor

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DENVER – Whether you chose to admit it publicly, you knew the Mavericks weren't going to force Game 6.

The Denver Nuggets are too athletic. Too nasty. Too good.

They proved it for the eighth time in nine games Wednesday night, eliminating the Mavs from the playoffs, 124-110.

It didn't even feel that close.

Four minutes into the game, the Mavs led, 10-7. Then Josh Howard was fouled on a 3-point attempt. Somehow, he missed all three free throws.

Then Chauncey Billups drilled a 3-pointer to tie the score. Three jumpers and a Nene dunk later, the Nuggets led, 18-14.

They never trailed again.

The Mavs played hard, but they didn't play smart. There were too many turnovers. Too many quick shots. Too much lackadaisical defense, which is why Denver shot 58.5 percent from the field and scored at least 30 points in three quarters.

"We couldn't beat them in the regular season. There's a reason," coach Rick Carlisle said. "In the final analysis, Denver is a better team, and they showed it in the series."

Carlisle spent much of the day traveling, because he was a pallbearer at Hall of Fame coach Chuck Daly's funeral in Florida. He arrived an hour before the game.

Carlisle played the only trump card he had left and started Jason Terry, the NBA's Sixth Man of the Year.

It spoke to Carlisle's desperation.

"The time was right to make that move," he said. "The more guys play with Jason Kidd, the better they play and the more good looks they get. Jason [Terry] hadn't really had a bust-out game in this series."

And it didn't happen in Game 5. Terry played 19 minutes in the first half, when the game was decided, and finished with two fouls and three points.

We shouldn't have been surprised.

The Terry who averaged 19.6 points and sparked the Mavs with his shot-making and energy struggled in the playoffs. As the Mavs trimmed a deficit that reached 16 points early in the third quarter to seven, Dirk Nowitzki had 20 points. Howard had 14 and Kidd had 12.

Terry had three.

Denver tilted its defense to stop Terry, the ultimate sign of respect. The Nuggets double-teamed and trapped him on the pick-and-roll. They made him a spot-up jump shooter.

The NBA's best players impose their will on the game, despite the defense. Terry couldn't do it.

He never found a rhythm in this series. Terry hit his average of 19 points just twice in 10 playoff games, which isn't nearly good enough. In the playoffs, you win because your best players play their best basketball.

Dirk has done that. At times, Howard and Kidd have done it.

Terry hasn't.

There's no way the Mavs would've won 50 games for the ninth consecutive season without him. There was also no way they could beat the Nuggets without Terry at his best.

He scored just 11 points, while making only three of 10 field goal attempts in 34 minutes. His minus-16 was the worst on the team.

"Starting was good. We wanted to give them a little different punch from top to bottom," he said. "It wasn't about me, it was about the team. You don't look at yourself. You look at the team."

The Mavs, as has become their trademark in the last three months, played Denver tough until the end. They made the Nuggets work to beat them, trimming the lead to 99-93 in the fourth quarter.

In the end, the Mavs exceeded expectations this season. They simply weren't good enough to go deeper in the playoffs. And they won't be good enough next year without substantial change.

Carlisle has proved he's a quality coach, and the players respect him even if they don't always like him or agree with his substitution pattern.

He needs better players.

Mark Cuban and Donnie Nelson have five months to find them.