Portland, Ore. ? Suddenly, the Dallas Mavericks’ season-ending struggles seem so long ago.

The Mavericks, who held the top seed in the Western Conference for much of the season, went 5-4 in April and entered the playoffs as the third seed.

The Mavericks look like they’ve recaptured their earlier success, taking a 3-0 lead in their first-round series with Portland. Dallas could close the series out today when it faces the Trail Blazers.

“We wanted to end up on the top, but unfortunately enough for us it didn’t happen,” guard Michael Finley said. “We just put that behind us and focused on the playoffs as a second season, a chance to start over and set the tone within these playoffs.”

Dallas has done that thanks mostly to the stellar play of forward Dirk Nowitzki, who has topped the 40-point mark twice and is averaging 37.7 points in the playoffs.

“This is a team that scores 100 points and we have to find a way to stop them,” Blazers coach Maurice Cheeks said. “It’s about establishing ourselves on the defensive end.”

Both teams are aware that no team has ever come back from a 3-0 deficit to win a series, and the Blazers’ will have to try and make history without guard Derek Anderson, who underwent surgery Saturday to repair torn cartilage in his left knee.

“We all hoped to be in this position, but realistically we didn’t count on it,” guard Steve Nash said. “We really respect Portland as a team. We’ve done our job, but we still need some improvement. We still need to play better defensively.”

Portland guard Scottie Pippen is also doubtful for Game 4 because of a sore left knee.

“I wish I could say I’m thinking of playing,” Pippen said.

Portland, which has lost 10 straight playoff games dating back to Game 7 of the 2000 Western Conference finals against the Los Angeles Lakers, can’t make any roster moves to replace either player unless it advances to the next round.

A loss by the Blazers would tie the NBA record for consecutive playoff losses, shared by Denver and Washington.

“We don’t have Scottie. We don’t have Derek. We’ve got what we’ve got, and that’s how were going to have to do it,” forward Ruben Patterson said.

Should the Blazers avoid the sweep, Game 5 will be Wednesday in Dallas.