PORTLAND, Ore. » Before yesterday’s playoff game against the Dallas Mavericks, Portland Trail Blazers guard Brandon Roy got a text message from Charles Barkley.

The text encouraged Roy to keep his "head up, have fun out there and stay positive."

Roy, who has struggled in the second half of the season after double knee surgery, had lamented about how he was being treated after playing limited minutes in Game 2.

Boosted by his family and dozens of encouraging texts such as Barkley’s, Roy came off the bench and scored 16 points to help the Blazers to a 97-92 victory.

The win narrowed Dallas’ lead in the first-round series to 2-1.

"I was playing tonight. I was in go mode," Roy said. "I didn’t worry about nothing else. I didn’t worry about playing time, I didn’t worry about who was playing. When it was my time I was going."

Wesley Matthews had 25 points and LaMarcus Aldridge added 20 for the Blazers.

Reserve Jason Terry had 29 points for the Mavericks, including five 3-pointers. Dirk Nowitzki added 25 points and nine rebounds.

Roy, who touched off a minor controversy over the comments he made after playing just 8 minutes in Game 2, came into the game with 2:17 left in the first quarter to a standing ovation. He made a 21-foot jumper to give the Blazers a 28-23 lead heading into the second.

The three-time All-Star underwent arthroscopic surgery on both knees in mid-January. Upon his return, Roy struggled to find his place with the Blazers.

And after sitting for much of Game 2, Roy voiced his frustration to The Oregonian newspaper.

"I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a little hurt or disappointed," Roy told the paper.

Before yesterday’s game, Roy apologized for the comments, saying he was caught up in the emotion of the loss.

"The fans were really supportive," Roy said. "They were cheering for me before I went in the game. That’s really big for me."

PLAYOFF SCHEDULE, SUMMARIES

All series best-of-seven

TODAY

>> Boston at New York, 1 p.m. (ESPN); Celtics lead 2-0
>> Orlando at Atlanta, 2 p.m. (ESPN2); Series tied 1-1
>> L.A. Lakers at New Orleans, 3:30 p.m. (ESPN); Series tied 1-1

TOMORROW

>> Chicago at Indiana, 8:30 a.m. (TNT); Bulls lead 3-0
>> Dallas at Portland, 11 a.m. (TNT); Mavericks lead 2-1
>> San Antonio at Memphis, 1:30 p.m. (ESPN); Series tied 1-1
>> Oklahoma City at Denver, 4 p.m. (ESPN); Thunder lead 2-0

TRAIL BLAZERS 97, MAVERICKS 92
DALLAS
Marion 4-8 1-1 9, Nowitzki 10-21 4-7 25, Chandler 1-3 0-0 2, Kidd 3-9 0-0 8, Stevenson 0-0 0-0 0, Terry 10-13 4-5 29, Stojakovic 3-7 0-0 7, Haywood 2-2 2-6 6, Barea 2-5 2-4 6. Totals 35-68 13-23 92.
PORTLAND
Wallace 2-6 2-2 7, Aldridge 9-21 2-2 20, Camby 3-6 0-2 6, Miller 6-13 3-3 16, Matthews 8-12 5-6 25, Batum 2-5 2-2 7, Fernandez 0-2 0-1 0, Roy 6-10 3-3 16, C.Johnson 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 36-75 17-21 97.

3-Point Goals–Dallas 9-22 (Terry 5-7, Kidd 2-8, Nowitzki 1-2, Stojakovic 1-4, Barea 0-1), Portland 8-14 (Matthews 4-6, Wallace 1-1, Batum 1-1, Miller 1-2, Roy 1-3, Fernandez 0-1). Fouled Out–Chandler. Rebounds–Dallas 44 (Nowitzki 9), Portland 42 (Wallace 11). Assists–Dallas 16 (Terry 7), Portland 18 (Miller 7). Total Fouls–Dallas 22, Portland 20. Technicals–Terry. A–20,217 (19,980).

HEAT 100, 76ERS 94
MIAMI
James 8-15 7-10 24, Bosh 8-19 3-6 19, Ilgauskas 5-9 0-0 10, Bibby 1-5 0-0 3, Wade 10-19 12-12 32, Jones 2-3 2-2 8, Anthony 2-6 0-0 4, Chalmers 0-3 0-0 0. Totals 36-79 24-30 100.
PHILADELPHIA
Iguodala 3-10 3-4 10, Brand 9-15 3-4 21, Hawes 6-11 0-0 12, Holiday 7-13 2-4 20, Meeks 2-8 0-0 6, Battie 2-2 0-0 4, Williams 5-12 3-5 15, Turner 1-3 0-0 2, Young 1-8 2-2 4. Totals 36-82 13-19 94.

3-Point Goals–Miami 4-12 (Jones 2-3, Bibby 1-3, James 1-4, Chalmers 0-2), Philadelphia 9-21 (Holiday 4-5, Williams 2-5, Meeks 2-6, Iguodala 1-4, Hawes 0-1). Fouled Out–None. Rebounds–Miami 56 (James 15), Philadelphia 45 (Brand 11). Assists–Miami 19 (Wade 8), Philadelphia 24 (Iguodala 10). Total Fouls–Miami 12, Philadelphia 20. Technicals–Philadelphia defensive three second. A–20,404 (20,318).

BULLS 88, PACERS 84
CHICAGO
Deng 8-19 3-4 21, Boozer 2-10 0-0 4, Noah 3-6 5-6 11, Rose 4-18 13-15 23, Bogans 3-4 0-0 9, Gibson 3-5 0-0 6, Brewer 0-2 2-2 2, Watson 0-1 0-0 0, Korver 5-6 0-0 12, Asik 0-0 0-0 0, Thomas 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 28-72 23-27 88.
INDIANA
Granger 10-21 0-0 21, Hansbrough 3-12 4-4 10, Hibbert 3-12 0-0 6, Collison 4-8 1-2 9, George 1-9 4-4 6, Dunleavy 2-4 2-2 6, D.Jones 5-9 1-1 11, Foster 1-1 0-0 2, Price 2-9 0-0 4, Rush 0-0 0-0 0, McRoberts 2-2 5-5 9. Totals 33-87 17-18 84.

3-Point Goals–Chicago 9-20 (Bogans 3-3, Korver 2-3, Rose 2-6, Deng 2-6, Watson 0-1, Thomas 0-1), Indiana 1-10 (Granger 1-5, George 0-1, D.Jones 0-1, Dunleavy 0-1, Price 0-2). Fouled Out–None. Rebounds–Chicago 51 (Boozer 11), Indiana 52 (George 12). Assists–Chicago 20 (Deng 6), Indiana 11 (Dunleavy, Granger, Collison, George 2). Total Fouls–Chicago 20, Indiana 20. A–18,165 (18,165).