DALLAS (AP) – When they needed it most, the Dallas Mavericks put together a record-setting romp in their first really good game of the playoffs.

And take note Phoenix: They did it despite Dirk Nowitzki still misfiring.

With Jason Terry leading the offense and Josh Howard setting the defensive tone against Tracy McGrady, Dallas took a huge lead in the opening minutes and built on it the rest of the way for an impressive 116-76 victory over the Houston Rockets on Saturday night.

It was the most lopsided Game 7 score in NBA history.

Terry scored 21 of his 31 points in the first half, while Howard forced McGrady to miss six of his first seven shots. Although McGrady finished with 27 points, he shot 10-of-26 while trying to force the Rockets back into it. Frustrated that he couldn’t, he punched the air and came close to hitting an official. Teammate Mike James also let his emotions get the best of him and was tossed in the final minute of the third quarter for arguing a non-call.

Dallas led by 15 on a 3-pointer by Terry early in the second quarter. It was the Mavericks’ biggest lead yet this series, but they were only getting started.

They were up 24 before halftime and stretched it to 28 at the end of the third quarter. The advantage reached 30 points soon after, and the only drama left was how many records the would be set.

Dallas had its largest postseason margin of victory ever and dealt the Rockets the most lopsided playoff loss in franchise history.

According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the final victory margin broke the record of 39 for a Game 7 set by the St. Louis Bombers when they defeated the Philadelphia Warriors 85-46 in the final game of the 1948 league semifinals.

Dallas became just the third team in playoff history to win a seven-game series after losing the first two games at home. The reward is a trip to the desert to play the well-rested Suns and their MVP-to-be, Steve Nash, who spent six seasons with the Mavericks until signing with Phoenix as a free agent last summer.

For Houston, the blown series lead is one of many things to lament.

The Rockets acquired McGrady believing that teaming him with Yao Ming would help them win their first playoff series since 1997. Instead, their drought continues and McGrady fell to 0-for-5 in the postseason in his otherwise stellar career. The end of their run also means coach Jeff Van Gundy must answer to the NBA over his accusations about officiating that led to a $100,000 fine.

Dallas came into this game seemingly lucky to still be playing. In addition to going down 0-2, the Mavs trailed the Rockets in virtually every meaningful category on the stat sheet. Their only solace was that their best game was yet to come.

They showed this might be it when their first defensive stand featured a block, a near-steal and Howard forcing McGrady to miss a long, ugly shot with the 24-second clock about to expire.

The Mavericks kept it up on defense, forcing the Rockets to miss 11 of their first 13 shots. They also were opportunistic on offense, driving the lane with abandon and drilling their outside shots as if it was pregame warmups. Terry, the most accurate 3-point shooter in the NBA this postseason, made his first three from behind the arc and Michael Finley was 3-of-4.

When Terry hit a shorter jumper to make it 41-22, Van Gundy called his third crowd-quieting timeout of the game – and there was still 8:58 left in the second quarter.

Nowitzki finished with a series-low 14 points on 5-of-14 shooting. Howard had 21 points, 11 rebounds and three blocks.

Yao had 33 points to lead Houston, but no one aside from McGrady scored more than seven.

AP-ES-05-08-05 0021EDT