duncan228
04-19-2009, 12:01 AM
Mavericks pony up in Game 1 (http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/spurs/Mavericks_pony_up_in_Game_1.html)
Jeff McDonald
The chant began in the upper reaches of the AT&T Center, bouncing around the building before swelling to a crescendo. If the Spurs needed a sign as to how badly the final quarter of their first game of the postseason had gone, this was as stark as it got:
“Let's Go Mavs!”
As Game 1 of the Western Conference first-round series was winding toward a 105-97 victory for Dallas, Mavericks fans had taken over the Spurs' home arena — and brought the acoustics of the American Airlines Center with them.
With Dirk Nowitzki finally finding room to maneuver, and with J.J. Barea suddenly turning into the best point guard on the floor, Dallas blitzed the Spurs with 31 points in the fourth quarter, part of a 60-point second half that ultimately allowed the Mavs to draw first blood in the series.
“We've been here before,” said Tim Duncan, whose team has lost the opener in the first round four times since 2000 and lived to tell about it. “We have the experience to beat this out.”
What's troublesome for the Spurs is they might not be able to play much better in Monday's Game 2.
The Spurs got a great night from Duncan (27 points, nine rebounds), a good one from Tony Parker (24 points, eight assists) and better-than-average scoring nights from Michael Finley (19 points) and Roger Mason Jr. (13).
And lost.
They also made 11 of 14 3-pointers, and executed a defensive game plan that limited Nowitzki and Jason Terry to human scoring performances. After finishing the regular season with a string of 24 consecutive 20-point games, Nowitzki had 19 on Saturday.
“If they were going to win, we wanted other people to do it other than Jason and Dirk,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said.
When Nowitzki went to the bench with his third foul with 8:28 left in the second quarter, Dallas' other people got started doing just that.
Brandon Bass had eight of his 14 points after Nowitzki left the game, and helped the Mavs trim what had been an early 13-point lead for the Spurs to just four.
Josh Howard, playing on a sore ankle, led Dallas with 25 points — all in the first three quarters.
Another bad sign for the Spurs: If the old “Olé” chants prominent around the AT&T Center during the postseason had arisen again, they would have been directed at a Puerto Rican, not an Argentine.
Barea added 13 points and three assists, a final line that does a disservice to the impact he had on the game. Together, Bass, Barea and Terry combined to outscore the Spurs' bench 39-14.
Barea, Jason Kidd's pint-sized backup, also seemed to be the only Dallas player capable of staying in the same ZIP code as Parker.
With Barea pestering him in the second half, Parker made just 3 of 9 field goals. Over a span of 171/2 minutes, he made just one.
“I just tried to do my hardest to bother him, stay in front of him as much as I could, take a couple of charges and do the best I could,” Barea said.
Trailing 77-74 early in the fourth, the Mavericks embarked on a 21-6 spurt that put the game out of reach. Barea made three of the biggest plays during that stretch, scooting past Finley for a 3-point play, hitting a floater and leaving a miss on the rim for Erick Dampier to take Dallas' lead from five to 12 with 4:42 to play.
By the end of the night, with white-clad Spurs fans emptying the arena in droves, the smattering of Mavericks faithful had their run of the place.
All the Spurs could do was plug their ears, shrug their shoulders and set their eyes on Game 2.
“It's a big loss to lose that first one at home,” Duncan said. “But we're going to rally together, come in here Monday and try to get that one.”
Jeff McDonald
The chant began in the upper reaches of the AT&T Center, bouncing around the building before swelling to a crescendo. If the Spurs needed a sign as to how badly the final quarter of their first game of the postseason had gone, this was as stark as it got:
“Let's Go Mavs!”
As Game 1 of the Western Conference first-round series was winding toward a 105-97 victory for Dallas, Mavericks fans had taken over the Spurs' home arena — and brought the acoustics of the American Airlines Center with them.
With Dirk Nowitzki finally finding room to maneuver, and with J.J. Barea suddenly turning into the best point guard on the floor, Dallas blitzed the Spurs with 31 points in the fourth quarter, part of a 60-point second half that ultimately allowed the Mavs to draw first blood in the series.
“We've been here before,” said Tim Duncan, whose team has lost the opener in the first round four times since 2000 and lived to tell about it. “We have the experience to beat this out.”
What's troublesome for the Spurs is they might not be able to play much better in Monday's Game 2.
The Spurs got a great night from Duncan (27 points, nine rebounds), a good one from Tony Parker (24 points, eight assists) and better-than-average scoring nights from Michael Finley (19 points) and Roger Mason Jr. (13).
And lost.
They also made 11 of 14 3-pointers, and executed a defensive game plan that limited Nowitzki and Jason Terry to human scoring performances. After finishing the regular season with a string of 24 consecutive 20-point games, Nowitzki had 19 on Saturday.
“If they were going to win, we wanted other people to do it other than Jason and Dirk,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said.
When Nowitzki went to the bench with his third foul with 8:28 left in the second quarter, Dallas' other people got started doing just that.
Brandon Bass had eight of his 14 points after Nowitzki left the game, and helped the Mavs trim what had been an early 13-point lead for the Spurs to just four.
Josh Howard, playing on a sore ankle, led Dallas with 25 points — all in the first three quarters.
Another bad sign for the Spurs: If the old “Olé” chants prominent around the AT&T Center during the postseason had arisen again, they would have been directed at a Puerto Rican, not an Argentine.
Barea added 13 points and three assists, a final line that does a disservice to the impact he had on the game. Together, Bass, Barea and Terry combined to outscore the Spurs' bench 39-14.
Barea, Jason Kidd's pint-sized backup, also seemed to be the only Dallas player capable of staying in the same ZIP code as Parker.
With Barea pestering him in the second half, Parker made just 3 of 9 field goals. Over a span of 171/2 minutes, he made just one.
“I just tried to do my hardest to bother him, stay in front of him as much as I could, take a couple of charges and do the best I could,” Barea said.
Trailing 77-74 early in the fourth, the Mavericks embarked on a 21-6 spurt that put the game out of reach. Barea made three of the biggest plays during that stretch, scooting past Finley for a 3-point play, hitting a floater and leaving a miss on the rim for Erick Dampier to take Dallas' lead from five to 12 with 4:42 to play.
By the end of the night, with white-clad Spurs fans emptying the arena in droves, the smattering of Mavericks faithful had their run of the place.
All the Spurs could do was plug their ears, shrug their shoulders and set their eyes on Game 2.
“It's a big loss to lose that first one at home,” Duncan said. “But we're going to rally together, come in here Monday and try to get that one.”