Blackjack
01-09-2010, 01:02 AM
Spurs go south in final quarter (http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/spurs/Spurs_go_south_in_final_quarter.html)
By Jeff McDonald - Express-News
Late in Friday night's fourth quarter, Dallas center Erick Dampier — known throughout the league as a rugged rebounder, a tough defender and not much of a 3-pointer shooter — found himself all alone in the corner, with the ball in his hands and no other choice.
The shot clock was winding down. He had to shoot.
What happened next surprised nobody on this night. Not Dampier. Not his Dallas teammates. Certainly not the Spurs.
Dampier sank the 3-pointer, just the second of his 14-season career, putting the finishing touches on Dallas' 112-103 come-from-behind victory at the AT&T Center that once again had the Spurs cursing their luck against the NBA's elite.
“I work on that every day,” Dampier insisted. “It was just a last-second shot.”
Dampier's nearly unprecedented three — he was 1 of 13 lifetime before Friday — was the most inconsequential of the five the Mavs buried during a sizzling 42-point fourth quarter that was the worst the Spurs had surrendered this season.
Led by the tag-team of Dirk Nowitzki and Jason Terry, Dallas made all but six of its 22 shots in the quarter, demolishing what had been a 13-point Spurs lead late in the third.
Dallas assumed control with consecutive 3-pointers from Jason Kidd, Terry and Nowitzki. Kidd's, with 5:14 to go, gave Dallas its first lead — 92-90 — since the second quarter.
The Spurs squandered 31 points and 12 rebounds from Tim Duncan, as well as a chance to climb within a game of Dallas in the Southwest Division.
“They scored 42 points in the fourth quarter,” said Spurs coach Gregg Popovich, who was ejected in the second quarter for arguing with official Zach Zarba. “Nothing other than that needs to be said.”
Nowitzki, who finished with 26 points, shook off a 3-for-16 start to hit 7 of 12 in the fourth. Terry, who had 21 points, had 11 in the decisive frame.
Nowitzki's final basket, a back-breaking 3-pointer from the top of the arc that put Dallas ahead 107-100 with 51.1 seconds left, capped a frantic and fatal defensive possession for the Spurs. Manu Ginobili nearly stripped Terry to start the sequence, with the ball caroming to Josh Howard in the corner. Howard found Nowitzki, shadowed by Antonio McDyess.
“I kind of took a deep breath when he released it,” McDyess said. “I knew there was probably a 75- or 80-percent chance it was going in.”
The way Dallas was shooting then, those chances skewed closer to 100. It was a stark turnaround from the third quarter, when Dallas went nearly five minutes without a point, and the Spurs rolled off a 15-0 spurt to go up 80-67.
With 6.5 seconds left, Kidd made one of two foul shots, and Drew Gooden tipped in the miss to cut Dallas' deficit to 10 heading into the fourth. That was one of 12 offensive rebounds for Dallas, which the Mavs cashed in for an 18-4 edge in second-chance points.
Including its final three points of the third quarter, Dallas outscored the Spurs 45-23 in the final 12:06. By night's end, the Spurs had allowed 100 points for the first time in 12 games, since a Dec. 15 loss at Phoenix.
“Our shots didn't go in the basket,” said guard George Hill, though the Spurs shot 52.6 percent. “Their shots went in the basket. It's a tough game when that happens.”
For the most part, “they” were Nowitzki and Terry, who combined to score 17 in a row for Dallas down the stretch.
Then Dampier lined up in the corner, in a place from which he had not attempted a shot all season. His knuckleball found the bottom of the net, and the Mavericks' bench went into party mode.
“Everything we did right in the third quarter, we did wrong in the fourth,” Richard Jefferson said. “They hit shots when they needed to.”
And, in the case of Dampier's 3-pointer, even when they didn't.
By Jeff McDonald - Express-News
Late in Friday night's fourth quarter, Dallas center Erick Dampier — known throughout the league as a rugged rebounder, a tough defender and not much of a 3-pointer shooter — found himself all alone in the corner, with the ball in his hands and no other choice.
The shot clock was winding down. He had to shoot.
What happened next surprised nobody on this night. Not Dampier. Not his Dallas teammates. Certainly not the Spurs.
Dampier sank the 3-pointer, just the second of his 14-season career, putting the finishing touches on Dallas' 112-103 come-from-behind victory at the AT&T Center that once again had the Spurs cursing their luck against the NBA's elite.
“I work on that every day,” Dampier insisted. “It was just a last-second shot.”
Dampier's nearly unprecedented three — he was 1 of 13 lifetime before Friday — was the most inconsequential of the five the Mavs buried during a sizzling 42-point fourth quarter that was the worst the Spurs had surrendered this season.
Led by the tag-team of Dirk Nowitzki and Jason Terry, Dallas made all but six of its 22 shots in the quarter, demolishing what had been a 13-point Spurs lead late in the third.
Dallas assumed control with consecutive 3-pointers from Jason Kidd, Terry and Nowitzki. Kidd's, with 5:14 to go, gave Dallas its first lead — 92-90 — since the second quarter.
The Spurs squandered 31 points and 12 rebounds from Tim Duncan, as well as a chance to climb within a game of Dallas in the Southwest Division.
“They scored 42 points in the fourth quarter,” said Spurs coach Gregg Popovich, who was ejected in the second quarter for arguing with official Zach Zarba. “Nothing other than that needs to be said.”
Nowitzki, who finished with 26 points, shook off a 3-for-16 start to hit 7 of 12 in the fourth. Terry, who had 21 points, had 11 in the decisive frame.
Nowitzki's final basket, a back-breaking 3-pointer from the top of the arc that put Dallas ahead 107-100 with 51.1 seconds left, capped a frantic and fatal defensive possession for the Spurs. Manu Ginobili nearly stripped Terry to start the sequence, with the ball caroming to Josh Howard in the corner. Howard found Nowitzki, shadowed by Antonio McDyess.
“I kind of took a deep breath when he released it,” McDyess said. “I knew there was probably a 75- or 80-percent chance it was going in.”
The way Dallas was shooting then, those chances skewed closer to 100. It was a stark turnaround from the third quarter, when Dallas went nearly five minutes without a point, and the Spurs rolled off a 15-0 spurt to go up 80-67.
With 6.5 seconds left, Kidd made one of two foul shots, and Drew Gooden tipped in the miss to cut Dallas' deficit to 10 heading into the fourth. That was one of 12 offensive rebounds for Dallas, which the Mavs cashed in for an 18-4 edge in second-chance points.
Including its final three points of the third quarter, Dallas outscored the Spurs 45-23 in the final 12:06. By night's end, the Spurs had allowed 100 points for the first time in 12 games, since a Dec. 15 loss at Phoenix.
“Our shots didn't go in the basket,” said guard George Hill, though the Spurs shot 52.6 percent. “Their shots went in the basket. It's a tough game when that happens.”
For the most part, “they” were Nowitzki and Terry, who combined to score 17 in a row for Dallas down the stretch.
Then Dampier lined up in the corner, in a place from which he had not attempted a shot all season. His knuckleball found the bottom of the net, and the Mavericks' bench went into party mode.
“Everything we did right in the third quarter, we did wrong in the fourth,” Richard Jefferson said. “They hit shots when they needed to.”
And, in the case of Dampier's 3-pointer, even when they didn't.