2010 Playoffs: Round 1, Game 1 - Spurs vs Mavs Game Blog

[Sigz]

Dan Bonner?

[DPG21920]

"Tipped in by Damn Bonner"

[jag]

They just called him dan Bonner....Dan

[Whisky Dog]

Dan Bonner rofl

[Mavzy45]

sons it wouldn't have mattered if the Spurs shot the ball 75% tonight, they didn't stand a chance because of the biased officiating. there is absolutely NEVER a reason for one team to receive 22 more (and counting) free throws than the other team! 32 free throws compared to 10 ... my God this league needs help

Not to mention Hack a Damp....when the Mavs were the ones complaining about disparaging foul calls we were whiners...why is it different now?

[DPG21920]

Bonner bitched by Kidd.

[Pistons < Spurs]

Good effort. Mavs just played better.

[DPG21920]

Hard earned :lol

[BanditHiro]

well earned victory crofl

[Whisky Dog]

Kidd just beat out Bonner for a rebound. WTF

[magui86770]

kidd..offensive rebound....wow....

[Bulwark]

Fucking Bonner. Kidd just pawned him

[TimDunkem]

Bonner got wrecked by Kidd. Pathetic!

[hunterxaz]

Can't wait for the excuses, what was it this time? Refs? Poor play by x_player? You'll get the wins at home?

AHAHAHAHA!

[tony-bangbang-eva]

you can't beat dallas with this performance. dirk barely missed a shot

[angelbelow]

damn it gg. see you guys in game 2

[qiuyizeng]

spurs can't beat dallas!fuck refs

[Tp9gospursgo]

I would love to see Pop say something about the refs. Just like Phil Jackson would if the lakers were getting calls like this.

[hitmanyr2k]

Dan Bonner?

:lol :lol He doesn't deserve to have the announcer get his name right....fuckin scrub.

[007nites]

foul! foul! two possession game bahhh

[magui86770]

wasted effort for tim and manu.

[LnGrrrR]

Only 6 down and they don't try to foul? I'm surprised.

[8FOR!3]

damn it gg. see you guys in game 2

Wasn't a good game, the refs were sickening.

[sammy]

Did you see Theo Ratliff today against Orlando! He played well and too bad idiot Pop traded him as we could've used his length against Haywood! Jackass Pop gives away our bigs and continues to play small ball against the Dallas Donkeys!

[peskypesky]

i'm so glad Pop only played Blair for 6 minutes.

[RuffnReadyOzStyle]

Why do people wave their white hankies like that? I thought that was a baseball thing. It looks like major douchery at a basketball game.

[Chomag]

LOL Bonner letting a point guard box him out!!!!

[jag]

F you, Dan Bonner!

[TampaDude]

Wow...as shitty as we played, and as lopsided as the calls were, we only lost by 6. We can beat the Mavs if it's a level playing field, and we stop beating ourselves.

[Shastafarian]

Who is "Dan" Bonner?

[007nites]

Dan Bonner rofl

He also said Dejuan Butler

[jag]

F you, Bob Mason!

[hitmanyr2k]

Did you see Theo Ratliff today against Orlando! He played well and too bad idiot Pop traded him as we could've used his length against Haywood! Jackass Pop gives away our bigs and continues to play small ball against the Dallas Donkeys!

Pop knew what he was doing. He has 4 rings. It's only April.

[Libri]

They just called him dan Bonner....Dan

WTF lol

[ffadicted]

I'm glad that one year later, everyone outside our big three are STILL huge pussy faggots

(actually, Dice had a good game today)

[Supergirl]

What happened to Hill? Why did he only play 17 min?

[jag]

F you, John Jefferson!

[jdev82]

Good effort. Mavs just played better.

youre a fucking idiot. did you watch the third quarter?

[DPG21920]

Super Manu was not very super. TP played ok. Tim played pretty damn well overall.

[Shastafarian]

I wonder if Dan Bonner is related to Dejuan Butler.

[ballhog]

:lol :lol He doesn't deserve to have the announcer get his name right....fuckin scrub.

Get outrebounded by Jason Kidd. Yikes.

[HarlemHeat37]

Dick Stockton always messes up names..he's been doing it for years..

[Blackjack]

Same song, different verse . . .

[Whisky Dog]

You are so right! What a travesty the NBA has become! I've already written to the fucking NBA at the end of the 3rd quarter even though it changes nothing! The officiating was horrible against OKC and Bulls which shows how rigged the NBA has become! Shameful!

What do you mean become? How do you think Magic and Larry played against eachother in the finals so much and Jordan got 6 rings? It's been like this for a lonnnng time

[Ice009]

Well that was a great game by Dallas.

Dirk played GREAT. GREAT.

I'm not going to cry about the fouls. Spurs had lots of opportunities tonight. Coach Pop's rotations sucked MAJOR ASS.

Dallas took advantage of those stupid substitutions.

[Killakobe81]

Damn. I think Dirk saw what Melo did last night and said "I am a better shooter".

I guess I was right mighty fine shooting by Dirk.

Caron >>>>>Marion>>>>way better than RJ was the HUGE differnce in this game.

[Ice009]

Well that was a great game by Dallas.

Dirk played GREAT. GREAT.

I'm not going to cry about the fouls. Spurs had lots of opportunities tonight. Coach Pop's rotations sucked MAJOR ASS.

Dallas took advantage of those stupid substitutions like a legit team would.

No shows by RJ, Mason Jr, Bogans, Bonner didn't really help either.

[MiamiHeat]

Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 633

[NewJerSpur]

Less devastating than a Game 1 loss at home. Although it isn't as simply put as this: guys are going to have to step up and Pop is going to have to anticipate his rotations better (I'm guessing Hill's health/play threw a chink in the armor).

[TampaDude]

Caron Butler was a HUGE addition to the Mavs. He just defecated all over us tonight. We need to find a way to stop him.

[boutons_deux]

Matt and RJ no-showed.

[Pauleta14]

Kidd might be DOPED ! It's just not possible to keep running like that ALL game long after a 82 games seasons at his age...

It really impresses me...

[pjjrfan]

We can beat the mavs if everyone comes to play.

[NewJerSpur]

F you, Dan Bonner!

:lol:lol

[spurs_in_7]

same old history......spurs are still only allowed to no more than watch dirk play

[WildcardManu]

fucking bullshit team with no heart or will to win

[peskypesky]

game can be summed up by this stat:
Dallas 34 fts
SA 14 fts

that's a 20-point gimme for the Mavs courtesy the refs

[ecksrobecks]

the mavs only won by 6 at home, they should have had a much higher margin of victory than that, so again it was a demoralizing win for the mavs. they must be worried.

[peskypesky]

fucking bullshit team with no heart or will to win

34 fts to 14....that's the story of the game.

[boutons_deux]

RJ and Matt no show

Tim + Manu = 11 TOs

DJB 4 pts/6 min

RJ 4 pts/31 min

The Big 3 weren't too bad, but they had no help.

[Budkin]

Dude... we had an injured Hill, NO bench, and only lost by 6... if we can get everyone on the same page we got this shit.

[Mavzy45]

game can be summed up by this stat:
Dallas 34 fts
SA 14 fts

that's a 20-point gimme for the Mavs courtesy the refs

Did you give any consideration to the POP hack-a-Damp game plan that help attribute to the disparity?

[Tp9gospursgo]

Dirk had more free throws than our whole team..

[LnGrrrR]

game can be summed up by this stat:
Dallas 34 fts
SA 14 fts

that's a 20-point gimme for the Mavs courtesy the refs

so all 20 extra fts were gifts? More like ten of them :)

[Brazil]

Well that was a great game by Dallas.

Dirk played GREAT. GREAT.

I'm not going to cry about the fouls. Spurs had lots of opportunities tonight. Coach Pop's rotations sucked MAJOR ASS.

Dallas took advantage of those stupid substitutions.

What is the mot annoying for me is that we have been outrebounded by 10 and only 4 players came in Dallas to play.

I think TP will start next game and Pop will ask him to be more aggressive.

[pking]

courtesy of the refs, really?

[jag]

I can only hope the Blazers kill the Suns...that will bring me a little joy

[Capt Bringdown]

When your game plan depends on the likes of Bonner, Mason and Bogans stepping up, realistically, what chance do you have?

[oski1000]

How many rings won Dirk?? And the Mavs?? :lobt2::lobt2::flag::flag:

[NewJerSpur]

Caron Butler was a HUGE addition to the Mavs. He just defecated all over us tonight. We need to find a way to stop him.

He hit some big/tough shots, but (as Harlem Heat mentioned), he appeared vulnerable to doubles and we rotated pretty well coming off of them. His jumper was off early and his main contribution before the 2 big shots in the 4th was a couple of fade-aways on RJ. He's not proven himself to be a gamebreaker just yet.

[peskypesky]

Dude... we had an injured Hill, NO bench, and only lost by 6... if we can get everyone on the same page we got this shit.

i agree. and if pop will give Blair more minutes and Mason fewer.

[pking]

Dirk had more free throws than our whole team..

No he didn't.

[NewJerSpur]

courtesy of the refs, really?

It sure did UN-even the playing field, no?

[duncan228]

Post game on NBA TV now, Pop on.

[Brazil]

Did you give any consideration to the POP hack-a-Damp game plan that help attribute to the disparity?


Dirk had more free throws than our whole team..

[badfish22]

:lmao Spurfan

[WildcardManu]

Tim gets beat up in the post and no fouls called while dirk gets fouled shooting jump shots.

[Killakobe81]

Come on spur fans stay classy.

This is why you guys lost.

1. Dirk played like MVP dirk. Tim played like all-star Tim but not HOF Tim.

2. Caron played like like all-star Caron. RJ played like his boyfriend today ...

3. Marion didnt play great but he played better than RJ.

4. RJ shot as well as JET but TODAY that was NOT a good thing.


Moral victories:

Parker looked good.
Tim looked spry.
Manu was strong not AMAZING but strong.

Areas of concern:
- Well dirk will miss more than 2 shots a game but you guys have no one to matchup well with him.
- You guys wasted a strong effort from the BIg 3
- RJ may not play much better ..
- JET will not suck all series ....

[LakerHater]

What was it . like 24 points off of 17 Spurs TOs?

[Death In June]

Pop is truly a joke.

[Mr.Robinson]

Well that was a great game by Dallas.

Dirk played GREAT. GREAT.

I'm not going to cry about the fouls. Spurs had lots of opportunities tonight. Coach Pop's rotations sucked MAJOR ASS.

Dallas took advantage of those stupid substitutions.
The third quarter was bullshit. Fuck the refs.

[BillMc]

If we're short a guard put in Temple not Mason... I know Pop says the playoffs are for players "confident in what they are doing" but really Mason has very little confidence left...

[MeesterMarcus]

Soo many BS fouls, and of course Dirk flops like a fish all night. His FT percentage and FG percentage were great though. We started playing really lousy toward the end of the fourth quarter, but I know we're going to win this series. And Ginobli and Duncan played well.

[Supergirl]

Damn, 34-14 in FTs is a ridiculous disparity, even if the Spurs intentionally fouled a few times. WTF.

But mostly, Spurs need to make Dirk work more and shut down Caron Butler. They can live with Dirk scoring 30+ pts every night if no one else is scoring 20. We can shut down Butler and make Dirk work harder. And we will. I expect us to come back strong in Game 2, and I expect the FTs to be much more even. Perhaps even some make up calls, that would be nice.

[Supergirl]

Damn, 34-14 in FTs is a ridiculous disparity, even if the Spurs intentionally fouled a few times. WTF.

But mostly, Spurs need to make Dirk work more and shut down Caron Butler. They can live with Dirk scoring 30+ pts every night if no one else is scoring 20. We can shut down Butler and make Dirk work harder. And we will. I expect us to come back strong in Game 2, and I expect the FTs to be much more even. Perhaps even some make up calls, that would be nice.

[Killakobe81]

Cant blame Refs. Tim was great on offense he and Manu ...
But HOF Tim gives you 30 and 20

[Avitus1]

Meh just game 1, Spurs still gonna win this bitch.

[NewJerSpur]

Come on spur fans stay classy.

This is why you guys lost.

1. Dirk played like MVP dirk. Tim played like all-star Tim but not HOF Tim.


Tim played harder than Dirk, just didn't get the "MVP" treatment by the refs.

[Mr.Robinson]

Come on spur fans stay classy.

This is why you guys lost.

1. Dirk played like MVP dirk. Tim played like all-star Tim but not HOF Tim.

2. Caron played like like all-star Caron. RJ played like his boyfriend today ...

3. Marion didnt play great but he played better than RJ.

4. RJ shot as well as JET but TODAY that was NOT a good thing.


Moral victories:

Parker looked good.
Tim looked spry.
Manu was strong not AMAZING but strong.

Areas of concern:
- Well dirk will miss more than 2 shots a game but you guys have no one to matchup well with him.
- You guys wasted a strong effort from the BIg 3
- RJ may not play much better ..
- JET will not suck all series ....
Not only is Dirk really good but the refs give him free throws when the Mavs lose a lead.

[noles1983]

if you fart near Dirka Dirka its a technical

[badfish22]

Tim played harder than Dirk, just didn't get the "MVP" treatment by the refs.

:lmao

[DubMcDub]

the mavs only won by 6 at home, they should have had a much higher margin of victory than that, so again it was a demoralizing win for the mavs. they must be worried.

Line was Dallas -4. So, no.

[Death In June]

Well, you can't feel too bad about this loss. The FT disparity is fucking infuriating, but some of this can be corrected. Pop needs to get his head out from under his vagina and make some smart decisions next game. Most of the TOs were mental mistakes and not the result of Mavs defense. A loss by 6 when you consider the officiating, mental mistakes, and piss poor rotation, isn't as bad as it seems. No more bonner, play blair. He had 26/20 the other night. Pop should know better by now than to let his fear of rookies fuck this team over.

[badfish22]

Reading these boards is almost better than watching the game.

Almost.

[Mavzy45]

if you fart near Dirka Dirka its a technical

:lmao

[IronMexican]

Huzzah

[ecksrobecks]

Line was Dallas -4. So, no.

it's called sarcasm

[mytespurs]

Not surprised we lost......6 points??

Hmmm...I had a feeling Spurs would lose but I was thinking double digits.....not going to get too upset......there's Game 2....now if we lose that one, then I may start to get a tad antsy but........

BTW, Mavs owned the season series against the Spurs correct?

[NewJerSpur]

:lmao

In terms of effort, I find nothing laughable about that....he just didn't do as good of an acting job.

I'm not trying to downplay Dirk's offensive skillset, he hit some tough shots, but guys weren't allowed to defend him like the Mavs were TD.

[badfish22]

Damp shot 12 fts. Most of those were intentional fouls. Take those out and it doesn't look as bad.


Mavs did a good job attacking the rim. Especially Butler and Dirk.

Good win :toast.

[SpurAddict561]

I'm telling you...Dirk can go for 80 for all I care if we contain Butler & Terry and don't let big head Kidd get any 10 seconds-to-shoot 3's we will win...PERIOD

Let Dirk go wild, he's gonna regardless

stop the peanut gallery that rolls with him and you win

[badfish22]

In terms of effort, I find nothing laughable about that....he just didn't do as good of an acting job.

I'm not trying to downplay Dirk's offensive skillset, he hit some tough shots, but guys weren't allowed to defend him like the Mavs were TD.

I'm just loving the moral victories Spurfan is pulling out of their ass.

Duncan played harder than Dirk? :lmao

[dav4463]

34 free throws is no big deal if you actually take the ball to the hole and draw some fouls, but Dirk got his free throws on his patented fadeaway jumper or just standing there because Bonner and Bogans get no respect.

[aequitas090]

Dude... we had an injured Hill, NO bench, and only lost by 6... if we can get everyone on the same page we got this shit.


Not to talk trash, but were you also thinking that you lost by 7 without Manu and Duncan so it was an easy victory over the Mavs with them starting? Now you have them starting and we win by 6 with Terry only scoring 5 points. I think you might be reaching. It was a great effort by your team but the Hack-a-Damp in the 3rd showed Pops desperation. Mavs in 6.

[DubMcDub]

it's called sarcasm

Yes, I got it. My apologies--I shouldn't have directed that response at you personally like that.

[RuffnReadyOzStyle]

Douchebag commentating, awful officiating, Dirk couldn't miss, and Caron made a few jumpshots. Everything pretty much broke the way of the Mavs.

Still, the way Dirk got off the chain and the fact that we have no-one who can defend him is a major worry.

On to game 2.

[noles1983]

I'm just loving the moral victories Spurfan is pulling out of their ass.

Duncan played harder than Dirk? :lmao

I dont know how Dirk even sweats really..I mean he jogs down the court, gets the ball and does a fade away jumper. rinse and repeat

[Ice009]

What is the mot annoying for me is that we have been outrebounded by 10 and only 4 players came in Dallas to play.

I think TP will start next game and Pop will ask him to be more aggressive.

What do you think about George Hill? Do you think he is hurt a lot? Rusty or just choked a bit under the playoff pressure.

Manu, Tim and Tony played pretty good tonight. Manu found it harder at the end because Dallas tried to send another defender over to him.

[Ice009]

When your game plan depends on the likes of Bonner, Mason and Bogans stepping up, realistically, what chance do you have?

NONE. that is why you cut these guys.

[Spurs Brazil]

Rebs, TP defense, Manu and TD TOs, Jefferson, Hill injury, Bonner, Mason, Bogans, Pop, small ball, all that were much worst than the refs.

[NewJerSpur]

I'm just loving the moral victories Spurfan is pulling out of their ass.

Duncan played harder than Dirk? :lmao

You're a funny guy. When Dirk starts banging in the paint and taking the abuse Tim does and NOT getting calls on obvious and-1 opportunities, then we'll talk.

No moral victory, just realize the position we're in which isn't a terrible one given the circumstances.

[duncan228]

Manu interview on NBA TV.

[LakerHater]

Cant blame Refs. Tim was great on offense he and Manu ...
But HOF Tim gives you 30 and 20

Yes & No!

Yes - Cuz they called to many BS calls for Dirk!

No - Cuz the Spurs turned the ball over WAY to much which resulted in 24 points!!

Ultimately Manu needs to do a better job of passing!!:bang

[Johnny RIngo]

:lmao

It's more or less true, especially when you look at the FTA/FGA disparity between the two:

2006:

Duncan(reg season): .437
Dirk(reg season): .383

In the second round, Dirk received a sizable boost compared to TD:

Dirk vs Spurs: .726
Duncan vs Mavs: .626

This year:

Duncan(reg season): .345
Dirk(reg season): .389

Duncan(tonight): .25
Dirk(tonight): .857 (fucking ridiculous for a perimeter player)

Dirk's field goal attempts decrease while the amount of free throws he takes skyrockets. Mav fan really has no right to bitch about Wade when Dirk is getting such preferential treatment from the refs.

[Ice009]

Come on spur fans stay classy.

This is why you guys lost.

1. Dirk played like MVP dirk. Tim played like all-star Tim but not HOF Tim.

2. Caron played like like all-star Caron. RJ played like his boyfriend today ...

3. Marion didnt play great but he played better than RJ.

4. RJ shot as well as JET but TODAY that was NOT a good thing.


Moral victories:

Parker looked good.
Tim looked spry.
Manu was strong not AMAZING but strong.

Areas of concern:
- Well dirk will miss more than 2 shots a game but you guys have no one to matchup well with him.
- You guys wasted a strong effort from the BIg 3
- RJ may not play much better ..
- JET will not suck all series ....

Thanks man. I was actually going to ask you what you think of the game early in the 4th quarter as you're pretty objective and fair.

Manu played very good, but couldn't quite hang with Dirk. I'd say Manu was still the second best player out there. I'd say the Spurs had about 3 of the top 5 players out there on the court, but no one else showed up and everyone else on Dallas played a very solid game. Their role players didn't try to go one on one and really played within their game and exploited the Spurs.

[L.I.T]

Obviously the big 3 are coming to play. More efficiency and aggressiveness out of TP will help as well. But, with Dice stepping up Hill and/or RJeff need to start generating more offense.

Hopefully, in the case of RJeff this was a case of first game jitters (since he did contribute a mite in some other categories).

RJeff/TP need to just start attacking relentlessly. Hill as well, but his injury status remains iffy.

[Ice009]

Cant blame Refs. Tim was great on offense he and Manu ...
But HOF Tim gives you 30 and 20

I think Tim was rusty. Pop should never have sat him that last game of the season. Too many days off. Tim looks real spry like you said. I think he WILL BE HOF DUNCAN for the rest of this series.

Even Lebron wasn't that great after all that rest.

How did Kobe do? Did he rest at the end of the season and if so did he look a little rusty tonight?

DPG you were right on the money about that last regular season game. Pop should have just played everyone and rested Hill instead.

[NewJerSpur]

Dice was definitely big, particularly with his rebounding/extension of plays.

[gameFACE]

The Spurs need someone to stand baseline with a cheap cardboard sign with "Need a STOP" written in black marker.

[Brazil]

Rebs, TP defense, Manu and TD TOs, Jefferson, Hill injury, Bonner, Mason, Bogans, Pop, small ball, all that were much worst than the refs.

I think you're too harsh on TP Defense IMO. He left one open 3 to Kidd but for the rest I thought he was not so bad in particular against Terry

[Ice009]

I'm just loving the moral victories Spurfan is pulling out of their ass.

Duncan played harder than Dirk? :lmao

They both played hard. You can't say one played harder than the other. I think people say Dirk didn't play hard because he takes more jumpers. That's just what it looks like, but yeah both played hard tonight.

[duncan228]

Updated.

Nowitzki leads Mavs past Spurs 100-94 in opener (http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/recap?gid=2010041806)
By Jaime Aron

Dirk Nowitzki was amazed. Even after hitting nearly every shot he took, the San Antonio Spurs still weren’t sending more defenders at him.

So he kept shooting. And scoring.

Nowitzki made 12 of 14 shots and all 12 of his free throws, coming up with 36 points to carry the Dallas Mavericks to a 100-94 victory over the rival Spurs on Sunday night in Game 1 of their first-round series.

“Sometimes,” Nowitzki said, “you have one of those nights where the basket is big.”

The Spurs slowed Nowitzki in the first round last year by swarming him with two and sometimes three defenders. He was expecting it again this series and practically begged them to bring it on with the way he attacked whoever was covering him.

Nowitzki drove on Antonio McDyess and shot over Matt Bonner. There was a heave over McDyess and Richard Jefferson that was flung at the basket in hopes of getting a foul called; there was no whistle, but there was a basket. Nowitzki made a conventional jumper over Jefferson in the fourth quarter as if his defender wasn’t even there. One time when Keith Bogans found himself matched up with Nowitzki, all he could do was foul him.

“He was impressive,” San Antonio’s Manu Ginobili said. “We know he can score 36, but missing only two shots is what makes it really hard. He made some shots with the defense all over him. You can’t control those kind of shots.”

Caron Butler scored 22 points and Brendan Haywood added 10 in their playoff debuts for Dallas. Both were part of a major trade in February that turned a good Mavericks team into a much better one. They rolled into the playoffs having won eight of 10 and five straight.

Jason Kidd added 13 points, 11 assists and eight rebounds for the Mavericks, and Erick Dampier had five points, 12 rebounds and lots of bruises from bumping against Tim Duncan.

“I thought we did a great job of executing our offense and getting the ball where we needed to,” Butler said. “We shared the ball and did a lot of good things.”

San Antonio got plenty from its stars Duncan, Ginobili and Tony Parker. But that was about it.

While Duncan had 27 points and eight rebounds, Ginobili scored 26 and Parker had 18 points and four assists, the rest of the club made only 10 of 26 shots.

Antonio McDyess was the only other player to crack double digits, scoring 10.

George Hill started at point guard, despite having aggravated an ankle injury Wednesday, and was scoreless with two turnovers in 18 minutes. He played just 2:31 in the second half. Richard Jefferson had four points in 32 minutes and Bogans was scoreless in 16 minutes.

The poor distribution of points was only part of the Spurs’ problem.

“We didn’t play focused enough,” Duncan said. “We just weren’t there all night.”

They were outrebounded by eight and gave up 13 offensive rebounds. They had 17 turnovers, leading to 20 Dallas points. They also took just 14 free throws; Nowitzki and Dampier each took 12.

“We lost by six points and made all those mistakes,” Ginobili said. “That’s the good side of the story, that we really can improve.”

The Spurs took a short flight home to sleep in their own beds and get to work on a new game plan at their headquarters. They have some time to figure things out as Game 2 isn’t until Wednesday night in Dallas.

“We don’t care what they throw at us,” Mavs guard Jason Terry said. “For us, it’s all about our mental and physical approach to the game. Mentally when we’re right, we’re hard to beat.”

The game was tight the first 2 1/2 quarters, with Dallas leading most of the time. Then San Antonio edged ahead and the lead swapped hands a few times.

Nowitzki helped the Mavs start to pull away with a 7-0 run all on his own. San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich countered by having Roger Mason foul Dampier on the next three possessions.

“We hoped he would miss free throws rather than Dirk killing us the way he was,” Popovich said.

Dampier went 1 of 2 on his first two trips. Fans figured out the Hack-a-Damp routine and booed it the third time, then cheered when Dampier made them both. Popovich scrapped it then, too.

The Spurs tightened their defense on Nowitzki after that, but he simply turned into a distributor, moving the ball into areas vacated by the extra guys who came after him. Jason Terry and Kidd each cashed in 3-pointers that helped Dallas eventually go ahead by 12 late in the fourth quarter.

“You pick your poison and whatever you do, you try to do it well,” Popovich said. “Dirk got the best of whatever we tried to do with him tonight. We tried a lot of different things, but he beat them all.”

NOTES: Nowitzki made his final 74 free throws in the regular season, so the 12 for 12 was no surprise. … The Spurs are considered an old team. But the Mavericks are older, both their starting five (32.6 years to 31.2) and their overall roster (30.3 to 27.8). … Mavs coach Rick Carlisle was battling a weak voice because of a cold. “I’m trying to find the right frequency when it fires and it works,” he said before the game.

[DubMcDub]

It's more or less true, especially when you look at the FTA/FGA disparity between the two:

2006:

Duncan(reg season): .437
Dirk(reg season): .383

In the second round, Dirk received a sizable boost compared to TD:

Dirk vs Spurs: .726
Duncan vs Mavs: .626

This year:

Duncan(reg season): .345
Dirk(reg season): .389

Duncan(tonight): .25
Dirk(tonight): .857 (fucking ridiculous for a perimeter player)

Dirk's field goal attempts decrease while the amount of free throws he takes skyrockets. Mav fan really has no right to bitch about Wade when Dirk is getting such preferential treatment from the refs.

I wore a t-shirt today. No bears attacked me today. Therefore, t-shirts repel bears.

[NewJerSpur]

They both played hard. You can't say one played harder than the other. I think people say Dirk didn't play hard because he takes more jumpers. That's just what it looks like, but yeah both played hard tonight.

They both played well imo.....TD played harder given what he had to overcome, but again, that's just me.

[Mavzy45]

I think Tim was rusty. Pop should never have sat him that last game of the season. Too many days off. Tim looks real spry like you said. I think he WILL BE HOF DUNCAN for the rest of this series.

Even Lebron wasn't that great after all that rest.

How did Kobe do? Did he rest at the end of the season and if so did he look a little rusty tonight?

DPG you were right on the money about that last regular season game. Pop should have just played everyone and rested Hill instead.

To ICE and DPG :toast tough loss...I've been on Spurstalk for the last several years....I don't post much so as not to irritate good Spurs fans. But SpursTalk is a very good forumn so I lurk a lot... you two are very good fans, you root for your Spurs but are objective in your analysis...here's to a good series!

[badfish22]

I dont know how Dirk even sweats really..I mean he jogs down the court, gets the ball and does a fade away jumper. rinse and repeat


Reading these boards is almost better than watching the game.

Almost.

[AnthonyM]

Damp shot 12 fts. Most of those were intentional fouls. Take those out and it doesn't look as bad.


Mavs did a good job attacking the rim. Especially Butler and Dirk.

Good win :toast.


LMAO

Please, badfish22 show me where Dirk was "attacking the rim"

http://img339.imageshack.us/img339/7396/shotchart.jpg

[DPG21920]

I think Tim was rusty. Pop should never have sat him that last game of the season. Too many days off. Tim looks real spry like you said. I think he WILL BE HOF DUNCAN for the rest of this series.

Even Lebron wasn't that great after all that rest.

How did Kobe do? Did he rest at the end of the season and if so did he look a little rusty tonight?

DPG you were right on the money about that last regular season game. Pop should have just played everyone and rested Hill instead.

Hard to say. I just argued with the half ass-ness of it. Either rest all the crucial components or none.

[noles1983]

[QUOTE=AnthonyM;4253201]LMAO

Please, badfish22 show me where Dirk was "attacking the rim"

seriously i want to see that too. fucking dan bonner attacks the rim more than dirk

[duncan228]

Duncan on NBA TV now.

[Mavzy45]

LMAO

Please, badfish22 show me where Dirk was "attacking the rim"

http://img339.imageshack.us/img339/7396/shotchart.jpg

Normally, I would agree with you, that attacking the basket gets you more foul calls. However, when you are double and triple teaming a player the chances of fouling him increases....tonight POP was intent on stopping Dirk and as a result, more fouls were committed!

[ploto]

Spurs turned the ball over too much. As well as people will say Manu, Tim, and Tony played they had 13 turnovers.

[AnthonyM]

Normally, I would agree with you, that attacking the basket gets you more foul calls. However, when you are double and triple teaming a player the chances of fouling him increases....tonight POP was intent on stopping Dirk and as a result, more fouls were committed!

The game was on TNT brah...idk what you were watching...

Dirk was guarded one-on-one about 80% of his possessions

brah

[NewJerSpur]

Normally, I would agree with you, that attacking the basket gets you more foul calls. However, when you are double and triple teaming a player the chances of fouling him increases....tonight POP was intent on stopping Dirk and as a result, more fouls were committed!

I would generally agree with this premise, but Dirk was getting many of the foul calls on isolation plays.

[duncan228]

Parker on.

[Brad2217]

Macs owned

[Killakobe81]

Thanks man. I was actually going to ask you what you think of the game early in the 4th quarter as you're pretty objective and fair.

Manu played very good, but couldn't quite hang with Dirk. I'd say Manu was still the second best player out there. I'd say the Spurs had about 3 of the top 5 players out there on the court, but no one else showed up and everyone else on Dallas played a very solid game. Their role players didn't try to go one on one and really played within their game and exploited the Spurs.

Well thanks. If people are objective I try to be too ...

I Think Duncan played REAL well just not quite as dominant as usual but his bar is REAL high he scored 27 ...I think another area of concern is he is trading body blows with Haywood AND Damp ...

Everyone wants the Spurs to get a center Move Duncan to Center and get a decent PF ...Dirk, Amare, Gasol Aldridge will be problems NEXT year as well ...

Get a PF stop with the Tim at center stuff. Tim cvant guard aNY of the guys I listed and if you get a good big man THEY wont be able to guard them either. plus Pop loves small ball anyway ...I think he is done with traditional centers ...and wont play one besides Tim anyways ...

I still think spurs have a shot but RJ has to at least contain Caron if he is not going to score.

Kobe played OK not great on offense but amazing on defense same for Artest.

[Mavzy45]

The game was on TNT brah...idk what you were watching...

Dirk was guarded one-on-one about 80% of his possessions

brah

Point well made...maybe I was remembering last year when he was being swarmed! :toast Lucky for Dallas he was 12 of 14 from the field tonight! So, sorry for my mis-speak...brah!

DALLAS -- Dirk Nowitzki opened the playoffs in a high gear, making 12 of 14 shots and scoring 36 points to lead the Dallas Mavericks to a 100-94 victory over the San Antonio Spurs on Sunday night.

The Spurs did a good job of slowing Nowitzki in the first round last year, usually by swarming him with two and sometimes three defenders. They went with only one most of this game and paid the price.

Nowitzki shot over guys his size and went to the basket when covered by someone smaller. He took 12 free throws and made them all, adding to a streak of 74 straight made free throws during the regular season.

[SouthTexasRancher]

Let's see...the Spurs go after a dead body they dug up from the grave, i.e., Dickless Jefferson and pay him more than Manu makes. The Mavs go to a dead team, i.e., the Washington Wizards and pick up Caron Butler who doesn't even make $10 million and us fans are supposed to be impressed with us picking up the deader than a railroad tie player and Dallas picking up a Spur killer...? Sheeeeesh, give me a break! And Pop plays two other deadbeats in Keith Bogans and Roger Mason and we think we can beat anyone in these playoffs? Sheeesh, give me another break! Then we have a guy whose hustle is second only to Manu's and who gave us a 27/23 game just a few days ago against this same Mavs team and Pop only plays him a few minutes tonight? Damn, give me a bunch of breaks!

But, most telling was the Spurs players used excuses like "we just weren't focused tonight" or "our defense wasn't very good"!!! Damn, damn, damn...this damn Spurs team deserves to get its ass kicked with that kind of attitude. Did anyone bother to tell these guys we are in the playoffs and not pre-season?

Oh well, hell it don't really matter...little David Stern wants to see his two darlings play in the Finals anyway. Showcase Durant and Carmelo and Wade for a few games, then set it up for the rapist and the sore looser to have at it in the Finals. I feel like I am watching pro wraslin'! Football season can't get here fast enough!

Now if Pop will just get over his stupid hardheadeness and allow a couple of our younger, more energetic players (Blair & Hairston) to actually play and produce and sit the three bums (RJ & Bogans & Mason) so they'll be healthy enough for some other foolish team to take them off our hands this summer ('IF'...hopefully Dickless opts out of his contract this summer we might have one last chance before Tim retires after next season. We'll be bringing Splitter over and get a good draft pick and maybe a solid trade and bring AJ in as the top assistant for that one last season so as to have someone get in the face of our guys who need it.

Congrats to Mike Brown & Danny Ferry for winning this years NBA Championship!!!

Damn, I feel better already. ! :ihit

[Killakobe81]

Let's see...the Spurs go after a dead body they dug up from the grave, i.e., Dickless Jefferson and pay him more than Manu makes. The Mavs go to a dead team, i.e., the Washington Wizards and pick up Caron Butler who doesn't even make $10 million and us fans are supposed to be impressed with us picking up the deader than a railroad tie player and Dallas picking up a Spur killer...? Sheeeeesh, give me a break! And Pop plays two other deadbeats in Keith Bogans and Roger Mason and we think we can beat anyone in these playoffs? Sheeesh, give me another break! Then we have a guy whose hustle is second only to Manu's and who gave us a 27/23 game just a few days ago against this same Mavs team and Pop only plays him a few minutes tonight? Damn, give me a bunch of breaks!

But, most telling was the Spurs players used excuses like "we just weren't focused tonight" or "our defense wasn't very good"!!! Damn, damn, damn...this damn Spurs team deserves to get its ass kicked with that kind of attitude. Did anyone bother to tell these guys we are in the playoffs and not pre-season?

Oh well, hell it don't really matter...little David Stern wants to see his two darlings play in the Finals anyway. Showcase Durant and Carmelo and Wade for a few games, then set it up for the rapist and the sore looser to have at it in the Finals. I feel like I am watching pro wraslin'! Football season can't get here fast enough!
Now if Pop will just get over his stupid hardheadeness and allow a couple of our younger, more energetic players (Blair & Hairston) to actually play and produce and sit the three bums (RJ & Bogans & Mason) so they'll be healthy enough for some other foolish team to take them off our hands this summer ('IF'...hopefully Dickless opts out of his contract this summer we might have one last chance before Tim retires after next season. We'll be bringing Splitter over and get a good draft pick and maybe a solid trade and bring AJ in as the top assistant for that one last season so as to have someone get in the face of our guys who need it.

Congrats to Mike Brown & Danny Ferry for winning this years NBA Championship!!!

Damn, I feel better already. ! :ihit

Obviosly I disagree but THAT WAS funny

[Slippy]

Spurs had to play against a lot of calls that should of been no-calls right from the get-go. Not the best way to start off . Dallas also made a lot tough shots but refs sure did set the tone. If Dirk gets protected like that the whole series there is no way the Spurs win. We must be talking about feather like contact as i couldn't see any. When showen the replays i still struggled to see it.

What was Pop thinking taking manu out at 4 and half mins, then not bringing him back till 21 secs in the 3rd. Big gamble trying to save him for that long , even with Hill out. Manu feeling it from outside and still looked quite fresh mixing it up on offense. Spurs D was causing all sorts of havoc. Pop went away from that too quick with subs and constant fouling of Dampier.

Role players have to step up and Hill healthy is a must. He certainly is the 4th best player on team but looked hesitent out there. Nerv's should be out of the system and RJ has to wake the hell up. He came ready to play only in the second half.

This team will bounce back with manu leading the way . Dallas had no answer for him. In the first half he shouldn't have bothered to pass it at all. Dallas were closing out on shooters and manu was having a lay-up drill . Second half it was Manu Ginobili time . Spurs couldn't capitalize on the momentum by the time Manu got back. Spurs were playing from behind again.

[MeesterMarcus]

Lets get some more Blair playtime and less Mason. We need those rebounds, especially considering all those turnovers. And did you see that beastly dunk?

[beallionaire]

first game got away from us, officiating was garbage, spurs win it in 6

[kuato]

Just pass the ball to Manu.

[LakerHater]

Lets get some more Blair playtime and less Mason. We need those rebounds, especially considering all those turnovers. And did you see that beastly dunk?
AWESOME dunk!