Game Blog: 2010 Playoffs Round 1 - Spurs vs. Mavs, Game 5

[Avitus1]

I didn't think we'd beat them in Dallas... Game 5 is a bust...

[Sobe_Kucks]

Bedtime.... ALready forgot about this soon to be loss. We gotta bring it in game 6!!! Plain and simple. Cannot let this go to 7. Bring Caron back to earth. Timmy has got to find his legs, RJ needs to show up and Manu has got to get back in rhythem.

[NewJerSpur]

Well, Cuban got his money's worth tonight, hopefully we get ours again Thursday.

[blkroadrunners]

True. I hope Pop doesn't revert back to regular season Pop and play Bonner and Mason over 10 combined minutes. Bonner has been shit from the start. Mason is below shit.

I concur.

[alchemist]

This move by Pop makes everything positive he's done in game 1-4 moot to me.

If we lose game 6 we lose the series, end of story. I'll bet my taint on it.


If we win game 6, we get have slim chance to keep up with the athletic Suns.

Prahps Pop.
damn brah, you're really really upset about this huh?

[Shastafarian]

I didn't think we'd beat them in Dallas... Game 5 is a bust...

Me neither but it looks as if the players shared our sentiments. Pop too. He sucked tonight.

lol Bonner

[lurker]

At the level they're playing at, they might have a let down come Game 6 from the additional minutes, especially going on the road. They took Game 1 back that was after a 3-day layoff and they still had lapses that the refs made up for. Against this lineup, I'm just saying that I think you look to get your guys geared up for Game 6.
Ehh. If the game was tomorrow night, maybe the minutes tonight would effect them. If the Mavs suck in game 6 it won't be because they're tired, it will be because Pop stopped trying to out-retard Carlisle and the Spurs actually played with some effort.

[blkroadrunners]

Is Hairston on the playoff roster?

No.

[MavDynasty]

I can see the Mavs pulling out a tough Game 6 only to get blown the fuck out in Game 7 on their homecourt :lol

[Cant_Be_Faded]

So pissed off.
At Pop. At the starters' energy to star the game.

At the starters' energy to start the 3rd.

At Mason's worthlessness.

At Bonner's choke ass bitch ass

FURIOUS

[Capt Bringdown]

Well, we've let the Najera rough up our players in 2 straight games.
Why won't we respond?

[Ice009]

Ehh. If the game was tomorrow night, maybe the minutes tonight would effect them. If the Mavs suck in game 6 it won't be because they're tired, it will be because Pop stopped trying to out-retard Carlisle and the Spurs actually played with some effort.

Have you guys been reading what we've been saying about Pop most of the season? Has Carlisle been doing the same stuff?

[Ice009]

Manu should try a face mask IMO. That plastic thing is hurting his game. I think a clear mask would be better.

[BanditHiro]

at least the spurs managed to clear the stands!

[stealthjbravo]

What a bunch of limp dick POS players

[NewJerSpur]

Ehh. If the game was tomorrow night, maybe the minutes tonight would effect them. If the Mavs suck in game 6 it won't be because they're tired, it will be because Pop stopped trying to out-retard Carlisle and the Spurs actually played with some effort.

Not saying it will be the deciding factor, but going on the road is a daunting enough task as is. I'd be more for allowing the guys to conserve all the energy they can and not risk anything going further.

[Ice009]

Mavs killing us. Everyone is getting involved for Dallas. Roddy hitting a three now.

[KuntryDude]

Bogans can't even produce w/ the scrubs

[Spurs Brazil]

:lol Mason

[BanditHiro]

god i am so sick of seeing jj barea he is so fucking ugly

[NewJerSpur]

LOL @ NBA TV going away from the game to let the viewers know about upcoming playoff action. Whatever happend to the NBA on TBS?

[blkroadrunners]

At least Mason did something right.

[mexicanjunior]

LOL @ NBA TV going away from the game to let the viewers know about upcoming playoff action. Whatever happend to the NBA on TBS?

I don't blame them...Spurs don't deserve airtime at this point.

[Crookshanks]

Wow - this is one ugly game. It's like they decided in the 1st quarter to just this one to the Mavs. No effort whatsoever to win this game. I hate it when they do this crap. Pop knew what worked in the last 3 games - but he decides to screw with the lineup and totally lose the game right from the start. Oh well - on to Thursday.

[ecksrobecks]

matt fucking carroll

[NewJerSpur]

I don't blame them...Spurs don't deserve airtime at this point.

I agree, but it's funny to see during this time of year. I know continuing with coverage would simply be a formality, but the NBA TV just seems to do it's own thing regardless.

[Ice009]

What time is game 6?

[Mav-elous Man]

I just figured out the key to the Mavs winning this series. Keep Damp's bitch ass on the bench!!! LMAO!!! Damn is he sorry.

[rwb]

Thank God it's over.

[NewJerSpur]

What time is game 6?

I think it's at 7.

[EricB]

Wow - this is one ugly game. It's like they decided in the 1st quarter to just this one to the Mavs. No effort whatsoever to win this game. I hate it when they do this crap. Pop knew what worked in the last 3 games - but he decides to screw with the lineup and totally lose the game right from the start. Oh well - on to Thursday.


Really. :lol

[J_Paco]

So, now the Spurs have given the Mavericks new life? What the hell were Duncan, Ginobili and company thinking? They've gotta win on Thursday, 'cause they can't afford to let this series go to game seven.

[Ice009]

Dallas do play great though when the pressure is off.

You gotta say that, they do play loose when there is nothing to lose.

[Ice009]

I think it's at 7.

7? EST? CST? I am overseas.

Either way the time sucks ass as I'll be at work. FUCK. why so early.

[NewJerSpur]

Tim and Manu have been struggling mightily (Manu seemed like his head was never in the game after that first made basket). We could use big games from them Thursday.

[alchemist]

Gut feeling that the Mavs blow out the Spurs, hopefully I'm terribly off and the Spurs win.
:toast Spurs win Game 6.

[NewJerSpur]

7? EST? CST? I am overseas.

Either way the time sucks ass as I'll be at work. FUCK. why so early.

Sorry: 7EST.

EDIT: Actually, I think it might be 8 EST and 7 CST.

[Ice009]

Sorry: 7EST.

EDIT: Actually, I think it might be 8 EST and 7 CST.

Crap. I finish work around 9:30 - 10:30 EST.

I wonder what I should do.

[scottspurs]

Absolutely pathetic. This team isn't a championship team quite yet. A championship team would of at least shown up for a close out game. Spurs need to blow out the mavs in game 6 and rest up and prepare for the next series.

GO SPURS GO

[NewJerSpur]

Crap. I finish work around 9:30 - 10:30 EST.

I wonder what I should do.

Do you have access to a computer and the ability (even if not the permission, lol) to go to streaming sites?

[lurker]

:lol at Carlisle asking "Did his guys play like dogs again?" when the reporter mentioned Pop not answering his question.

[Russ]

Carlisle with the knife to Pop -- Did his guys play like dogs again tonight?

[Ice009]

Do you have access to a computer and the ability (even if not the permission, lol) to go to streaming sites?

No, no access to a computer at all. lol I am going to have to make a decision here that day about work.

[EricB]

Carlisle with the knife to Pop -- Did his guys play like dogs again tonight?

I don't see how that's a knife.

[NewJerSpur]

No, no access to a computer at all. lol I am going to have to make a decision here that day about work.

And if that doesn't work, just quit.....it's what any self-respecting fan of the Spurs would do, LOL. :toast

Disclaimer: Don't quit, I can not be held responsible for that decision. :lol

[Ice009]

Najera did a good job for Dallas. Spurs checked out mentally at the start of the game. Very disgusted.

[duncan228]

Updated.

Butler, Haywood keep Mavs from being eliminated (http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/recap?gid=2010042706)
By Jaime Aron

Caron Butler saw a path to the basket and didn't care that Tim Duncan was in his way.

Butler drove right at San Antonio's big guy and tried jumping by him for a dunk. Duncan got a piece of the ball -- but it caromed off the backboard and into the net anyway.

It was that kind of night for Butler and the Dallas Mavericks.

With Dallas facing elimination, Butler set an aggressive, energetic tone early and kept it up throughout a 103-81 victory over San Antonio on Tuesday night in Game 5 of their first-round series.

"That was fun," Mavs star Dirk Nowitzki said.

The Spurs still lead the series 3-2, giving the veteran club two more chances to get into the second round. Only eight teams have ever blown a 3-1 lead, and Game 6 is in San Antonio on Thursday night.

But Dallas looked like a different team with Butler and Brendan Haywood finally providing the toughness and athleticism the Mavs were seeking when they traded for them during the All-Star break.

Butler scored a career playoff-best 35 points and had 11 rebounds, while Haywood provided a strong inside presence at both ends in his first start of this postseason. He had eight points, eight rebounds and four blocks, and was a big reason Duncan scored just 11 points.

Duncan went to the bench for good shortly after that inadvertent tip-in, the Spurs essentially acknowledging this game was out of reach with 6:19 left in the third quarter. Dallas was soon up by 22, then 26.

"Now it's a series," said Butler, who just two games before was benched for the second half. "We have to go to San Antonio and bring the same energy and play with the same tenacity and disposition as we played with for 48 minutes here. We got to bring it some way, some how."

The Spurs were outplayed most of the first half, but trailed by only seven at halftime. Any hopes of turning things around with a throttling third quarter, like they did to win Game 4, vanished quickly with the Mavs scoring the first 10 points of the second half.

"Mostly it was the case of they came with the mental and physical toughness, and our starting group wasn't very good in either category," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said.

Despite losing three straight and looking ripe for a knockout, the Mavericks spent the last two days insisting everything was fine, that all they had to do was get to a few more loose balls and keep the Spurs from shooting close to 50 percent, as they had all series.

Sure enough, San Antonio made a series-worst 36 percent of its shots (only 27 percent in the second half), with Dallas grabbing 11 more rebounds and committing six fewer turnovers. The Spurs had three turnovers during the Mavs' game-breaking stretch early in the third quarter.

"We're upset at the way we approached the game," said San Antonio's Manu Ginobili, who scored seven points in 19 minutes. "It's something we'll learn from. I hope that's how we take Game 6, because we don't want to come here for a Game 7."

Tony Parker led San Antonio with 18 points, half coming during an 11-2 run at the end of the second quarter.

Dallas showed a new life from the start, inspired perhaps by Haywood starting instead of Erick Dampier, or just by their now-or-never situation.

San Antonio's only lead was 6-4, and the Mavs followed that with a 12-2 spurt that included opportunistic plays like Jason Kidd slapping a rebound right to Shawn Marion for an easy layup. They ran plays through Haywood, something unheard of when Dampier starts, and Butler was scoring inside, outside and in between.

Butler, Haywood and DeShawn Stevenson were acquired during the All-Star break in a deal that cost Dallas four players and forced owner Mark Cuban to ante up another $30 million. It looked like a great investment when Dallas won 13 straight in February and March, not so much with the Mavs on the brink of elimination and with Butler shooting 38 percent in the series.

"We need him to attack. That's basically what I told him -- be aggressive at all times, we want you to shoot the ball and be a scorer for us," Nowitzki said.

Butler made 12-of-24 shots, including 3-of-8 3-pointers, and hit eight free throws. He was relentless, too, scoring 12 points in the first quarter, seven in the second and 11 in the third. Because Mavs coach Rick Carlisle refused to empty his bench until midway through the fourth, Butler got eight more points in the final period.

"I wasn't second guessing myself," Butler said. "If the shot was there, I was taking it."

Said Haywood: "I don't know what got into him. All I know is we're going to need it the next game."

Nowitzki gladly played the role of sidekick, putting up 15 points and nine rebounds. Jason Terry had 12 points, while Marion and Kidd each scored 10. Kidd also had seven assists and seven rebounds.

Haywood took only three shots, making one -- which is one more than Dampier has this series -- but he got to the line plenty. However, he made only 6-of-12 free throws.

"It's a different feel for the team," Haywood said of him being the starting center. "I think it helps us with what we want to do. ... If you're talking about getting out and running early in the game, unless you're starting (6-foot-8 forward) Eduardo Najera, you're starting me because I'm the more mobile of the two. So that's just one of the things that I think helps me and helps the team."

Dampier turned out to be Dallas' only player not to play. Najera wound up as the backup, but he won't be much longer if he keeps playing rough.

After getting ejected from Game 4 because of a flagrant-two foul on Ginobili, he was hit with a flagrant-one for a whack on Parker. With three flagrant "points" this postseason, his next will draw an automatic one-game suspension. His performance already has won over the fans, earning cries of "Ed-die! Ed-die!" in the second half.

"I'm not trying to hurt anybody out there," Najera said. "I'm just trying to prove a point that we can do the same things they are doing."

NOTES: Ginobili opened the game with a brown, less-noticeable bandage over his broken nose, then went back to a thick white strip of tape in the second half. ... DeJuan Blair, whom Carlisle said had been kicking Dallas' rear in going after loose balls, became a non-factor by picking up his fourth foul with 9:26 left in the second quarter. ... Weird play early in third: On a made free throw by Dallas, San Antonio's Matt Bonner fouled Nowitzki, giving the Mavs one more free throw, which Nowitzki hit.

[Mav-elous Man]

Caron Butler > Richard Jefferson

[Ice009]

Do we think about starting TP if needed?

[EricB]

:lol watch maverick writers overreact to tim's press conference.

[EricB]

Who the F is this chick asking questions and why is she allowed in there?

[Kool Bob Love]

Who the F is this chick asking questions and why is she allowed in there?


What is she asking and what did timmy say? :nerd

[badfish22]

http://profile.ak.fbcdn.net/object/1637/94/n2212833113_32581.jpg

:lol

[ecksrobecks]

where is a link to the press conference

[TMTTRIO]

Do we think about starting TP if needed?
Well with Manu starting to play crummy we need him to start now. Manu needs to go back to the bench.

[duncan228]

where is a link to the press conference

They're always on NBA.com after the games.

http://www.nba.com/playoffs2010/live1/

[EricB]

What is she asking and what did timmy say? :nerd


She said something about offensive rebounds and Duncan just looked at this dumbshit and was like that had nothing to do with it..

[duncan228]

:lol Duncan was nice about it though.

[Ice009]

Who the F is this chick asking questions and why is she allowed in there?

She don't sound like she even knows anything about basketball except the players names ;).

[Kool Bob Love]

She said something about offensive rebounds and Duncan just looked at this dumbshit and was like that had nothing to do with it..


Dummy...what she needs to do is get back in the KITCHEN and make Timmy and the boys some sandwiches for the trip back to SA...:wakeup

[lurker]

Who the F is this chick asking questions and why is she allowed in there?
She sounded like some random southern belle that just wandered in.

[Ice009]

LOL where are all those people that said Dirk sounded dejected after the last game in the interview. He sounds exactly the same tonight. That's how Dirk's interviews are.

People actually said they felt sorry for him after last game.

[Ice009]

Well the Spurs didn't really lay an egg tonight. I'd say it's beyond that. We got humiliated.

I'm not happy at all with the effort displayed tonight. That is a truly bad, bad performance. Spurs gotta check back in mentally and LOCK IN.

[NewJerSpur]

Dallas has also been giving space to Manu rather than trapping him hard and almost daring him to shoot the jumper rather than beat them with and-1's ever since the series moved back to San Antonio....it's caused him to hesistate and make some bad decisions trying to force passes. Credit to them and he's got to play almost like Tony: Put your head down and attack.

[Ice009]

Dallas has also been giving space to Manu rather than trapping him hard and almost daring him to shoot the jumper rather than beat them with and-1's ever since the series moved back to San Antonio....it's caused him to hesistate and make some bad decisions trying to force passes. Credit to them and he's got to play almost like Tony: Put your head down and attack.

The plastic thing on his nose has got to be affecting his game. His shooting has been horrendous since he's had that.

Do you think he should wear a clear face mask?

[Ice009]

Steve Smith is saying that it might be a good idea to start Tony or go to him earlier.

I am actually leaning that way too. I was leaning that way the during this game too, especially for the second half.

TP has toughness and the right attitude to attack.

[NewJerSpur]

The plastic thing on his nose has got to be affecting his game. His shooting has been horrendous since he's had that.

Do you think he should wear a clear face mask?

Good question. It makes you wonder though why he would go away from a facemask if he would option for something that bulky and awkward? I thought I remembered hearing something from someone (Richard Hamilton?) about how wearing a facemask takes some time to adjust to with regard to vision and, I believe, comfort....Manu might not feel like he has that luxury. He might also be a little bit gun at times given the physicality of the series and the exposure of the injury. Hopefully he's getting more confident wit hit as the series goes on.

[TMTTRIO]

I was thinking the same thing. I think TP needs to start and Manu needs to go back to coming off the bench again since he's been struggling and plain bad lately.

[carina_gino20]

I was thinking the same thing. I think TP needs to start and Manu needs to go back to coming off the bench again since he's been struggling and plain bad lately.

I don't know how that will help him. Sometimes, when he comes off the bench, he tries to do too much right away and becomes sloppy with the ball.

[Ice009]

I was thinking the same thing. I think TP needs to start and Manu needs to go back to coming off the bench again since he's been struggling and plain bad lately.

I don't think you bench Manu. You start Manu and Tony, then switch in George Hill so Manu goes to the bench quicker and then you can sub him back in toward the end of the first and start of the second.

This kind of game is a situation for Tony, Tim, Manu. The big guns. Starting Tony might be a good idea. Either way TP is bringing the right attitude and NOT backing down to anyone. Too bad hardly anyone else on the team did that last night.

[spursfan09]

I have a bad feeling about the upcoming days.