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spurs by 24.
San Antonio (11-8) at Dallas (11-8) Preview
Game info: 8:30 pm EST Tue Dec 9, 2008 TV: KTXA Away:My35
By Brett Huston
The San Antonio Spurs know they need Tony Parker in their lineup to be successful. The Dallas Mavericks are quickly learning they need Jose Juan Barea in theirs.
Averaging 20 points in his first two starts, Barea will look to help lead the Mavericks to their fifth straight win and 10th in 11 games on Tuesday against the visiting Spurs, who are coming off a pair of blowout victories keyed by Parker.
While Parker has long proven to be one of the NBA’s elite small guards, Barea barely played in his first two seasons behind Jason Kidd and Jason Terry. But with second-leading scorer Josh Howard and shooting guard Antoine Wright both sidelined recently, Barea has become a bigger part of Dallas’ rotation, and he’s made a convincing case to become a regular.
Barea had 15 points off the bench in a win over the Los Angeles Clippers last Tuesday, and was even better after joining the starting lineup for the next two games. He had 18 points in a 112-97 win over Phoenix on Thursday, and a season-high 22 in a 100-98 victory against Atlanta on Saturday.
Barea’s 16 third-quarter points matched Atlanta’s output for the period as Dallas (11-8) turned a two-point halftime deficit into a 15-point lead heading into the fourth quarter.
“It’s just been great just being out there with the guys,” said Barea, who had 24 total points in the team’s first 12 games. “Winning has been the most important thing. My confidence gets higher and higher.”
Dallas has won nine of 10 games and is 7-1 without Howard, who averages 20.3 points but has been sidelined because of a sprained left ankle. Howard and Wright could both return against the Spurs (11-8), but even when those two come back, coach Rick Carlisle has seen enough to keep Barea in the crowded mix for playing time.
“I’m a believer that anything is possible,” Carlisle said of Barea’s emergence. “Would I have predicted it? No.”
Barea played only two minutes in the Mavericks’ first meeting with San Antonio this season. Dirk Nowitzki had a game-high 30 points and Jason Terry 29 in Dallas’ 98-81 road win on Nov. 4.
Parker had 22 in that contest, but suffered an ankle sprain two games later that kept him out for three weeks. He’s been back for the past five games, and after the Spurs suffered ugly losses to Houston and Detroit, Parker has led the way to two impressive wins.
He had 22 points and eight assists on Thursday in a 108-91 win at red-hot Denver, then had 17 points and eight assists in just 20 minutes of a 123-88 rout of Golden State on Saturday.
“We’ve had two great games, and hopefully we can keep this going,” said Manu Ginobili, who made his third start after returning from an ankle injury in late November. “We just tried to move the ball. It’s the things we always try to do, but sometimes it doesn’t work.”
Ginobili is averaging 13.6 points in 21.7 minutes per game since his return, and both he and Parker have shot the ball well. Ginobili is shooting 52.6 percent from the field in seven games, while Parker is connecting on 53.3 percent.
Tim Duncan, meanwhile, is averaging 21.3 points on 56.1 percent shooting in three games with Parker and Ginobili starting.
San Antonio split two meetings in Dallas last season despite woeful shooting from Parker, who averaged 10.0 points on 15.6 percent (5-for-32) from the field.
Notes
Spurs:
The San Antonio Spurs are starting to round into form with the reunion of G Manu Ginobili, F-C Tim Duncan and G Tony Parker, two of whom were missing with ankle injuries early this season. It was the sixth win in the last eight games for the San Antonio, which started both halves of Saturday's win on fire, outscoring Golden State, 74-39, in the first and third quarters combined. ... San Antonio's reserves combined for 46 points on Saturday.
Mavericks:
With 100 points scored on Saturday, Dallas hit the century mark for the eighth time in its last 10 contests and is averaging 104 points over that span, an increase from 95.9 through the first nine games this season. Included in the 100 points was a season-high 33 in the third quarter, eclipsing the 32 they had in the third against New York on November 16. ... The Mavericks' bench totaled 37 points in the game, led by G Jason Terry's 19, to outscore Atlanta's reserves, 37-8. Over the past 10 games, Dallas has outscored the opposition's bench by an average of 21.9 points per game. ... F Brandon Bass matched his season-high on Saturday with 14 points, shooting 7-for-9 from the floor. His seven field goals were a season high. He has contributed 10 or more points in four of the last five games. ... G Jason Kidd had four steals to increase his career total to 2,089, moving him past Karl Malone into sole possession of ninth place on the NBA's all-time list.
Team Stat Leaders
Points
Tony Parker SA 22.4
Dirk Nowitzki Dal 25.0
Rebounds
Tim Duncan SA 10.4
Dirk Nowitzki Dal 9.0
Assists
Tony Parker SA 6.4
Jason Kidd Dal 8.5
Injuries
San Antonio
No injuries reported.
Dallas
J. Howard Ankle
J. Stackhouse Heel
A. Wright Groin
Last edited by duncan228; 12-08-2008 at 03:44 PM.
spurs by 24.
Big game tonight. It will be a pretty tough loss for whichever team loses.
Which game are you talking about?
Bonner the Dirk stopper?
No injuries reported? is Ian available?
I hope the Mavs go into this game thinking they are gonna blow out the Spurs again like they did last time.
Its gonna be fun watching in what way the Spurs are gonna response to that.
that's what i'm talking about.spurs by 24.
Last edited by gingerwave; 12-08-2008 at 05:14 PM.
Tuesday: Spurs (11-8) at Mavericks (11-8)
Express-News
Time: 7:30 p.m.
TV: KMYS
Radio: WOAI-AM 1200, KCOR-AM 1350
STARTING LINEUPS
POS - SPURS - MAVERICKS
PG - 9 Tony Parker (6-2, 8th yr) - 2 Jason Kidd (6-4, 15th yr)
Parker averaging 17.4 points since return from ankle injury.
SG - 20 Manu Ginobili (6-6, 7th yr) - 11 J.J. Barea (6-0, 3rd yr)
Barea has totaled 40 points in two games since being installed as starter.
SF - 4 Michael Finley (6-7, 14th yr) - 5 Josh Howard (6-7, 6th yr)
Devean George will earn fourth consecutive start if Howard can’t go.
PF - 21 Tim Duncan (6-11, 12th yr) - 41 Dirk Nowitzki (7-0, 11th yr)
Duncan would have flirted with triple-double had Warriors not laid down.
C - 15 Matt Bonner (6-10, 5th yr) - 25 Erick Dampier (6-11, 13th yr)
As Bonner’s confidence rises, so does scoring average.
SPURS RESERVES
12 Bruce Bowen, F, (6-7, 13th yr)
8 Roger Mason, G, 6-5, 5th yr
3 George Hill, G, 6-2, 1st yr
7 Fabricio Oberto, C/F, 6-10, 4th yr
40 Kurt Thomas, C/F, 6-9, 14th yr
5 Ime Udoka, G/F, 6-5, 5th yr
11 Jacque Vaughn, G, 6-1, 12th yr
MAVERICKS RESERVES
32 Brandon Bass, F, 6-8, 4th yr
7 DeSagana Diop, C, 7-0, 8th yr
40 Devean George, F, 6-8, 10th yr
8 Gerald Green, G/F, 6-8, 4th yr
4 Shawne Williams, F, 6-9, 3rd yr
31 Jason Terry, G, 6-2, 10th yr
21 Antoine Wright, G/F, 6-7, 4th yr
COACHES
SPURS: Gregg Popovich
MAVERICKS: Rick Carlisle
INJURIES
SPURS: None.
MAVERICKS: Howard (left ankle) and Wright (left groin) are day-to-day.
PROJECTED INACTIVE PLAYERS
SPURS: Anthony Tolliver, Blake Ahearn, Ian Mahinmi.
MAVERICKS: Jerry Stackhouse, James Singleton.
NOTABLE
Mavericks and Spurs are only teams in NBA to notch 50-plus wins in each of the past eight seasons. ..... Spurs have allowed fewer than 90 points in nine of past 14 games. Mavericks have scored 100-plus in six straight.
- Jeff McDonald
I meant Tuesday night, not tonight.
Dallas Mavericks looking to get over the hump
By Eddie Sefko
It's hump day for the Mavericks.
No, your calendar isn't wrong. It's not Wednesday. But it's still the day the Mavericks will get over the hump of their seven-game homestand.
It's Game No. 4. Three wins are in the bag. Three more games remain after tonight before they hit the road again.
But the Mavericks hope to get over the hump tonight in many other ways, too. The San Antonio Spurs visit American Airlines Center, and a Mavericks win would put them at 12-8, a .600 winning percentage that equates to a 49-win pace.
It would also knock the Spurs down to 11-9 at the season's quarter pole and would give the Mavericks a 2-0 record against the Spurs, which might come in handy later if the teams are close in the standings.
It adds up to a pivotal game – by December standards, at least.
"Every game is going to be meaningful because at the end of the year, someone is going to get home court by half a game or a game, and someone's going to get in the playoffs by half a game or a game," Rick Carlisle said Monday. "What you don't want is to look back and kick yourself about a game that happened in November.
"It's big. But I don't see a game that isn't big. That's not coach-speak. That's a fact. Tiebreakers, record, head-to-head, conference – all of this stuff has great meaning. And it all factors in when you're looking at things in the last week of the season."
Which brings us to the Spurs' visit tonight. In case you haven't heard, rumors of their demise earlier in the season proved unfounded.
"Every year [people] say they're too old and for some reason they always find ways to stick around and win games," Dirk Nowitzki said of the Spurs. "It's always like this. They just seem to struggle early, but once they have everybody healthy and playing well together, they're always a tough team to play."
Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker are back from early-season injuries, and the Spurs have gone 11-5 since the Mavericks beat them on Nov. 4 in San Antonio.
The Spurs pounded Golden State and Denver in consecutive games last week, and they will no doubt be focused on avenging the loss to the Mavericks.
But just as the Spurs are playing their best basketball of the season, so are the Mavericks, who have won nine of 10. The Mavericks struggled to beat Atlanta on Saturday after having a 19-point, fourth-quarter lead. But Jason Kidd's savvy at the end saved the win.
"We had some tough moments down the stretch," Carlisle said. "But you know what? You got to put that behind us because we got a team of champions coming in here. They're playing their best of the season, by far.
"We're trying to keep our eye on the ball in terms of the task at hand, which right now is San Antonio. The Spurs have a track record. They've done it year after year. They hit a rough patch, they keep winning."
While everybody expects the Spurs to rebound from tough times, the Mavericks don't enjoy that same stature. When adversity confronts the Mavericks, observers assume adversity will win.
"The only way we can beat the critics is to keep winning games," Nowitzki said. "I guess if you lose in the Finals two years ago the way we did, and then we won 70 games almost, but lost in the first round – I said it last year, we could have gone 82-0 and nobody would believe we had a chance. You can't really worry about stuff like that, you've got to focus on yourself and the team and just keep winning."
If JJ Barrera is their new hope for their season, then I like our chances.
This will be a great defensive challenge for the Spurs to truly see where they are at.
barea had 3 good games prior to this game with the spurs. i hope the spurs will respect his ability to play. i'm worried about dirk, coz we don't have someone who can guard him consistently. but i also like our chances with the big 3 healthy, we will be a tough team to beat.
Barea has been laughed at but he's performing.
Huge game, aside from the divisional tiebreaker implications, the loser also takes the dreaded 9th seed.
The Spurs haven't looked all that impressive this year, even with the big 3 healthy, and we do a good jump defending the 3-PT shot so that may neutralize one edge the Spurs have (long ball).
One thing I"m worried about is JJ Barea starting though. You put him on Parker or Ginobili, it's bad news either way. but he has provided a good spark.
It should be a good game, VERY IMPORTANT game. Division games are worth 2 wins or losses.
No blowout either way, i think the Mavs will keep rolling though
I'm liking how the Mavs have played recently. Hopefully they can keep it up! Good luck Spurs fans, let's have another good one!
We have to make Terry not go hot in the game. i think he'll be the key factor this time.
If Terry sucks, we probably lose... especially w/ Howard out.
That's why this team needs Howard IMO! Terry and Barea can play like this in stretches, but you have to figure they'll cool off in the long run... that's where Howard's production can pick up some slack.
It's going to be a great game, I can't wait. I'll go for a 96 - 94. The mavs lead by 6 end of the 3rd and then Manu happens.
Good luck Mav fans.
Whether Mavs fans like it or not, J-Ho is an important key to tonights game. If he plays then Bowen/Udoka get matchup on him with Bonner/Oberto/KT having to guard Dirk. W/o J-Ho Bowen is on Dirk which will make it harder for the Mavs
this is one of those barometer games.
It's a big W for the spurs. No doubt. GO TP!
I love the game day previews. thx
How can Spurs / Mavs not pick up a national ticket? It doesn't even look like any Austin local channels have picked it up.
I'm sure Texans certainly would rather watch another Buffy rerun than Spurs vs. Mavericks.
Stupid....T.V.
Always a fun matchup... I feel like the Spurs will be out to avenge the massacre on election night.
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