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Mav fan/owner (are they really that different?) just being the bag they are supposed to be. Nothing to see here.
Suprise! an evenly called game and the Spurs win! who would have thought?
Gregg Popovich's complaints about officiating seem to pay off
By Eddie Sefko and Brad Townsend / The Dallas Morning News
Apparently, Gregg Popovich wanted to send a message to the Game 2 referees that he believed Dirk Nowitzki shot too many free throws in Game 1.
On Tuesday, Popovich talked about what a great "selling" job Nowitzki does to get foul calls. Popovich mentioned it again after Wednesday morning's shoot-around, and again an hour before Game 2.
Perhaps it worked. The Mavericks were whistled for five fouls during the first 2:46. Two of them were called on Nowitzki, who sat out the rest of the quarter.
Nowitzki didn't attempt his first free throws until two minutes into the second quarter.
"He can sell it better than anybody in the league," Popovich said before the game. "Some guys are really good at it and some guys just can't do it. It's not coached or anything like that. Of course, Dirk was with Nellie [coach Don Nelson]."
Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle was asked what he thought about Popovich's comments.
"Well, if you look at the film, he's getting fouled," Carlisle said. "What do I make of that [the comments]? I think it's a good way to bring attention to it without getting fined."
Mavericks owner Mark Cuban was only glad to pick up where Carlisle left off.
"I'll give him [Popovich] $7.50 for one," Cuban said. "That's up from $6. I mean, everybody in this league is good at selling fouls."
*********************
Big Three poses big trouble for Mavs in Game 2 and beyond
by Tim Cowlishaw / The Dallas Morning News
The series is on. A rivalry lives. And the question of how many games it will take the Mavericks to dispense with the old, tired San Antonio Spurs has been shelved.
It's not necessarily panic time in Dallas, just because the overrated concept of home-court advantage shifted south with the Spurs' 102-88 Game 2 win at American Airlines Center. The Mavericks have been an outstanding road team all season.
Besides, it's just par for the course in the balanced Western Conference playoffs, where Phoenix and Denver also lost one of the first two at home, and the Lakers had to hang on in the final seconds Tuesday to hold off Oklahoma City.
The series isn't over, it's just getting started. But make note that this was no ordinary win to even a series. The Spurs did more than just respond to the challenge the Mavericks issued here Sunday night.
In addition to getting 19 points from Richard Jefferson, the Spurs won when their Big Three of Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker proved too much for Dallas to handle.
It's one thing for Dirk Nowitzki to score 36 points, as he did in Game 1, causing some to question whether the Spurs had any defensive answers for the Mavericks' 7-footer.
But it's another when the Mavericks go to San Antonio trying to figure out what adjustments to make to keep Duncan from scoring 25 or Ginobili 23 or Parker coming off the bench to contribute 16 points and eight assists.
If you had to pick a Spur to worry about the rest of the way, it's probably Ginobili.
His fourth 3-pointer of the night came with 1:48 to play. During the timeout that followed, the American Airlines Center seats emptied.
When the Mavericks beat San Antonio in five games in the first round last spring, the injured Ginobili wasn't even dressed for the Spurs.
But he ended this season on such a run that the team felt compelled to extend him with a three-year, $38 million contract. There was no reason to question his value Wednesday night, when he scored 23 points while missing only five shots.
For now, it simply means Nowitzki was the top player in Game 1 and Ginobili in Game 2. But based on what we saw Wednesday, you have to wonder if the Spurs have more players who can fill that role as this series moves on.
Certainly you know that Duncan can, and you have to at least think that Jefferson has another big game in him.
When a best-of-7 features teams as evenly matched and as familiar with each other's central figures as the Mavericks and Spurs are, it figures that different players will produce outstanding performances.
When it was 80-60 San Antonio with 3:20 to go in the third quarter, all the stars other than Mavericks supersub Jason Terry were wearing Spurs jerseys.
The problem for Dallas wasn't simply that the Big Three had showed up. It was that Jefferson, a bust much of this season and the lead "dog" that Spurs coach Gregg Popovich mentioned after a four-point night in Game 1, had 17 before halftime.
The Mavericks nearly buried themselves in the game's opening minutes. If the Spurs were more accurate at the foul line, the visitors might have run away and hidden.
As it was, San Antonio built a 9-0 lead before Caron Butler got Dallas on the board with a 3-pointer with 7:45 left in the first quarter.
By then, Nowitzki already was on the bench with two fouls. And, of course, no points. The two shots he missed before collecting a quick second foul matched his total missed shots for Game 1 when his 36 points led Dallas to a 100-94 win.
He finished with 24 points, but it came on 9-of-24 shooting from the field.
The Spurs did nothing special to turn Nowitzki into a challenged scorer in Game 2. In fact, maybe they didn't spend the last three days worrying about it, since Nowitzki was a 40 percent shooter against them this season.
If he continues in that 40 percent range this weekend in San Antonio, no one's going to be asking how many games it will take Dallas to win this series.
Mav fan/owner (are they really that different?) just being the bag they are supposed to be. Nothing to see here.
Suprise! an evenly called game and the Spurs win! who would have thought?
Spurs not giddy, Mavericks not ready to panic
Todd Archer/Reporter
As we mentioned earlier, there was not a sense of panic in the Mavericks' locker room after the loss. Well, San Antonio's locker room wasn't abuzz either.
"It's a much nicer trip after a win, so we're going to enjoy it," Manu Ginobili said. "But at the same time we've got to be so humble. This is a long series. We've lost at home to them many times, so we've just got to stay humble, keep working hard knowing full well that it's going to be a long series."
It's now a best-of-5. Can the Mavericks win three? This might be the time they're happy to have a veteran team.
"I think this group has been through a lot this season and also on other teams," Jason Kidd said. "Everybody's playoff history, we've been in this situation before. You just have to relax and execute."
Dirk: Mavs went their own way at crunch time
Eddie Sefko/Reporter
There was only one thing to say about the San Antonio Spurs Wednesday night.
Those dogs will hunt.
After the call-out by their coach for playing "like dogs'' in Game 1, the Spurs responded by treating the Mavericks like a fire hydrant for most of three quarters. Then, they executed sharply late to complete a hard-nosed 102-88 spanking of the Mavericks to level the best-of-seven first-round series at a win apiece as the series shifts to San Antonio on Friday.
Perhaps the Mavericks can build on a shred of momentum that came when they knocked a 20-point deficit to five in the late going. But they could not complete the comeback.
"We got cold at the wrong time and I think everybody tried to put it on their own shoulders instead of still playing together and executing,'' said Dirk Nowitzki, who had a rough night shooting. "And they kept on scoring. Even if they missed, they got some big offensive rebounds.''
Indeed. Led by Tim Duncan, the Spurs did just about everything well. They dominated the boards and had 23 second-chance points, far more than their norm.
And they held the Mavericks to 36.5-percent shooting. Of the seven Mavericks who played 20 minutes or more, only one, Jason Terry, got anywhere close to 50 percent. Terry hit 9-of-19 shots to come back from a poor-shooting Game 1 with 27 points.
"This is a series, we know that,'' said Jason Terry, who returned from a subpar Game 1 to knock in 27 points. "This is our rival. We've had tough battles the last three, four, five years. I've been here. This isn't going to be easy.
Clearly. The Spurs played with an urgency that they didn't have in Game 1.
He'll give Pop $7.50? What does that even mean?
no doubt about it the Spurs SHOULD easily be up 2-0 if not for that ridiculous, biased officiating in game one.
Series on!
I don't know either. Probably some inside joke of his own.
Cuban is a whiny, spoiled, little bag. He strives to get as much camera time as any other owner in the NBA. To that end, I absolutely love to see his face when his team is losing. Hopefully, we'll all see more of that this weekend.
WTF? Duncan was the best player in game two.
Wonderful line, just wonderful. If only RJ had continued to piss for another quarter. Only getting 3 shots will get you nothing (I know you could technically get 9pts, but it's RJ people) unless you make all 3 or get a couple And1s.
i think he meant he will give pop a $7.50 fine because the NBA isnt going to fine him for saying the refs sucks in a round about way.
Got a nice laugh there.
Really hornets fan? How the fish biting this time of year? Tool shed. Give me a break with that crap.
This is going to be another Typical Mavs vs. Spurs series.
They are always great. They are always tight. They have ups and downs by both teams and the road team always wins at least one game.
The old saying that its not a real series until a team wins on the road.
The Spurs adjusted now it is the Mavs turn. They will win one in San Antonio.
This series has 7 games written all over it. So stay tuned for greatness.
Which makes spanking the Mavs ass so enjoyable!!!! I would actually like the Mavs, if Cuban wasn't their owner. But I can't ing stand them, only because of Cuban.
Great game and we're in for a long hard fought series. Over the years these two teams have produced many a memerable game. This series will be no different.
We'll see which team makes the neccessary adjustments for game 3.
The Mavs fans dislike Salvatore as much as Spurs fans dislike Crawford but he was actually beneficial for them in game 1. When/IF Joey shows up in this seires maybe we get the same treatment.
hahaha I was wondering the same thing. What a tool.
Lol explain 20 more FT attempts...
This is going to be a great series. I hate the Mavs but I do respect them. GO SPURS GO!
I can't believe so many didn't get that. It was in reference to selling fouls.
Cuban offered to buy a foul from Pop for $7.50, up from the going rate of $6
he is talking about how much he buys fouls for..
I like the fact that the Mavs are not in panic mode. I like that they feel they can win on the road. I like that they are going to stay in the same mental state that gave them a loss in game 2. Just stay in your Pedro Cerrano (Major League) meditation mode. All is right with the world................
CIA Pop at his best. Phil Jackson could learn from him, that guy probably has already pilled up over a Mil on fines
and for the record, the mavs has been pretty bad at home this season
Agreed!
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