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Good to see you posting your articles again. Thanks.
Spurs down and out
Jeff McDonald
The Spurs knew coming in this would not be easy. Deep down, they might have known it would be impossible.
From that fateful day in April when routine soreness in Manu Ginobili's right ankle became an unexpected stress fracture, the Spurs knew their chances at a championship had also been broken.
They knew everything else in this postseason would be infinitely more difficult, too.
“We came into the series not saying ‘poor us' or whatever,” Tim Duncan said. “We came into the series thinking we have a chance, and we can win it.”
That belief officially became an unattainable dream Tuesday night, when the Dallas Mavericks rolled to a 106-93 victory in Game 5, claiming the first-round series 4-1 and sending the Spurs off on their earliest vacation in nine years.
It was the Spurs' first ouster in the first round since 2000, when the Phoenix Suns did the honors. In that series, too, the Spurs were without a key cog — Duncan, nursing a surgically repaired knee, watched from the sidelines.
Dirk Nowitzki scored 31 points to lead Dallas to the second round for the first time since 2006.
The Spurs, at least, went down swinging. Duncan had 30 points, and Tony Parker scored 26 to go with 12 assists.
The enduring images: Bruce Bowen sliding into and irritating J.J. Barea and Jason Terry; Duncan, the old warhorse, putting his team on his back; rookie George Hill, playing with a veteran's poise.
It would not be enough. The Mavericks were simply better, on this night and throughout the series.
With the way Dallas had played, perhaps the Spurs still wouldn't have had the firepower even had Ginobili been in uniform.
“Even with Manu, it would be tough to beat Dallas,” Parker said.
Game 5 went like most of the games before it. The Mavericks shot the lights out of the gym (10 of 20 from 3-point range), while the Spurs' shooters couldn't find their stroke (3 of 16). Dallas also made 20 of 25 foul shots, compared with 12 of 19 for the Spurs.
There were differences, too: Nowitzki had his highest-scoring game of the series and seemingly quelled every Spurs run with a big basket.
Coach Gregg Popovich began the night talking about confidence, always a hot topic for a team on the brink of elimination.
“It can change quickly,” Popovich said before the game. “In a week, in a game, in a month, in three games, in a series, in a road trip.”
Game 5 did not begin well for a team in search of its swagger. Six minutes in, the Mavericks were ahead by 10.
Dallas led by 14 with 6:43 left in the first half, when the Spurs rose, dusted themselves up and decided to make a game of it, at least for a while.
It started with the familiar: Duncan got a layup from Parker on the pick-and-roll.
Then came the unfamiliar. Hill, until recently less than an afterthought in Popovich's rotation, got a soaring dunk off a turnover. He followed it with a baseline floater and threw in a 3-pointer for good measure.
Over the rest of the half, with Hill as a catalyst, the Spurs outscored the Mavs 17-7. They trailed 52-48 at intermission. They were back in the game.
This is a theme that would repeat itself. The Mavericks would threaten to run away; the Spurs would say, “Not so fast.”
The Mavericks finally made their push midway through the third. It started with Duncan at the foul line, where he missed two free throws that could have pulled the Spurs within two.
That came in the middle of a 9-0 run, of which Nowitzki had six points, to put Dallas ahead by 13 again.
The Spurs cut that 13-point deficit to seven, then decided to go back to doubling Nowitzki out of a timeout. He swung to Jason Kidd, who buried the open 3-pointer to push the Mavs back out by 10 with 1:48 left in the quarter.
It was the second-biggest shot Kidd would hit.
Moments later, with Dallas out on the break, Kidd knocked down a corner 3-pointer at the quarter horn to give the Mavs their largest lead – 82-67 – heading into the fourth.
Good to see you posting your articles again. Thanks.
Yeah, how about that....rookie George Hill, playing with a veteran's poise.
What about veterans playing like crap and with no poise. Where is that one?
He must have missed that part.
Nice...and true.
You got that right. Pitiful performance by a bunch of soon-to-be EX-Spurs!!!
Shows Pop was wrong about Hill, but to little to late and really means nothing at
this point.
Time to rebuild the bench.
Say goodbye to JV and Udoka.. Probably even Bowen which sucks..
Finley should be in that list as well.
Hopefully the Spurs FO can sucker someone into taking Bonner from them.
i got to say, i lost a little respect for the spurs. i expected more fight from them. it seems like once they lost ginobili, they just rolled over and died. everyone but parker. even duncan slumped when the spurs needed him most.
To watch this game in comparison to the game in Portland with both teams in the same position was very telling-- not only the players but the fans, as well
Duncan hit his last 8 shots to help out, what else do you want? Duncan slumped when you needed him most? Hurt and hit his last 8 shots, thats slumping? Jesus get off Tim. Duncan went out like the man he is, period.
Without Timmy going down swinging I would have been a lot more pissed off at the Spurs.
calm down. duncan slumped when the spurs needed him the most. as in after ginobili was declared out. i didn't need duncan. the series was a 5 game effort. you can say he's injured but that doesn't change the fact that spurs can only go as far as duncan carries them and he didn't carry the team very far. he gave good effort in games 1, 4, and 5 but as the great player he is, i can expect more from him.
Spurs didn't quit, Mavs just outplayed them.
Also they won hteir final 4 regular season games without Manu to earn the 3rd seed regardless.
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