Buck Harvey: Together again — Bowen reaches up for another night in Dallas
Web Posted: 05/18/2006 01:16 AM CDT
San Antonio Express-News
http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/b....1d51c868.html
Bruce Bowen scored zero points. He took zero shots. He attempted zero free throws.
No wonder he reached up at the end to put his hand on Dirk Nowitzki's jumper.
Bowen wanted to see what the basketball felt like.
Everyone else wanted to see what a defensive stop looked like between these two teams. And when it happened — when the final moment between Bowen and Nowitzki framed the opposite of Monday — the Spurs got to see what a win feels like.
There was reason to wonder if the Spurs would have to wait until November for that. Tim Duncan was on his way to a Kobe Bryant-kind-of-night at halftime, Tony Parker was dragging his leg beyond what the Spurs thought was possible, and the Spurs were still tied at halftime.
Maybe that simply defines how close the best in the West are. After all, in the last three games in regulation, the Mavericks have won by a point, the two teams tied, and the Spurs won by a point. That's mathematically even, if not spiritually, too.
Still, this one had the feel of the last two in Dallas, and plays that ended the first half and third quarter summed that up. With the Spurs trying to score at the buzzer to end the half, Parker missed a point-blank layup — and Nowitzki dunked with the kind of bang-bang play that ended Game 3 in Sacramento.
The end of the next period was as anti-Spur. Then, Duncan grabbed a loose ball and scored about, oh, one-tenth of a second too late.
Even when it appeared the Spurs were ready to pull away, such as in the fourth quarter with a six-point lead, the Dallas scorers isolated their defenders and treated the Spurs as others have Warriors or Sonics. When the Mavericks' Jerry Stackhouse took the lead with a running bank with about seven minutes left, it was clear the Spurs' season would come down to another singular moment.
The Spurs stayed on the floor with that kind of urgency, with all five starters playing at least 34 minutes. Most notable was Michael Finley. After playing almost 47 minutes Monday, he went another 44.
He's supposed to be too old to do this. But then came the play immediately after Stackhouse's drive. Finley flashed inside, dunking as if this were five years ago.
But he made a similar play toward the end of Game 4, just as he had thrown in the apparent game-winner in Sacramento before the Kings stole one. Was Finley becoming the karmic jinx?
Then something else happened. The Mavericks made a few mistakes, which they haven't been doing. Jason Terry drove and tossed a pass out of bounds. Devin Harris followed with a travel, finally looking young.
Does this become more of a factor as the series progresses? Nowitzki didn't give anyone much time to contemplate that. He threw in a 3, tying the game, and duck-walked back down the floor in celebration.
What followed over the next few minutes is why these teams should have met in the conference finals. This was high-level, high-energy basketball. That meant, of course, Manu Ginobili had to be involved.
Save this footage to later explain what he was: Ginobili reaching in, tipping the ball away from Nowitzki, diving to the wood for the loose ball, then snapping off a pass while sitting down.
But for all the sweat, for all the counters and adjustments, this still came down to the usual. Just as the series opener had been about the "bearhug" between these two, and just as Game 4 came down to them, this one did, too.
On Monday, Bowen was called for a bump, and Nowitzki sent the game to overtime with two free throws. This time, Nowitzki went up from about 17 feet out, with about seven seconds left, to eliminate the Spurs.
Bowen says he saw what was coming. He didn't try to beat Nowitzki to a spot, exactly. He instead lined up next to him.
"I knew where he would bring the ball back," Bowen said.
Bowen had seen Nowitzki shoot enough times; Nowitzki scored 31 points Wednesday. But this time, Bowen reached up, dangerously close to another whistle, and put his hand on top of the ball.
Afterward, he said getting all ball felt good, and there's a reason.
Bowen gets to try again Friday.
Bowen's block on Dirk's attempt in the final seconds turned out to be just important as the one on Billups in Q4 of Game 7, 2005 Finals. No matter how they call him a "dirty", his defensive skills are indeed unrivaled.
Neither teams deserve to lose in this series. But this is life. Hope for the best to the Spurs.
Bowen=2006 DPOY
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