[nikeball]

Their game 1 recap:

by Maurice Bobb / @reesereport

You hear all the time that nobody’s perfect, but Dallas Mavs’ Dirk Nowitzki came pretty damn close last night against the San Antonio Spurs.

The All-Star forward hit 12-14 shots from the field and all 12 of his freebies from the charity stripe to finish with a game-high 36 points to lead the Mavs to a 100-94 Game 1 win oveJason Kiddr the Spurs in their first-round Playoff series.

The big German told the AP, “Sometimes, you have one of those nights where the basket is big.”

Not to say I told ya so—OK, Eff it, I told ya so—but the game pretty much stayed in line with my series predictions. Dirk and Caron Butler (22 points) went nuts with the rock on the offensive end of the floor, as did Tim Duncan (27 points and eight rebounds) and Manu Ginobilli (26 points). And Richard Jefferson was a complete dud as predicted with four points. Four points? WTF? Seriously, what’s going on with RJ? Is he playing like this so some sinister people won’t hurt his family or something? I mean, this guy has been such a disappointment it’s starting to piss me off, not as a Spurs fan, but as a basketball fan. I mean, sh*t, show some damn pride as a professional.

I was right on the point guard matchup as well. Parker got his 18, but the difference for the Mavs was Kidd’s 13 points, 11 assists and 8 rebounds. I’ll say it again: I’m not saying Kidd is “better” than Parker, only, for their respective teams, Kidd will be better in this series.

Anyway, I was wrong on the bench play, but that was because Tony Parker (18 points) came off the bench in favor of George Hill (0 points, as in nada, zilch, Nathaniel). Normally, I’d question that move, but it’s Pop so he gets a pass from me on coach decisions.

Oh, I gotta mention here that the athleticism of Timmy’s dunk in the third quarter was reminiscent of this Nike commercial:

GAME 1 RECAP

San Antonio started off hot in the first quarter with Manu Ginobilli hitting two in a row and assisting Antonio McDyess on another two to put the visitors up 8-3 at the 9:57 mark. But then the home team got it going on a dunk by Caron Butler and Nowitzki hitting back-to-back buckets to go ahead 11-8. The Mavs ended the first up 23-18.

Both teams managed 27 points for the second quarter. Ginobilli racked up nine points in the period and Dirk tallied 11, while Brendan Haywood netted seven of his 10 points for the game in the second. Dallas kept their offense within 18 feet, missing their only three ball of the period. San Antonio ventured for more outside shots with Manu nailing a 25-footer. The Spurs hit 7 of 12 from the field, while the Mavs only hit 6 of 15.

Timmy slammed home the go-ahead basket in the third but Nowitzki iced two free throws and Dallas kept the lead the rest of the way. Pop must have been in a giving mood because the Mavs had 11 points from the free throw line compared to only two for the visitors. Both teams connected on six shots but San Antonio needed 18 attempts versus 11 by Dallas to do so.

The Spurs only hit four sDirk Nowitzkihots in the final 12 minutes. I’m no expert, but you can’t expect to close a deficit or win a game in the NBA when you’re only hitting 4 of 11 shots from the field. San Antonio shot a respectable 50 percent from the field for the game compared to 47 percent FG percentage by Dallas, but the difference maker was free throws. D-Town hit 25 of 34 while SA hit 12 of 14. The Spurs were outrebounded 45-37 and had four fewer assists and two more turnovers than the victors.

If the Spurs want to rebound for the next game, they need to employ a way to stop the German and keep Kidd from facilitating. Someone needs to defibrillate Jefferson on the offensive end and Hill needs to be more aggressive taking it to the cup. Jason Terry was relatively quiet for Game 1, so look for him to step it up in Game 2, especially if the Spurs throw the kitchen sink at Dirk defensively.

Game 2 prediction: Mavs win by 8.