Mavs host Spurs: Game 3 Thoughts

[ddh33]

That was a heck of a ballgame! I want to be elated. I want to scream with joy. Instead, I'm just relieved. I'm thankful that the team didn't squander a game that they had completely controlled for most of the night.

A huge key in this game was the Mavs ability to get to the free-throw line and convert in the fourth quarter. The Mavs defense absolutely could not get a hold of the Spurs in the fourth quarter. It seemed like the Spurs were just scoring at will. Meanwhile, the Mavs were having some trouble getting good looks. But the team continued to fight. They got to the line repeatedly, and they hit a huge number of them. And in the end, the Mavs had to make a couple of stops to get this win. (Actually, they had to make one more stop than needed.) But Dallas finished +17 at the free-throw line, and that was your ballgame.

Had the Mavs not been able to hold on to the game tonight, I think you could have also looked back to the way that Dallas closed out the second and third quarters. On both occasions, Dallas had double digit leads, but the Mavs made some uncharacteristically bad decisions, and they allowed the Spurs to get right back in to the game.

Devin Harris, not coincidentally, wasn't on the floor much during those San Antonio runs. I thought Devin was, once again, a complete stud in tonight's game. Devin controlled the team like a playoff tested veteran. He got into the lane at will on the Spurs and continued to be one of the only players on the floor who could consistently get those easy baskets. Now, Devin did have 4 turnovers tonight, but I didn't think they were the sort of plays that hurt his team too dramatically. It was more of the sort of thing that happens when you are consistently getting into the teeth of a very good defense over and over again. I think you also have to have a great amount of respect for the way that Devin was able to knock down a ton of clutch free throws down the stretch. It was very impressive to see Devin take the ball in his hands over and over again when the team needed a big basket. His 24 points were huge. But I'm just as impressed by his defense. More and more it seems obvious that Devin is the only guy who has a real shot at slowing down Tony Parker. Parker still got his 15 tonight, but I swear, it felt like 13 of them came against Terry. And it was fitting that it was Devin who got his hand on the ball and caused the deflection on the hand off attempt between Horry and Ginobili with 7.9 seconds.

Dirk Nowitzki was also big again in this game. Dirk didn't shoot that well tonight, and he didn't get as many opportunities. As mentioned many times, the Spurs are going to make someone else on the Mavs beat them. But if those other Mavs are going to beat San Antonio, it's only going to happen because of Dirk's presence. The Spurs did make an adjustment to begin the game tonight by putting Robert Horry on Dirk. After Horry got in foul trouble, Oberto took a turn. In the end, it was Bruce Bowen who again got most of the time on Dirk. Now, I did feel like Dallas kept making a lot of bad decisions regarding the pick and roll tonight. The Spurs seemed willing to switch the pick, and Dirk was constantly being matched up against a smaller player. Dirk was content to try to get the ball at the top of the key 20 feet from the bucket. Dallas never really went back to him though. Hube Brown, who was calling the game, kept asking for Dirk to take those smaller players to the block, but I think that's somewhat easier said than done. I think Dirk and the Mavs know that if Dirk goes low, he's going to end up in a position where he's easier to double, and he'll end up running into Duncan down there more often. Whether Dirk goes down there or not, I still think the Mavs need to look to Dirk a little more in those situations. But despite only going 3-9 from the field, Dirk worked his way to an excellent night. He got to the line a career high 24 times, and he converted a career high 21 of those. Like Harris, Dirk also knocked down some huge ones in the fourth quarter. In fact, Dirk knocked down the biggest free throws of the game. Dirk also had, what I believe may be, a signature moment. Finding his team trailing, Dirk drove on Parker on the switch from the pick and roll, created contact with Duncan, drawing Timmy's 6th and final foul, and twisted his ankle pretty severely. You could tell that Dirk was in a lot of pain on the floor, but he was able to suck it up, walk to the line and drill some key free throws. He ended up limping down the floor a couple of possessions before he worked his way to the offensive board on a Stackhouse miss, grabbed a huge rebound, got fouled, and converted what ended up being the game winning points at the free throw line. 27 points and 15 rebounds.

Jason Terry had a better night tonight. I had thought that this might be Terry's breakout game in this series, and it's hard to tell at this point. Jet, like Harris, seemed intent on pushing the ball again early in this game. That got the team off to a good start once again. But I thought one of the big plays of this game was at a point where the Spurs seemed to be about to take control of the game. They had cut the lead to one point in the second half. Dirk gets doubled at the top of the key and spots Terry open on the wing. Jet lines it up and drills it. It ended up being the only three point field goal for the Mavs in the game. But you still feel like you haven't seen the best of Terry yet. It's entirely possible that Jet is simply being overshadowed by the play of Devin Harris, but I keep thinking that Terry is going to have a big game before this series is over.

Josh Howard got a lot more attention from San Antonio is tonight's game. Bowen actually started the game on him, but ended up switching to Dirk for big portions of this game. Josh found himself fighting some foul trouble for most of the game, but he did still make a positive impact on the game. Manu got the better of Josh several times late in the fourth quarter, but I thought Howard still had a pretty decent night - especially when you consider how questionable some of those calls were. I thought one of the big mistakes that Dallas made on offense in the game tonight was not going to Josh Howard more on that end of the floor. I believe that Josh can score on anyone the Spurs throw at him, including Bowen. I especially like Josh in the post against Bowen. Unfortunately, the team never went to that much. Instead, Josh spent way too much time being parked in the corner on offense while the ball went through other people. I wouldn't be surprised to see Dallas make another adjustment to get Josh more involved on offense again in Game Four.

Jerry Stackhouse is putting together a nice run in this series. To be perfectly honest, it did cross my mind during those last moments at the free-throw line that Stack might end up being the "goat" again. The sad thing about that is that Stack has played well. He's fought his tendency to dominate the ball, and he's been a valuable role player. Stack gave the team a huge lift in the first half of tonight's game. He hit several big mid-range jumpers,and he did some damage in the post. In the second half, Stack was much quieter. But he was the recipient of a nice pass from Dirk very late in the fourth quarter that he converted to keep the Mavs in position to win the game.

Marquis Daniels really frustrated me tonight. I look at the stat sheet, and I see that Daniels had 4 efficient points and 3 assists with no turnovers, but it sure didn't feel that way. I thought Daniels killed the offensive flow almost every time he came into the game. He over-dribbled and seemed slow moving the ball. Actually, he seemed to kind of dominate the ball. It seemed like every time Marquis was on the floor, the Spurs were able to make a mini-run to get back into the game. Perhaps it wasn't all his fault, but I just felt him being the object of my frustration during those moments. Truthfully, Terry was also annoying me in those moments though, so...

The Maverick centers struggled more tonight. Duncan has owned Diop and Damp this series, and I think that's actually fairly acceptable. I mean, Timmy is one of the all-time greatest players. All you can really do is contest everything he does, try to make him work as hard as possible to get those points, and clean up the glass. Unfortunately, I thought some of Duncan's looks were too easy. Now, not all of that falls on the centers. There were a lot of possessions where Dallas didn't look like they were sure if they wanted to double or when they wanted to double. At other times, the centers seemed to be trying to front Duncan, but the man on the ball seemed content to give the entry-passers plenty of room and time to get the ball to Tim, and thus leaving the team's defense susceptible. I thought Diop actually ended up being the more effective center again tonight, but he can't seem to keep himself out of foul trouble right now. As long as they keep working and persevering, I think Dallas will be fairly satisfied. The 11 rebounds by the two-headed center monster was more than enough to negate what the Spurs other bigs were able to give them. I still think you need a little better job on Duncan though.

Like I said at the beginning, more than anything, thee is just relief after this game. But there's still a lot to be concerned about. I thought the Spurs were getting into the lane with too much ease in the second half. Their offense was really clicking. The Mavs still don't seem to have an answer for Duncan, and Manu may be starting to play better in his new role off the bench. And that doesn't even begin to consider how Dirk is going to be after rolling that ankle. (Speaking of which, Keith Van Horn, be on alert. You may be needed. Depending on Dirk's ankle, Van Horn might need to be able to pick up just a little of the slack. Obviously, you can't rely on him for too much, but if he can give the team anything, it would be nice to have it right now.)

I don't think this series is over, by any stretch of the imagination. I think Dallas is sitting in a pretty good position though. The Spurs can easily be telling themselves that they should be up 2-1. Dallas, meanwhile, can be telling themselves that they should be up 3-0. In the end, it is what it is. Dallas needs to get two more wins to advance. It starts with taking care of home court on Monday in Game Four. The team has worked too hard to give the Spurs home court right back.

As always, I think there will be some more tweaks and adjustments. But by Game Four, I think you usually are what you are. These teams know each other. They know what each team wants to do. Now, it's just a matter of execution. Dallas needs to keep getting production from all of these players, and they need to keep the clamps down on the Spurs. But I can honestly tell you that there was never a single moment in tonight's game where I didn't think the Mavs were the better team. That's why a loss would have made me sick, and it's why the win is just relief. They just need to keep playing like the better team...

[Drbio]

Good thoughts....


The team that wins game 3 wins the series better than 75% of the time. Mavs will end the spurts run soon and it will be a thing of beauty.

[Thespiralgoeson]

Okay, I don't wanna ride Dirk's case too much, because he was huge tonight, and bagging those free throws after tweaking the ankle was superhuman and all... But still, 3-9 from the field just ain't gonna cut it. Not against the Spurs. I felt we got very lucky tonight.

It wasn't even like Bowen was hounding him all game. I know he seeing lots of double teams and a couple of triple teams, but still, he's being WAY too passive. Too many times tonight I saw him isolated against the likes of Oberto, Finley, Horry, and didn't take the shot. A couple of times he even had Parker or NVE on him and still passed it up. Unacceptable.

[TheBlueVan]

dirk was in a pass-first mode, he's a pro, he'll adjust after breaking down the game. devin was absolutely amazing. diop's main contribution was his shot blocking, other than that i was unimpresseed. however, the centers have made some key contributions throughout the series and also tonight.

[nashtymavsfan13]

Do you think Dirk is just afraid that last year will repeat itself? I donno why he's not shooting, Avery has confidence in him, his teammates do, we do, but has he lost his confidence in himself?!

[Bob Ortegal]

Uhhh he won?

[Stranger]

My only minor complaint about this game is that I would have liked to see Griffin get some time in the fourth on Ginobili, at the expense of the minutes of Stackhouse and Daniels. I know our offense would have slowed down a bit, but we really need to slow down their driving at the end of the game.

[twelli]

Originally Posted by nashtymavsfan13

Do you think Dirk is just afraid that last year will repeat itself? I donno why he's not shooting, Avery has confidence in him, his teammates do, we do, but has he lost his confidence in himself?!

I haven't watched the replay of game yet, but I think Dirk shooting 20+ free throws shows that he WAS shooting. Can you blame him for people fouling him in the process?

[G-Man]

Originally Posted by Bob Ortegal

Uhhh he won?

Hard to tell on here. I think before anyone criticizes our superstay, they need to go look at the last 2 minutes of that game.

At 2:07 he forces a Bown turnover by swatting at a pass to him at the 3 pont line from a slashing Ginobli.
Then he goes hard into Duncan's chest and fouls him out, rolling his ankle.
He sinks 2 free throws.
With 30 seconds left, Dirk draws a triple team, and throws an over the top bullet pass to an open Stack for a layup.
Then he gets an offensive rebound, and after being fouled, hits the game winning free throws.

So maybe he didn't take but a shot in the last 2 minutes. But he did twist his ankle, limp up, and win the friggin' game. And you're gonna rag on him for not shooting more?

[Murphy3]

Originally Posted by Thespiralgoeson

Okay, I don't wanna ride Dirk's case too much, because he was huge tonight, and bagging those free throws after tweaking the ankle was superhuman and all... But still, 3-9 from the field just ain't gonna cut it. Not against the Spurs. I felt we got very lucky tonight.

I'm sorry, but from Dirk's end, 3-9 100% cuts it when you're 21-24 from the line.

You can argue that the Mavs sometimes did a bad job of getting him the ball when he had a mismatch. That's probably true. But from Dirk's end, screw the 3-9. Don't even mention that. That is insignificant because of what he did at the FT line.

[mary]

I'm missing that "morning after glow" I usually get after big Mav wins. Why?

Lets see...allowing 34 points in the fourth quarter, still no answer for Duncan, Dirk's banged up, Pop says they've figured some things out, Ginobli's apparently returning to playoff form, the good guys didn't close out quarters particularly well, 34 points in the fourth....did I say that already??

Don't get me wrong..I'm happy that we won...but I fear a buzz saw in game 4 and I don't like the idea of giving HCA back.

[Murphy3]

I agree that the Mavs struggled defensively entirely too much in the 4th. I thought a big factor was AJ not going back to Diop. I thought Diop was better than Damp yesterday against Duncan, but AJ stuck with Damp late in the game.

But yeah, there are definite worries. But here's a good thing. With every mismatch the Spurs have, the Mavs have just as many if not more. I'd still rather see the Mavs play better defensively than they did in the 4th.

[Usually Lurkin]

I thought for a second that Dirk was being too passive (pass first), too. But then by the third dribble and dish, I thought, "wow. that guy's really good." After he fouled out Duncan, and also had Bowen and Oberto in foul trouble, I thought, "good grief, Dirk would make a pretty good overlord."

I thought the play that summed up Dirk's game was a possession or two after the ankle twist, when he got the ball on the mismatch, drove at the basket, and passed to Stack through a triple team for a short layup.

The Mavs defense, too, was much better in the last minute or two than it looked. Josh got beat a couple times one-on-one with Manu. But if they hadn't called that clean block by Josh a foul, Josh would've come out fair. The coverage on the inbounds that forced a SA timeout was beautiful (Thanks, Stackhouse). And, of course, Harris's quick hands led to a sad-face by Manu that I will not forget for a long time.

I absolutely loved to see everyone taking it to the hole. Dirk at Duncan a couple times. Harris and Josh beating both Duncan and Bowen a couple times. Greatest defenders in the NBA, my butt. Dallas crushes them.

[aexchange]

couple of quick thoughts.

when parker isn't on the floor, harris should be the primary defensive option on ginobili. howard is just awful. additionally, i thought the mavs did a really poor job on the offensive end recognizing the mismatch. dirk has to get closer to the basket and terry or harris have to do a better job of getting him the ball when the spurs just switch the pick and roll.

game 4 should be really interesting to see what kinds of adjustments AJ and Pop make.

[Usually Lurkin]

Originally Posted by aexchange

dirk has to get closer to the basket

not necessarily. Duncan isn't going to follow anyone very far from under the basket, and Dirk posting against a double team won't be as good as Dirk driving against a double team. If the mavs give Dirk more space after the switch, then get him the ball at the top of the key, then he has more triple threat room. That's what they did in the last reg. season game against the Spurs. With Dirk isolated at the top of the key and the 4 other mavs spread out, the double teams were slower to get there, and the offense had much more room.

[dude1394]

Originally Posted by aexchange

couple of quick thoughts.

when parker isn't on the floor, harris should be the primary defensive option on ginobili. howard is just awful. additionally, i thought the mavs did a really poor job on the offensive end recognizing the mismatch. dirk has to get closer to the basket and terry or harris have to do a better job of getting him the ball when the spurs just switch the pick and roll.

game 4 should be really interesting to see what kinds of adjustments AJ and Pop make.

It looked to me like howard's head got pretty messed up out there. AJ's going to tear him a new on in film sessions I imagine. Also when he got that phantom foul on him, he just couldn't let it go. His immaturity kicked in it seemed.

There is no doubt that devins quicker than josh, but those last few possessions were really,really tough to have a shotblocker out there. Whoever his man was would have been toing the 3pt line.

[DubOverdose]

Mavs gotta win game 4 or else all they've done is meaningless. I don't want to see this series tied again. We've already had 2 games that ended within one possession. San Antonio has been in tough series before...so I don't want to test their veteran ability to have the ball bounce their way. Time for the Mavs to step down real hard on the throat of San Antonio.

[kriD]

Aches & gains: Injured Dirk lifts Mavs

Dirk's free throws, Ginobili's gaffe give Mavs series lead

By EDDIE SEFKO / The Dallas Morning News

Some day, when we're all older and grayer, this will be remembered as the night Dirk Nowitzki had his right leg amputated, came off the operating table and on one leg willed the Mavericks to a win that just might carry them someplace very special.

Nowitzki limped through the final moments of a spellbinding NBA playoff game, yet delivered four free throws and the assist on the Mavericks' only basket of their final nine possessions, as they outlasted the San Antonio Spurs, 104-103, on Saturday night at American Airlines Center.

This isn't a best-of-3 series. But both teams played like it. The Mavericks took a 2-1 lead in the best-of-7 match, and they appeared to absorb a monster effort by the Spurs, who simply hit 10 consecutive field goal attempts until they ended the game with a fateful turnover and a desperation miss.

Nowitzki had hit the deck hard with 1:05 remaining, clutching his right ankle. The Mavericks were down 99-98 and called a timeout to give Nowitzki time to gather himself.

He had stepped on Tim Duncan's foot on a drive to the bucket, on which Duncan was called for his sixth personal foul.

And yet, the rest of the way, it was Nowitzki's show.

"He's a warrior," Avery Johnson said. "He came back in there and gutted it out. He knew we had to have this game."

After the timeout, a badly limping Nowitzki, who had 27 points and 15 rebounds, hit both free throws.

While Manu Ginobili was scoring on consecutive possessions, Nowitzki found Jerry Stackhouse for a layup in between. Still, the Mavericks were down, 103-102, with 21.4 seconds showing.

Stackhouse went for the kill but missed a jumper. Nowitzki rebounded and was fouled with 7.9 seconds left. He made both free throws.

After a timeout, the Spurs lost control of the inbounds pass, and Ginobili was out of bounds with 2.5 seconds left. Even though Stackhouse missed the rim when he was trying to intentionally miss his second free throw with two seconds left, the Spurs only got a no-hope look at the end.

Duncan, who finished with 35 points and 12 rebounds, said the critical play was something that could have been avoided.

"He didn't fall into me," Duncan said. "I didn't touch him. There was zero contact."

Still, the Mavericks survived because their superstar was on the court at the end, albeit in gimpy fashion. There was no word on how serious the injury would be.

"That's our all-star and our MVP," said Josh Howard. "He'll do whatever it takes for us to win. He got knocked down and shaken up, and he got back up to help us."

Meanwhile, the Mavericks defense that is new and improved morphed into old and bad mode at the worst possible time.

The Spurs made their last 10 field goal attempts. And yet, the Mavericks did enough to hold them off.

"I don't think anybody had control in the last two minutes," Howard said.

[kriD]

What do Spurs do now?

Strategy changes after blowout yield same end result - but even worse

[By David Moore / The Dallas Morning News]

This one hurts more than the 22-point loss at home.

This could be the loss that ends San Antonio's championship defense.

It's normally a huge mistake to attach too much significance to the outcome of the third game of a series. But then, the Spurs normally don't find themselves down 2-1.

The Spurs normally don't have as many questions to answer as they do now.

Saturday's one-point loss to the Mavericks is an ominous sign for those who wear or bleed silver and black. Championship teams don't lose Game 3 on the road when they have a chance to steal back the home-court advantage they lost. Championship teams don't allow the challenger to build confidence and momentum, which is what the Mavericks have.

Dirk Nowitzki said it. Keeping the pressure on San Antonio heading into Game 4 is big. The Spurs must win Monday night or risk elimination when the series returns to South Texas.

"We're normally in a position where we're up after three games," Spurs forward Tim Duncan said. "We have to come out and know the importance of the next game.

"It is a must-win for us. We've got to find a way to get it done, take it back to San Antonio and regain our home court."

There are other concerns for San Antonio.

The Spurs were just 3-of-10 on 3-pointers Saturday. They are 10-of-36 for the series for an offense- numbing 27.8 percent.

Duncan, Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker combined for 74 points in Game 3. That means the rest of the roster scraped together just 29. Ginobili had 24 points Saturday, making him the only San Antonio player other than Duncan to score more than 20 points in this series.

If the Spurs don't have someone else step up the way Josh Howard, Devin Harris and Jerry Stackhouse have done for the Mavericks, they are going to come up short.

The Spurs were back on their heels after the Game 2 loss. An adjustment or two – or three – by coach Gregg Popovich was inevitable.

Defensive specialist Bruce Bowen was moved from Nowitzki to Howard. That left Robert Horry to switch onto Nowitzki. The Spurs brought Ginobili off the bench and started Brent Barry, a player they tried to trade in February. Fabricio Oberto was the first player off the bench to put some muscle on Nowitzki.

The result? Howard was slowed. But Nowitzki had his best game of the series, scoring 27 points on just nine shots. The Spurs still have not figured out a way to slow Harris.

"Some good and some bad, just like any other game," Popovich said of the adjustments. "It was give and take. We'll have to switch around a little bit next game, depending on what is going on."

The 113-91 loss to the Mavericks in Game 2 – the largest home playoff loss in the Popovich era – was a stunner. San Antonio was much more competitive Saturday, making 10 consecutive shots before Horry missed a desperation 19-footer at the buzzer.

"It's the first team to four," Duncan said. "The closer you are to that number, the harder it gets."

The Mavericks are about to find out if that's true. They're closer.

"We talked a lot about it," Nowitzki said. "Last year, we stole Game 2 in Phoenix and came back here and gave it right back.

"We know they'll keep coming. They're the champs."

San Antonio will keep coming.

The question is for how much longer.

[kriD]

Notebook: Duncan: No contact on late Dirk drive

From Staff Reports [/ The Dallas Morning News]

Duncan: No contact on late Dirk drive

An admittedly frustrated Tim Duncan disputed the call that gave him his sixth foul.

With just over a minute to play and San Antonio leading, 99-98, Dirk Nowitzki drove the lane, apparently became entangled with Duncan and fell holding his right ankle. Duncan was whistled for the foul and watched the remainder of the game from the bench. Nowitzki hit both free throws to give the Mavericks the lead.

"He didn't fall into me," Duncan said. "He didn't touch me, I didn't touch him. He tried to draw contact, I moved out of his way. If he stepped on my foot, he stepped on my foot. There was zero contact."

Chuck Carlton

Cuban: Great win; more work remains

Mavericks owner Mark Cuban only wanted to talk about his team's performance after the Game 3 win. While he was jubilant, he was careful not to put too much emphasis on one victory.

"We haven't won anything yet," Cuban said when asked to compare it to past playoff victories under his ownership. "It's a great win, but it's not like we played really, really well."

Cuban credited the Spurs for making several adjustments, especially their use of a small lineup. "It was a helluva game," Cuban said. "We never should have let them back in, but we made a couple mistakes at the end."

Chuck Carlton

Stackhouse doesn't practice missing

Jerry Stackhouse had a reason for his wayward attempt to miss a free throw with two seconds remaining – a lack of practice.

After failing to convert the first free throw with two seconds left and the Mavericks leading, 104-103, Stackhouse was told by the Mavericks bench to intentionally miss the second. His attempt glanced high off the backboard without hitting the rim, a violation that gave the Spurs possession.

"In however many years of basketball I've played, I don't think I've ever been told to miss one before," said Stackhouse, a career 81.8 percent free throw shooter. "I guess next time I'll just try to throw it on the rim a little bit."

Chuck Carlton

High price of entertainment

The Mavericks showed a video in the first half of Saturday's game called the Manu Flop.

The clip, set to the tune of Monster Mash, showed Spurs guard Manu Ginobili in various stages of flopping with the incredulous response of the Mavericks and others. The crowd roared its approval.

The NBA office won't find it as amusing.

The clip is sure to draw a fine from the league, because it focuses on an opposing player and how he performs on the court. It won't be the first time the club is fined for a humorous video in the playoffs. Remember the clip two years ago with then-Sacramento guard Doug Christie in a dog collar being led around by his wife?

David Moore

Van Horn eyes Monday ... or maybe Wednesday

Keith Van Horn is facing "another big day" at practice today. Van Horn made it through his first full practice Friday and will try to go through another one today.

"It's sore," Van Horn said. "But it's not like anything that's shocking. I could use some practice time to get rid of the hesitancy and get back into a rhythm. I think I can accomplish that in the next few days."

Van Horn said it's still painful to catch the ball with his right hand, which was surgically repaired last month.

Medically, Van Horn has been cleared, Avery Johnson said.

Eddie Sefko

Popovich not worried about inside information

Despite five years in the Air Force, San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich isn't worried about leaks.

He brushed aside questions that Mavs coach Avery Johnson might have an advantage because of his knowledge of the San Antonio system. Yes, the San Antonio offense is at least 50 percent intact from the one Johnson ran, Popovich said; the defense even more so. Then he added a qualifier.

"This isn't about tricks," Popovich said. "This is about basketball."

Chuck Carlton

Griffin benched, doesn't play

After Mavericks guard Adrian Griffin was benched in Game 2 for Devin Harris, his minutes have been almost nil. He played 19 minutes in Game 1 but only four minutes in Game 2. Between Games 2 and 3, Avery Johnson said Griffin, the Mavericks' defensive specialist, would see some playing time.

In Game 3, Griffin didn't play.

Calvin Watkins

Briefly ...

The winner of Game 3 in a best-of-7 series deadlocked 1-1 has gone on to win the series 75.5 percent of the time. ... The Mavericks improved to 3-0 at home in the playoffs. They have an overall playoff mark of 15-12 at American Airlines Center. ... The Spurs fell to 4-1 in the postseason when scoring 100 points or more.

[kriD]

PLAYOFF NOTES

Dirk finds a way to get his points

By JEFF CAPLAN
Star-Telegram Staff Writer

DALLAS - Finishing with one of the more improbable double-doubles of his career, Dirk Nowitzki set Mavs' franchise playoff records with 24 free-throw attempts and 21 made.

Nowitzki finished with a team-high 27 points and 15 rebounds, despite being just 3-of-9 from the field, including one field goal in the second half. The 7-footer took his game to the paint, driving hard and taking a licking, but he kept on ticking -- one free throw at a time.

He hit 9-of-10 in the fourth quarter, including four mammoth ones in the final 1:05. The first two came shortly after a scary moment.

Nowitzki drove the lane and as he went up, he stepped on Tim Duncan's foot and twisted his right ankle. As he crashed to the floor, grabbing for the ankle, it brought back cringing memories of Game 3 in the 2003 Western Conference finals. That knee injury kept Nowitzki out the rest of the series, which the Spurs won in six games.

In obvious pain, Nowitzki stayed down for a minute and then limped to the bench for a timeout. He came right back out and drained the free throws for a 100-99 Mavs lead.

Duncan, who fouled out on the play, said he didn't believe a foul should have been called.

"He didn't fall into me. He didn't touch me. I didn't touch him," Duncan said. "I moved out of his way. If he stepped on my foot, he stepped on my foot, but there was zero contact."

Nowitzki's hard charges into the lane in the second half drew fouls Nos. 3-6 on Duncan, fouling out the Spurs' leading scorer and taking him out of the game for the final 1:05.

"He was putting pressure on them and getting in the paint, making them foul," the Mavs' Jerry Stackhouse said. "Twenty points is 20 points any way you can get it."

Nowitzki said the ankle "stiffened up pretty good" but that he expects to be ready for Game 4 on Monday.

"For me to miss a playoff game, it's got to be pretty bad," Nowitzki said.

Poor finishes

The Mavs allowed double-digit leads to evaporate in the final minutes of the second and third quarters, lapses Josh Howard said he's sure coach Avery Johnson won't overlook.

"That might be an important part of practice [today]," Howard said. "We did have them down by 10 a couple of times and we're supposed to put the clamps on them and we didn't do it."

Stackhouse miss

With 2 seconds left in the game, Jerry Stackhouse went to the free-throw line with a chance to give the Mavs a three-point lead. But he missed the first attempt and then Avery Johnson told him to miss the second on purpose with the hopes of running out the clock.

Except Stackhouse didn't hit the rim on the second shot, a rule violation, giving the Spurs the ball back and a chance to go for the win.

"I tried to hit the back rim and wound up not hitting anything except the backboard so that was a bad play," Stackhouse said. "I should have made the first free throw so I could have tried to make the second one and give us a three-point separation.

"I just overshot it."

Van Horn update

The Mavs' Keith Van Horn (right hand) wasn't ready to play in Game 3, but he's still optimistic about playing in Game 4 or 5.

"It's sore, but it's not anything that's shocking," Van Horn said. "The key is just to use some practice time to get rid of the hesitancy, get back into rhythm.

"I need more time than [just one practice] to play in a game such as this."

Avery Johnson said Van Horn "needs another practice or two" and that the Mavs will evaluate him after today's practice.

Speaking of injuries

Asked again how he thinks the three days off between Games 2 and 3 would affect banged-up Spurs guards Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili, Avery Johnson had heard enough.

"Everybody wants to talk about the injuries of the other team. It makes me laugh like I'm watching Comedy Network," Johnson ranted. "It's funny when people talk about the injuries that teams have had during the regular season or how banged-up teams are during the playoffs.

"Man, we've been as injured as anybody this year. Keith Van Horn was our seventh man this year, and he hasn't played even half of the season. So, we've had to battle through a lot of injuries ourselves."

Briefly

The Mavs' Darrell Armstrong bruised his left knee in a collision with Manu Ginobili at midcourt with 4.3 seconds left in the third quarter. He experienced swelling and the knee was wrapped after the game, but Armstrong said he was OK.

Game 6 ticket on-sale scenarios: If the Mavs lose Game 4, tickets for Game 6 would go on sale at 10 a.m. Tuesday. If the Mavs win Game 4 but lose Game 5, tickets for Game 6 would go on sale at 10 a.m. Thursday.

Staff writers Dwain Price and Mercedes Mayer contributed to this report.

[dude1394]

The mavs opened a can of whoopass on those 'essa'Boys.

[Five-ofan]

The biggest problem i had with the game is that ALOT of times after they got the switch and had parker on dirk the team would go away from him. That is unacceptable. BTW i have always been a quis fan but he has to have the lowest bball iq of all time.

[mary]

Originally Posted by Five-ofan

The biggest problem i had with the game is that ALOT of times after they got the switch and had parker on dirk the team would go away from him. That is unacceptable. BTW i have always been a quis fan but he has to have the lowest bball iq of all time.

Stevie Franchise?

[dude1394]

Originally Posted by Five-ofan

The biggest problem i had with the game is that ALOT of times after they got the switch and had parker on dirk the team would go away from him. That is unacceptable. BTW i have always been a quis fan but he has to have the lowest bball iq of all time.

Now I know marquis is having a tough time out there but that's pretty harsh. As mary says later Stevie Franchise? Heck I'm not sure Armstrong really has much more to be honest.

[Five-ofan]

of all time is probably a bit harsh but he is up or down there depending on how you look at it.

[dude1394]

Every year it seems another team takes the mantle of cryingest fans.

First award was giving to sacremento after they got jobbed by the lakers. That next year they were so woebegone as everyone was agin' 'em.

Then last year the rockettes got it. Oh the woe is me, cubes buying officials, please just let Yao Ming continue to set moving picks because he's yao.

Now its the sk*rts. And I must say, they are really, really, really good at it. In fact their whole team is good at it, the only one who isn't is popovich. It is kind of sad to see two texas teams be such wussies. But they do have some pretty serious inferiority issues when it comes to dallas.

[alexamenos]

Originally Posted by mary

Don't get me wrong..I'm happy that we won...but I fear a buzz saw in game 4 and I don't like the idea of giving HCA back.

I agreed with this wholeheartedly last night, but as I think things over this morning...

Duncan pulls down 35 and 12
Manu puts up 24

Nowitzki goes 3-9 from the floor while being guarded by Horry, Fabricio, Finley, et al
Howard gets into foul trouble and scores only 12
Dallas's defense craters down the stretch (save the last 7.9 seconds)
Stackhouse bumbles his way through the last 2.5 seconds

and the Mavs win....it's not gonna get much better for the Spurs and it's not going to get much worse for the Mavs. I still fear the buzz saw as well, but whatever happens in game 4, the Mavs are going to be right there until the (hopefully not too) bitter end.

Cheers

[bernardos70]

Originally Posted by mary

Stevie Franchise?

I think if you have an IQ of 0, that's the same as saying you have no IQ. Thus, Steve Francis cannot have the lowest BB IQ in the NBA........ because he doesn't even have one.

[Thespiralgoeson]

Originally Posted by Murphy3

I'm sorry, but from Dirk's end, 3-9 100% cuts it when you're 21-24 from the line.

You can argue that the Mavs sometimes did a bad job of getting him the ball when he had a mismatch. That's probably true. But from Dirk's end, screw the 3-9. Don't even mention that. That is insignificant because of what he did at the FT line.

Bullsh*t. I saw him too many times with the ball in his hands being guarded by Parker or Oberto or some other scrub that doesn't have a chance in hell of stopping him, and instead of shooting he passes it to Stackhouse.

If it "100%" cuts it then it never would've come down to the last possession. 3 made shots AIN'T F*CKIN GOOD ENOUGH.

[dude1394]

Originally Posted by Thespiralgoeson

Bullshit. I saw him too many times with the ball in his hands being guarded by Parker or Oberto or some other scrub that doesn't have a chance in hell of stopping him, and instead of shooting he passes it to Stackhouse.

If it "100%" cuts it then it never would've come down to the last possession. 3 made shots AIN'T F*CKING GOOD ENOUGH.

I agree with you spiral to a point. However I do think it was as much a team/aj issue as it was dirk. It's not like dirk wasn't agressive and he sure as heck took it to the rack every chance he got.

Now in the final analysis some more jumpers instead of drives might have been prudent as dirk may not have gotten hurt, but you can't say he sat outside and shot jumpers all day, not in the least.

[Thespiralgoeson]

Oh no, dude, quite the opposite. When I say he wasn't shooting enough, I mean he literally wasn't shooting enough. Honestly, I'd rather him sit outside and shoot jumpers all day than just charge to the lane and hope he gets fouled. I'm all for him getting to the line, but when he's out there being guarded by the likes of Parker, Van Exel, or Finley, he needs to take some friggin jump shots.

[NewMexiMav]

Originally Posted by Thespiralgoeson

Oh no, dude, quite the opposite. When I say he wasn't shooting enough, I mean he literally wasn't shooting enough. Honestly, I'd rather him sit outside and shoot jumpers all day than just charge to the lane and hope he gets fouled. I'm all for him getting to the line, but when he's out there being guarded by the likes of Parker, Van Exel, or Finley, he needs to take some friggin jump shots.

Yeah, but it wasn't as if Dirk was driving to the hoop just "hoping" for a foul call, he was getting the foul calls all night! When you've got a 90% foul shooter, don't you want him at the line? Sure, I scratched my head a few times in frustration when Dirk passed the ball while covered by Fin/Oberto/Parker, but you can't argue with the results. If the refs are going to keep blowing the whistle, then keep taking it to the hole. All those trips to the line were the equivalent of Dirk hitting 10 of 12 jump shots.

[NewMexiMav]

Originally Posted by mary

I'm missing that "morning after glow" I usually get after big Mav wins. Why?

Lets see...allowing 34 points in the fourth quarter, still no answer for Duncan, Dirk's banged up, Pop says they've figured some things out, Ginobli's apparently returning to playoff form, the good guys didn't close out quarters particularly well, 34 points in the fourth....did I say that already??

Don't get me wrong..I'm happy that we won...but I fear a buzz saw in game 4 and I don't like the idea of giving HCA back.

Sure there were ominous signs from Game 3, but considering we now have a head coach who strategizes and tweaks and hunkers down with game film between games instead of heading to the local watering hole for a beer or four, I feel pretty good about our response for Game 4. The thing I take away from this game is that the Spurs pretty much threw a perfect 4th quarter at us, and we still won. And like AJ said, this was far from our best game. Just like you don't have that "morning after glow", neither does Avery or the team. That gives Avery the ability to treat this game like a loss, even though we won it. Kind of like Game 3 in Memphis. Now, as long as Dirk isn't too hobbled, I think we will be laser-beam focused for Game 4.

[Murphy3]

Originally Posted by Thespiralgoeson

Bullsh*t. I saw him too many times with the ball in his hands being guarded by Parker or Oberto or some other scrub that doesn't have a chance in hell of stopping him, and instead of shooting he passes it to Stackhouse.

If it "100%" cuts it then it never would've come down to the last possession. 3 made shots AIN'T F*CKIN GOOD ENOUGH.

When you're 21 of 24 from the line and the team wins, apparently it is enough. The game did not come down to the last possession because of the Mavs offense. It came down to the last possession because the Mavs couldn't get stops in the 4th quarter. The offense put up more than 100 points on the board against a damn good defense.

Yes, there were some occasions where the Mavs didn't get Dirk the ball when he had mismatches, but that wasn't the story for most of the game. And let's not forget that Dirk continusously attacked the rim. I suppose you'd rather him shoot the jumper than get to the line from drawing a foul. That just doesn't make much sense.

[Murphy3]

Originally Posted by Thespiralgoeson

Oh no, dude, quite the opposite. When I say he wasn't shooting enough, I mean he literally wasn't shooting enough. Honestly, I'd rather him sit outside and shoot jumpers all day than just charge to the lane and hope he gets fouled. I'm all for him getting to the line, but when he's out there being guarded by the likes of Parker, Van Exel, or Finley, he needs to take some friggin jump shots.

Dirk got to the line. I'm sorry, but attacking the rim last night was more effective than anything else he could have done. He was extremely efficient. About the only thing you could ask for out of Dirk offensively was just a few more touches. But to want him to not attack the rim when he's getting to the line in lieu of shooting jumpers is nothing short of idiotic. If Dirk wasn't getting to the line, that 'could' be a different story. But obviously he was.

[Day1MavsFan]

Did you guys even watch the game??? Spiral is exactly right.

To wit, Bowen goes out with three fouls and there's 5 minutes and change left in the half. During that stretch, not one play was run for Dirk. Not ONE!!! (He got a couple of points on offensive rebounds.)

Now some of this might be coaching, but Dirk is the guy on the floor. He's got to demand the ball. He is absolutely playing too passive.

And Hubie Brown is absolutely right. Who are you to argue with him? Dirk needs to set up shop in the post when they play those smaller guys on him. Think about it! He's giving up the ball when Parker or Finley is guarding him!! He needs to be of the mindset that it's okay to get double-teamed. That opens up easy shots for teammates. Besides, the double-team doesn't always get there in time. The few times he did get in the post, points resulted every time.

Another thing he's not doing is rolling to the basket on pick&rolls. He goes to the three-point line, negating any advantage of getting the switch.

[dude1394]

Originally Posted by Day1MavsFan

Did you guys even watch the game??? Spiral is exactly right.

To wit, Bowen goes out with three fouls and there's 5 minutes and change left in the half. During that stretch, not one play was run for Dirk. Not ONE!!! (He got a couple of points on offensive rebounds.)

Now some of this might be coaching, but Dirk is the guy on the floor. He's got to demand the ball. He is absolutely playing too passive.

And Hubie Brown is absolutely right. Who are you to argue with him? Dirk needs to set up shop in the post when they play those smaller guys on him. Think about it! He's giving up the ball when Parker or Finley is guarding him!! He needs to be of the mindset that it's okay to get double-teamed. That opens up easy shots for teammates. Besides, the double-team doesn't always get there in time. The few times he did get in the post, points resulted every time.

Another thing he's not doing is rolling to the basket on pick&rolls. He goes to the three-point line, negating any advantage of getting the switch.

Dirk did NOT play passive last night...He did NOT. If you want to question AJ's play calling fine, but getting to the line 22 times or whatever is not playing passively.

And YES I watched the game. doh.

[Murphy3]

How is he negating the advantage on the pick and roll by going to the three point line? So, he gets the ball with a smaller man on him and then attacked the bucket? How's that negating the advantage? That's what the Mavs want.

I seriously question the intelligence of some of you. There have been alot of questionable posts on this site since the game ended last night. Day1, mark one down for you.

[dude1394]

Time for the mavs to do this!!