GDT: Game 3, Spurs @ Mavs 4/23 7:30 CST

[mary]

VS.





Enough said.

[Flacolaco]

Oh damn. I forgot that it's this close already.

Time to get your game face on............bitches.

[LonghornDub]

The Mavs are going to take the Spurs, beat them to a bloody pulp, and then obscenely violate that bloody pulp.

Mavs 217, Spurs 5 (all by George Hill in garbage time)

[Mavsfan4ever]

I feel good for the Mavs chance I was playing poker tonight and my this was my friends hand. Two pair, Aces with 9's 4 kicker we both went all in and I was riding it all for a 9 on the river ended up with this a full house 9's full of threes. Once I won that final hand I was like yes now I know the Mavs will win tomorrow.

[Flacolaco]

My honest prediction of this one:

Mavs 101: Spurs 96

FT battle the last 1.5 minutes.....JET puts it away squarely before then. The Mavericks ride the good vibes of being at the AAC.

[Mavsfan4ever]

I hope JET is back to his old self and comes alive in the fourth to carry us to victory.

[mary]

Spurs-Mavericks Preview


DALLAS (AP) -- After chatting with league officials, Mavericks center Erick Dampier is toning down his plans to thwart San Antonio's Tony Parker.

The big guy is still going to get physical with the speedy point guard in Game 3, but he's no long guaranteeing that "my first foul Thursday night is going to put him on his back.""I probably shouldn't have said it like that," Dampier said Wednesday. "Maybe the way it came out, it sounded bad. ... I'm just going to go out there and play the way I've been playing."Dampier vowed to pop Parker on Monday night, after he turned Game 2 of this first-round series into a personal layup drill. Parker scored 38 points in 33 minutes, leading San Antonio to a 105-84 victory that tied the series at one game apiece.The quote appeared in Tuesday's editions of The Dallas Morning News. Once it reached the league office, a "review" began, which essentially meant Dampier having to explain himself. He did so again Wednesday with reporters.

"It's just the game of basketball," he said. "It wasn't said intentionally to go out and hurt anyone. I mean, fouls happen in the game of basketball. It's just that we want to shut down the paint and not give up any easy layups."No punishment was announced by the league. However, there will be repercussions in the form of more scrutiny from the refs."Probably magnified 100,000 times," Dampier said, laughing. "I'm just waiting to see how it's going to happen. But, like I said, I'm not going to go out there and do anything stupid. I just want to go out there and play the best I can."Mavericks players and coaches stood up for Dampier, essentially calling his threat a heat of the moment, slip of the tongue. They also agreed with his message."We can't just give up layup after layup, and Parker is one of the best at scoring in the paint," Dallas point guard Jason Kidd said. "We just have to be a little more physical -- not in the sense of hurting anybody, but protecting the paint. I think that's what Damp was trying to say."Dampier and coach Rick Carlisle both noted that the burly center has only two flagrant fouls over five seasons in Dallas, which hardly brands him as a dirty player.

"They've got one -- we don't," Mavs star Dirk Nowitzki said, clearly referring to Bruce Bowen, the Spurs' defensive ace who has long been a thorn to Dallas players.Parker pretty much brushed off Dampier's threat."I can't focus on that," he said. "It's San Antonio and Dallas. We know they're going to come back strong. They're going to play very physical. They have a lot of character in that team, and just like we reacted in Game 2, they're going to react as well. ... I'll be ready."Parker scored 24 points in the opener, but made only two field goals in the second half. He scored as many points in the first quarter of Game 2 as the Mavericks did, then in the second quarter absorbed a flagrant foul from Jason Terry. The league said Terry would not be penalized any further."For me, the main thing is to make sure that we do stuff that made us win Game 2," Parker said. "That's my main focus, for me to be aggressive and make sure I help my team win."

Spurs coach Gregg Popovich dismissed the whole Dampier-Parker drama."I don't pay attention, honestly, to anybody's comments. Not even my family's comments or my friends'. All that matters is what the teams do on the court," Popovich said. "Comments are just that, they're absolutely meaningless. So it doesn't affect anything."But what if the 6-foot-11, 265-pound Dampier gets rough with the 6-2, 180-pound Parker?"He's a tough kid," Popovich said.

While this series lacks the gravitas of the Spurs-Mavs second-round feud in 2006, it's off to a juicy start.San Antonio made 11 3-pointers and held Nowitzki and Terry well below their averages in Game 1, but Dallas won thanks to great play from other members of the supporting cast. Parker's dominance was the story line in Game 2, and now Dampier's line is helping build buzz for Game 3."It kind of fires me up," said Spurs reserve Drew Gooden, a newcomer to this Interstate 35 rivalry. "If somebody has that much courage to put themselves on the line, so be it. But I don't think anybody on our team has been the ones to talk. I think we can show better than we can tell. It will be interesting to see what happens. I think Tony is going to stay aggressive, so we'll see how Dallas handles that."The Mavericks have some good trends in their favor, like a 15-1 record at home since the All-Star break and going 6-1 in games following losses by at least 20 points.

Then there's the Nowitzki factor. He scored at least 20 points in the final 25 games of the regular season, but San Antonio has limited him to 19 and 14 over the first two games. He's 0-for-6 on 3-point tries.Is he due to break out? Or have the Spurs figured out a way to stifle him?"For a 7-footer who is not athletic, it's pretty hard to beat a double team, especially against smaller guys," Nowitzki said. "I just have to take what's there. I think I had some good shots in the second half. Obviously I forced a couple of 3s when we were down 20, but I think I'm going to have a few opportunities. If I have them, I have to make sure I make the best out of them."

http://espn.go.com/nba/preview?gameId=290423006

[Mavsfan4ever]

I'm worried the officials will call a foul any time a Mavs player gets near Parker.

[fluid.forty.one]

mavs win

[BGMaverick9]

Thank goodness it's finally game time...that's the thing I hate about the playoffs: "let's drag this stuff out about as long as we humanly can."

I still feel good about our chances, and I think it'll be good home cooking for our Mavs.

Finally, it's time to play again!

[TheMaverick]

Dallas should come out with tons of energy tonight and blow them out.

[Mavsfan4ever]

Let's show em how it is done in Dallas.

[ghazi]

We must protect the house.

This is a must win.

Call me a negative nancy but I wouldn't feel comfortable having to win another game in San Antonio

Let's just win the home games fellas

[Dirkadirkastan]

Jet and Dirk with 20+ each tonight.

[esoteric562]

Dirk = Spurs worst nightmare. A WIN.

[peppersquad]

It's time for Man Dirk the J Launcher to reign over this.

[left texas]

Let's go Mavs!!!!!!

[Zaknaf3in]

Its 19:24 now here - so when will this game start?
Now that I'm down under, I'm pretty challenged timewise.

[u2sarajevo]

Originally Posted by Zaknaf3in

Its 19:24 now here - so when will this game start?
Now that I'm down under, I'm pretty challenged timewise.

10:30 your time I believe

[Bayliss]

If Dirk doesn't score, the Mavs are not going to win the series. Carlisle better do something to get Dirk some looks.

Not sure if he has put in a gameplan on doing that. After game 1, he still put it in Barea's hands more than Dirk's. And I think we'll see even more Barea tonight.

[Lor20]

^^ what he said
you are 15 hours ahead of central time so 7:30 equals 10:30 for you.

Mavs (esp Dirk and Jet) find a rythm and go off for 29 and 23 tonight - mavs win by 13 102-89

[Underdog]

[jthig32]

[Dirkgreatness]

I hope Dirk steps up his game today. He was mediocre in the first game and absolutely useless in the second game. Come on Dirk!

Go Mavs!

[Flacolaco]

Originally Posted by Mavsfan4ever

I'm worried the officials will call a foul any time a Mavs player gets near Parker.

I am very concerned about this as well.

[mary]

Yeah, but Parker will be so psychologically damaged by Dampier's threat, that he'll just hang out at half-court the entire game.

Didn't you read the thread?

[Dirkgreatness]

I wanna see this Dirk!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0v4_rzwk52A

And yes i know this was 06 and he was younger but still.

[Lor20]

even if dirk had scored 30 we would have lost game 2 - the whole team needs to step up. especially dirk, josh, terry and kidd (in that order - kidd is only last in order because he was sick in the last games)

[DevinHarriswillstart]

Let us blow them out this time.

[suns]

Good luck tonight. I hope you win. They had better watch Bowin close. He seems to be able to hurt people and make it look like an accident. I thought sure he had already started that crap the last game when Dirk got tangled up with hiim and Dirk came up limping and jammed his thumb. Anyway GO MAVS!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[nikeball]

mary wins

[MavsFanFinley]

I don't see the Spurs changing their game plan yet so Carlisle better have found a way to get Dirk and Terry going.

*edit*

I just noticed that Joey Crawford is reffing the game tonight. The Mavs have nothing to worry about now.

[Flacolaco]

Originally Posted by mary

Yeah, but Parker will be so psychologically damaged by Dampier's threat, that he'll just hang out at half-court the entire game.

Didn't you read the thread?

I can feel your anger. It makes you stronger. Gives you focus.

[LonghornDub]

Originally Posted by mary

Yeah, but Parker will be so psychologically damaged by Dampier's threat, that he'll just hang out at half-court the entire game.

Didn't you read the thread?

I don't think anyone said that. I was one of the small handful who wasn't at all bothered by Dampier's comments, and I certainly said nothing of that sort.

Originally Posted by Flacolaco

I am very concerned about this as well.

I really wouldn't worry. There may be a small chance that the refs are more likely to call a flagrant on any given hard foul, but I don't think anything players say before the game is going to make a difference about how many fouls are called in general.

I guess we'll see, but I think it's all just unnecessary anxiety at this point.

[12 Tone Melodies]

http://www.nba.com/news/referee.html
Referee Assignments
Apr 23, 2009
San Antonio @ Dallas--J. Crawford; D. Collins; E. Rush

[mary]

I don't think anyone said that. I was one of the small handful who wasn't at all bothered by Dampier's comments, and I certainly said nothing of that sort.

I, quite obviously, was exaggerating.

Some suggested that it was a "warning" or "intimidation" or some sort of attempt to get inside Parker's head.




But let's not be at odds in the gdt.

I love you.

[SMC0007]

Originally Posted by Bayliss

If Dirk doesn't score, the Mavs are not going to win the series. Carlisle better do something to get Dirk some looks.

Not sure if he has put in a gameplan on doing that. After game 1, he still put it in Barea's hands more than Dirk's. And I think we'll see even more Barea tonight.

Barea is a point guard, he is gonna have the ball in his hands more. I think Dirk is more responsible for getting his shots than either RC, or Barea. He needs to get open and make things happen. He won't be given anything. I look for Dirk to have a great game!

Take it to the hole JHO, the team thrives off of what you do.

[MX425]

Here's to a 2-1 lead! We have the talent, just have to execute.

[LonghornDub]

Originally Posted by mary

But let's not be at odds in the gdt.

I love you.

[alby]

I want Dampier to fake as if he's going after Parker in the first play of the game, so Parker can flop for no reason as he jumps up for a layup. That'll be hilarious to watch.