# GT: Dallas Mavericks @ San Antonio Spurs



## Tersk (Apr 9, 2004)

*Mavericks at San Antonio Spurs preview

* 7 p.m. today, AT&T Center, Ch. 21, ESPN; ESPN-FM (103.3), KFLC-AM (1270, Spanish)


*08:08 PM CDT on Thursday, April 6, 2006

* 

*By EDDIE SEFKO / The Dallas Morning News* 

*Season series:* Spurs lead 2-1 this season, 76-51 all time 



KEY MATCHUP 


_ DIRK NOWITZKI VS. TIM DUNCAN_ 
He hasn't had the best of seasons, but Duncan remains the most fundamentally scary player in the league. He almost never makes a mental mistake, which is why the Spurs are so efficient at the offensive end. And he is such a good help defender that teammates can take chances on the perimeter. He's averaged only 15.3 points against Dallas this season, yet the Spurs are 2-1. He's also been fighting flu-like symptoms the last few days. Nowitzki had a 34-point showing in the Mavericks' win in Game No. 3. Since then, he's averaged 18.5. 



* Inside the Mavericks* 
*No new player:* For now, the Mavericks are standing pat. Avery Johnson could not hook up with Shawn Kemp in Houston on Wednesday, and a workout may not take place at all. If the Mavs don't get a roster exception, which is looking unlikely, they won't add any player. "It's becoming more and more gloomy," Johnson said. "And it's going to start raining soon." But it won't be Reign Man, Kemp's nickname during his playing days. 

*Briefly: *Dirk Nowitzki on the importance of tonight's game: "If we're still looking to get the home-court advantage, we can't drop this one. It would be pretty much over." ... Neither Adrian Griffin nor Devin Harris will travel. Griffin is expected to be in uniform Saturday against New Orleans. Harris will play in one of the last games of next week's three-game road trip. 



* Inside the Spurs* 
*Learning from the master:* Coach Gregg Popovich couldn't help poking a little fun at Avery Johnson – and himself – when he heard that Johnson had exploded in the locker room after a loss last week at Orlando. "Avery wouldn't do that," Popovich said. "He's never seen me do that. Where would he learn something like that?" Popovich has a notorious temper that he's learned to control somewhat. 

*Briefly: *The Spurs are 7-0 when Michael Finley scores 20 or more and 25-5 when he reaches double figures. ... Tony Parker got a gash on his head against Sacramento on Wednesday but will play. ... Their 17-5 record in games decided by six points or fewer is best in the NBA (the Mavs are 18-7). ... Manu Ginobili had 48 points in two games before he had eight Wednesday. 



<table bgcolor="#000000" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="99%"> <tbody><tr> <td> <table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1" width="100%"> <tbody><tr> <td colspan="3" class="bilabel"> PROBABLE STARTERS </td> </tr> <tr bgcolor="#cccccc"> <td class="dwsmodule"> *Mavericks* </td> <td class="dwsmodule"> *Pos.* </td> <td class="dwsmodule"> *Spurs* </td> </tr> <tr bgcolor="#ffffff"> <td class="dwsmodule"> Dirk Nowitzki </td> <td class="dwsmodule"> F </td> <td class="dwsmodule"> Tim Duncan </td> </tr> <tr bgcolor="#ffffff"> <td class="dwsmodule"> Josh Howard </td> <td class="dwsmodule"> F </td> <td class="dwsmodule"> Bruce Bowen </td> </tr> <tr bgcolor="#ffffff"> <td class="dwsmodule"> DeSagana Diop </td> <td class="dwsmodule"> C </td> <td class="dwsmodule"> N. Mohammed </td> </tr> <tr bgcolor="#ffffff"> <td class="dwsmodule"> Marquis Daniels </td> <td class="dwsmodule"> G </td> <td class="dwsmodule"> Manu Ginobili </td> </tr> <tr bgcolor="#ffffff"> <td class="dwsmodule"> Jason Terry </td> <td class="dwsmodule"> G </td> <td class="dwsmodule"> Tony Parker</td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table>


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## Tersk (Apr 9, 2004)

*Nowitzki nemesis Bowen is a burr of a Spur

* *02:56 AM CDT on Friday, April 7, 2006

* 

*By EDDIE SEFKO / The Dallas Morning News * 

SAN ANTONIO – The man cheats. 

Don't believe it? Just listen to what one of the most gifted offensive players in the NBA has to say about the Weapon of Mass Reduction – also known as San Antonio defensive whiz Bruce Bowen."He kicks, he trips, he does everything," says Detroit's Rip Hamilton. "He gets away with all types of cheap shots and things like that. 

"But I tell people, 'If the refs allow you to get away with it, then it's good D.' " 

Tonight, Bowen will be trying to get away with it again against Dirk Nowitzki – taking away drives, bodying up and stepping under the Mavericks' MVP candidate whenever he takes a jumper. 

It's what Bowen does. As one of the best face-up defenders in the league, the 6-7 forward aggravates his opponents like nobody else in the game. Even Sacramento's Ron Artest, considered Bowen's only equal when it comes to one-on-one defense, doesn't tick off offensive players like Bowen. 

"He's a defensive specialist," says Mario Elie, who has played with and against Bowen and has coached him – and against him – as well. "His job is to go out there and guard the best player. And he does a good job of it. Him and Artest are two of the best one-on-one defenders in the league. You tell them to go guard Kobe [Bryant] and they're the two guys who will take that challenge. 

"He'll grab and hold like everybody else. Everybody cheats a little bit. All the great defenders do that. When you get a reputation around the league, you get away with stuff because you're a great defender." 

The Mavericks have seen Bowen's tactics up close and personal. He held Nowitzki to 14 points Dec. 1 when the Spurs won at American Airlines Center. Nowitzki was only 6-of-15 from the field in the Mavs' loss at San Antonio last month. 

Nowitzki said Bowen plays him as well as anybody. But he doesn't think it's necessarily because of Bowen's one-on-one skills. 

"But San Antonio overall is a better defensive team," Nowitzki said. "It helps having Tim Duncan and Nazr Mohammed in your back pocket protecting you. That's not to take anything away from Bowen. He takes a lot of things away from you." 

The Mavericks picture Adrian Griffin as a poor man's Bowen. He doesn't get any offensive plays called for him. But when healthy, he's a starter on a team headed for 60 wins. Bowen has limited offensive skills, too. The only fear factor he instills is when he spots up in the corner for 3-point shots. 

"He has his niche," Detroit coach Flip Saunders said. "Defensively, he's got that quick first step. He can take away that first move. And most times defensively, people get beat off the first move." 

Nowitzki said it hasn't gotten to the point that Bowen gets under his skin. But there is no doubt that the job Bowen does against him is among the best, if not the best. 

That said, he's had some huge games against the Spurs, including 38 points in Game 1 of the 2003 Western Conference finals. Bending the rules is part of the game. 

"He's a hard-nosed defender," Nowitzki said. "There are great defenders that get away with a little more – the Artests, the Bowens. But they worked hard for that reputation, so you have to give them credit." 

Bowen's abilities on offense (7.8 points per game) aren't what got him invited to training camp for the U.S. Olympic team. His defensive attitude clearly is recognized throughout the league. 

He faced Bryant and the Lakers three times in March. And before the last meeting, Bryant caught Bowen before the game and congratulated him – prematurely – on being the league's defensive player of the year. 

That's an honor usually reserved for centers. But it may be awarded to Bowen this year. 

Even so, it's still Nowitzki's responsibility to be the aggressor. 

"You have great offensive players in this league who don't let anything bother them," coach Avery Johnson says. "Even when I played, you had supposedly great point guard defenders and they were supposed to get under your skin with their growl or their stare or how they would grab or hold you. There are things you can do on the court to try to take care of that. I've participated in that kind of stuff before. Just be physical." 

And don't get frustrated if rules get bent or broke


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## The Future7 (Feb 24, 2005)

This is gonna be a great game. I really want the Mavs to win this one so we're a step closer to the number 1 spot. My Prediction: someone will get a tech because of Bruce Bowen. Lets hope all the Mavs fans come out tonight and support them in this thread.


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## edwardcyh (Dec 13, 2005)

The Future7 said:


> Lets hope all the Mavs fans come out tonight and support them in this thread.


LOL How do we support them in this thread?

GO MAVS GO!

Is that what you are looking for?


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## Tersk (Apr 9, 2004)

Dirk hears you edward, he's gonna score 32 points for you now. 

Let's get this game thread huge!


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## The Future7 (Feb 24, 2005)

edwardcyh said:


> LOL How do we support them in this thread?
> 
> GO MAVS GO!
> 
> Is that what you are looking for?



That exactly what I want. We used to fill up threads in last years playoffs.


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## The Future7 (Feb 24, 2005)

Seems like both teams are on fire right now.
Josh Howard with 15 in the first


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## Tersk (Apr 9, 2004)

Bah! Damn that Finley, how do you leave a shooter so open?!

Some things I've noticed

- The Help D is quite good, Parker isn't getting into the paint at will
- Dirk Nowitzki needs to drive more, Bowen is harassing him
- Dallas needs to identify mismatches --> Duncan on Howard?
- Offensive rebounds are killing us, our defense is great but when a team has as many offensive rebounds as we do normally we aren't going to win. Fabricio Oberto got a rebound whilst standing around; Powell, Dampier, Howard and Stackhouse...only Stack attempted to get it
- Dallas has...0 bench points
- Howard is dominating, he's keeping us in the game
- REBOUND


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## The Future7 (Feb 24, 2005)

We need to pick up on the defensive boards. They are catching way too many offensive rebounds. Mr. Oberto is getting me angry. Why do the Mavs always play bad when the other team has a player that hustles?lol I dont get it.


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## Dragnsmke1 (Jul 29, 2002)

2 offensive fouls on Marquis? whats that about?


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## Dragnsmke1 (Jul 29, 2002)

can someone post an update please?


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## Tersk (Apr 9, 2004)

Finley you *******!!!


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## Dragnsmke1 (Jul 29, 2002)

can someone explain all these Technicals Im seeing...


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## Tersk (Apr 9, 2004)

What was up with the technicals? What on Earth did Howard do wrong?!

Dallas was getting dominated in the early part, we had a bad sense of urgency chucking up some stupid shots and then missing easy ones. The team momentum was horrid, and then Avery called a timeout and did some good coaching. _"We need to play our own system" --_ and Dallas did. Terry played his game and when Duncan went out Dallas went from being down 41-32 on a 19-12 run - gaining momemtnum (until the tech's)

Fabricio Oberto is dominating, we need DJ MBenga in their to give a hard foul and show we're up for the task --> this game is getting physical. Dallas would be winning if we didn't give up so many 2nd chance points, over 8.

Bench Points:
Dallas - 1
San Antonio - alot


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## Tersk (Apr 9, 2004)

Dragnsmke1 said:


> can someone explain all these Technicals Im seeing...


- Manu drive and get hit, not get called for foul
- Manu flops in hope and puts hand over face for dramatic effect
- Manu runs up floor and whines
- Manu get's teched
- Popp get's teched

.....


- Manu try to be big man and drives
- Howard gives a reasonable foul
- Howard tech'd
- Avery fires up and is tech'd


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## The Future7 (Feb 24, 2005)

I hope Bruce Bowen play a dirty trick on Finley. I dont know how Howard got a tech though


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## Dragnsmke1 (Jul 29, 2002)

Mavs Maniac said:


> - Manu drive and get hit, not get called for foul
> - Manu flops in hope and puts hand over face for dramatic effect
> - Manu runs up floor and whines
> - Manu get's teched
> ...


thank you...I figured they were make up techs...whose reffing any way?


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## Tersk (Apr 9, 2004)

*Officials:* Michael Smith, Steve Javie, Tom Washington


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## The Future7 (Feb 24, 2005)

And here comes the Mavs


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## Tersk (Apr 9, 2004)

Dirk Nowitzki with 8 points in the 3rd, he's on fire.

Diop with some great defense on Duncan, blocking his shot or forcing him to the foul line!


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## The Future7 (Feb 24, 2005)

Diop has Duncan on Lock right now. Duncan cant even get a layup to go in. Dirk is aggressive and so is Howard. If we keep this up we can pull away quickly.


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## Tersk (Apr 9, 2004)

Boo-yah! I'm so excited here in my room! Yelling at the TV

Dirk with 12 in the quarter, showing the MVP-ness. His last 2-3 shots all been amazing, with Bowen close. As the commentator said, _if Bowen was any closer, he'd be his skin._


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## The Future7 (Feb 24, 2005)

Man Dirk is on fire. He's making Bowen look like a little lady. He is looking the the MVP of the league right now


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## The Future7 (Feb 24, 2005)

Next up Mavs with the lead goin into the 4th


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## Tersk (Apr 9, 2004)

Gotta stop the pointless turnovers, and that charge on Stack was bull - Manu was quite clearly moving his feet!

Go Dallas! Keep the momentum!


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## The Future7 (Feb 24, 2005)

Yea that charge was really some BS. But oh well we got the lead.


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## The Future7 (Feb 24, 2005)

We're having a shootout right now


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## Tersk (Apr 9, 2004)

First offensive rebound since early in the 2nd quarter! **** Yeah!

Dallas not letting San Antonio dictate, coming back with shot after shot.


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## VeN (May 10, 2005)

THESE are the fkn mavs I know! GO MAVS!


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## The Future7 (Feb 24, 2005)

Our rebounding in this game is terrible.


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## Tersk (Apr 9, 2004)

I know dude, I'm loving it. Firing on all cylinders!


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## The Future7 (Feb 24, 2005)

The defense in this game is serious. I'm speechless.


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## VeN (May 10, 2005)

been saying it, we NEED Josh Howard.


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## The Future7 (Feb 24, 2005)

Looks like we can be going on another long *** streak


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## The Future7 (Feb 24, 2005)

Dirk=MVP


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## VeN (May 10, 2005)

yup, definately an mvp game for Dirk.


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## Dragnsmke1 (Jul 29, 2002)

*Holla At Ya Kin Folk!!!*


thatll shut the haters up for a while...


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## Tersk (Apr 9, 2004)

And we were missing 3 key players.

Someone (commentator) brought up that the Spurs were missing Horry and would really miss him in this game, the other guy shut him down with how Dallas is missing 3x players


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## The Future7 (Feb 24, 2005)

Game, now we are on the quest for 1st place in the West


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## Mavericks_Fan (Apr 19, 2005)

Holy cow. What an amazing game. The second half of this game was pure playoff basketball. You'd have thought it was June out there on the court. Mavs were playing outstanding defense, Dirk was being an MVP on the court. Just an incredible game.


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## Jet (Jul 1, 2005)

Great win for the Mavs. This was a really fun game to watch also. They needed this real bad. Hopefully this will give the team some momentum going into the end of the season. They cant afford to lose another game. But getting Griffen and Harris back in the lineup will be huge.

I am the only one who noticed that the Mavs and Spurs in the opening minutes of the games between this two teams... its always really sloppy even though they are two of the greatest teams in the league? I just find this interesting, but i guess its more of an opinion thing. It just seems that when these two teams play each other at the beginning, its really poorly played *by this I mean a lot of dropped passes, turnovers and missed rebourds*, and gets amazingly better towards the end of the first quarter.


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## mavsmania41 (Mar 27, 2005)

Complete game unlike the last meeting, when the Mavs only played great the first half.


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## Tersk (Apr 9, 2004)

*Mavs Mania's Mumblings

1st quarter
*Dallas started off the game decently, equally matching San Antonio 26-27 (A Finley dagger at the end of the 1st gave the Spurs the lead). The first quarter statistically went in San Antonio's favour, they dominated the offensive boards and capitalised on second chance points and had good bench production, compared to Dallas' 0 bench points in the first quarter. Josh Howard is solely responsible for the first quarter, scoring an amazing 15 points showing no signs of rust. He dee'd up on Manu Ginobili and was all around the court. Props to Jerry Stackhouses highlight reel dunk

*2nd quarter
*Dallas played pretty ghastly in the opening few minutes, we were getting owned on the offensive boards - at one stage Fabricio Oberto (who grabbed 4 offensive rebounds) outrebounded Jerry Stackhouse, Josh Howard, Josh Powell and Erick Dampier: they sandwiched him but only Stackhouse attempted to get it. Oberto grabbed it and dished it to Nick the Quick for 3. Dallas lost their head for a while, Dirk was missing easy shots and we were trying to rush it. Then, Tim Duncan went out with the score at 41-32 - Dallas capitalised on this and went on a run, never looking back. At the end of the half, Dallas had caught up 6 points and the score was 53-51 (with another Finley shot giving them the lead). We played well in the quarter, we even kept compuser after an outburst of technical fouls with 4 in under 40 seconds.

*3rd Quarter
*Dirk Nowitzki came out with a sense of urgency, scoring Dallas' first 6 points -- all from somewhere around the key and all over a defender. Dallas had brilliant defense in this quarter, holding San Antonio to 12 points and it started with DeSagana Diop and Josh Howard - Diop pestered Duncan into two (possibly) more missed dunks/layups, Howard was over Ginobili like butter on bread following him, very impressive. Dallas put a lock on Tony Parker, whenever he'd drive I'd consistently see someone step in front and not let him into the paint whether it be Dirk or Dampier, something you wouldn't have seen during the Nellie era. If I was a San Antonio fan, I would be think _Momentum is a ***** _and it quite certainly is if you're on the wrong side of it. Dirk felt the effects and literally willed his shots in, shots that weren't going in 10 minutes ago, Duncan was missing easy shots and Dallas started to hustle. Two negatives I noticed is that Marquis Daniels often gets pegged with stupid fouls he could easily avoid and Stackhouses turnovers were ridiculous, a carry, a travel and an offensive foul ---> POINTLESS!

*4th Quarter
*The Mavericks played some great basketball here, despite a 5 minute FG drought they kept themselves in the game with defensive intencity and heart. Dallas beat the Spurs with a mix of defense and offense, something rarely seen against a team like the Spurs, Dallas played their game and came off victorious. During the sporradic shootouts, the players had faith in each other as evident by the rapid passing and even the 15 footer Powell made. Dallas stayed in the match until the very final second and our players were rewarded with a very deserved win.

*The STATS!

*Rebounding:
San Antonio: 14 offensive, 40 total
Dallas: 4 offensive, 34 total 

Bench Production
San Antonio: 35 points , 17 rebounds (7 offensive) 
Dallas: 11 points , 6 rebounds (2 offensive)

Percentages
San Antonio: 38% FG, 50% 3PT, 67% FT
Dallas: 51% FG, 43% 3PT, 77% FT

*What has Dallas learned?
*
- Bruce Bowen is not invinceable, Dirk needs to get momentum first by catching it closer to the ring for early points and then he can play his midrange game
- We can beat San Antonio
- Live by Nellie's old rule, which is capitalise on mismatches. On a team with a player as unorthodox as Nowitzki, nothing will ever be normal (eg Duncan on Howard)
- Don't underestimate San Antonio's bench, they burnt us today in that department
- Spurs defense = overrated
- Dallas needs to understand that if we can break off a dribble and get past guys like Parker or Ginobili then we are set
- Always give 100% heart when your on the floor
- With Dirk on your team, he obviously generates defensive attention - double/triple teams --> other guys like Howard and Terry need to capitalise on the opportunity by driving and hitting mid range jumpers 
- Diop is a great answer for Duncan, he can play him athletically


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## SMDre (Jan 28, 2005)

All i have to say is hells yea.


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## Mavericks_Fan (Apr 19, 2005)

Also.....my god the Spurs whine a lot. I mean they are constantly, constantly whining to the officials every play, every time down the court. I'm glad Avery has taught our team to stop doing this and just get back and play ball.


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## Tersk (Apr 9, 2004)

I noticed that, I just laugh at the times Duncan is bending down with his arm in the officials shoulder region whining.


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## mavsmania41 (Mar 27, 2005)

Do not forget about the Hornets tonight, they are playing for thier playoff lives, and will be hungry for a win.


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## kawika (May 7, 2003)

Very nice win last night for the Mavs. Even if they can't grab that top seed, I think they should be favorites to get to the finals out of the west, in large part because in the second half they showed me that the Spurs were no longer inside their heads. This is a supremely confident basketball team right now and that counts for a lot. 

OT aside: but on the national broadcast anyone catch the sideline reporter (Mark Jones?) telling Dirk 'You did everything tonight except score me World Cup tickets'. :laugh: If the Mavs keep playing like this, Dirk may have extra ones to give away as he'll be doing something else during the 2nd week in June besides being back in Germany attending the WC.


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## LionOfJudah (May 27, 2003)

Great game, I really think we can take out the Spurs in a 7 game series when we have more depth. We've shown we can take them on undermanned and that Bruce Bowen doesn't bother Dirk anymore. He just shoots over him now... like he should of been able to do for years now. This really could be our year :clap:


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## Tersk (Apr 9, 2004)

Anyone else think this game was just as much mental, in the fact that

1. We know we can beat the Spurs, even with an injury-depleted team
2. Dirk knows he can light up Bowen


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## Dragnsmke1 (Jul 29, 2002)

Mavs Maniac said:


> Anyone else think this game was just as much mental, in the fact that
> 
> 1. We know we can beat the Spurs, even with an injury-depleted team
> 2. Dirk knows he can light up Bowen


I think the most important thing is it may let the refs beleive were on the Spurs level and when we try to play D against them in the play offs they'll let us play...


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## Tersk (Apr 9, 2004)

I forgot to bring that up, I thought the referees were very fair (except for the Technical stuff in the 2nd quarter), of course they favoured Duncan (just as much as Dirk) but I noticed they didn't fall for Manu's crap as much.


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## Mavericks_Fan (Apr 19, 2005)

Mavs Maniac said:


> Anyone else think this game was just as much mental, in the fact that
> 
> 1. We know we can beat the Spurs, even with an injury-depleted team
> 2. Dirk knows he can light up Bowen


Without a doubt those are the most important parts. Now Pop knows that our boys believe they can go into his house and win.

Oh, and on that one play where Damp go doubled, Powell went to the rim, and Damp gave him that no look behind the back pass for a dunk...that was beautiful. And did you see how pissed off and screaming Pop was at Finley for not rotating down. lol


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## VeN (May 10, 2005)

Mavericks_Fan said:


> Without a doubt those are the most important parts. Now Pop knows that our boys believe they can go into his house and win.
> 
> Oh, and on that one play where Damp go doubled, Powell went to the rim, and Damp gave him that no look behind the back pass for a dunk...that was beautiful. And did you see how pissed off and screaming Pop was at Finley for not rotating down. lol



hell yea I was rollin lmao


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