# Dallas Mavericks @ San Antonio Spurs (March 2nd)



## Tersk (Apr 9, 2004)

*44-12, won 4 - 24-3 @ home







 45-11, won 6 - 19-7 @ opponents
* 
*The Particulars*
Date: Thursday, March 2, 2006
Time: 9:30 PM CT
TV: FSNSW

*Projected Lineups





































* *(J. Terry, A. Griffin, J. Howard, D. Nowitzki, D. Diop)





































(T. Parker, M. Ginobili, B. Bowen, T. Duncan, N. Mohammed)
*
 
Could this be the biggest match of the season for Dallas? Dallas have gone 19-1 in their last 20 games but are still not garnering enough respect - this could be the game that tips the iceberg (is that a real saying? or am I making it up?) and finally opens peoples eyes. If Dallas can win this match then we will hold the tiebreaker over SA (2-1) until the 7th last game of the season - it will also help boost the player morale

Dallas needs to close in on the post and not let Tim Duncan do his thing, but stop the speedy French-man Tony Parker - he is actually leading San Antonio is ppg and is doing it at a great shooting percentage. If worst comes to worse send Parker to the FT line - which seems to be the Spurs Achilles Heel (3rd worst in the league at 69%). We need to watch out for Michael Finley who is coming off a hot game (5-5 3pt) and will be looking to avenge his cutting. 

If Dallas can get above 20 assists, then we have a good chance at winning - in games where Dallas _do_ get above 20 assists our record is 19-2. The Spurs have good perimeter defense in Bowen and Parker, allowing opponents only 16 apg. 

*LAST MEETING*: Dallas lost 90-92 December 1st 
We were missing Josh Howard and Jerry Stackhouse, Marquis Daniels stepped up and scored 24 points and had 8 rebounds whilst Dirk was kept to 3-13 FG. San Antonio shot 7% better than us

_*KEY MATCHUP*_







vs








Battle of two super-power-forwards who are fighting to get their teams HCA throughout the playoffs. Both have let fellow players step up if needed (Duncan moreso), but these two guys are both still premier players in the league. Last game (against each other) they let their respective games do their talking, both shot miserably but had decent all around games (Dirk had 9 rebounds, 6 assists and Duncan had 14 rebounds). These guys will need to step up to get their teams a win​
*MM's prediction*: In what could be the most important match of the season, I foresee a Dallas victory (as usual) by 4 points. I predict Tony Parker scores 27 points on us whilst Josh Howard silently (but deadly) scores 23 points. Dallas wins 97-93


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## Mavericks_Fan (Apr 19, 2005)

Mavs Maniac said:


> Could this be the biggest match of the season for Dallas?


This is an important game in case it comes down to a tie breaker, but other than that I think the game is actually more important to San Antonio than Dallas. The Spurs haven't been unstoppably dominating the league like a lot of pundits claimed they would before the season, and I think it's a thing of pride for them to beat us since we're in first place and they are the reigning champs. It will be nice to take this game though as it would push our conference lead out to 2 games....lose, and we're back to tied.

It's gonna really suck if Devin can't play (and/or Josh). I'm really getting tired of playing the best teams without our core players.


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## Dragnsmke1 (Jul 29, 2002)

Mavericks_Fan said:


> This is an important game in case it comes down to a tie breaker, but other than that I think the game is actually more important to San Antonio than Dallas. The Spurs haven't been unstoppably dominating the league like a lot of pundits claimed they would before the season, and I think it's a thing of pride for them to beat us since we're in first place and they are the reigning champs. It will be nice to take this game though as it would push our conference lead out to 2 games....lose, and we're back to tied.
> 
> It's gonna really suck if Devin can't play (and/or Josh). I'm really getting tired of playing the best teams without our core players.


I think thier both fine...I think Avery held them out betting that we could beat Philly without them giving them that much extra rest...my question is who is the 1st Detroit Piston that goes down for a while...


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## Mavericks_Fan (Apr 19, 2005)

Devin had his MRI done and when he was asked about the results he said something like "nothing real bad, but nothing real good either" or something like that. He's only listed as day to day. Remember how he torched the Spurs in the first game? I'd really like him on TP. Josh apparently practiced and everything was good so I'm pretty confident he'll be there, I just hope his ankle is good enough for him to be effective.


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## TheRoc5 (Mar 1, 2005)

:wave: http://basketballboards.net/forum/showthread.php?t=246654
Come to the Spurs fourm to talk about the big game


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## Tersk (Apr 9, 2004)

Dallas Morning News said:


> Key matchup
> 
> Jason Terry vs. Tony Parker: Parker is having a career year, shooting nearly 55 percent from the field and averaging 19 points per game. He's among the NBA leaders in points in the paint. But he's just as dangerous as a passer. The Spurs are 8-1 when he has eight assists or more. In the Spurs' 92-90 win in Dallas on Dec. 1, Parker had 30 points and five assists. Terry will get plenty of help trying to keep Parker under control, probably from Marquis Daniels and Darrell Armstrong.
> 
> ...


..


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## Gambino (Feb 11, 2004)

> Could this be the biggest match of the season for Dallas?


Honestly, I think the game in April will be bigger. That said, so far, this is the biggest game of the season. A win would be a great way to start to what looks to be a hectic March. With the exception of last year, March has not been to kind to us and San Antonio usually makes there run in March.


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## TheRoc5 (Mar 1, 2005)

props guys yall have improved on yalls d alot


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## Gambino (Feb 11, 2004)

What in the world is Stackhouse doing tonight besides turning the ball over?


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## Gambino (Feb 11, 2004)

Terry and Howard seems to be the only consistent player our there right now. Dirk still needs to be given the ball more.


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## Gambino (Feb 11, 2004)

That's why Dirk needs to be given the ball more.


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## Gambino (Feb 11, 2004)

Good job Dirk getting to the line. Let's get the lead back.


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## Gambino (Feb 11, 2004)

Great job by the Mavs sustaining the run by the Spurs and getting the lead back by getting to the line.


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## Gambino (Feb 11, 2004)

68-64 Spurs at the end of 3. Knew the Spurs would make runs in this game. Dallas needs to continue attacking the rim and not settling or jumpers.


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## Gambino (Feb 11, 2004)

Okay...sit Stackhouse down and leave him there. I'm tired of his crap tonight.


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## Gambino (Feb 11, 2004)

Huge Huge 3 by Van Horn


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## One Star R (Mar 3, 2006)

This game is so heavily favored for the spurs that it makes me sick. uke:


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## Gambino (Feb 11, 2004)

Big three by Terry.


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## One Star R (Mar 3, 2006)

JT with the three :clap:


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## Gambino (Feb 11, 2004)

One Star R said:


> This game is so heavily favored for the spurs that it makes me sick. uke:


The Spurs are the reason they are up by 5 not the refs. The Mavs are still in this game.


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## One Star R (Mar 3, 2006)

Gambino said:



> The Spurs are the reason they are up by 5 not the refs. The Mavs are still in this game.


I dont know if you are watching the same game as me but if Dallas played defense like San Antonio tonight then half of their players would be fouled out. The refs are whistle happy for the spurs and every once in a while Dallas gets a call. Its obvious it is favored for the Spurs. Even the announcers are favoring the Spurs. Hell Steve Kerr played for them.

The Mavs still are in it though.


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## Gambino (Feb 11, 2004)

2 shots by Griffin and Dirk that rimmed in and out that could have made a difference and Duncan gets an and 1 at the other end.


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## Gambino (Feb 11, 2004)

One Star R said:


> I dont know if you are watching the same game as me but if Dallas played defense like San Antonio tonight then half of their players would be fouled out. The refs are whistle happy for the spurs and every once in a while Dallas gets a call. Its obvious it is favored for the Spurs. Even the announcers are favoring the Spurs. Hell Steve Kerr played for them.
> 
> The Mavs still are in it though.


The refs are not stopping San Antonio from getting offensive rebounds and 2nd chance points. The refs are not stopping San Antonio to hit contested jump shots from the perimeter in the fourth quarter. The officiating has not been great by all means, but it isn't the reason the Mavs are losing this game.


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## t1no (Jul 10, 2005)

The refs are doing a good job, but Dirk is really getting pushed around.


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## Gambino (Feb 11, 2004)

we're still a bit away but we are getting close. Dallas is still learning how to win games with defense. We missed Devin badly tonight. He probably would have taken some minutes from Stackhouse. Spurs outplayed them in the 2nd half. Good game by them. We still have work to do but I feel confident in this team.


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## Tersk (Apr 9, 2004)

Damnit - so close yet so far.

Records are the same now and we are back in 4th spot.


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## hi im new (Jul 4, 2005)

That was a good game. I cant wait til the April 7th? meeting, thats going to be an even better game. 

BTW, i have never seen dirk nowitzki miss a free throw, dude's crazy good from the line.


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## Seed (Jun 29, 2005)

Gambino said:


> we're still a bit away but we are getting close. Dallas is still learning how to win games with defense. We missed Devin badly tonight. He probably would have taken some minutes from Stackhouse. Spurs outplayed them in the 2nd half. Good game by them. We still have work to do but I feel confident in this team.


Yea we really needed Devin for this one, he sets the fast pace tempo that mavs play well at, and the fact that he is probably as quick as parker is would have helped us on shutting him down


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## Mavericks_Fan (Apr 19, 2005)

Anyone blaming the refs, just stop. I'm tired of people using that pathetic excuse when they lose. Let other team's fans use that garbage, not Mavs fans.

That said, there are a variety of reasons why this game was lost. Here are 3 of them:

1. Josh Howard's lack of second half minutes was a major blunder by Avery.
2. Dirk better learn how to punish smaller defenders than what he showed tonight. He's been taking guys into the mid post and burying turn around fades all season long. You're telling me he can't shoot over Bowen?
3. Defense in the second half was atrocious. That's all there is to it. The Mavs came after it in the first quarter and look what it got them....a big lead...but then gradually let down more and more for the rest of the game.

There are plenty of lessons to be learned from this game both for the players and the coaches. Now we have to wait another month to find out if those lessons were taken to heart.


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## CbobbyB (Feb 16, 2006)

Mavericks_Fan said:


> Anyone blaming the refs, just stop. I'm tired of people using that pathetic excuse when they lose. Let other team's fans use that garbage, not Mavs fans.
> 
> That said, there are a variety of reasons why this game was lost. Here are 3 of them:
> 
> ...


LoL, well put


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## mavsmania41 (Mar 27, 2005)

Did anyone hear what Avery had to say, he actually stood up and said he was disapointed in the effort of the team in the second half. I wonder if Nellie would have ever said anything like that. I think Avery and the Mavs are going to learn from this, and come playoff time we will be tough to take down.


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## Dragnsmke1 (Jul 29, 2002)

River wall: Spurs stand up to Mavs, 98-89


09:33 AM CST on Friday, March 3, 2006
By EDDIE SEFKO / Staff Writer



SAN ANTONIO – Maybe it was inevitable that Michael Finley would somehow, some way come back to haunt the Mavericks. 

If that's the case, better now than later. 

In a game that lived up to the buildup, the Mavericks fought San Antonio on equal terms for three quarters Thursday night. Then their old friend-turned-enemy followed the lead of Tony Parker and Tim Duncan and the Spurs did what they always seem to do, lighting up the Mavericks in the second half and snuffing them out defensively for a convincing 98-89 victory at AT&T Center. 

"We didn't come here for any moral victories," coach Avery Johnson said. "We're very, very disappointed that we lost this game." 

The win tied the Spurs with the Mavericks for the best record in the Western Conference and gave them a 2-1 lead in the season series with one game left on the Spurs' court in April. 

The Mavs had a six-game winning streak snapped. 

"It was two heavyweights," said Jason Terry, who had 23 points. "The game was there for us, but they took it. Give them credit." 

After giving up just 36 points in the first half, the Mavericks allowed 32 in the third quarter and 30 in the fourth. 

As they have all season, the Mavericks gave themselves a chance to win. 

Unlike the rest of the season, this wasn't a nondescript opponent that they could simply out-talent. 

Duncan and Parker did their thing, keeping the Spurs in range and finally putting them in front in the third quarter. Then Finley took over in the fourth quarter, hitting three baskets, including a 3-pointer, in a three-minute span to put them up 82-74 with just over six minutes left. He had 11 of his 15 points in the fourth. 

"I didn't think we guarded Finley or [Robert] Horry well at all," said Johnson, who saw his bench outscored – a rarity in the club's 19-1 stretch entering the game. 

The Mavericks weren't done, even after Finley's barrage. When Duncan missed two free throws with 3:46 left, Dirk Nowitzki – throttled much of the night by Bruce Bowen – was fouled on the rebound, and his freebies cut the gap to 86-81. Then, the Spurs stashed the game when Bowen made a floater in the lane and, after Nowitzki missed, Duncan converted on the baseline, was fouled and made the free throw for a 91-81 cushion with 2:28 left. 

The Mavericks and Spurs had not played each other since Dec. 1. And the anticipation of this meeting was justified. The Mavericks jumped ahead 26-14 early in the second quarter and the Spurs were shooting 25 percent at the time. 

The rest of the way, they would shoot 58 percent (29-of-50). 

As the league's third-best producer of points in the paint, Parker's reputation is well known. Yet he diced the Mavs three times in the final 4:08 as the Spurs chopped the gap to 38-36 at the break. 

Parker's scoring is up this season, challenging Duncan as the statistical leader for the Spurs. But Duncan's season-long foot problem has steadily improved of late, coach Gregg Popovich said. 

"I think he's beginning to feel better about his body and beginning to move better, without a doubt," he said. That didn't manifest itself until the third quarter. 

The Mavericks had scored twice in the paint to go up 46-40 when Duncan asserted himself. He was 1-of-6 from the field to that point, with six points. Quickly, he scored four of San Antonio's six points as they tied the score. 

The offensive floodgates opened and the Mavericks, shockingly, could not keep pace.


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## Gambino (Feb 11, 2004)

Dallas looked like it went back to the thread i made earlier in the season. Too many isos and not enough ball movement in the 2nd half. This is where we missed Devin.


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## Dragnsmke1 (Jul 29, 2002)

SAN ANTONIO – Prior to Thursday's Southwest Division showdown between the Dallas Mavericks and San Antonio Spurs, I asked Avery Johnson what the key would be to beating the defending NBA champions. 

"This might sound strange," the Mavericks head coach said, "but it's our offense. I know everyone talks about our improved defense and all that, but I'm not worried about stopping the Spurs. I'm worried about trying to score against them." 

A few hours later, Johnson's words proved prophetic. 

San Antonio did what it has been doing for nine years, ever since Tim Duncan arrived. The Spurs methodically wore their opponent down with suffocating defense, grinding out a tough 98-89 win to tie the Mavericks for first place in the division. 

The victory was a reminder that, although Dallas is good (and the Mavs are very, very good), the West is still the domain of the Spurs. 


Competing in the AT&T Center's playoff-type atmosphere, both teams came out with unusual energy and nerves for a game in early March. Tony Parker looked out of synch early and tried too hard to make plays as Dallas ran out to a 12-point lead. The Mavericks' defense – which took Duncan out of the game early with different defensive tactics (double teams, fronts and the shot-blocking presence of DeSagana Diop and Erick Dampier), was as good as advertised in the first quarter, shutting down San Antonio until Robert Horry hit a three-pointer from the corner just before the period ended. The Spurs, who scored just 14 points in the first 12 minutes, looked like they were ripe for a loss. 

What followed was a typical San Antonio effort. Bruce Bowen harassed Dirk Nowitzki the entire evening, fronting him when he posted up, chasing him off screens and making every possession difficult. In fact, Nowitzki never found a rhythm, shooting just 6-of-15 and failing to make an impact on the game. 

On the other hand, Duncan shook off his poor first half to eventually find his aggressiveness, demanding the ball on the low block and hitting several key hoops that softened up the Dallas D. Horry, who had missed the previous three games with an abdominal strain, also came up big with 12 points and his usual heady play in key situations. 

But what won the game for the Spurs – and what has made them league champions three times in seven seasons – was their defense. San Antonio held the Mavericks to 41-percent shooting, limiting the NBA's top three-point shooting team to a 3-for-16 night from beyond the arc. 

Like a boa constrictor, the Spurs slowly take the life away from their opponents. They are relentless in their approach, making each and every possession a difficult one. A team may get hot at times against San Antonio, but over the course of a 48-minute game, the Spurs' defense simply takes its toll. Each shot becomes more and more difficult. 

The game left the Spurs and Mavericks tied for the Southwest lead at 45-12 with 25 games left, including an April 7 matchup in San Antonio. The division champ will in all likelihood be the No. 1 seed in the West, with the loser dropping to No. 4. That means these two clubs will almost inevitably meet in the second round of the playoffs. 

Dallas has made dramatic strides defensively this season and has proved to be one of the top three clubs in the NBA. The Mavericks' ultimate goal, of course, is to win the championship and they know that in order to do so they'll have to beat the Spurs four times in the postseason. And while all the talk will be whether or not Dallas' defense is good enough to beat San Antonio, Avery Johnson knows the real question is whether his Mavericks can score enough on offense. 

On Thursday, the answer was no.


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