Rejected: 84-105

Mavericks bid for 2-0 lead falls short as Parker-Duncan take care of business.

Tony Parker was unstoppable for the Spurs, especially in the first quarter as he and Tim Duncan combined to score their first 22 points from the field. Parker had 19 points in the first quarter, 29 in the half, and finished with 38 points while only missing 6 out of his 22 shots from the field including going 6 of 9 on threes.
Defensively the Spurs gave the Dallas Mavericks fits all night. San Antonio's constant switching on defense combined with their hustle in terms of running out on shooters led to the Mavericks shooting merely 40% from the field and scoring only 84 points. If a Maverick drove the lane, the Spurs defense would collapse to the paint and he was immediately met by a double (sometimes triple) team. As soon as he dished the ball to the outside, the player on the outside was not open for long as Bowen, Udoka, or Finley would be in that player's face, contesting the shot.
Dirk Nowitzki was one of the few Mavericks who had some open shots tonight, but they weren't going down (a couple even going down, and then decided to come back out). Dirk finished with 14 points, making a mere 3 of the 14 shots he took from the field. San Antonio's defense deserves much of the credit for this because they gave him different looks all night long. One possession Bowen would be on him, the next Duncan, then Bonner, then Udoka. Dirk really couldn't get into any kind of rhythm and it showed. Dirk's left knee seemed to have been bothering him for much of the second half of the game. Nowitzki bumped knees with Bruce Bowen early in the third quarter. No word today that it is anything serious.
The big three of the Mavericks struggled mightily. Dirk, J-Ho, and JET combined to go 12 of 37 from the field (32%) and scored 37 points combined. The shooting percentage and points were actually raised when Terry went on a mini run late in the 3rd quarter and early in the fourth, it could have been much worse. Tony Parker had 38 points by himself. Your not going to win any games in the playoffs when your top 3 scorers combined are outscored by the opposing team's best.
Defensively, the Mavs could not control the painted area nor could they stay in front of anyone driving to the basket. Michael Finley, Tony Parker, Roger Mason, and even Bruce Bowen (yes Bruce Bowen) drove to the basket at will. During the rare occasion that the Mavs would not let someone coast the the basket; Matt Bonner or Bowen would be wide open in the corner for an uncontested 3. The Spurs shot 53% from the game which should have been more, but was lowered during garbage time by their scrubs.
Effort wise, this game was no contest. The Spurs were not going to lose 2 games in a row on their home floor. Popovich made his adjustments, which were: "Tony Parker go out and win the game for us" and "Show more effort on the defensive end". It wasn't rocket science, The Spurs outplayed the Mavericks plain and simple. This isn't an X's and O's thing its who wants it more. Dirk is going to have to play like he is capable of playing as does J-Ho, JET, and Kidd and defensively the Mavericks need to step up and (haven't we heard this before?) stop allowing easy baskets. We are going to find out how bad these Mavs really want it Thursday night and Saturday afternoon here in D-town. The Spurs are going to find out how much different of a team the Mavs are when playing in front of the home fans.