The Mavericks battled back to win tonight's game against the Spurs. Dirk Nowitzki's three-pointer with 43 seconds remaining sealed it for Dallas. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)After a 15-0 run gave the San Antonio Spurs (21-13) their largest lead of the game at 78-65, it appeared all but over for the Mavs in the third quarter. The Spurs dominated on both ends of the court as Dallas struggled both scoring (missing seven consecutive shots) and defending (San Antonio went 5-8 from the floor) as the game began to slip away.
But it wasn't over yet as the Dallas Mavericks (25-11) used a 45-23 run from :12 left in the third to steal a victory in San Antonio.
"It's a game of runs," said Jason Kidd, who wore out the stat sheet with nine points, eight assists, five rebounds, two steals and a block. "They got theirs. We got ours. We didn't panic."
Panic they did not, the Mavs made a run when it counted the most. With the Spurs up 90-87 with 6:16 left in regulation the Mavericks went on a 25-10 run, punctuated by Erick Dampier's second three-pointer of his career, giving Dallas a 112-100 lead with 5 seconds to play.
Dampier's Triumphant Return
In his first game back after missing two straight due to fluid buildup in his left knee, Dampier scored six of the Mavericks' first 12 points and finished perfect from the floor (6-6) with 14 points, five rebounds, and a block in 25 minutes.
Damp was stuck in foul trouble all game long but Rick Carlisle showed confidence in him in the fourth quarter, even with five fouls, and it paid off as Dampier was the only Mavericks' player who gave any resistance to Tim Duncan on the defensive end.
Nowitzki Comes Through When It Counts
After scoring six of the Mavericks' first eight points and going 2-2 from both the field and the line to start the game, Dirk Nowitzki went cold. Nowitzki didn't hit another shot until 6:39 left in the third quarter and during that time period he missed 10 straight shots.
"I was off all night long," said Nowitzki, who finished a team-high 26 points. "I just made some big shots in the fourth."
That he did as the big German went 7-12 in the fourth quarter for 16 points, including 2-2 from behind the arc.
It all culminated after a Dallas timeout with 1:13 left in regulation and the Mavericks clinging to a 104-100 lead, as the Spurs had scored four straight points. Nowitzki received a pass from Josh Howard at the top of the key, pulled up and drained a three pointer with a hand in his face.
Nowitzki then hustled back defensively and blocked Tony Parker's one-handed runner from behind, sealing the Dallas victory. It was Nowitzki's second of the quarter and he finished with a game-high three blocks.
"Dirk is a Hall of Fame basketball player," said Spurs coach Gregg Popovich, "and he showed why."
Popovich watched the majority of the game from the locker room after being ejected for arguing what he perceived as a non-call on a Manu Ginobili three-point attempt.
Duncan Dominates
One of the bright spots San Antonio can take away from this game is that no one could guard Tim Duncan. Judging by the way he played last season with nagging injuries all year long, Timmeh is definitely back and in his previous Hall-of-Fame form.
Dampier gave a valiant effort, and was able to stop him in spurts, but Duncan got Damp in foul trouble using an array of post moves and pump fakes.
Duncan finished the game 12-19 from the floor and 7-9 from the line for a game-high 31 points, 15 rebounds, five assists and two blocks. He was only three points off of his season-high - 34 against Phoenix on Dec.15 - the only other time he has scored 30 or more this season. San Antonio is now 0-2 in such games.
The Dallas Reserves
The Mavericks bench outscored the Spurs bench 30-13 in the first half and finished the game with a 51-29 advantage in that department; lead by Jason Terry's 21 points.
Terry played outstanding for the second-consecutive game, going 7-13 from the field while chipping in eight assists, four rebounds and a couple of steals.
Josh Howard played well and it's about time he is placed back in the starting lineup - where he belongs. Howard scored 12 points and picked up the slack in the first half when Nowitzki was struggling. J-Ho consistently drove the basket, accumulating eight free throw attempts on the night while making six.
Not to mention that warrior on the inside...
Iron Man Drew
Drew Gooden was beaten-up all game long.
From a dislocated finger on his right hand to a cut under his chin from a Keith Bogans elbow; Gooden returned to the court each time.
Gooden finished with 10 points (5-7 from the field), eight rebounds and a block in 18 minutes.
What's Next
This was a great win and a great start to an important Dallas sports weekend. The Mavericks battled back and showed why they are the NBA's second best road team (13-6).
The Mavericks now travel home to face the Utah Jazz in what will be a game that most people only watch on Tivo with the Cowboys going for their first playoff win in 13 years.
The Jazz are 6-11 on the road this season and lost earlier this season (Nov. 3 in Dallas) 96-85.
Utah has lost four of their last five games to drop them to 19-17 on the season, tied for ninth in the Western Conference with the New Orleans Hornets. The Jazz lost to the Grizzlies, 91-89, tonight and are only a half-a-game ahead of Memphis for ninth place.
Both teams are on the second-night of a back-to-back in which their starters played heavy minutes, so this might get a bit sloppy.
Tip-off is at 7:30 p.m. and can be seen locally on Fox Sports Southwest
News and Notes:
- Neither team protected the basket very well as both team's combined for 94 points in the paint.
- Dallas had only seven turnovers in the game and are third in the NBA in protecting the basketball (13.3 per game).
- After going 7-9 from the field in the first half for 15 points, Tony Parker went ice cold in the second. Parker missed nine of his 10 shots in the second half, and scored only six points.
- San Antonio is now 4-11 against teams with winning records. In contrast, Dallas is 13-9 against teams above .500.
- Rodrigue Beaubois saw his first meaningful game action in over a month, scoring four points on 2-4 shooting and providing some pesky defense on Parker. A sign of things to come?
(Portions of this article were taken from The Associated Press)
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