Thanks to George Hill's career-night, along with a horrendous night on offense, the Mavericks find themselves one loss away from a very long offseason. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)The good news is the Dallas Mavericks were able to put the defensive clamps on the San Antonio Spurs' big three of Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili, and Tony Parker in a hotly contested game Sunday night. The trio combined to make only nine of 34 attempts from the field for 31 points. Duncan (1-9, four points), Ginobili (4-16, 17 points), and Parker (4-9, 10 points) each found it difficult to get it going on the offensive end - thanks to some sharp Mavs' D.
Unfortunately for Dallas, it allowed George Hill to get into the lane at will and hit uncontested shots all night long. The 23-year-old scored a career-high 29 points and was the driving force (pun intended) in the Spurs' third quarter take-over.
"He really earned our trust all season long and he's responding in the playoffs in a tough situation," Ginobili said after the game. "The way he stepped up today and lead us was impressive."
In the first half, the Mavericks used some tenacious defense to get out in transition and it seemed Dallas was in prime position to steal one in San Antonio. Dallas had a 15-point lead in the second quarter, it's largest of the series, and led by 11 at halftime before completely laying an egg in the third quarter.
San Antonio started the second-half by jumping out on a 19-2 run, scoring 15 straight at one point. Hill scored 11 of his 29 points in the quarter, including eight of San Antonio's first 10 points to start the third, as Dallas had no answer for the second-year player. Jason Kidd was the primary defender on Hill for the majority of the night and simply could not stay in front of him.
Hill's scoring spurt was compounded by the fact that Dallas had a difficult time getting the ball in the basket the entire quarter. In fact, the Mavericks didn't make make a field goal from the 7:47 mark (fittingly on a Shawn Marion lay-up, but more on that later) until Jason Terry hit a basket with 11:40 left in the fourth. The Mavs missed 11-straight field goals during the stretch. For the quarter, Dallas had more turnovers (5) than made field goals (4) and scored only 11 points to the Spurs' 29.
San Antonio took their largest lead at 13 with 5:17 left in regulation (84-71) . Dallas did make it interesting late, at least, as they went on a 13-2 run and got within two points after two Nowitzki free-throws with 2:13 left. Terry scored all 13 of his points in the final quarter as he and Nowitzki frantically tried to keep the Mavs in the game. Unfortunately for the Mavs, Nowitzki was only 1-5 in the final frame. He finished with 17 points to lead Dallas along with 11 rebounds, but the Spurs' decision to send an extra defender running at Nowitzki turned him into a facilitator on offense. Ginobili crushed the Mavericks' hopes with a dagger three and two clutch free-throws in the final two minutes, which sealed the game for the Spurs.
Dallas now returns home having to win three straight against the Spurs after blowing two straight games in San Antonio, both of which they held double-digit leads in the second half. Veteran point guard Jason Kidd knows the Mavs just have to take it one game at a time.
"We're not looking at three straight," Kidd said. "We're just looking at Game 5 and that's as far as we can look."
Shawn Marion Leads Team In Scoring, Then Barely Plays in Second Half
It's getting harder and harder to understand just what Mavs' coach Rick Carlise is thinking in regards to his player rotation. Shawn Marion scored 14 points in the first half, sparking the Mavericks on both the offensive and defensive end. Kidd and Marion were combining to do some serious damage to the Spurs getting out on the break.
So, what does Carlisle do in the second half with Marion as his leading scorer? He barely allows the Matrix to touch the floor in the second half. After playing Marion 20 minutes in the first half, Carlisle plays Marion the first six-and-change minutes of the third before benching him for the rest of the quarter. Then plays him the first 1:57 of the fourth before being putting the most prized off-season acquisition in moth-balls for the rest of the game.
I can understand benching a player who isn't playing well, but Marion did play extremely well in the first half and didn't get a chance to show either way in the second. Second-guessing is bound to occur after a loss and Terry took the majority of Marion's minutes in the fourth as he had the hot hand. But Marion is a two-way player who can change the course of the game at either end of the floor. Isn't there more than two minutes available for a player of that caliber in the fourth quarter of a must-win playoff game?
Mavs-Spurs Rivalry Heating Up
Tempers began to flare for both sides in the second-half during the Spurs run. A technical on Dirk Nowitzki along with three flagrant fouls were called in the tumultuous second half that saw Eddie Najera get ejected.
I don't make too big of a deal out of this because this is playoff basketball and (especially when the referees are making as many mistakes as they are, on both ends of the floor) players are bound to get frustrated and things inevitably get heated this time of year. The MVP of Sunday's game took the increased physically as the Spurs showing they will not be bullied.
"We're not going to back [down], we're not going to take hits and let them keep doing it," Hill said. "Our guys stepped up and we can deliver a blow, too."
I don't quite see how that is relevant in the grand scheme of things, but the young guy is definitely feeling tough after his break-out performance in Game 4.
Game 5 is Tuesday night in Dallas. Expect a full preview on what might be the Mavericks' final game of the season.
(Portions of this article were taken from The Associated Press)
No comments:
Post a Comment