Earl K. Sneed, Mavs.com
Dallas Mavericks 112 at San Antonio Spurs 103
For both the Dallas Mavericks and San Antonio Spurs, hopes of winning the Southwest Division weigh heavily on the head-to-hand matchups between the two powerhouses.
Friday night, in the third of four matchups this season, Dallas tried to put the division in a stranglehold. With both teams owning a home court victory in the first two meetings of the season series, the Mavericks entered San Antonio looking to widen their two-game lead over the Spurs in the standings and hopeful that the home team's luck in the series would run out. In a good, old-fashioned Texas shootout, the Mavericks' big guns were firing on all cylinders down the stretch, as a dominate fourth quarter lifted Dallas to a 112-103 road win and a 2-1 series lead.
(Photo by D. Clarke Evans/NBAE via Getty Images)
"Last time we were down here, they were without (Tony) Parker and (Tim) Duncan, and those guys still ended up beating us," center Erick Dampier said after the win. "Tonight was just another night for us. It shows that when we go out there and play together, get stops and have fun, we give ourselves a chance to win every night.
"You can't take anything away from those guys. They're a good team. They've been the world champs, they know how to play together and they know how to win games."
For the first time in the series, both teams touched the court at full strength. Dampier returned from his two-game absence with a left knee effusion, while the Spurs featured Parker, after the All-Star point guard missed the first two games with nagging ankle problems. Meeting for the first time since a 99-94 Mavericks' win on Nov. 18, the two teams came out of the gates with a playoff-like intensity. Looking for Dampier and forward Dirk Nowitzki early and often, the Mavericks tried to take control of the painted area in the opening quarter with No. 25 and No. 41 taking turns terrorizing the Spurs interior defenders. But with San Antonio attacking the rim as well, Dampier headed to the bench in early foul trouble at the 6:41-mark of the period.
"Damp is so important to us, especially against these guys because he's the only guy that normally has the length to battle Duncan on the inside," Mavs coach Rick Carlisle said.
The Spurs surged ahead as Parker connected on multiple 18-foot jumpers, but sixth man Jason Terry and the Dallas bench knotted the game at 26-all at the end of one.
With Dampier on the sidelines with two quick fouls, big man Drew Gooden provided the much-needed presence in the paint. But when Gooden headed to the locker room early in the second quarter with a dislocated right ring finger, Tim Thomas had to step in briefly at the five position. Meanwhile, swingman Josh Howard began to heat up from the perimeter to handle the scoring load for Dallas. The early fiery play then got to Spurs coach Gregg Popovich, as the veteran coach earned an ejection after arguing with officials and drawing back-to-back technical fouls at the 9:58-mark of the period. With Dampier picking up his third foul with 7:32 left in the half, Gooden made his return with the finger taped and back in place, bringing his energy and tenaciousness back to the court with him. Just over four minutes after he return to the court, Gooden headed back to the locker room with a cut under his chin. The Spurs emerged from the physical and emotional stretch with a 54-51 edge after Manu Ginobili and Richard Jefferson closed the half on a tare.
"We just kept hanging in there, as they played some tough defense on us," Nowitzki said. "I missed a lot of shots, so we had to learn how to buckle down defensively -- make it tough for Duncan and keep Ginobili out of the lane."
Behind 63 percent shooting and four double-figure scorers in the first half, the Spurs negated the Mavs' 9-0 advantage in fast break points and 8-1 edge in offensive rebounds after 24 minutes of play. Parker's 15 points led all scorers at the half, while Duncan added 14. Howard and Gooden posted 10 points apiece, though Dallas entered halftime shooting just under 44 percent.
San Antonio came out of the intermission aggressively, sprinting out to a 61-53 lead early in the third. But the Mavericks responded with a 12-2 run, sparked by rookie Roddy Beaubois, to take a two-point lead.
"I thought tonight also, Tim Thomas stepping in there and giving us a couple of buckets and solid play, and then Beaubois comes in, in the second half, and it just kind of changed the energy of the game," Carlisle said. "Those guys worked hard, they've kept ready and they deserved some opportunity to play and they delivered."
But led by their reserves, the Spurs' inside-outside game returned fire as San Antonio answered Dallas' run with 15 unanswered points. The third quarter ended with some testiness after double-technicals were called on Terry and the Spurs' George Hill. Meanwhile, San Antonio gained the upper hand with an 80-70 lead entering the fourth.
"Even if we go down 10 in the third, we still got 12 minutes left to play," Dampier said.
The final 12 minutes of play would indeed be decisive, and it belonged to the Mavericks.
After scoring the last three points of the third, the Mavs began the fourth with a 6-0 run to get back into the game. With Nowitzki struggling offensively for three quarters, the Mavericks tried to get their leading-scorer going with open looks. Coming to life in the final period, Dallas returned to the combination of Nowitzki and Dampier, a formula that worked so well at the onset of the game.
"(Dampier) got the three quick fouls in the first half, then he got the fourth and we left him in and I thought his ability to play with four fouls for a stretch there were really key, because we were able to hold our ground in the game," Carlisle said of his starting center. "And then in the fourth quarter, he gave us a monster presence around the basket at both ends."
The two 7-footers powered Dallas' comeback train, tying the game at 87-all with 6:59 remaining. Back-to-back-to-back 3-pointers from Terry, Jason Kidd and Nowitzki then put the Mavs ahead 98-92 with 4:01 left.
"We were down and we were playing from behind ten or twelve points early in the fourth. Those couple of plays kept the energy going and kept hope alive," Carlisle said.
The Spurs continued to stay close with Duncan living at the foul line, but Terry's jumper over Duncan with 2:27 on the clock continued to keep San Antonio at bay. Just 47 ticks later, Terry nailed another jumper to put Dallas ahead 104-96. After consecutive trips by Parker to the charity stripe cut the Mavericks' lead to four, Nowitzki's three from the top of the key with just 51.0 seconds remaining put the lid on the win. The Mavs then put the finishing touches on the night on Dampier's second career 3-pointer with 5.4 seconds appearing on the game clock.
"I work on it every day,"" the center said while fighting back a laugh. "It was just a last-second shot. I work on that in practice and before the games. When the shot clock is running down, centers don't really come out and guard the big guys. I was open and JET (Terry) passed me the ball and I shot it."
Dallas outscored San Antonio 42-23 in the fourth.
Nowitzki saved his best for the last period, scoring 16 of his team-high 26 points in the fourth. The All-Star finished the night shooting 10-of-28 from the field, but 2-for-3 from behind the 3-point arch.
"Well, Dirk is a Hall-of-Fame basketball player and he showed why," Popovich said after seeing Nowitzki up close numerous times.
"Well, they always play me tough," Nowitzki said. "They play the floor and always push up on me. I had some fadeaways that I usually make, along with some lay-ups where I blocked myself. I just had to stay confident for me and my team."
Terry added 21 points, while Dampier (14), Howard (12), Marion (12) and Gooden (10) all scored in double figures. After the early shooting woes, the Mavericks finished the night shooting 49 percent.
"Dirk was hitting shots. JET (Terry) was hitting shots. J-Kidd was doing what he normally does -- getting to the lane and dishing the ball. It was a total team effort. We got to do that night in and night out in order for us to win," Dampier said.
Duncan's game-high 31 points while grabbing 12 rebounds paced the Spurs. Parker finished with 21 points, as San Antonio bettered Dallas with 53 percent shooting, albeit in a loss.
In a matchup of the two highest scoring benches, the Dallas reserves outscored their San Antonio counter parts 51-29.
"Our bench is key every night because we depend on those guys. We have a lot of confidence in them. When our first group struggles a little bit, they almost always pick us up," Carlisle said.
The Mavs also played the Spurs to a stalemate from behind the 3-point arch, as both teams hit on 7-of-15 from long range. Dallas also won the battle of the boards, cleaning the glass for a 39-32 rebounding edge and outscoring the Spurs 50-44 in the paint.
Dallas now returns to the American Airlines Center on the second night of a back-to-back on Saturday, hosting the Utah Jazz, with the game airing locally on Fox Sports Southwest at 7:30 p.m. CT. Tickets are still available and can be purchased by calling (214) 747-MAVS. It is the start of a three-game home stand.
The Mavericks and the NBA have introduced the official NBA All-Star game ballot, featuring Dirk Nowitzki, Jason Kidd, Josh Howard, Shawn Marion and Jason Terry. For more on how to vote for your favorite Mavs for the All-Star game, to be held at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas, visit Mavs.com.
Follow Mavs.com’s Earl K. Sneed on Twitter at http://twitter.com/EarlKSneed.
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