Spurs of the Moment

The Spurs lost to the Mavericks 112-103 after they blew a 10-point 4th quarter lead by getting outscored 42-23 in the final period. Yes, you read that right, 42-23. That’s insane. Not just losing the lead but giving up 42 points in a quarter. The game was wack from the jump though with DeJuan Blair getting whistled for two fouls in the first minute of the game, Pop getting ejected soon after for arguing with the inept refs, and Dirk going into God Mode in the 4th quarter. The Spurs shot well for the most part, hitting 52.6% from the field in the game, and both teams went 7-of-15 from downtown. The Spurs shot one more free throw than the Mavs but made one less. The Mavs out-rebounded the Spurs 39-32 including a 12-5 edge on the offensive glass. The Spurs committed 12 turnovers in the game. The Mavs had 7. But it really all came down to that brutal 4th quarter when Dirk, after missing 13 of his first 16 shots of the game, went bonkers and started hitting everything regardless of what the defense threw at him. So I can’t really blame it on the refs even if Zach Zarba is an idiot and Joey “I Want To Destroy Tim Duncan” Crawford was on hand.

Highlights and Lowlights

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Notable Spurs Stat Lines
Tim Duncan: 31 points, 12 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 blocks. 12-of-19 from the field and 7-of-9 from the line. Not a bad night by any means, but he didn’t get enough help.
Tony Parker: 21 points, 6 assists, 2 rebounds. Not bad until you consider that he had 15 of those points in the first half. He was nearly shut out in the second half.
Richard Jefferson: 15 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 block. Not a huge night, but his defense wasn’t too bad… he wasn’t any worse than Dice. That one block was awesome as he chased down Terry on a fast break and stuffed him.
Manu Ginobili: 12 points, 7 assists, 5 rebounds, 2 steals. The Jack of All Stats had two of his three turnovers in the 4th quarter that were rather costly, including an idiotic charge with the Spurs trailing by four.
DeJuan Blair: 2 points, 1 rebound, 3 fouls, 7.5 minutes. Stupid refs.

Notable Mavs Stat Lines
Dirk Nowitzki: 26 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 blocks. Held in check until that crucial 4th quarter when he scored 16 points.
Jason Terry: 21 points, 8 assists, 4 rebounds, 2 steals. Dirk’s partner in crime, Terry was his usual self – The 6th man from hell.
Erick Dampier: 14 points, 5 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 block. Nice game coming back from a knee injury. He was 6-of-6 from the field including a three-pointer that came out of nowhere, plus he hit his only free throw.
Josh Howard: 12 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal. Alright game, but he’s still an idiot.
Drew Gooden: 10 points, 8 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 block. Put up some nice numbers even though he went back to the bench.
Shawn Marion: 12 points, 6 rebounds, 1 steal. Decent game, although I am surprised he didn’t have any blocks.
Jason Kidd: 9 points, 8 assists, 5 rebounds, 2 steals, 1 block. A little of everything from Kidd as usual.

Too many Mavs had good games and not enough Spurs.