I would say that the Miami Heat Dwyane Wade and Friends were just beat with the Ugly Stick, perhaps the entire Ugly Tree. And they can expect another drubbing on March 14th.

Highlights Below:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=mtHauoag-7k

It’s been weird these past few weeks. I have been meaning to post some thoughts on James Anderson and the draft as well as my thoughts on the LeBron James madness. Also, I’m not ignoring comments posted, they just aren’t working at the moment. But anyway, I figured at the very least I could do a quick update about a few signings that are Spurs related.

First and foremost, Tiago Splitter could be a Spur today. He is supposed to take a physical and then the buyout will commence. I, for one, am excited. This is the exact type of player that the Spurs have been desperate for over the past couple of years. We’ve had to endure several players from Antonio McDyess and Kurt Thomas to Fabricio Oberto and Matt Bonner trying to man the middle for the Spurs, and none of them were quite the answer. I think we have reason to be optimistic on this one.

That reminds me, the Spurs also re-signed Matt Bonner. I know it will be hard to contain the joy you are feeling at that statement, but please try to settle down.

On another note, the Dallas Mavericks are accepting some of the scraps off the Spurs table and are close to signing Ian Mahinmi. Good luck with that. We shall dub him Erick Dampier 2.0

The Spurs defeated the Mavs 97-87  and won the series 4-2. The Suns finished off the Blazers last night 99-90 and will be the next team the Spurs face.

The big story, besides the Spurs eliminating the Mavs who have completed yet another epic fail in the post-season, was that the Spurs built a 22 point lead in the first half that the Mavs whittled down to 13 by halftime. The Mavs even had a one-point lead for about 20 seconds or so in the third quarter before Manu Ginobili hit a three-pointer and put the Spurs back up to stay. The Mavs were led by Dirk Nowtizki (of course) who had 33 points, 25 of them in the second half. Caron Butler had 25 points of his own, and Roddy Beaubois came off the bench to score 16 points and provide the third quarter spark that really got Dallas going in the second half.

After rambling about how the Mavericks were definitely going to win in San Antonio, Jason Terry scored only two points after going 1-of-7 from the field. Way to put your money where your mouth is, “JET”. I have to say that the most disappointing player for Mavericks fans has got to be Shawn Marion, followed closely by Jason Kidd. I mean you already know that Dampier is garbage, Haywood is good but not great, and your bench is suspect unless one of your undersized guards has a great game – and even then they are all defensive liabilities. Then to have Kidd not really make a difference for the Mavs, and Marion be so pathetic – that’s got to sting. Marion had one half-way decent game where he scored like 14 points, every other game he was barely even a complimentary player. But fear not, Mavs fans. I am sure Mark “Frankenhead” Cuban will sign Rasheed Wallace, Jermaine O’Neal, or some other washed up player and get your hopes up again this summer. On the real tho, don’t sweat Dirk leaving. As Charles Barkley said, there is no way Dirk is walking away from $21 million. They really do need to get him some help though – meaning players with talent AND heart. I think Dirk deserves better than this.

Manu led the charge for the Spurs again and finished with 26 points, two rebounds, five assists and a steal. Tim Duncan had a double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds. He also had five assists, three steals and three blocks. Two of those blocks came in a stand at the end of the third quarter where he threw a Beaubois shot about 10 feet, and then stuffed Butler at the rim. George Hill made some timely buckets down the stretch and finished with 21 points, and six rebounds. Tony Parker had a nice all-around game with 10 points, seven rebounds, eight assists, two steals, and not one turnover.

McDyess also made some timely shots in this game and finished with eight points and six boards. He also had five fouls and had a stretch where he kept hacking Dirk and giving away points. Luckily, he learned to quit doing this toward the end of the game. It also helped that Keith Bogans guarded Dirk for awhile. I have to admit, Bogans played some really good defense on Dirk. It’s just like what Stephen Jackson did to him a couple of years ago when the Warriors beat the Mavs in the first round. Have a small forward body him up, stick their hands in front of his chest and face – not by his waist - and he gets agitated. It doesn’t always work, but it can work enough to get a stop here or there which is how the Spurs pulled away in the waning moments of the fourth quarter. DeJuan Blair played five minutes in spite of being in a car accident before the game. He had four points.

Other Stats:
-The Spurs took care of ball with only 8 turnovers for the game.
-The rebound edge was almost nothing but favored the Spurs 43-40
-The Spurs went back to shooting in the upper 40′s with 47.4% to 43.8% for the Mavs.
-Some folks will surely complain about the Spurs getting twice as many free throw attempts, but the Spurs had a 40-32 edge in Points in the Paint. In other words, they were aggressive and took it to the rack more often than the Mavs. Although, there was one really bad call where Duncan got an And-1, but he missed damn near every free-throw he shot anyway so whatever.
-The Spurs had a 17-10 edge in Fast Break Points. Isn’t that supposed to be the Mavs style? Suns too?

I even got to see Frankenhead get mad. It was a great game.

 It’s not looking good for the home team right now. Road records, trades, winning streaks…. none of that matters if you can’t get it done in the post-season. The Dallas Mavericks should know that better than any other team, but they still fall apart every year to the point that I’m starting to think they are cursed. Well, forces of darkness aside, the forces of San Antonio took a commanding 3-1 lead in this series with a well fought 92-89 victory. It was close but the Spurs get the W on Tim Duncan’s birthday (34 years old) despite Tony Parker’s best efforts… five turnover having… anyway.

Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili combined for 31 points on 9-of-34 shooting. Ginobili, playing with bandages on his nose (we don’t need no stinking mask), did finish with 17 points, and Parker had 10 points off the bench. Duncan was particularly bad shooting 1-of-9 from the field and finishing with only four points to go with his 11 rebounds. He didn’t have his first field goal until four minutes left in the game. He sat for about 25 minutes of real time while the Mavs relinquished a 15-point lead in the third quarter by going 4-of-17 and letting DeJuan Blair and George Hill run all over them.

The Mavs responded by getting a technical (Dirk) and a flagrant 2 foul instead of scoring or getting stops. The worst moment came when Eduardo Najera yanked Ginobili down by the neck and was ejected. To be fair, I like Najera and don’t think he is a dirty player. I think he was trying to be physical and it went awry when he basically horse-collar tackled Ginobili. They don’t allow that in the NFL, let alone the NBA so that was it for Eddie in this game after only 47 seconds. DeJuan Blair and Richard Jefferson also had flagrant 1′s.

DeJuan Blair finished with seven points, seven rebounds, one assist, one steal and one block in only 12 minutes. He only played half the minutes that Haywood or Marion played and about seven minutes less than the useless Dampier, but had a much bigger impact on the game. I also think it’s interesting that Marion is on the bench in the 4th quarter a lot in this series. What is going on with Rick Carlisle? Does he not trust Marion or something? He actually had a decent game this time with 14 points and seven boards, but was a mere spectator down the stretch.

George Hill was the star of this game leading all scorers with 29 points, four rebounds, two steals and a block. He was efficient shooting 11-of-16 from the field including a deadly 5-of-6 from downtown. The Mavs had no answer for him aside from Jason Terry’s late appearance which was nowhere near enough.

Richard Jefferson had his way with the Mavericks again going for 15 points, including a nice dunk under the basket with none other than the defensive stalwart Jason Terry trying to guard him. Of course, Terry rolled his ankle earlier in the game, so I’ll cut him a little slack.

These teams were about even in every way except the Spurs once again shot better at 45.3% to the Mavericks 41.6%. The Spurs were out-rebounded 48-43, but had two fewer turnovers. As Coach Carlisle stated, “If you additionally get your ass kicked on five to seven loose balls, that certainly contributed to losing. We played hard, but there’s a set of plays in the last couple of games where you’ve got to get down and dirty. We have to come up with balls that are 50-50 balls. That’s where the game is being won and lost, in the trenches.”

I don’t see that changing in Game 5. The Mavs better get Joey Crawford and Bennett Salvatore to officiate if they want a chance to win the next one at home.

Manu Ginobili is at it again. Bleeding from a nasal fracture from a Dirk elbow in the third quarter, Manu bandaged that sucker up and scored another 11 points in the 4th quarter to keep the Mavs at bay in a 94-90 win. Dallas went on a little run to take a nine point lead late in the game, but it wasn’t enough. Ginobili finished with 15 points, five rebounds, seven assists, three steals, and one block. He is now averaging 21.3 points in this series. He did much of his damage last night by getting to the free throw line where he was 7-of-8. The Spurs shot 20-of-26 from the line in this game while the Mavs went 14-of-15.

George Hill decided to finally join the party last night. He had 17 points, five rebounds, one assist, one steal, and one block. Nice to see you, George. The Spurs needed him to step up since RJ faded into the background again and Tony Parker is playing well enough as a reserve that Popovich probably would like to keep that going. RJ finished with six points, three rebounds, and three assists. Parker finished with 23 points, four rebounds, three assists, and one steal. He is averaging 19 points in the series.

Tim Duncan had 25 points, five rebounds, four assists, and one block. He didn’t really crash the boards, but then again, no one did. There were no double-doubles in this game from either team. The main thing for Duncan is he had another five turnovers. He had six in Game 1, but none in Game 2. He is averaging 25.7 points in this series.

The rebounding edge belonged to no one as both teams were even in that department. Turnovers were about the same as well. However, the Spurs shot 11 more free throws than Dallas. Of course, they also missed every three-point attempt while Dallas went 8-of-20 from downtown. In the end, it was just slightly better shooting that made the difference as the Spurs shot 48.7% from the field compared to 44.7% for Dallas.

Dirk was the best player for the Mavs, as usual, with 35 points, seven rebounds, three asssits, two steals, and one block. Also, Jason Terry is doing his thing off the bench still. He finished with 17 points and was 4-of-8 from beyond the arc.

The Dampier/Haywood tandem was as pitiful as ever finishing with a combined four points, eight rebounds, one steal, one turnover, and seven fouls. Wow, they can’t even manage a double-double  between them – and in a combined 45 minutes? Even the Spurs’ DeJuan Blair had two points, five rebounds, one assist and no turnovers last night, and he only played about 4 minutes. Caron Butler and Shawn Marion have been non-factors in the past two games, well Marion has been a non-factor in all three. Granted Rick Carlisle opted to go with the hot-shooting J.J. Barea (14 points) for much of Game 3 instead of Butler, the fact of the matter is Butler needs to show up for the Mavs to have any chance. Shawn Marion is not any better and hasn’t reached double digits in scoring or rebounding once in this series. The Mavericks picked these two guys up specifically for this moment and neither is worth a flip right now. The Mavs have no chance of winning it all this year even if they miraculously make it past the Spurs. Frankenhead will probably spend another few million to bring in another fringe star, former All-Star, or overrated has-been this summer and everyone will get all excited until this time next year when the Mavs start falling apart yet again. Tsk. Tsk.

Check out the Game Highlights.

I couldn’t help but goad Chris Stuckey from MavsBall.com into a little smack talk over the first round matchup between the Spurs and Mavs. Here’s our email exchange:

Brian (Spurs of the Moment) vs Chris (MavsBall)

Brian: Chris, I noticed you mentioned that Popovich was being arrogant since he benched Duncan and Ginobili for the season finale. I think it was more a testament to a) not wanting to risk injury to a key player after finally getting everyone healthy again, and b) not wanting to risk facing the Jazz. What do you think?
Â
Chris: If you say that resting Ginobili and Duncan was in part due to the fact that the Spurs did not want to risk playing the Jazz, you are disrespecting Mavs. I understand not wanting to risk injury, but the Jazz excuse is weak.
Â
Yeah, Utah is crazy good at home and if the Spurs had to play the Jazz they would be playing that series without the luxury of home court advantage.  That would certainly be a tough task but why would playing the Mavs be an easier?  Who has the best road record of any team in the Western Conference?  That would be the Dallas Mavericks.Â
Â
Let me get this straight.  The Spurs would rather play a team that is great at home and the best on the road than a team that is one game over .500 on the road?  Child, please.
Â
Brian: Given that the Jazz beat the Spurs all four times this season I am personally more worried about them than those choke artist Mavs, then again, maybe I am crazy (probably) and Popovich could care less. That’s entirely plausible and probably the case. The concern over injury is legit though. After all, Manu missing the playoffs last year sure didn’t hurt the Mavs effort to advance.
Â
Chris: Sounds to me like Pops is trying to channel his inner-Phil Jackson.  Head games galore.  The media is making this more of a story than it really is and I guarantee you Pops is loving it.  But I do think that Pops wanted the Mavs and that’s exactly what he got.  Be ready.
Â
Brian: What do you think are keys to this series for the Mavericks?
Â
Chris: The Mavs can’t let Ginobili beat them.  Manu is by far the best player on that eyesore of a Spurs roster and when healthy he is borderline dominant.  But that’s where Shawn Marion enters the picture.  The Matrix is the best defender in the league…yeah I said it.  Beware.
Â
Some other keys are bench scoring and the battle of the second scoring options.
Â
Brian: Which league are we talking about again? I’m just wondering if that’s the same Shawn Marion that let Richard Jefferson drop 29 on the Mavs earlier this year, then have a 13-point and 11-rebound game, and a 15 point game after that? I’ll be the first to admit that RJ took a long time to adjust to the Spurs system, but the Mavs are going to have to account for him cuz he seems to have an easier time against them.
Â
Bench scoring I think will be a wash. The Mavs have some nice backups in Terry and Beaubois, the Spurs have Blair and Hill. Even Matt Bonner and Roger Mason can be problematic when they come in and start hitting threes right away. The problem for the Mavs is that Blair is a madman on the glass and can grab a ton of offensive boards. Dirk or Marion are likely to get an arm ripped off they try to battle him for a rebound. I gotta admit that Haywood is going to be a nuisance, but I think McDyess and Blair can hold down the fort – not to mention Duncan.
Â
Chris:  It’s hard to take Matt Bonner seriously when my banker looks more athletic. The dude can shoot but he’s streaky at best. Just another reason to not like the Spurs.
Â
Is Blair going to get many minutes? He’s a rookie with no playoff experience or ACLs.

Brian: Ahh, the ACLs again. They didn’t stop him from having a 27-point, 23 rebound game in the season finale in Dallas. I don’t expect that in the playoffs, but he is clearly a force on the glass and can give the Mavs problems in the paint.
Â
What matchup do you think the Spurs should be most worried about?
Â
Chris: The big German. Honestly, who on the Spurs can guard Dirk Nowitzki?  Still thinking?  Perusing the roster?  Yeah, I can answer that.  No one.  Prepare the double-team.  But just want to let you know, Dirk will throw 10 assists on the Spurs if they double him.
Â
Brian:  You may have forgotten about this guy named Tim Duncan, but he is a pretty decent Power Forward and has been known to play some good defense. Now if Dirk actually remembers how to take the ball to the hole he might do well, but I don’t see him sticking a ton of those jump shots over Duncan. Never know though, they usually have a pretty good battle, especially when the teams are both at full strength which neither team has really been in any meeting this year. I don’t think Dirk can count on another silly foul from Ginobili to help them squeak into the next round though.

What matchup are you most worried about?
Â
Chris:  You must be talking about the Mavs currently unknown second round opponent…right?  Nah.  I’m just kidding.  The Mavs should be worried about Ginobili. They can’t sleep on him or his bald spot.
Â
Brian: I would agree with that. And yes, the bald spot has a dizzying, hypnotic sort of power. We have already seen it work against Dampier, or is he always that useless?
Â
Chris:  Ask Timmy D if Dampier is useless then get back to me.

It’s your turn.  What matchup are you most worried about?

Brian: You mean besides a classic Duncan vs Dampier battle? Hmm, I would have to agree with you and say Dirk. Like I said, if he settles for jumpers all series then the Mavs are beatable. When he goes to the rack, the rest of the team follows his lead and that’s when they get to be the most dangerous since as soon as teams start clogging the paint it starts raining threes. Duncan’s lateral movement isn’t what it once was, so if Dirk insists on taking him or McDyess off the dribble more often than not then we’re in for some long nights. Heaven forbid Popovich puts Bonner on him.
Â
Chris:  Let’s get this on the record.  What is your official series prediction?  I have the Mavs taking down the Spurs in six games.  The Mavs are simply a better basketball team.  Don’t be a homer, Brian.

Brian: I say Spurs in six. It will be Miami and Golden State all over again. High expectations and no delivery, but either way it should be another great Texas Shootout.

 

Thanks, Chris! I know we’re both looking forward to Sunday night’s tipoff and more smack talk next week!

Go Spurs!

You may or may not remember this, but on October 13th, just before the start of this season, the Spurs waived Dwayne Jones. Jones, a 6-11 250-lb forward/center, is now averaging 16.8 points and 15.4 rebounds for the Austin Toros. Not too shabby, even for the D-League. Well, the Mavericks lost Erick Dampier for a month or so with a dislocated finger and need to bring on a backup. Guess who they are looking at? You guessed it… Dwayne Jones. According to ESPN:

“Sources close to the situation told ESPN.com that the Mavericks will work out Dwayne Jones of the Austin Toros later Tuesday and are planning to sign him to a 10-day contract. One source said Jones could even be active for Wednesday’s game against the Los Angeles Lakers.”

Now there is no certainty that the Mavs will bring in Jones, but it would be one more punch in the gut if this guy turned out to be halfway decent and further helped our division rivals in Dallas. The simple fact that he is being considered right now makes me wonder how much potential is being wasted in Ian Mahinmi and Malik Hairston right now.

With a brutal upcoming schedule, we probably won’t get to find out any time soon. I am sure Pop will insist on playing Keith Bogans and Matt Bonner while the Spurs defense fizzles away into non-existence in the fourth quarter of the next few games. We’d be lucky to see Blair get more than 20 minutes.

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

[youtube 0EliZgztJRM]

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.

So the Spurs lost another game to another quality team when they dropped 106-99 to the Denver Nuggets. Once again, a Spurs player was injured (Michael Finley). Once again, the real cuplrit was an ungodly amount of turnovers. Once again, there are still no excuses. The Spurs have now lost two games in a row and are threatening to reverse the trend of winning games that we were just beginning to get accustomed to. I’m not saying it’s time to hit the panic button, but there are some alarming trends with this Spurs team. Instead of doing another recap or even an in-depth preview of the Utah game, I’m just gonna throw a few facts out there for some perspective.

For The Record
-The Spurs are currently 9-8 and about to face a Utah team that is 11-8 and has already beaten the Spurs twice this season – at home and on the road.
-The Spurs are now 2-7 against teams above .500
-They are 5-6 against Western Conference teams
-The silver lining: they are 3-1 against Southwest Division teams

-The only road game they have won against a team over .500 was against an arguably over-achieving Houston team. It was an ugly game and not the most convincing of victories either, especially since the Spurs turned the ball over 14 times in that game.

-The Spurs are 1-4 in home games against teams above .500 – That game was against the Mavericks and is not exactly the best barometer since the Spurs were without Tony Parker and Tim Duncan, and the Mavericks were without Shawn Marion, Josh Howard, and Erick Dampier. Not to mention the Mavericks were exceptionally terrible in that game and lost despite 13 Spurs turnovers.

-The Spurs have won only one game in which they shot below .450, and that was against – you guessed it - Dallas. The same game as above.

Turnovers Galore
-The Spurs are averaging 13.5 turnovers per game
-They have averaged 12.8 turnovers in wins, and 14.3 turnovers in losses

-They have had only four games with 10 or fewer turnovers
-They are 3-1 in those games with the one being against Portland. That was the game when Tony Parker first rolled his ankle and had to sit out half the game. That didn’t kill them though. Instead the Spurs shot themselves in the foot and out of the game with their worst shooting night of the season at .380 - helped in part by going 4-of-21 from downtown.

Not Time To Panic
There is hope, though, and plenty of it. The Spurs started slow last year with a 9-8 record to start and still finished 54-28 and won the division. This is a better team than last year’s but a road-heavy schedule in the second half of the season is not favorable for a team that needs time to gel. The Spurs need to develop the chemistry to play sharp basketball and stop turning the ball over, and they need to continue to bring the kind of defense they have been known for in past seasons. They have shown they are capable of both this year, but they need to bring it consistently and turn into a deadly road team if they are going to have a real chance to win this year.

The Spurs lost to the Mavs in OT last night even after holding them to less than 40% shooting for most of the game. The Spurs played some good defense, but there were still some glaring problems, namely injuries, interior defense, and turnovers. I won’t play the injury card since the Mavs were without Shawn Marion (ankle), Josh Howard (ankle), and Erick Dampier (illness). However, it is worth noting that the Spurs did not have Tony Parker last night, who aggravated his ankle injury against the Thunder. Manu Ginobili started but played only seven minutes before retreating to the locker room with a groin injury. Still, the bigger problems were that, A) the Spurs allowed 46 points in the paint compared to the Mavs allowing only 22, and B) the Spurs turned the ball over 18 times leading to 19 Mavericks points. Meanwhile, the Mavs turned it over only 5 times leading to only 2 Spurs points.

Some notes on the first half:
-Rodrigue Beaubois started for Dallas last night, and this guy could be pretty good down the road if he plays under control more often. He finished with eight points, mostly in the first quarter, and played only 17 minutes.
-I could swear one of the ESPN Announcers (Mike Breen perhaps?) referred to Roger Mason as “Anthony Mason Jr”, and then said that Manu was “headed to the lineup” instead of the locker room a minute later. Wait, what?
-With nine minutes left in the 2nd quarter, Finley does an encore of his “slide outta the way” move where he all but rolls out a red carpet for an opposing player on their way to the basket. I can’t even remember which Mav it was, I had to look away in disgust.
-The final minutes of the 2nd quarter was some atrocious officiating. First, RJ gets called for a charge while Kidd is running along side him as he changes direction and collides with RJ. WTF? Not long after, Roger Mason gets mugged in the corner by two Mavs. No call, Mav’s “steal” the ball and get an easy lay in. I think the refs realized they were mucking things up so they tried to make up for it by immediately calling a bogus foul on Dirk as Bogans is shooting a three. One of the worst stretches of officiating I have seen in a minute.
-DeJuan Blair blocked Dirk’s shot to end the half. It was brilliant.
-The first half was a thoroughly ugly game. Halftime score was 37-35, Mavericks. Ironic since  that’s what these two teams were shooting – Spurs 34% and Mavs 37%. Go figure.

[youtube GdIp0URGFts]

Some notes on the 3rd quarter:
-Midway through the 3rd quarter and Finley goes 1-on-2 after getting an outlet pass from Duncan. Instead of waiting for his teammates and getting a good shot, he throws up some nonsense amidst the two Maverick defenders and of course misses. But he did make a nice baseline turnaround shot shortly after.
-With 6:08 left in the 3rd, McDyess fouls Nowitzki by throwing his chest into Dirk’s elbow. Gotta love this officiating.
-Mason gets called for an offensive foul (pushing off) as Barea pretends he is shot 6 times.
-Spurs have 14 turnovers already, but only trail by one.
-The Ghost of Tim Thomas enters the game. He scores on a put back, and hits one at the buzzer that doesn’t count. Whew! Wait, what the heck is going on here?

Some notes on the 4th quarter:
-Roger Mason tries to dunk (I didn’t know he had it in him), gets fouled, makes both. Mavs lead 63-61.
-What’s this I see? Malik Hairston enters the game with over 11 minutes left. He finishes with two points, one rebound and a turnover in six minutes.
-Kris Humphies was out there snaggin’ everything that even looked like a rebound. I remember thinking, “Where’s Blair?”, but saying out loud, “Someone needs to stop Kris Humphries.” (You know things are grim when you utter that sentence out loud.)
-Dirk shoots over Bonner… again. When is someone (besides Dirk) gonna realize that Bonner cannot guard him.
-The Hobbit (Barea) flops again, but thankfully doesnt get the call this time.
-Finally McDyess is guarding Dirk and blocks his shot – about friggin time.
-Score is tied at 78 on a McDyess baseline jumper with 3:14 to go in spite of 17 Spurs turnovers.
-Oops, make that 18 as RJ completes a 1-yard pass to Terry. Touchdown Dallas!
-Kidd was guarding McDyess on a switch and RJ chose to drive into traffic and miss a terribly ill-conceived shot. The refs will not bail you out in Dallas, RJ.
-Mark Cuban should be forced to wear a hat in public – Frankenhead.
-Huge tip in from Dirk gives dallas 84-82 lead with 14.6 seconds left. No one boxed him out and he came screaching through the lane like a man possessed. Doh!
-Duncan ties it with a bank shot with 2.3 seconds left then blocks Terry’s last second shot – OVERTIME!

Some notes on OT:
-George Hill makes a nice 3-point play to start it off. If not for foul trouble, Hill could have had a much better game. This also would have helped since Roger Mason is not the best option at point guard and Parker and Ginobili (the two best playmakers on the team) were not options.
-Bad foul on McDyess pushing Dirk in the back on a layup. Ugh.
-Humphries tries to punch it on Duncan to no avail.
-Duncan is missing everything including a tip-in that would have given the Spurs a 4-point lead.
-Dirk starts guarding Duncan and forcing him to take some tough shots.
-Dirk completes a 3-point play that gives the Mavs a 92-91 lead, followed by Terry hitting a jumper. 94-91 Dallas.
-Dirk stops Duncan again. Where am I? Did I slip into some alternate reality or parallel dimension or something?
-Terry hits a 3 – CRAP. 97-91 Mavs with 1:15 to go.
-George Hill gets called for an offensive foul, misses a three, and finally makes a three cutting the lead to three. What a weird sequence.
-Kidd gets fouled with 2.4 remaining but the Spurs aren not over the limit so they have to foul Dirk with 1.4 seconds left – he hits both for a season high 41 pts – that’s game. 99-94 Mavericks. Highlights below:

[youtube -yvbGbL93CM]

Spurs Relevant Stat Lines
Tim Duncan: 22 points, 14 rebounds, 6 assists, 4 blocks. He shot 8-of-22 from the field, including 0-of-3 in OT. He seemed to be having a lot of trouble with that turnaround bank shot all night, but it was stuff like missing a tip-in that would have given the Spurs a 4-point lead in OT that drove me crazy.
Richard Jefferson: 13 points, 11 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 block. Team high 5 turnovers – he had as many turnovers as the entire Mavericks team.
George Hill: 15 points, 4 assists, 2 rebounds. The foul trouble was a problem since he had to sit during some crucial stretches in the 3rd and 4th quarters.
Matt Bonner: 11 points, 10 rebounds, 2 assists. He shot 4-of-6 from the floor including 3-of-4 from downtown. He also fouled out, but it’s just as well – he may as well have been 2-foot tall the way Dirk was shooting over him. I’m not mad at him though, I mean he did have a double-double and it’s good to see him crashing the boards a little more.
Michael Finley: 10 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist. Finley shot 4-of-7 from the field including 2-of-2 from downtown. Offensively, he didn’t suck, but any time you’re forced to play Finley for 33 minutes you’re in trouble.
Antonio McDyess: 8 points, 4 rebounds, 2 blocks, 1 assist, 1 steal. How does Dice only get 4 rebounds in 33 minutes?
Roger Mason: 9 points, 2 assists, 1 rebound. Mason’s shooting woes continued as he shot 2-of-8 from the floor and missed both three-point attempts. The good news is that he started to take it to the hole a bit more and finished 5-of-5 from the line.

Mavs Relevant Stat Lines
Dirk Nowitzki: 41 points, 12 rebounds, 1 block. Dirk won this game for the Mavs and played like an MVP.
Drew Gooden: 17 points, 11 rebounds, 3 blocks, 1 steal. He fouled out in the 4th quarter, but is making a strong case for remaining in the starting lineup even when Dampier returns.
Jason Kidd: 2 points, 11 rebounds, 8 assists, 4 steals, only 1 turnover. He shot 1-of-6 from the floor, but you’re allowed to do that when you snag 11 boards, steal the ball 4 times and finish with a 4.0 assist-to-turnover ratio.
Jason Terry: 13 points, 3 assists, 2 steals, 1 rebound. Terry was off last night shooting 4-of-19 from the field, but he made a huge three-pointer in OT that pretty much sealed it for the Mavs.

 

Coyote Ugly: Spurs Turnovers
I know it takes time to acclimate new players to a new system, and it’s difficult for a team to really gel when key players are missing games left and right, but 18 turnovers absolutely can not happen if a team expects to win games. We need some better decision making and communication or this is going to come back to haunt us all year long. Turnovers, more than anything else, lost the Spurs the game last night.

 

Injury Updates/Jazz Preview:

The good news: The Jazz have lost 20 straight games in San Antonio.
The bad news: Ginobili has been ruled out, and Parker is doubtful for tonight’s game against the Jazz.

The Jazz are 6-5 while the Spurs are 4-5 this season. With Parker doubtful, look for George Hill to start again. The lineup will probably be McDyess at center, Duncan and RJ at the forward spots, and Finley and Hill in the backcourt. The Jazz are coming off a 104-91 win over Toronto without starting center Mehmet Okur (flu-like symptoms). If he misses the game tonight, the Jazz will likely start Kyrylo Fesenko at center, Carlos Boozer and Ronnie Brewer at the forward spots, and Deron Williams and Wesley Mathews in the backcourt. The Spurs lost their November 5th matchup with the Jazz 113-99.