Saturday, April 24th, 2010...8:07 am
San Antonio Spurs 94, Dallas Mavericks 90: Reunited, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili are two too much for the Mavs
AT&T CENTER-For all the weapons the Dallas Mavericks acquired over this year, through the majority of the second half it was the same lineup that ousted the San Antonio Spurs in last season’s playoffs unexpectedly staring down the same point guard they still have no answer for.
The difference? This season Tony Parker brought some help.
“It’s a little bit different, last year I was by myself-Manu was hurt and Timmy was playing on one knee,” Parker said. “This year we have everybody so we have a lot more firepower.”
Reunited in the playoffs with Manu Ginobili (15 points and seven assists), and buttressed by the emergence of second year guard George Hill (17 points), Tony Parker led a suddenly surging San Antonio Spurs backcourt that combined for 55 points with 23 points of his own in the Spurs win.
That the three were able to do so without hitting a single three in seven attempts is a huge departure from last season, when Parker and Tim Duncan were surrounded by one-dimensional spot-up shooters that simply stopped hitting shots.
“We had some good looks, I know Matt Bonner got some good looks and George did as well,” Tim Duncan said. “It’s great that if we weren’t hitting those shots we didn’t just throw it up anyway.
“We got away from the 3-point shooting, got the ball inside and made something happen,” Duncan added. “It was a great adjustment by the team in general.”
Much of that work was through Tim Duncan himself. As much as Tony Parker’s burden has been lessened by the return of Manu Ginobili, Duncan’s game has been buoyed by the return of his second leg, which was hindered by knee troubles last year.
Both the San Antonio Spurs and the Dallas Mavericks have made a conscious decision not to double team the other’s franchise big man and receiving similar results.
Dirk Nowitzki had 35 points on 23 shots, bagging heavily contested jumpers over Antonio McDyess as only Nowitzki can.
“It is amazing the physicality that (Antonio McDyess) is playing with, Dirk has been known to draw fouls but he is making Dirk work for everything he gets,” Duncan said. “Even with all of this, Dirk is a great scorer and still gets 35.”
Duncan, however, was able to cancel out Nowitzki’s production with a 25 point effort while providing a defensive presence on the other end.
For much of the night the San Antonio Spurs played some of their most inspired defense of the year, rotating out to shooters, cutting off drives and forcing the Dallas Mavericks into hurried shots against late shot clock situations they weren’t always able to beat.
“I think it was our focus and our mentality tonight, we know when we’re going against a team like Dallas who is very good offensively, our defense has to be ready,” Tony Parker said. “They hurt us in Game 1. If we can keep playing that defense and play it for 48 minutes we’ll have a chance.”
The Spurs were able to neutralize the Mavericks latest acquisitions-holding Caron Butler to two points, Shawn Marion to seven points and Brendan Haywood to four points and four rebounds-forcing Dallas Mavericks head coach Rick Carlisle to use his three guard lineup for almost the entire second half.
The trio of J.J. Barea (14 points, four assists), Jason Terry (17 points) and Jason Kidd (seven points, five assists and seven rebounds) were able to bring the Mavericks back into the game, even gaining a brief advantage with Manu Ginobili in the locker room with a broken nose.
“It was a coach’s decision (not playing Butler in the second half). I was going with a group that was going good, we needed penetration and that was it,” Carlisle said. “(Barea) made good things happen, he was very active and helped us when he was out there.”
Much of the run came through a mixture of the Mavericks zone defensive schemes and the absence of Manu Ginobili, who after fouling Dirk Nowitzki with his face, left to the locker room in a bloody mess with a diagnosed nasal fracture.
Given what he’s been through the past two playoffs, the broken nose wasn’t enough to deter Manu Ginobili, who returned in the fourth quarter to score 11 of his 15 points, weaving through the defense with no regard for his nose.
“This is a guy who beats up bats, he does all kinds of things out there,” Richard Jefferson said. “When he came back we were wondering what took him so long. Then he stepped right in and got his game going again.”
All of this is a much welcome relief for Parker, who may not have the same role but is proving to be the same point guard who ran circles around the Mavericks defense last year.
Adjusting to his new role as Manu jr., Tony Parker scored nine points in the fourth quarter and burying the Mavericks with two late jumpers.
“Now I’m 100 percent, my hip, my plantar fasciitis, everything was gone when I cam back,” Parker said. “Right now I just play free, play my game and be aggressive.”
Finally 100 percent, the San Antonio Spurs can finally just play free, play their game and be aggressive. They now do so up 2-1 over the Mavericks.
39 Comments
April 24th, 2010 at 8:20 am
TP at 100% + Manu unstoppable + Timmy on two knees = Great Win
Go Spurs Go
April 24th, 2010 at 8:20 am
spurs look like a more focused team playing with that sense of urgency.
shawn marion? absent. 2 headed monster of damn and haywood? non-factor. jj barea? shut down in the decond half. dirk is all alone out therer
April 24th, 2010 at 8:33 am
Great review. And while I did see RJ take a couple jumpers (but knock them down), we didn’t force the 3. We had great ball movement for the most part and Hill finally broke out of his playoff shell.
This is good..
April 24th, 2010 at 8:36 am
You have to get a sense that the Mavs are reeling a little bit. I wonder how Butler and Haywood and Marion are going to react after not playing in the second half. And again I bet Drik doesnt go off for 35 ig game 4. Al of this is advantage
Spurs.I hope that Ginobili doesnt have to wear a mask or anything like that for his nose, because it might throw his game off just a little bit.
April 24th, 2010 at 8:44 am
On a side note, if you go over to the Mavs ESPN Truehoop blog, their fans are getting a little worried. It’s actually pretty funny
April 24th, 2010 at 8:51 am
This series seems to be the re-emergence of Manu Ginobili more than anything else. He has come out with something to prove. You can see it with every shot he makes, he gives that fist bump. It reminds me of Kobe last year with his ’scary’ face.
I’ve never seen Manu so pumped to get a layup. It’s good to know that the heart of this team is more feisty and more full of passion than usual. I’m excited.
April 24th, 2010 at 8:52 am
The Spurs Championship-level focus, sense of urgency, and aggressiveness put them over the top in this game. The defensive rotations and physicality were at their highest level of the entire year, and the Mavs couldn’t break through it when it mattered.
Manu, Tony, and Tim all healthy makes this team very very dangerous. Let’s Go Spurs!
April 24th, 2010 at 8:54 am
We wouldn’t have won last night without TP’s timely shooting, twisting, weaving and blazing to the basket. It was evident how Ginobili was missed during the time he was getting treated in the locker room (that and Bonner in the game at the wrong time). Why would we want to trade Tony Parker? He and George Hill represent a young guard tandem I would stack up against almost any back court in the league. It is the front court that needs attention in the future, but right now, in a 7 game series, I would take our chances against any team in the league. I’m calling game 4 a must-win!!!
April 24th, 2010 at 8:59 am
Great win. Good to see the big three all play well together for the third straight game. I think our three leading guys are more talented and mentally tougher than theirs and that will be the difference in the series.
Good to see Hill step up big and look healthy again.
Not sure about Bonner’s box score, but he wasn’t terrible on Dirk. That charge he drew (the correct call by officials, in my view) was clutch as heck.
Good to see Bogans and Mason getting limited minutes again.
RJ could take the Spurs to another level if he could play a little more consistently-just 10 pts and 6 rebounds per game from him would add a new dimension. I hope we make an effort to get him going early in the next game.
April 24th, 2010 at 9:07 am
During halftime of the Heat-Celtics game on ESPN, they were giving a preview of last night’s Spurs game. Avery Johnson said the keys to the Mavs were Shawn Marion and the Centers (Haywood/Dampier) scoring. We may be letting Dirk do his thing, but we have prevented others from getting involved. We still need 3PT shooters eventually to show up. I also appreciate the play of Mason and Bogans last night.
April 24th, 2010 at 9:13 am
We do need to see Sunday as the time to put the Mavs away. Winning at home again is what this team needs, and hopefully we can get some rest before next round.
GO SPURS GO!!!!!
April 24th, 2010 at 9:41 am
The Big 3, with Dyce doing his thing on the boards and against Dirk while adding a few points to boot, and ONE other contributor, be it Hill or Jefferson, and the Spurs are pretty damn hard to beat.
Note to Pop: I’m sure there are some players and some teams (most are probably not in the playoffs) that Ginger can do a decent job against. But against the Mavs … not so much. The entire flow and rhythm of the game (not to mention the opponents’ offensive strategy) changes the moment he comes in. Please, Pop, try someone else, anyone else. Yes, I know, he tries hard, is a helluva nice guy and even married a local girl, but please, not in this series.
April 24th, 2010 at 10:01 am
We need to stay humble. Game 4 is not the one we need to put the Mavs away. Why? Because we’d still need one more win. We need to stay humble. I cannot stress that enough. I’m not worried about our Big Three. They know what to do and how to react to games like these. It’s the rest our guys that I’m concerned about. If we stay humble, we’ll give ourselves a chance to win Game 4. If we go out there with even an ounce of cockiness… We’ll get blown out. I have no doubts about that.
April 24th, 2010 at 10:20 am
GREAT WIN. TP was huge! MANU was HUGE! HILL was HUGE! TD was HUGE! and I guess Mcdeezy really was waiting for the playoffs.
Even though they lost Game 1 it feels like THe SPURS have controlled every game. It’s theirs to lose. No let down, gotta win Game 4 or last night means nothing.
They could have ended this game early but they could never pull away. Turnovers and bad shots kept the MAVS in it. Plus they didn’t hit a three. You always need a three to bust games open.
You kind of got a feeling in the first quarter that the MAVS knew the SPURS were the better team. But the SPURS kept letting them back in.
Game 4 is the game were they can apply pressure to the MAvs neck.
I love their chances.
April 24th, 2010 at 10:35 am
Defense and offensive execution. The rebounding could’ve been a bit better at times but the defense was hounding and outstanding. That’s a very good scoring team the Spurs are keeping under control and making them work for everything. The Mavs make one offensive driven run per half; so long as the Spurs weather that and don’t feed into it with turnovers or sloppy defense it always balances out when their jumpers stop falling.
Much like some people needed reminding of Manu’s greatness, which was fully on display once he got healthy and found his rhythm, we are now reminded of Tony’s greatness. His speed is back since his legs are healthy. His floater has returned. And even in his younger days as an inconsistent jump-shooter, he was clutch late in playoff games. All were on display last night. And the Mavs have no answer for any of the big-3, nor do they have one for Hill. Go Spurs!
April 24th, 2010 at 10:38 am
[...] about San Antonio Spurs 94, Dallas Mavericks 90: Reunited, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili are two too much … [...]
April 24th, 2010 at 12:00 pm
I’m a little worried about Tony’s jumper. Replays show that sidespin he used to have in the early days. Hope he gets some time with shot doctor Chip Engelland.
April 24th, 2010 at 1:31 pm
These were the types of games that they were losing during the regular season (before their late season run). And these were the types of games that past Spurs teams won. Half court execution in the 4th, hitting clutch shots. I really really like how Carlisle split the team by benching Marion and Butler in favor of small ball and gave Barea all of those minutes. Butler didn’t even soeak to anyone after the game. Marion was very vocal about being benched. Bad bad move by Carlisle. Let’s hope their focus is a bit lacking in game 4. Gotta hold serve on our home court. Dallas was the #1 road team in the regular season so Game 4 will not be a picnic. A healthier Hill came through last night and Dyess was clutch in the 4th when we needed him. Timmy D and TP were the same studs they’ve been in the series and Manu stepped up huge in the 4th when we needed him. Let’s take game 4!!!
P.S. Gotta luv Dallas players and fans complaining about the reffs. Keep losign focus guys… keep losing focus!
April 24th, 2010 at 1:38 pm
@doggydogworld
That side spin generally is there when he’s not hitting. This is generally why Parker has trouble being a consistent shooter.
April 24th, 2010 at 1:39 pm
what? no ballhog to bitch about somethin yet?
come on!
April 24th, 2010 at 1:41 pm
[...] Scratch broken noses off the list of things that could possibly deter Manu Ginobili, who will start in Game 4 for the San Antonio Spurs despite suffering the injury in third quarter of last night’s 94-90 victory over the Dallas Mavericks. [...]
April 24th, 2010 at 2:31 pm
Tony played great last night. And yes I would still trade him in a heartbeat for a dominating big man.
Heres the best part for all the +/- idiots out there.
Parker had a minus 12
Bonner had a plus 4
Tell Wayne Winston to come up with a new formula.
Point of interest should be Tim Duncans TOs and Bonner getting minutes. He shoots 28% from three during the playoffs.
April 24th, 2010 at 2:49 pm
I forgot about the Bon-ster’s sweet job of drawing a charge on Dirk. Loved it. Close call, but the refs got it right.
April 24th, 2010 at 2:53 pm
All I want to know is how Gino’s nose could cause a foul on Dirk’s elbow. Not the first time for that call if memory serves.
April 24th, 2010 at 3:28 pm
[...] in the third quarter of the San Antonio Spurs 94-90 win over the Dallas Mavericks Manu Ginobili caught an elbow from Dirk Nowitzki, fouling him with his face, and left to the Spurs [...]
April 24th, 2010 at 7:05 pm
Is that why we play Bonner 20 minutes a game? 1 charge and 0-fer three ball?
April 24th, 2010 at 10:32 pm
The Spurs are playing great basketball at the right time. They look tough. Missing all our 3 pt shots and still winning is an incredible good sign. They are playing like the champions they are!
April 25th, 2010 at 12:42 am
Take note that Game 4 falls on the 34th milestone of Tim Duncan, who will do everything so his birthday bash won’t be spoiled - and if Manu, TP, RJ, George Hill and company can help it, too. Expect another focused collective effort by San Antonio.
I’m sticking to my guns that the resurgent Spurs wrap it up in six games, although if they win Game 4, it would be superb if they close it out on enemy territory. That ought to drive the “Spurs-hater” nuts.
April 25th, 2010 at 10:05 am
Bonner is shooting 38% from THREE (which is his main specialty, in his role on this team) in the series against the Mavs. Hardly what one might consider under-performing when the TEAM is shooting 36% from THREE for the series. Plus, we don’t have a lot of options in having someone man-up on Dirk for 40+ minutes. It only makes sense to have Bonner play a part-time role in that. And to be honest, he’s done okay so far in a nightmare cover assignment. His overall FG% might be down a bit, so far, but it’s likely he’ll work himself back up to near his career range of 45-47%. In the meantime, I’m not unhappy with his 15-18 minutes per game in this series.
April 25th, 2010 at 10:42 am
Jim Henderson please look at his CAREER PLAYOFF PERCENTAGES.
April 25th, 2010 at 2:32 pm
In 2006-2007, Bonner’s playoff minutes per game were 2.8. In the 2007-2008 playoffs he played a TOTAL of 9 minutes, 4.5 mpg.
Surely you’re not going to suggest that his shooting numbers in those first two playoff series are relevant, with such limited playing time & minutes, are you?
In his FIRST playoff series with a reasonably steady & significant amount of playing time (2008-2009 - a whole 5 games), he did not shoot the ball well. Based on this small number of games in his FIRST and only REAL series, you’re going to label him as a non-performer? I’m certainly not. That’s not enough data for me.
April 25th, 2010 at 4:38 pm
Jim Henderson-
LOOK AT HIS ATTEMPTS AND THEN MAKES
That is how you determine shooting percentages, since you didnt understand. He was shooting 28% before his 0-2 before half time of 4th game. GET A CLUE!!!!
In addition for all the +/- idiots here at the board. Hill has 21 points and shooting 80% and has a worse plus minus than Bonner who is 0 for 2 with his man getting easy buckets.
Go WAYNE WINSTON!!!!
April 25th, 2010 at 7:33 pm
“Manu jr.”? Hey that’s not nice!
April 25th, 2010 at 8:32 pm
[...] Center-A game after Dallas Mavericks head coach Rick Carlisle benched each of his team’s new acquisitions in the second half, the San Antonio Spurs turned to theirs with the trio of Tim Duncan, Manu [...]
April 25th, 2010 at 10:49 pm
Trade Tp
April 25th, 2010 at 4:38 pm
“LOOK AT HIS ATTEMPTS AND THEN MAKES
That is how you determine shooting percentages, since you didnt understand. He was shooting 28% before his 0-2 before half time of 4th game. GET A CLUE!!!!”
Now, LISTEN/READ CAREFULLY. This is what I said from this morning (through game THREE), which means it had nothing to do with game FOUR!
“Bonner is shooting 38% from THREE (which is his main specialty, in his role on this team) in the series against the Mavs. Hardly what one might consider under-performing when the TEAM is shooting 36% from THREE for the series.”
And yes, through the first THREE games in this playoff against the Mavs, Bonner had made THREE three’s out of EIGHT attempts, and was thus shooting 38% from the three point line! Where are you getting “28% BEFORE tonight’s game?!” Even if you were referring to TOTAL FG% you would still be wrong. In total FG%, Bonner had shot 5 for 15 through the first three games, which is 33%!
So in the future, can you get your facts straight first before you throw around obnoxious insults?! You need to get a hold of yourself. This is getting embarrassing, not to mention wasting my time attempting to educate the uneducable!!!
April 26th, 2010 at 5:21 am
Im getting those numbers, Jim, FROM HIS CAREER AVERAGES. Which means how he’s shot his ENTIRE PLAYOFF CAREER.
You keep making nonsense points to make your hero (pop) look better for putting him in the game. But you just keep ignoring or not being able to understand basic logic.
So go play your one on one and have a cool one with the other grown men who have never played basketball competitively.
April 26th, 2010 at 11:17 am
Trade Tp
April 26th, 2010 at 5:21 am
From my previous post on this thread:
“In 2006-2007, Bonner’s playoff minutes per game were 2.8. In the 2007-2008 playoffs he played a TOTAL of 9 minutes, 4.5 mpg.
Surely you’re not going to suggest that his shooting numbers in those first two playoff series are relevant, with such limited playing time & minutes, are you?”
As you can see, I already debunked your “PLAYOFF CAREER” shooting numbers as being entirely misleading & statistically irrelevant. But you choose to ignore such common sense, and apparently have clung to using shooting numbers in his first two years of playoff action when he wasn’t even in the regular rotation, and averaged THREE minutes per game?! That’s pretty funny. You’d throw up air-balls in that type of situation. Give me a break!
I hate to clue you in, but I played COMPETITIVELY for six years in high school & college, and one of my teams went 20-0. So what, I suppose you played for the Chicago Bulls of the 1990’s?! LOL! The fact is, you don’t know jack about the game as a result of your ball-boy role on whatever Mickey Mouse team you ever played for, and you certainly don’t understand how to effectively apply data & logic to your analysis of NBA talent, or coaching ability.
So take your obnoxious little arguments to your friends, if you have any, and/or if they’re dumb enough to put up with it. But leave me out of your patronizing and silly commentary. It’s a waste of time.
April 26th, 2010 at 12:32 pm
Wow Jim Henderson you’re probably the most ignorant person on the planet.
Let me get this straight. You only count FG% when you play a certain amount of time?
Youre a tool and you didnt “debunk” anything. You just made yourself look like an idiot trying to claim when you can and cannot use shooting percentage.
20-0 ! Great job. Im sure playing in the disability league at the YMCA will be calling for your services.
April 26th, 2010 at 5:24 pm
Trade Tp
April 26th, 2010 at 12:32 pm
Hey, Moron. If one fails to use statistics in their proper context, they can be entirely worthless (that is, unless you think that someone who makes nine out of ten free throws is somehow comparable to someone that makes 900 out of 1000, because they converted at the same %!). Of course, I wouldn’t expect a GED recipient to understand this. And yes, you’re right, I forgot how uneducated you are.
The fact is, there’s NEVER, EVER, been a good three point shooter (over 37%) that only averaged 3 minutes per game (over at least 9 games, and 30 total minutes played). Not EVER, in the history of the league!!!! Just name one, smartass! Three point shooters have to “play enough” (I’m afraid 3 mpg. doesn’t cut it!) to get into a rhythm, you clown. I guess you wouldn’t know that because it doesn’t matter whether you get minutes or not, your outside shot probably sucks either way.
Again, “there’s NEVER, EVER, been a good three point shooter (over 37%) that only averaged 3 minutes per game (over at least a 9 game span, and 30 total minutes played).” Name one, and I’ll respond. Otherwise, I’ll go back to ignoring your posts. They’re utterly pathetic and idiotic, and a waste of my time.
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