Dallas at San Antonio - Game 1 (May 5) Both teams started out shooting poorly. San Antonio led 8-4 with 8:30 remaining and Dallas scored the next 5 points to take a 9-8 lead with 6:20 remaining. But the Spurs scored the next 7 points, as Dallas missed 7 straight shots, to re-take the lead at 16-9 with 2 minutes left. San Antonio led 16-11 after 1. Only Shawn Bradley, with 6 points and 5 blocks, show up for Dallas. Bradley shot 3-5 FG and the rest of the team shot 1-14 FG. San Antonio also struggled shooting just 6-20 FG. Dallas' 11 points set the team record low for playoff points in a quarter. Dirk Nowitzki picked up 2 fouls less than 2 minutes into the game and picked up his 3rd foul with 5:30 left - Don Nelson did leave him in before taking him out with 2:30 remaining. San Antonio led in single digits for most of the 2nd quarter and Dallas' shooting woes continued. San Antonio led 34-28 with 3:45 to go and scored the next 5 points to put their lead in double-digits at 39-28 with 2:20 left. With about 5 seconds left, San Antonio was running and got the ball to Derek Anderson on the wing; Anderson went flying in going for a slam dunk and Juwan Howard came over strong to try to block the dunk attempt. Howard got the ball, but also got Anderson's arm, knocking him off balance and Anderson went crashing to the floor. Howard was ejected with a flagrant foul level 2 and Anderson left with a separated shoulder. It left a sour note on the game. Terry Porter hit 1 of 2 free throws and Tim Duncan got a layup just before the buzzer. San Antonio led 47-34 at the half. Duncan had 14 points including 6-7 FG in the 2nd quarter. San Antonio shot 11-17 FG and Dallas shot 8-18 FG. San Antonio came out sluggish to start the 3rd quarter and Dallas took advantage by scoring the first 6 points to pull within 40-47 with 11 minutes to go. Gregg Popovich called timeout and the Spurs regrouped with a 23-7 run to put the game away early at 70-47 with 2:20 left. San Antonio led 76-53 after 3. The 4th was pure garbage time as Michael Finley, Dirk Nowitzki, and Steve Nash did not play at all in the 4th. Strangely, David Robinson wasn't pulled until 7 minutes remaining and, even more strangely, Duncan was subbed in for Robinson. Duncan sat with 4 minutes left. Dallas' bench went on a 14-5 run to pull with in 76-89 with 2:25 left and make the final score closer than the game was. San Antonio won 94-78. Well, it was a very poor game by Dallas. Dallas could not find the basket most of the night, shooting only 37% FG. That won't cut it. Both Steve Nash and Dirk Nowitzki substained injuries Thursday night, but did play and did not use their injuries as excuses. Nash sprained his ankle in the first quarter of the Utah game and Nowitzki injured his heel in the post-game celebration and could hardly walk on Friday. More than his injury, Nowitzki was hurt by the foul trouble he quickly got in against the Spurs. Nash only had 2 points including 0-4 FG and 6 assists. He hardly played in the 2nd half and did not have a field goal attempted. Nowitzki only had 9 points including 3-13 FG (including 0-5 FG in the 1st half) and 7 rebounds. Michael Finley was the only Mav starter in double-digits with 17 points in a playoff low (by 10 minutes) 32 minutes. Juwan Howard only had 8 points including 2-7 FG before being ejected at the end of the 2nd quarter and Duncan scored a ton on him. Shawn Bradley had a _great_ 1st quarter and actually carried the team for a while. Bradley had 8 points, 12 rebounds, and 6 blocks. The only positive from the game was that the bench had a chance to play. Howard Eisley showed signs of life with 16 points (and 7 came before the 4th quarter) including 6-9 FG. In his first game of the playoffs, Greg Buckner performed well and his knee did not look to be bothering him. All of his 12 minutes came in the 4th quarter. He had 6 points and 2 rebounds. Eduardo Najera had 7 points and 7 rebounds, Wang Zhizhi had 3 points, and Vernon Maxwell had 2 points and 5 rebounds. Calvin Booth got in foul trouble earlier in the game and did not score and Mark Bryant did not play. For San Antonio, Dallas could do nothing with Tim Duncan. He performed like the superstar he is and had 31 points including 14-22 FG and 13 rebounds. David Robinson only had 11 points on a poor 2-12 FG and 7-10 FT, 11 rebounds, and 3 blocks. But that was all they needed. Antonio Daniels was the only other Spur in double-digits with 13 points. Starters Danny Ferry only had 2 points, Derek Anderson had 6 points before his injury, and Terry Porter had 3 points. Avery Johnson had 5 points (his 2 field goals came from layups, which he always gets against Dallas) and 8 assists. Malik Rose had 2 points and 8 rebounds. Sean Elliott and Steve Kerr had 9 points each, Samaki Walker had 3 points, and Shawnele Scott had a donut in a minute of play. I really have to question why Tim Duncan and David Robinson played in the 4th. You're just asking for trouble playing your stars in garbage time. Sure, Dallas has a great reputation of coming back, but that is with Finley, Nowitzki, and/or Nash on the court - and none of them played in the 4th. Okay, on to the flagrant. There was lots and lots of talk about Juwan Howard's flagrant foul on Derek Anderson. And lots of over-reaction by both sides. Anderson was going hard to the rim and Howard was going for the ball, but you don't go after a player like that when the player is in the air no matter what. It's just too dangerous. Those saying Howard shouldn't have been ejected and/or that it should have been a flagrant 2 were looking with biased eyes. The call was right - Howard should have been ejected. A flagrant is defined as unnecessary and excessive [excessive makes it level 2] - intent or going after the ball has nothing to do with whether or not it is a flagrant foul. Those calling for a multi-game suspension for Howard were over-reacting the other way. The was no intent to injure or commit the hard foul. Howard was going for the block, it's just the follow through caught Anderson wrong and Anderson landed on his shoulder. I wouldn't have been surprised (or upset), if he was suspended for one game, but the league ruled Sunday evening that he would not be suspended. Howard's reputation of being a good guy and not having a history of rough play probably saved him from a suspension [plus the fact it was accidental]. The bad news of the whole thing was that Anderson suffered a grade 3 separated shoulder and will be out 3 to 6 weeks. You hate to see a player get injured. With _many_ thanks to Mark Cuban and Gregg Elkin, I was at this game. [Hi all to those who honked and cheered at me on the drive down and back - my car has "GO MAVS!" on the rear window.] I must say I was surprised by the crowd in the Alamodome. Reunion is rocking and buzzing half an hour before game time. The Alamodome was pretty quiet until right before the players were introduced. Not even a countdown or growing buzz as game time approached. Yes, the crowd got loud for the introduction and often during the game, but there were also down times. [Reunion has always buzzed during the playoffs - during the good times in the 80s - so it's not just a "new to the playoffs" thing.] Quotes Greg Popovich: "I was real pleased with the team defense. I thought the 5-man defense was good. We helped each other and got accomplished what we wanted to get accomplished defensively. When we do that, we're a good team. When we don't do that, we're just another basketball team. It was really great to see that. That was the best part of the whole game for me." Popovich on the flagrant: "It just happened. Juwan didn't do it on purpose. Derek went hard to the hole and Juwan was trying to keep him from hitting. There was a collision. It was nothing purposeful." Popovich on the flagrant: "Juwan Howard is not the type of kid that would go do that on purpose. Derek went hard to the hole. Juwan went to go get him and stop him from dunking it. And it cracked and it was a hell of a collision. Nothing was purposeful. It just happened. It was unfortunate. And that's the way it goes." Tim Duncan on the team after the flagrant: "I thought we did a great job of keeping our composure together." Duncan on the flagrant: "We lost a big part of our team on a stupid foul with 2 seconds left on the clock. I think everyone is a little pissed off about what happened. To lose a player on a play like that is really uncalled for. Whether it's intentional or not, you don't know. In the playoffs people try to foul hard and send a point. But a situation with a guy in the air and you take him out like that, it's uncalled for." Duncan on Anderson's injury: "We lose a big part of our team on a stupid foul that happened with 2 seconds left on the clock. Of course it angers us. But what can you do? Hopefully, it will be a speedy recovery. Hopefully it's not as bad as they think it is." Duncan on losing Anderson: "It's a tough loss for us, a huge loss for us. It's unfortunate to have him out. We're going to have to mix and match to cover while he's gone." David Robinson: "It's hard when you sit around for 5 or 6 days and you have to get up and all of the sudden and match the energy of a team like Dallas. so I thought we did a good job of that tonight and we didn't come out sluggish at all. Of course, we missed a lot of easy shots early. But the defense was very good and that's what keeps us in games. The defense I thought was really the key tonight and it opened up that 3rd quarter, really got some great defense and didn't let them get the offensive boards too much." Robinson on Bradley: "I tell you what - we didn't have an answer for him tonight. It's going to take a little bit of an adjustment, but I thought we did adjust as the game went on." Robinson on Anderson's injury: "You could tell he was in a lot of pain." Robinson on losing Anderson: "It affected us. We have a guy down who will be out for a while. Nobody replaces Derek. It's frustrating." Robinson on losing Anderson: "Obviously it affected us. You go in [to the locker room] and see one of your key guys go down and you know he's going to be out for a while, that's disappointing. Yeah, they may lose [Howard] a couple of games, but that doesn't compare to our loss." Robinson on losing Anderson: "It's frustrating. He's a key guy to what we do. That particular foul, if it wasn't a mean foul, it was a foolish foul to try take him down like that. That hurt us." Robinson: "Derek is a key part of what we do. Fortunately, our bench has been pretty deep. Those guys are going to have to do what they've done all year and step it up and really play good basketball." Robinson on Howard and the flagrant: "I'm hopeful that he didn't do it to hurt him, Juwan doesn't have that reputation. There's a lot at stake. This throws a little fuel on the fire." Robinson if the flagrant added motivation: "Yeah, there's a lot at stake, anyway. This throws a little fuel on the fire. Obviously the fans are going to get a little fired up about it. It adds a little spice to everything. That's playoff basketball. It's going to be intense, anyway. If you're not ready for it, you're going to be in trouble." Avery Johnson on a reporter's question if the flagrant was cheap: "Cheap? My only point is a hard playoff foul is a hard playoff foul. I don't think that type of foul is necessary. You can foul a guy to make a statement without taking him out." Antonio Daniels on what Popovich said during the early timeout in the 3rd: "We came out pretty slow in the 3rd. Pop called a timeout and said we were playing like someone had died. That's the time he told us how long [Anderson] was out for. It seemed to light a fire under us." Daniels on the flagrant: "2 seconds to go on the clock, I thought that was extremely uncalled for. I don't think there's room for anything like that in basketball. I don't care if it's the playoffs or not." Daniels: "Derek Anderson's been an integral part of this team all season. To lose a guy like that - is tough to deal with." Malik Rose on San Antonio's defense of Dallas' pick-and-roll: "We have some schemes on defense. I'm sure they'll make some adjustments. We'll see on Monday." Steve Kerr on losing Anderson: "It's just a terrible shame. Obviously we can't replace him, so we just move on." Kerr: "Of course we're angry it was a flagrant foul. It was one of those questionable plays that happen sometimes. I don't think Juwan meant to be malicious, but you have to question the foul." Kerr on the flagrant: "I don't think it was malicious. But his judgment was bad." Don Nelson: "They are the best defensive team in basketball. We don't expect it to be easy." Nelson: "They're the best defensive team in the league. That's the reason we weren't able to make a run. They're very good." Nelson: "Well, this was a game I was very worried about. If there is injustice in the league, it's when you get through with one series, you have to play again with one day rest. And we knew it would be a tough game for us. We're emotionally drained. We have a couple of players that were hurt, but I'm not going to use that as an excuse because they laced them up and if you're out there, you're a 100%, that's the way I look at it. I'm not looking for excuses, I'm just telling you that it's a game I worried about, but it happened." Nelson: "It isn't like this was part of the game plan, to be beaten real bad in Game 1 so I can yell at the team and get them fired up for Monday night. We came to play tonight, except we didn't play well at all. I'm not looking for any excuses, but the facts are pretty obvious. We came in here emotionally drained, plus we had a couple of injuries leftover from Game 5 up there. Anybody who has ever come down from an emotional high, like winning at the buzzer, knows you tend to relax. And we did tonight." Nelson on the schedule: "It's an injustice in this league to get through one series and then play again on one day's rest. We knew it would be tough." Nelson: "It is a long series; it is not a one game series. Our back is not to the wall or in a corner like it has been for our last 3 games and it's a game that we, of course, have to play better and with more energy. And we will." Nelson on Dallas' shooting: "Defense has something to do with that. They aren't the best defensive team in the league for nothing. But then we have Dirk getting hit with 3 quick touch fouls and that also was a big part of us not shooting well." Nelson on the blowout: "It's not necessarily a bad thing, not nearly as bad as it looked, just as long as you use it to rise up again in Game 2." Nelson: "This loss can be summed up one way: we have to play better, plus with much more energy. And we will." Nelson on Nowitzki, who suffered a heel injury after the Utah win: "Yesterday, he could hardly even walk. I just wanted to make sure he could go tonight. Then came those fouls - those touch fouls - and he never had the opportunity to get going." Nelson on leaving Nowitzki in after he picked up his 2nd foul: "I don't want to be stupid and get caught in a situation where he has 3 fouls for a while, but that's a gamble I'm going to take. It's a hard position to be in, but I was hoping he could play [with 2 fouls]. I need my best players out on the floor to have any chance to win." Nelson: "You hate to waste a great performance by Shawn Bradley, because he hasn't played all that well against the Spurs. But he was really an anchor tonight. Unfortunately, nobody else had their legs." Nelson on Howard's ejection: "I thought that was a ridiculous call. He made a play for the ball. It was not a flagrant 2. But it was called and I hope that the league would review that. I hope that they will. It was unfortunate. I don't want anyone to get hurt and it was one of Juwan's good friends. He wouldn't do that - he wouldn't do that anyway - but he would never do that in that kind of situation. You know, it's one of the highest jumpers in the league. He was airborn and unfortunately caught his wrist and he flipped. But did not go for head, which the referee said he did. I hope that the league looks at it, that's all." Nelson on Howard's ejection: "It was a ridiculous call. That was not a flagrant foul. I hope the league reviews that play. I don't think it'll be a suspension. That's my story and I'm sticking to it." Nelson on ref Terry Durham first telling him it was a flagrant 2 because Howard went for Anderson's head: "Then he came back in the 2nd half and said, 'No, he didn't go for his head.'" Michael Finley: "We were able to penetrate and get some easy looks at the basket that we normally knock down, but we didn't hit them tonight." Finley: "We had some decent looks and just missed some shots. I personally missed some shots I usually make." Finley: "We couldn't make shots when we needed to and because of that the lead got too big." Finley: "We came out of the half the aggressor. We cut it to 7 and then started missing." Finley: "I never thought we would sweep the Spurs. And now it's a given we won't sweep the Spurs." Finley on sitting the last 16 minutes of the game: "I actually wanted to go back in the game. That's just me being the young guy who loves to play. The coaching staff sat me down and said this is a 7 game series, there's no need for me to go out there and exert extra energy when I have time to rest." Finley on the flagrant: "We're not a dirty team. It was an unfortunate incident." Finley on the Spurs losing Anderson: "It may have changed the series. You don't know how bad Derek is and what the league will do to Juwan." Dirk Nowitzki: "It was a terrible game for us. We couldn't do anything right. We didn't shoot the ball well. I don't think there is anything we can take away from Game 1 into Game 2." Nowitzki on his fouls: "Maybe I've got to be more careful. This never happens. I usually end up with 2 or 3 fouls." Steve Nash: "We knew it would be a tough game. We were emotionally drained." Nash: "We've definitely faced a lot of physical, mental, and emotional challenges recently." Nash: "It's a long series. Obviously I've got to take more shots. But we were a little off today. We didn't play well and they did. Yeah, we probably were a little emotionally and physically drained after the Utah series." Nash on the reoccurring deficits: "I don't think it's the death of our team. We don't do it by design. Our team is so perimeter-oriented that we're going to have peaks and valleys. But we were able to overcome it in the Utah series." Nash on Nowitzki's fouls: "Yeah, maybe he's a little frustrated. But Dirk will work through it." Nash on the flagrant: "I don't think it was fair. I don't think he meant any harm. It puts the refs in a tough situation. 30,000 people are screaming." Nash on the Alamodome: "It's not the best shooting gym in the world, but that doesn't mean you can't get hot. They're a very good defensive team, but we didn't shoot well." Nash on the schedule: "It's definitely something to do with money. We could've used another day to rest and prepare, but LA's the big showcase game they want to show on Sunday for the big ratings." Juwan Howard on the flagrant: "Let's not get this twisted, because I am very hurt by what has happened. Derek was driving to the basket and I went for the basketball." Howard: "It wasn't about me trying to make a hard foul. I was going for the basketball, trying to block the shot. Let's not get this twisted." Howard: "Derek was driving to the hole and all I was trying to do was trying to go for the ball and try to block the shot. I don't know for sure what really happened. I don't know if my arm got tangled in his arm. But he was off balanced and he fell. And the first thing I went to do was tried to see if he was all right. It was a freak accident. I'm not no dirty player. And Derek knows that. I just hate to see anything like that happen to him or any other player." Howard: "I was only trying to block his shot. My arm got tangled up with his arm and he fell off balance and landed hard." Howard on the flagrant: "His feet went out and he landed on his back. I was not going for a hard foul." Howard on the flagrant: "It wasn't about me trying to make a hard foul. I was going for the ball, trying to block the ball." Howard on the flagrant: "All I was trying to do was go for the ball and block the shot. The first thing I tried to do was see if he was all right. I'm not no dirty player." Howard on his flagrant: "That's not me. I'm not a dirty player. It hurts me to ever see anyone hurt." Howard: "I'm not a dirty player; it was not anything done intentional. I think what happened was my arm and his arm probably got tangled, and he got off balanced and he fell on his back. I hate to see anything like that happen to him, because I want to see him continue and play out there in this series. I know if it was a vice-versa situation I would be hurting, I would be saddened by the situation." Howard when he found out Anderson was seriously hurt: "I went over and asked if I could see him, and he wanted to see me, too. With Derek and I being good friends, I saw him and apologized to him. One thing he asked me to do was pray for him, which is the least I can do." Howard on visiting Anderson: "I felt really bad about him. I heard it was a separated shoulder. So I went down there and apologized about what happened. It was an accident. Even he said that he knows I'm not a dirty player. Derek and I have been good friends, since a long time, since back in college when he played at Ohio State. I saw his fiancee and I apologized to her. I hate to see that because I want to see him continue to play in this series and go on whatever happens after this. I don't want to see this happen to anyone on this team." Howard on Anderson: "We go a long way back. He's my man. Before the game, I gave everyone [on the Spurs] a pound. I gave Derek a hug. He's family." Howard on what Anderson said to him: "He said he knew I didn't try to do that on purpose, that it could have happened to any one of us. One thing he asked me to do was pray for him. That's the least I can do. Sure enough, that's what I'm going to do. I'm going to pray for him." Howard on a possible suspension: "It is in David Stern's and Russ Granik's hands. If they check my history and background, they will see that I'm not capable of doing anything to hurt opponents on the floor." Shawn Bradley: "They were attacking the basket a lot early and that allowed me to stay in position." Bradley on the flagrant: "I saw the replay. It didn't look like a penalty 2. Juwan went for the ball." Greg Buckner on his return to action: "Coach was able to see that I'm ready. Now that I've got one game under my belt, maybe I can play like the old Greg Buckner." Head ref Dick Bavetta on the flagrant: "We all conferred immediately when it happened, and collectively we agreed it was a 2." Bavetta when asked why: "Because we thought it was unnecessary and excessive." San Antonio Spurs 94, Dallas Mavericks 78 at San Antonio (May 5) 1st 2nd 3rd 4th - Final 2FG 3FG FG% FT% San Antonio 16 31 29 18 - 94 .433 .452 .438 .649 Dallas 11 23 19 25 - 78 .415 .188 .370 .882 Halftime: San Antonio 47-34 3rd Q: San Antonio 76-53 Technicals: Don Nelson 5:36 1st, Dirk Nowitzki 4:34 3rd Flagrant foul: Juwan Howard (level 2 - ejected) 0:03 2nd Refs: Dick Bavetta, Derrick Stafford, Terry Durham Attendance: 32,798 (sellout) San Antonio Spurs REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Tim Duncan 37 14-22 0-0 3-6 31 4-13 1 4 3 1 2 Danny Ferry 21 1-3 0-1 0-0 2 0-4 0 0 3 0 0 David Robinson 26 2-12 0-0 7-10 11 3-11 2 3 4 2 3 Derek Anderson 17 1-4 1-3 3-5 6 0-0 2 0 1 0 0 Terry Porter 23 0-3 0-0 3-5 3 0-2 1 2 1 0 0 Avery Johnson 23 2-4 0-0 1-2 5 0-1 8 0 2 2 0 Malik Rose 16 1-3 0-0 0-0 2 3-8 1 0 3 0 0 Sean Elliott 24 3-7 1-2 2-2 9 0-4 2 1 2 0 0 Antonio Daniels 26 4-8 3-4 2-2 13 0-2 1 0 3 0 0 Samaki Walker 10 0-1 0-0 3-4 3 0-2 0 0 1 0 0 Steve Kerr 16 4-6 1-3 0-1 9 1-3 1 1 1 1 0 Shawnelle Scott 1 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0-0 0 1 0 0 0 Totals 48 32-73 6-13 24-37 94 11-50 19 12 24 6 5 Dallas Mavericks REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Juwan Howard 23 2-7 0-0 4-4 8 0-2 1 0 3 0 0 Dirk Nowitzki 28 3-13 0-3 3-4 9 1-7 0 2 4 0 1 Shawn Bradley 30 4-7 0-0 0-0 8 2-12 1 3 3 1 6 Michael Finley 32 7-18 0-3 3-4 17 0-2 3 3 2 1 0 Steve Nash 28 0-4 0-1 2-2 2 1-2 6 0 1 1 0 Howard Eisley 31 6-9 2-4 2-2 16 0-1 2 1 4 0 0 Calvin Booth 13 0-3 0-0 0-0 0 0-1 0 2 5 1 1 Eduardo Najera 11 3-5 1-1 0-0 7 3-7 0 0 1 0 0 Vernon Maxwell 23 1-4 0-2 0-0 2 1-5 4 1 3 0 0 Greg Buckner 12 3-6 0-1 0-0 6 1-2 1 0 1 1 0 Wang Zhizhi 9 1-5 0-1 1-1 3 0-1 0 0 1 0 1 Totals 48 30-81 3-16 15-17 78 9-42 18 12 28 5 9 patricia Go Mavs!