Game 4: Dallas at San Antonio (April 25) 1st quarter: Dallas missed their first 4 shots of the game and the Spurs jumped out to an early 4-0 lead with 11 minutes remaining. Shawn Marion got a putback with 10:20 left to put Dallas on the board and then 2 free throws by Dirk Nowitzki tied the game at 4-4 with 10:50 to go. After the teams traded misses, George Hill hit a long baseliner and Manu Ginobili (with tape on his broken nose, but no face mask) found Richard Jefferson for the reverse layup and San Antonio led 8-4 with 8 minutes remaining. But Dallas then went on an 11-2 run to take a 15-10 lead with 4:10 to go as the Spurs missed 6 straight shots. Hill nailed a 3-pointer from the corner to end the run and a driving layup by Tony Parker tied the game at 15-15 with 3:30 left. The teams traded a series of misses over the next 2 minutes, Parker hit a 10-foot bank shot and J.J. Barea had a layup with 45 seconds remaining. Parker missed inside as the quarter was coming to an end, but DeJuan Blair got the rebound and found Hill who again nailed a 3-pointer with less than a second left and gave San Antonio a 20-17 lead after 1. Neither team shot well as San Antonio shot 8-21 FG and Dallas shot 7-20 FG. Not many trips to the line as San Antonio shot 2-2 FT and Dallas shot 2-4 FT (with Jason Terry missing 2 free throws). 2nd quarter: San Antonio held a small lead early in the 2nd quarter and led 24-20 with 9:15 remaining. Dallas then went on a 15-2 run to take a 35-26 lead with 5 minutes to go as the Mavs scored on their next 8 possessions while the Spurs shot just 1-6 FG. Ginobili had a layup after a timeout, but Dallas continued to build on their lead and scored the next 8 points, capped by a 3-pointer by Barea, to give Dallas a 43-28 lead with 2:35 left - a 23-6 run over 6:40 of game time. But all did not go well for Dallas in the quarter as Terry sprained his ankle (while being blocked on a break and San Antonio scoring on the break the other way) and went to the locker room - he was able to return for the 2nd half, though. After Jefferson got a layup, Jason Kidd hit a 3-pointer with a minute remaining and Dallas led by 14 points. The teams traded buckets and Hill hit another 3-pointer with 14 seconds left to cap the quarter scoring. Dallas led 48-37 at the half. Marion had 10 points in the quarter as Dallas out-scored San Antonio 31-17. Dallas had their shooting touch going in shooting 11-19 FG including 2-4 3-pointers while San Antonio shot just 8-20 FG - Dallas also helped themselves in out-rebounding the Spurs 11-5 in the quarter including 4-0 offensive. Dallas had the edge at the line in shooting 7-10 FT while San Antonio shot 0-2 FT (both by Tim Duncan, who had a lousy half with no points on 0-7 FG). 3rd quarter: Caron Butler opened the 3rd quarter with a 3-pointer late in the shot clock. A jumper by Butler gave Dallas a 55-43 lead with 9 minutes left and Dallas took the rest of the quarter off. Well, not quite, but it seemed that way. The Spurs then went on a 16-2 run as Dallas committed 4 turnovers and shot 1-9 FG during the run. The Mavs were clearly frustrated with the physical play the refs were allowing (Nowitzki was hit a couple of times almost every time when he had the ball) - in fact on my notes taken during the game is the word "meltdown" and that accurately described how the Mavs performed. The run continued as San Antonio closed the quarter with a 7-2 run to complete the 23-4 run and take a 66-59 lead after 3. Dallas committed 6 turnovers during the run and shot 1-12 FG (their last field goal of the quarter came with 7:45 left). The other 2 Dallas points came when Nowitzki was fouled hard driving and the refs called a flagrant on Jefferson and Nowitzki hit the 2 fouls. In a reverse from the 2nd quarter it was San Antonio doing everything well and Dallas doing everything wrong. San Antonio shot 8-14 FG and 10-16 FT in out-scoring Dallas 29-11 while Dallas shot 4-17 FG and 2-2 FT. Hill continued his strong game and had 11 points in the 3rd quarter. 4th quarter: The ugliness of the game continued as Eduardo Najera horsecollared a driving Ginobili and Najera was (correctly) ejected with a flagrant level 2. The refs realized that the game had gotten too physical and started calling things tight [won't have reached that level if they had called the 3rd quarter better (but Dallas should have handled it better)]. A putback by Blair gave San Antonio a 70-61 lead with 11 minutes remaining. Dallas then went on an 8-2 run, capped by a 3-point play by Nowitzki, (and including a questionable flagrant 1 (non-ejection) on Blair) to pull within 69-72 with 8:50 left. But a reverse layup by Antonio McDyess kicked off a 12-2 Spur run and a nice feed by Duncan to Jefferson for a reverse dunk gave San Antonio an 84-71 lead with 5:15 remaining. Kidd feed Brendan Haywood for a layup, but Duncan got a putback on the other end (his first points of the game, with 4:10 left). Dallas made it a tight game by scoring the next 9 points to pull within 84-86 with 2:15 to go as the Spurs missed 3 straight shots. But Parker fed Ginobili for a 3-pointer to make it a 5-point game with 1:50 to go. Nowitzki missed driving and Ginobili missed driving and Nowitzki fed Terry for a corner 3-pointer to pull Dallas within 87-89 with a minute left. A foul by Butler put Ginobili on the line and he hit both free throws with 42 seconds remaining. After a Dallas timeout, Nowitzki missed a fadeaway jumper, but the Mavs trapped Ginobili in the corner and Kidd was able to tie him up for a jumpball. Ginobili got the tip, but no one got the ball before it went out of bounds and it was Dallas ball with 24 seconds to go. After a timeout, Kidd's corner 3-point attempt was way long and Jefferson got the rebound and was intentionally fouled with 14 seconds left - he shot 1-2 FT. Butler missed a 3-point attempt, but the San Antonio was unable to control the rebound and it was Dallas ball out of bounds with just 6 seconds left (and Dallas down by 5). Kidd fed Haywood for a layup with 3.6 seconds to go. The Spurs were unable to get a good inbounds pass and it was again Dallas ball out of bounds, but with just .1 seconds left it meant little (can only tip-in with less than .3 seconds left and Dallas was down by 3 points). The inbounds pass was caught instead of tapped and time expired. San Antonio won 92-89. San Antonio leads the series 3-1. It was very frustrating watching Dallas collapse in the 3rd quarter. Yes, the refs allowing the Spurs to be overly physically with Dirk Nowitzki bothered me, but the very poor way Dallas dealt with that frustration was something that I did not expect from this veteran team. Dallas did get back in to the game in the 4th quarter, but it never felt like they really had a chance to win, even when they pulled within 2 points twice. There was just a lot of individual play in the 2nd half instead of solid team play. Give San Antonio full credit for keeping their poise and taking Dallas to the brink of elimination. And it was their non-stars that stepped up in this game as Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, and Manu Ginobili struggled in this game. So Dallas has to win 3 straight games to advance and, on a bigger level, has to win the next game simply to stay alive in the playoffs. For the numbers from this game, San Antonio shot 45.3% (34-75) FG including 6-17 3-pointers while Dallas shot just 41.6% (32-77) FG including 7-19 FT. San Antonio shot 18-28 FT and Dallas shot 18-23 FT. Dallas did out-rebound the Spurs 48-43 including 12-10 offensive. Dallas had 15 turnovers off of which San Antonio scored 14 points while San Antonio had 12 turnovers off of which Dallas scored 11 points. All hail George Hill. Who would have thunk that would have been said during this series. He was stellar throughout the game - and he was the reason it wasn't a blowout in the 1st half. Hill had a game high 29 points including 11-16 FG and 5-6 3-pointers. He also had 4 rebounds and 2 steals in his game high 45 minutes. Manu Ginobili did have 17 points, but he shot a lousy 4-16 FG including 1-7 3-pointers - he did hit his free throws in shooting 8-9 FT. Ginobili also had 4 rebounds, 7 assists, and 4 steals. Tim Duncan was worse offensively with just 4 points on 1-9 FG and 2-4 FT. He did have 11 rebounds, though. Richard Jefferson contributed 15 points and 4 rebounds. In addition to frustrating Nowitzki on defense, Antonio McDyess had 10 points and 8 rebounds. Still coming off the bench, Tony Parker had 10 points (4-9 FG, 2-4 FT), 5 assists, and 5 turnovers. DeJuan Blair had 7 points on 3-4 FG and 1-4 FT and 7 rebounds including 5 offensive in 12 minutes. Matt Bonner missed 2 shots and had 2 fouls in 8 minutes and Keith Bogans returned to Gregg Popovich's rotation and played 6 minutes - missed his only shot and had 2 rebounds and a steal. No Mav was stellar in this game. Jason Terry tried to carry Dallas in the 4th quarter where he scored all 13 of his points, but Dallas needed him for more than just 1 quarter - but give him some credit for playing the 2nd half with a sprained ankle. He also had 6 rebounds. Dirk Nowitzki did have a double-double with 17 points on 4-10 FG and 9-9 FT and 11 rebounds. But his game was not on this night as the Spurs aggressively double-teamed (and bodied up) him most of the game. The Mavs need Nowitzki to be more aggressive and attempt more than just 10 shots (especially if he is not shooting poorly). Unlike the previous game, Shawn Marion and Caron Butler played decently (though both were guilty of individual plays at times). Marion had 14 points and 7 rebounds in 28 minutes and Butler had 17 points and 6 rebounds in 35 minutes. Jason Kidd had 10 points including 3-10 FG and 2-7 3-pointers, 7 rebounds, and 5 assists. He did have 2 turnovers in this game after having none in the previous 2 games. Erick Dampier was again hampered with foul trouble in picking up his 5th foul early in the 4th quarter. He missed 2 shots and had 5 rebounds including 4 offensive in 19 minutes. Brendan Haywood played decently in this game and had some positive moments. He had 10 points, 4 rebounds including 3 offensive, and 3 blocks in 25 minutes. Eduardo Najera was only in for a minute, start of the 4th quarter, but it was memorable with his ugly flagrant - I wouldn't be surprise if he was suspended for a game for that flagrant. Rodrigue Beaubois was in for the last .1 seconds and was actually the player who caught the inbounds pass. Quotes [Popovich, Hill, Carlisle, Nowitzki quotes transcribed by me] Gregg Popovich on winning despite Duncan's poor game: "I don't know how improbable they are. But people win and lose in different ways and every game is going to be different. It has its own characteristics and personality. You just go with that flow. But we did make some 3s tonight. George Hill was something else." Popovich on if the game was as physically as the two have played: "I think so - I'm trying to think quickly. It was hard fought, it was very physical. I guess I would just agree with you." Popovich on McDyess, Blair, and Hill: "Well tonight it said that they helped us a great deal. And without their play, we wouldn't have won the ball game. So I'm proud of all those guys that you just named. But teams win and lose, and it takes a little bit of everybody. Timmy had a tough night and had a huge tip-in down the stretch. So continuing to play is always the key, no matter how your night is going." Popovich on the defense on Nowitzki: "Antonio McDyess did a good job, number one, guarding a great player; and that's the most important part of the whole deal. I thought that everybody else was very active. You know, we were maybe a little over active a couple of times and Jason Terry got away from us for a couple of 3s there down the stretch. In general, I thought the activity was good and that helped us with Dirk." Popovich on halftime: "Well, we just let them know that we hadn't played well, but the good news there was about a day and a half left to play. There was a long, long time, a lot of minutes to go and as long as we concentrated on playing, you know, one play at a time, that we were going to get back into it. But if we tried to hurry it, get out of the system, or one guy try to take over and be a hero - it was going to be a really ugly night. And I thought that they really stuck together and just played the right way." Popovich on Ginobili: "I don't think he was tentative. I don't think that's in him. I don't think he knows how to do that." Popovich on Blair: "He did a great job for us, you know - on the board and scored little bit, and played some pretty good D, and just doing a lot of different things for us. And we need it at that time, especially when we went small for a while and he reacted pretty well for a being such a young guy in a big playoff game." Tony Parker: "That was a big win for us. Lot of intensity out there - very physical. We had a tough 1st half, but we played well in the 2nd half. George [Hill] had a huge game and made some big shots for us. We played good defense in the 2nd half." Parker on Duncan: "Timmy does a lot of other stuff. He plays defense. He got a lot of rebounds, blocking shots, assists - just his presence out there. He demands a lot of attention. Even if he didn't shoot the ball well, he's fine. He's still effective for us." Parker: "It's always physical against them, always. Any time we play them in the playoffs, it's always going to be like that. It's a big rivalry." Parker: "With Timmy not making shots and Manu struggling a little bit, George [Hill] stepped up big. That's what happens when you have different weapons and different guys who can do stuff. One of the guys will hopefully get hot - and tonight that was George." Parker on McDyess: "Dice played unbelievable. He was playing defense, did a great job on Dirk. He was getting to the offensive boards and he was knocking down shots. He's playing great." George Hill: "It was a fun night - it was a great team win. And I think that's what we ask for always. Just have to keep pounding the rock, believe in each other, and come out on top. And I think everyone did that tonight." Hill on getting the ball late: "It shows that we are a complete team. They're going to trust everybody and they're going believe in everybody and it shows that they have confidence in me and I just try to deliver when they do that. It's the Big 3, you know, they're supposed to take the shots - but to kick it out to a 2nd year player that maybe wasn't ready last year, just makes it a whole lot better because they believe in everybody. It can be anyone ... [names players] The Big 3 is going to give you a chance and ride with you and that's all you can ask for in a team." Hill on the physical game: "It's fun. We dream of playing in games like that, big games, physical, having fun like that. You know, I don't think it's nothing to hurt each other, I think it's more just being competitive out there. You don't want to back down. And I think both teams have done a great job so far. It's part of basketball. All you can do is keep your head level and keep playing." Antonio McDyess on the Big 3 struggles: "If you look at just the numbers of those 3 guys, you would definitely think we lost the game, but that just means the rest of us have to step up. It was unbelievable how we came out in that 2nd half and jumped on them and got this win." McDyess on the 3rd quarter comeback: "It was a grind. We came out there from the start and said we have 2 quarters left and we're going to leave it all on the floor. We came out talking to each other. I think the crowd made a big difference because they got us into the game. We kind of fed off of them and started making some shots and then didn't look back." McDyess on Nowitzki shooting just 10 shots: "It wasn't the defense. He just wasn't taking them. It looked like he was a little reluctant because we were shifting on him a lot and getting off of him. I don't think he ever really knew when to take his shot. He had some open shots, but he just wasn't taking them." Rick Carlisle on San Antonio winning despite Duncan, Ginobili, and Parker struggling: "Well, when you get another guy that goes 11-16 and hits 5 3s, it could easily happen. And if you additionally get your ass kicked on 5 to 7 loose ball plays, that is certainly going to contribute to losing. Hey, we played hard, but there's a set of plays in each of the last couple of games that we got to get down and dirty. We have to come up with balls that are 50-50 balls. And, you know, that's sort of where the game is being won and lost - in the trenches." Carlisle: "I thought we played hard. I thought we played unselfishly. We battled. Again, there's a number of plays that we have got to become the aggressor on, and we didn't do it tonight. We didn't shoot well early, but we were very aggressive and very strong willed. And, so, look - I liked all that. You know, we built a lead, which was good. Our undoing was, the other part of our undoing was the 3rd quarter. We had 7 or 8 turnovers and shot 27-or-8%. And then they got on a run that we needed to stave off sooner." Carlisle on Nowitzki only shooting 10 shots: "I'll have to look at it. They're active and they've done a good job of deflecting balls in the series. So, the key thing is, especially when we're playing out of flow and we're not necessarily calling plays - we've got to get in to situations quickly and, you know, we got to pass, catch, and run through passes. And, you know, when the ball starts moving around the perimeter versus their rotations, we've got to make quick decisions and make plays." Carlisle on the 3rd quarter: "Their defense picked up and we needed to respond better to it. That's the best answer I can give you without looking at the film. When it gets loud, you got have to keep your composure and we could have done better at that too. Hey, it's a tough loss. We're doing a lot of things well; but the 50-50 plays, we've got to win those and that's a big part of it." Dirk Nowitzki: "We did our job defensively, I thought. You know, if you told me before the game that we'd hold the Big 3 to those numbers, we figure we win the game. In Game 3, we didn't give up any 3s, and we lose both games. That's just the way the basketball works tonight. You got to give them credit. I mean, Hill was unconscious. McDyess made shots. Blair comes in and has a big contribution. So their bench and some of their other guys - Jefferson, you know, made some big shots and big plays. Their role players really stepped up and had a great game tonight. So, it is what it is. We can't really generate enough offense I feel. You know, to hold them the last 2 games to the high 80s, I think we're doing a decent job defensively. But just offensively we can't create enough scoring." Nowitzki on the 3rd quarter: "They really picked up their energy, that was pretty obvious. We got a lot of turnovers. But you got to keep your poise a little better. They were physical and we didn't respond the right way - you know, threw the ball away. And, you know, if you're up, you just can't get an 18 point swing - you know, get only 11 points [in the 3rd] just ain't going to cut it." Nowitzki on him only taking 10 shots: "Well, it was pretty obvious that they ran at me from the get go. On the block today, on the dribble, they came. On my iso's, on the free throw, one-dribble, they came. So it was pretty obvious from the game that I had 2 days ago that they weren't going to sit there and watch me shoot the ball. So they were really, really aggressive with me tonight and got the ball out of my hands. So, what they are doing is obviously they are not guarding some of our guys - you know, they are basically ignoring our 5-man [center] and they're leaving the corner open and living with contested shots. I mean, once we swing it to the corner, either Duncan or one of their bigs is closing out hard and contesting 3s and they live with those shots and we don't make enough of them. Nowitzki: "I still think it was a brawl, a street fight out there. We kept plugging; they kept plugging. You know, we just didn't make enough plays. But constantly shooting in the low 40s [percent] just isn't going to cut it in this series. But we do have to get those long rebounds. Obviously they got some 3-point shooters and if they shoot 3s, that usually gets long misses and we got to get our fair share of those. We can't let them get all their long rebounds, all their loose balls. But I still think we fought, we battled, and just didn't make enough plays." Nowitzki on being down 1-3: "Not pretty. We thought we could get one down here. We had our chance and played well today in the 1st half, had a nice little lead, and just gave it away too easy again in that 3rd quarter. The mindset now is just to win that game. We've lost 3 in a row so we got to stop the bleeding at home. Go home, get a little rest tomorrow, look at some stuff, and be ready again on Tuesday night. We got to get one game and then we'll go from there, but we definitely need a win." Nowitzki on the 1st half: "I think we got some stops. You know, we held them to 30-something points in the 1st half. When we get stops, we can run a little bit. Got some decent looks on fastbreaks. Had them in rotations a little bit and knocked down some shots. And then, like I said, in the 3rd quarter they really picked it up. We didn't get any stops. We gave up, I think 30 points or something in the 3rd. We turned the ball over and they turned up their defensive pressure and we didn't respond in the right way. So that 3rd quarter was a big swing, you know, 18 point swing. So that's tough. So, you know, like I said, you got to give them credit. They were scrappy in the 3rd. They made stuff happen with their defense and we didn't respond the right way." Jason Terry on his sprained ankle: "I thought I stepped on someone's foot, but I saw it on tape and I just rolled it pretty bad. But it was do-or-die, I had to go back in." Terry: "I'm going to talk about 2 quarters - the 1st and the 3rd. We scored 17 and 11. The other 2 quarters we scored 30. It's no secret. If you put the ball in the basket, your defense is definitely good enough. Offensively, though, in this series, I think we're going to have to score 100 points to win." Shawn Marion: "They made a little run on us. We kind of, I don't want to say, let the refs take us out of it a little bit, lost our composure a little bit. It got real physical. We let the calls and the nature of the game kind of take you out of what we do." J.J. Barea: "We need to win at home and get ready to play here again. You have to give the Spurs all the credit tonight. They played harder and wanted it more than us." Barea: "We couldn't score the ball during the 3rd. We need to do a better job. We can't not score." Barea: "That's all part of the game, loss of composure comes in tough games like this. When you have a lot of contact, loss of composure is going to happen." Barea: "I think the Spurs picked up the intensity on defense. Once they picked up the intensity, we had a hard time scoring the ball." Brendan Haywood: "I think George Hill played a great game tonight. You always have to tip your hat to someone that beats you. However, I think tonight was more about what we didn't do as a team. We didn't have composure down the stretch. We got all the time done what we wanted to tonight and the Big 3 didn't have a great game. The Big 3 was nullified for once in tonight's game, but we didn't find a way to take advantage and win tonight. Tip your hat to the Spurs because they won the game tonight." Haywood: "I don't think it got too physical. The NBA has an image to maintain. I grew up watching NBA basketball and this was not as physical as I've seen." 2010 Playoffs - First Round Game 4: San Antonio Spurs 92, Dallas Mavericks 89 at San Antonio (April 25) 1st 2nd 3rd 4th - Final 2FG 3FG FG% FT% San Antonio 20 17 29 26 - 92 .483 .353 .453 .643 Dallas 17 31 11 30 - 89 .431 .368 .416 .783 Halftime: Dallas 48-37 3rd Q: San Antonio 66-59 Technicals: Dirk Nowitzki 1:34 3rd Flagrant fouls: Richard Jefferson (SA, level 1) 1:21 3rd, Eduardo Najera (level 2, ejected) 11:13 4th, DeJuan Blair (SA, level 1) 10:07 4th Refs: Bob Delaney, David Jones, Scott Foster Attendance: 18,581 (sellout) IL: Dallas - Tim Thomas San Antonio - Alonzo Gee, Malik Hairston, Curtis Jerrells San Antonio Spurs REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Richard Jefferson 37 6-9 0-1 3-5 15 1-4 0 2 2 0 1 Tim Duncan 36 1-9 0-0 2-4 4 2-11 3 2 1 0 0 Antonio McDyess 35 5-9 0-0 0-0 10 1-8 3 2 5 0 1 Manu Ginobili 34 4-16 1-7 8-9 17 0-4 7 1 4 4 0 George Hill 45 11-16 5-6 2-2 29 0-4 0 0 0 2 1 Matt Bonner 8 0-2 0-2 0-0 0 0-0 0 0 2 0 0 Tony Parker 27 4-9 0-0 2-4 10 0-3 5 5 3 0 0 Keith Bogans 7 0-1 0-1 0-0 0 1-2 0 0 1 1 0 DeJuan Blair 12 3-4 0-0 1-4 7 5-7 1 0 2 1 1 Totals 48 34-75 6-17 18-28 92 10-43 19 12 20 8 4 Dallas Mavericks REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Shawn Marion 28 7-13 0-1 0-0 14 3-7 1 2 0 0 1 Dirk Nowitzki 43 4-10 0-1 9-9 17 1-11 4 3 2 0 0 Erick Dampier 19 0-2 0-0 0-0 0 4-5 2 2 5 0 0 Caron Butler 35 7-18 1-3 2-2 17 0-6 3 3 5 1 0 Jason Kidd 42 3-10 2-7 2-2 10 1-7 5 2 1 2 1 J.J. Barea 16 3-7 1-2 1-2 8 0-2 1 1 2 1 0 Jason Terry 31 5-11 3-5 0-2 13 0-6 1 1 3 0 0 Brendan Haywood 25 3-6 0-0 4-6 10 3-4 0 0 3 1 3 Eduardo Najera 1 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0-0 0 0 1 0 0 Rodrigue Beaubois 1 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 Totals 48 32-77 7-19 18-23 89 12-48 17 15 22 5 5 patricia Go Mavs!