Spurs Flex Championship Muscle In Courageous Win Sans Duncan and Ginobili

Writer's note: This is not a game recap. It is an editorial that uses what happened in a key game to make its point. If you want to read a simple recap go to www.mysanantonio.com or www.morningnews.com.

Just two seasons ago, in 2006, the Avery Johnson-led Dallas Mavericks marched into the AT&T Center for a crucial spring match and scored a hard-fought, single-digit win over the defending champions.

The confidence gained from that road win helped the Mavericks oust the Spurs from the playoffs in seven games that May.

That game seven overtime victory remains the best performance in the franchise's history.

However, evidence continues to mount that those Mavs had two special seasons, but were not a special team. They finished off the second-round seres in San Antonio 119-111, beat the Amar'e Stoudemire-less Phoenix Suns in six games, but then collapsed after a 2-0 lead in the NBA Finals.

Have they never recovered from that title giveaway, or were they never that great in the first place?

After the Mavs dropped their sixth straight regular-season contest to the Spurs, playing without Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili, the answer would seem to be the latter.

No one can take away that gritty series win from the Mavericks in 2007, but after a 93-76 pounding at the AT&T Center, it would do them well to remember that magical moment.

These division rivalry games can decide home-court advantage and seeding in the playoffs, but more importantly, they indicate which of the teams boasts the moxie to win when they get there.

Tuesday night's contest pitted two teams missing their super subs—Jason Terry for Dallas and Ginobili for the Spurs. Duncan was a late scratch with a sore knee.

Both teams have learned to fight valiantly without one or more all-stars during several stretches this season. One emerged from this fight with a decisive edge.

The Spurs used resourcefulness, defense and hustle to slam the Mavs from the opening tip. They led 22-11 midway through the first quarter and never relinquished control of the game.

First, the Mavs let Tony Parker destroy them with an 18-point first quarter. Then, they had no answer when other Spurs decided to pick up the scoring slack.

If one game could summarize why San Antonio can still compete for a championship and Dallas cannot, this rout would be the ideal candidate.

The Mavs knew they could not replace Terry's 20 points per game, but until a pratfall against the new-look Houston Rockets Friday night, they were finding ways to win without their viperous shooter. When a big test arrived Tuesday, with both teams coming off two days' rest, the Mavs folded and the Spurs again played like champions.

Parker dazzled the home crowd with a 37-point, 12-assist night similar to one Ginobili enjoyed last December, when he lifted the Spurs over the Mavs at home without Duncan.

Why the Spurs Won:

• Dirk Nowitzki and Josh Howard—the two focal points of the Dallas offense with Terry out—missed a combined 22 of 32 shots. Nowitzki finished 5-of-15 and Howard 5-of-17.
• Howard continued his pop-a-shot routine and bricked most of them. He launched six three-pointers, five of them face-guarded, and made only one. He recorded one assist, but never played a meaningful role in creating offense for his teammates. He scored eight of his 19 points at the free-throw line.
• The Mavs shot an abysmal 15 percent from beyond the arc, finishing 3-of-19 in the game.
• The Spurs were the tougher, more aggressive team despite shooting nine fewer free throws than the Mavericks.
• Matt Bonner was always over-matched but never out-hustled when he defended Nowitzki. He snagged a key rebound in the fourth quarter that allowed the Spurs to stymie any chance of a Mavs' rally. He also managed to avoid foul trouble, whistled for just one, a bump in the second quarter.
• Kurt Thomas enjoyed his best rebounding night as a Spur, pulling down 11 defensive and four offensive boards. He also dumped in 10 points and was active around the basket on both ends.
• Tony Parker realized early in the first quarter that Jason Kidd, J.J. Barea and Matt Carroll could not stay in front of him. He punished them with superb drives to the rim and sank several open jumpers.
• Michael Finley torched his former team in the second half, making them pay for doubling Parker in the paint. Though the Spurs also shot poorly from three-point land, Finley drilled enough treys, four, to make the difference.
• Parker played 37 minutes, three fewer than Nowitzki, yet had a much bigger impact on the game.
• Nowitzki and Howard did more than clang shots. They played passively, and the lackluster effort trickled down the roster. James Singleton and Barea were exceptions.
• Bruce Bowen entered the game in the fourth quarter, with Barea starting to pour in the points, and frustrated him in the final minutes. Though the undersized Barea shot a respectable 7-of-15, three of his misses came in the final six minutes, with Bowen harassing him. Bowen also blocked a Nowitzki fadeaway in the fourth quarter.
• Parker was noticeably gassed in the second half after dominating the first with 26 points, so he started passing more, recording nine of his 12 assists in the final 24 minutes of the game.
• The Spurs communicated and rotated defensively. The Mavs looked lost, clueless and careless on that end.

Key Spurs' Performances:

Tony Parker—37 points,15-of-32 from the field, 12 assists, five rebounds.

Michael Finley—16 points, 6-of-9 from the field, 4-of-4 from beyond the arc, five rebounds, one steal. He scored 10 of his points in the fourth quarter.

Kurt Thomas—15 rebounds, 10 points, 5-of-7 from the field, three blocks.

Fabricio Oberto—six points, 3-of-4 from the field, five rebounds, one block. He played a more valuable 25 minutes than the box score indicates. While two of his fouls afforded Dallas three-point play opportunities, his other two were questionable calls. He might have been the best example of the team's resourcefulness Tuesday night.

Key plays for the Spurs and Mavs:

• Thomas has always been a tremendous pick-and-pop player, and that quality came in handy with the shorthanded Spurs thirsty for offense. He hit several jumpers off this basic play in the first half.
• Terry was missed most in the fourth quarter, where he leads the Mavs in scoring and is usually the beneficiary of passes in a two-man game with either Nowitzki or Kidd.
• The pick-and-roll seems like such a rudimentary play, yet the Spurs did a much better job guarding it than the Mavs—even without their top rim defender. Parker enjoyed an all-you-can-eat buffet line of layups in the first quarter. No one stepped in to stop his penetration.
• When Mavs defenders finally decided to cutt Parker off at the basket, he simply kicked the ball out to open shooters. The pick-and-roll came into play three times with Thomas and twice with Oberto.
• Bonner missed five of his seven threes, but all of them were wide open.

Other Impact Players and Game Summary:

George Hill played an inspired 15 minutes, though he missed five of six shots. He nailed all four of his free throws and defended earnestly. He sent a Barea scoop attempt flying into the stands in the second half, eliciting loud cheers from the home crowd.

James Singleton notched 14 points and 14 rebounds, nailing two of three from beyond the arc. Barea scored 16 points, enough of them in the final frame to draw a dreaded matchup with Bowen. Singleton and Barea were the only Mavs who played with any spunk, grit or purpose.

The Spurs and Mavs suit up again Wednesday against teams who handed them agonizing road losses earlier this season.

The Portland Trail Blazers edged the Spurs 100-99 Halloween night when Finley's last-second, open 10-footer skipped off the rim. The Milwaukee Bucks humiliated the Mavericks 132-99 at the Bradley Center in January.

As the result of Tuesday's game shows, the Spurs loss in Portland was a tough break, while the Mavs slopfest in Milwaukee is of a disturbing pattern.

These important, stretch-run games offer insight into the makeup and poise of the two participants. One 48-minute contest, when put in context with the rest of a team's season, can say more than you think.

The Spurs played courageously, with the heart of a champion. The Mavericks flopped.

What else is new?