Posted on 04/30/2010 6:13:38 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
The Spurs moved on, and Dallas is done early again.
Manu Ginobili scored 26 points and host San Antonio survived blowing a 22-point lead to beat the Mavericks, 97-87, in Game 6 last night, handing Dirk Nowitzki and second-seeded Dallas another first-round exit.
The Spurs got payback after the Mavericks eliminated them a year ago, and will play Phoenix in the Western Conference semifinals.
“For us there was no tomorrow,’’ Ginobili said after the Spurs finished off the Mavericks in front of a raucous home crowd and avoided going back to Dallas for Game 7.
Nowitzki nearly carried the Mavericks to an unbelievable comeback, getting 25 of his 33 points in remarkable second half. But the Mavericks still stumbled to their third first-round exit in the last four years.
George Hill had 21 points for the Spurs, who are coming off their worst regular season in the Tim Duncan era — making this series all the more impressive.
It will technically go down as an upset. San Antonio is only the fifth No. 7 seed to win first-round series, and the first since the opening round became a best-of-seven in 2003. It hadn’t been done since New York beat Miami in 1998.
But with a healthy Big Three and a championship pedigree, the Spurs could hardly be called underdogs. And with no clear favorite in the West, they might be as good a Finals pick as any.
As for the Mavericks, it was yet another early playoff disappointment.
It comes three years after the Mavericks came into the postseason as the No. 1 seed, only to be knocked out by No. 8 Golden State. The Mavericks were the NBA’s best road team in the regular season, but went 0-3 in San Antonio and couldn’t pull themselves out of 3-1 deficit.
(Excerpt) Read more at boston.com ...
Same gutless team performance that has typified the Mavericks since the Cuban era began. Lots of firepower with flashes of overpaid greatness that wilts under the hot lights of playoff pressure.
I was kinda hoping that Nowitzki would win one title before he retires, seeing how good the Mavs were in the regular season.
I guess Dirk is going to be one of those great players who have never won a title (e.g. Karl Malone, John Stockton, Charles Barkley)
Manu Ginobili would have made a great Celtic.
RE: Manu Ginobili would have made a great Celtic.
I was kinda hoping he would come here to NY, as our Knicks sucks. Now, it’s too late. Maybe we can get Dwayne Wade...
Wonder if that blow-hard, Cuban, will fire the coach again. He should have learned his lesson after firing Avery Johnson.
As much as I hate to say it, we got out coached. Dammit, I do not like Pop or the Spurs.
Mavericks know how to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.
Plus the referee’s were all bought off.
Dirk ain’t retiring yet.
The Mav’s need another big player. Somehow. Make it impossible for the other team to double team them.
They choked. They have choked. They will choke. Mavericks - a synonym for CHOKER!
Never assume the Mavericks, Stars or Rangers will EVER do anything beyond limp out at the first round of the playoffs.
Pop has a team-first attitude and instills that in the players which is why Duncan and Robinson stuck around when they could have bolted elsewhere for more money.
Their first championship in 1999 produced almost zero violence, compared to the rampages in L.A. and Detroit.
Dallas has a mental problem, in that they seemingly melt down in the playoffs. It's no shame to lose to S.A., unlike when they won 67(?) games one year and were ousted by the #8 G.S. Warriors.
Yeah, the refs held them to eight points in the first quarter.
Anybody who thinks the NBA wants to see S.A. over Dallas is not thinking clearly.
Nobody in the front office wants to see S.A. win over any bigger market team, just from a revenue point of view.
The players hated Avery Johnson. He took all the credit for the wins and blamed the players for the losses. He was an arrogant egotist who didn't get along with anyone in the organization.
Couldn’t of happened to a more deserving owner. If you look at the most anti-American, anti-Conservative movies over the last 10 years, Mark Cuban and his producing partner have certainly made their fair share of them.
I still say their problem is elsewhere. They went 57-25 with the lineup they have, that's dang respectable. But come playoff time, it's as if they all get nervous. And nowhere was that more evident that in the first quarter last night - you have the best road record in the league, you're facing elimination, and you come out and lay an eight-point egg on me?
That's nerves. Somehow, there's a collective stage-fright thing going on.
I have no idea why they seem to go lame in the playoffs.
One year I watched them sit back and shoot (mostly missing) 3 point attempts all game long and lose of course. That is a horrible strategy.
I agree with everything you said. I still hate the Spurs.
Cuban makes it harder on the team with that attitude. No one gets calls on the road in the playoffs. Good teams win anyway. It ain’t the refs.
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