Mavericks-Spurs Preview

By MATT BECKER
Posted Jan 05 2012 1:45AM

After opening the season in disappointing fashion while trying to incorporate some new players, the Dallas Mavericks seem to be coming together.

The San Antonio Spurs are off to a strong start, but a significant injury to Manu Ginobili is forcing them to adjust on the fly.

The Mavericks seek a third straight victory to get to .500 Thursday night when they visit the Spurs in the season's first meeting between the Southwest Division rivals.

Dallas (3-4) looked completely out of sorts at times while losing its first three games as newcomers Vince Carter, Lamar Odom and Delonte West were trying to get comfortable with a new system.

The defending champs now appear to be on the same page.

Odom had a season-high 15 points on 6 of 12 shooting in Wednesday's 98-89 victory over Phoenix after averaging 5.3 points on 19.5 percent shooting in his first six contests. In the Mavericks' previous game, Monday's 100-87 win over Oklahoma City, Carter finished with a season-best 14 points.

Dallas' defense is also looking much better, yielding an average of 90.3 points on 43.4 percent shooting in the last four after allowing an average of 108.0 points on 51.8 percent shooting in the first three.

"These are steps in the right direction," said forward Shawn Marion, who had 13 points Wednesday despite playing through an illness. "Things are starting to click on both ends of the floor."

While some of the newcomers are stepping up, Dallas' offense obviously still revolves around Dirk Nowitzki. The NBA finals MVP had 20 points and a season-high seven assists Wednesday in his 1,000th NBA game.

"We said at the beginning, we're going to be a piece of work and everybody is going to come along and I think this team is more set up to peak down the stretch and not now," Nowitzki said. "Everybody's got to work themselves back into shape, get the legs strong and play with each other more and I think we're going to be a good team down the stretch."

The Spurs (4-2) hope to say the same, but winning the highly competitive Southwest could be tough with Ginobili expected to miss at least two months after fracturing the fifth metacarpal on his shooting hand.

The injury occurred in the second quarter of Monday's 106-96 loss at Minnesota, and the team announced prior to Wednesday's game against Golden State that he would need surgery and be sidelined until after the All-Star game. It figures to be a major blow for San Antonio's offense with Ginobili averaging a team-best 17.4 points on 59.2 percent shooting.

The two-time All-Star gave the Mavericks problems last season, averaging 20.5 points and shooting 11 of 22 from 3-point range as San Antonio took three of four.

Nowitzki missed two of the losses because of injuries, and combined for 49 points and 17 rebounds in the other two.

The Spurs weren't great in their first game without Ginobili but managed to beat the Warriors 101-95, rallying from eight down with 6:46 to play. Tony Parker stepped up with a season-high 21 points and Richard Jefferson added 17 while making all five 3-point attempts.

"Big, big win for us," Parker said. "Obviously with Manu out, coming off a loss, a lot of different things. Just being at home, we need to continue to protect our home court.

"Good win for us. We're down. We find a way to come back. So all in all a lot of good things."

San Antonio is looking to start 5-0 at home for the first time since opening 2007-08 with 13 straight victories.

Bonner leads Spurs to 93-71 win over Mavericks

Posted Jan 06 2012 12:32AM

SAN ANTONIO (AP) Anyone seeking the negative effects of the NBA's compressed season should look no further than Dirk Nowitzki's performance against the San Antonio Spurs on Thursday night.

With the Dallas Mavericks playing their sixth game in eight nights, the team's star forward scored only six points on 3-of-11 shooting in a 93-71 loss. It was his lowest scoring output since he put up five in a Dec. 18, 2009, game against Houston that he left early because of an injury.

Nowitzki acknowledged that the short turnaround is affecting him.

"I like that we fought back and tried, but offensively nobody had legs," Nowitzki said. "A bunch of shots were right there that could have gone. (Jason Terry), myself, everything seemed to come out."

Making matters worse was an injury to Jason Kidd, who left late in the first quarter with a lower back injury and never returned. The team said he will be re-evaluated Friday.

The Mavericks hit only 27 of 77 shots, including 1 of 19 from 3-point range. The Spurs, meanwhile, made only 34 of 86 shots from the field but hit 16 of 33 from long range.

Matt Bonner led San Antonio with 17 points, going 5 of 9 from 3-point range. Richard Jefferson added 16 points, hitting three 3-pointers, and Gary Neal scored all his 12 points on 3s.

"It's important," Bonner said of the win. "It's a long season, it's early in the season. They were coming off a back-to-back, so you've gotta keep some perspective. We played hard tonight, protected our home court, and we're happy with the win."

Bonner's 17 points gave him more than Nowtizki and Spurs veteran Tim Duncan (10 points) combined. It's not a feat that Bonner expects to repeat any time soon.

"That was a Christmas miracle," Bonner said.

A miracle made possible by a tired Mavericks team.

"Some of it is on us," Nowitzki said, "but six games in eight days is a lot for anybody."

The Spurs were playing their second game without leading scorer Manu Ginobili. Ginobili had successful surgery on the fifth metacarpal in his left hand Thursday morning, the team announced. He's expected to be out about six weeks. He was hurt at Minnesota on Monday night.

Neal started for the Spurs and made his presence felt on the opening possession.

"It was originally designed for Timmy in the post," Neal said of his basket only 12 seconds into the game. "But my defender was sagging off me a little bit, and I shot it. I'm glad it went in. It might have been a quick sub if I missed it."

Neal hit three 3-pointers in the first quarter and the Spurs jumped out to an 18-point lead in the first quarter. The Spurs led 55-29 at halftime behind 11-of-18 shooting from 3-point range.

The teams combined for only 24 points in the third quarter, and with his team trailing 66-42 heading into the fourth, Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle elected not to play Nowitzki in the final period.

Terry scored 12 points to lead the Mavericks, while Delonte West added 10. No other Dallas player reached double figures.

While the Spurs aren't about to give back the victory, they were the first ones to admit this wasn't the typical Mavericks team - and certainly not a typical Nowitzki.

"You didn't see the real Dirk tonight, that's for sure," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. "As the season wears on, all the teams will get into better shape and get sharper and look better."

Terry, for one, is ready for the rematch.

"We're a team that prides ourselves on getting stops defensively and making them pay on the offensive end, and that didn't happen tonight," Terry said. "Maybe when guys get their legs back, we'll start making shots at a higher percentage."

Notes: The Mavericks have 22 back-to-backs this season and the Spurs have 20. ... F Ike Diogu, signed earlier this week, played his first game for the Spurs. He played 4:43 and didn't score. ... James Anderson, who started the previous game in place of Ginobili, played only 6 minutes and scored five points.

Notebook: Spurs 93, Mavericks 71

By Tim Price, for NBA.com
Posted Thursday January 5, 2012 11:50PM

THE FACTS: The only thing missing for the Dallas Mavericks was the raising of a championship banner, because their 93-71 loss Thursday night against the Spurs was as dreadful as the season-opener against Miami. The Mavericks shot 35 percent -- including a ghastly 1-of-19 past the 3-point line -- and San Antonio was one of the most dominating teams to shoot less than 40 percent from the floor while taking a 93-71 victory over Dallas at AT&T Center.

The Mavs (3-5) were so much off their game that even though San Antonio shot 3-of-20 in the third quarter, the Spurs entered the final quarter with a 24-point lead. The Spurs are 5-2, all wins coming at home and the only 5-0 team in the league at this point.

Matt Bonner came off the bench to lead the Spurs with 17 points off five 3-pointers. Four other San Antonio players hit double figures. Another bench player, Jason Terry, led Dallas with 12. Dirk Nowitzki had a season-low six points, and things got worse when Jason Kidd left the game following the first quarter with a lower back strain.

QUOTABLE: "It's a hit-first league. They hit us first, and we didn't respond well enough in the first half. Disappointing. San Antonio's energy to start the game was better. Their competitive level was higher. The decisive part of the game was the first half. I don't know if there's a lot of analysis beyond that really. We take it like men and get on to the next one. We all own it."
-- Dallas coach Rick Carlisle.

THE STAT: The Spurs did not commit a turnover until 4 1/2 minutes into the second quarter. But the Mavs had turned it over nine times by then, and San Antonio jumped out to a 13-0 margin on points off turnovers and ended the game with a 15-6 edge. Throw in the fact that the Mavs missed their first 14 shots from the 3-point line and they were the basketball equivalent of the golfer who is short and crooked off the tee. Bad combination.

TURNING POINT: When did the Mavericks get off the bus? They were hardly in the game. Gary Neal, playing in his second game of the season after an appendectomy two weeks before the season started, hit a 3-pointer over Kidd to start the game. He would add two more in the next 5:10, the Spurs led 19-4, and the Mavericks had called as many timeouts -- two -- as shots made. They did have three turnovers.

QUOTABLE II: "They (the Mavs) were playing four games in five nights. We were three in four nights, and neither team was very sharp. Both teams have a long way to go."
-- San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich.

HOT: San Antonio hit five of their first six shots from the 3-point line early in the game. Neal's first three shots were threes, all makes, and he went 4-of-7 for the night from distance. Bonner was 5-of-9. San Antonio was fourth coming into the game in 3-point percentage (42 percent), and Dallas was 24th in defending it.

NOT: Pick a Maverick, any Maverick just about. Nowitzki? He got off to a 1-of-5 start and finished 3-of-11. Roddy Beaubois, who came in for Kidd after his injury? He was 1-of-8. Shawn Marion? Try 1-of-6. You get the idea. Delonte West did finish 4-of-6 for 10 points.

FANTASY SPOTLIGHT: No one had a double-double, but Richard Jefferson did finish with 16 points and seven rebounds. He's averaged 16 points the last three games, which is beating his season average of 11 points from last season.

GOOD MOVE: Putting Neal into the starting lineup replaces some of the assurance the Spurs miss without Manu Ginobili, who is expected to miss six weeks after surgery on his left hand today. Neal hit those opening 3-pointers, and San Antonio was off to the races.

BAD MOVE: Both teams were coming off games the night before. And although it was a home back-to-back for the Spurs, the trip for the Mavs down to San Antonio is a short one-hour flight, if that much. Perhaps, with Dallas leading by 11 over Phoenix heading into the fourth quarter the night before, Nowitzki did not have to play more than 34 minutes and Terry could have been trimmed down from 33 minutes.

ROOKIE WATCH: Kawhi Leonard rebounded after his season low of eight minutes against Golden State with 19 minutes against Dallas, with a rather quiet four points and a rebound.

NOTABLE: Before he left with the back injury, Kidd managed to keep his weird statistic in tact. He still hadn't made a shot inside the 3-point line. He's 12-of-34 on 3-pointers and 0-of-5 inside it.

UP NEXT: For the Mavericks, Saturday vs. New Orleans, Tuesday @ Detroit, Wednesday @ Boston. For the Spurs, Saturday vs. Denver, Sunday @ Oklahoma City, Tuesday @ Milwaukee.

• Mavericks: Williams
• Spurs: Ginobili, Joseph

• Mavericks: Mahinmi
• Spurs: --

• Lead Changes: 0
• Times Tied: 0

• Arena: AT&T Center, San Antonio, TX
• Officials: #23 Jason Phillips, #61 Courtney Kirkland, #72 J.T. Orr
• Attendance: 18581
• Duration: 2:05