Spurs-Mavericks Preview

By NOEY KUPCHAN
Posted Jan 29 2012 12:14AM

With Dirk Nowitzki's planned return from a four-game absence, the Dallas Mavericks were hoping to be back at full strength for Sunday night's showdown with the Southwest Division-rival San Antonio Spurs.

Instead, Nowitzki's status is questionable and Jason Kidd now has a strained right calf to boot.

Looking to improve his conditioning and getting treatment for a sore right knee, Nowitzki has spent the last four games on the sidelines. His expected return date was Sunday, but it's still unknown if the reigning NBA Finals MVP will be ready to face the Spurs (12-8).

Also uncertain is Kidd, who injured his calf in the first quarter of Friday's 116-101 victory over Utah. Kidd previously missed four games after hurting his lower back during a 93-71 loss at San Antonio on Jan. 5.

Dallas (12-8), which was also without Delonte West (strained right hamstring) on Friday, received huge boosts from usual reserves Rodrigue Beaubois and Lamar Odom.

Starting in place of West, Beaubois posted season highs of 22 points and seven assists to go along with six rebounds and a career-best four blocks versus the Jazz. While West is expected back Sunday, Beaubois could still see plenty of minutes depending on Kidd's condition.

"(Friday) was a good night," Beaubois said. "When they give you a good shot, you've got to be ready to shoot it. ... I'm just trying to be aggressive."

Odom, who started each of the last four games in place of Nowitzki, also scored a season high with 19 points Friday while shooting 7 of 12 from the field.

"It's not all about making shots," Odom said. "It's about making the right play, making stops, making defensive plays. (Friday) I played a better all-around game."

While the Spurs shut down the Mavericks at home earlier this month, a repeat performance seems unlikely with the series shifting to Dallas. San Antonio, which is limiting opponents to 89.5 points per game on its own court, ranks third-to-last in the league with an average of 102.4 surrendered away from home.

The Spurs' road struggles continued Friday as they dropped to 2-7 away from home with an 87-79 loss at Minnesota. While its defense performed well, San Antonio shot 41.3 percent en route to its lowest scoring output of the season and got outscored 10-0 in the final 3:33.

"If we're on the road and we hold somebody to 87 points, I think we have a good chance," coach Gregg Popovich said. "I felt good about that. But like many NBA games, the last four or five minutes, whoever scores wins."

Tony Parker had another big game, scoring 20 points. He's averaging 22.3 on 49.4 percent shooting and 10.5 assists over his last four road contests.

Parker scored 33 points the last time he visited Dallas, leading the Spurs to a second straight win there. They've won four straight overall meetings in this series by an average of 11.5 points.

Nowitzki finished with six points in the Jan. 5 loss at San Antonio, his lowest output since Dec. 18, 2009.

Terry scores 34, Mavs beat Spurs 101-100 in OT

By STEPHEN HAWKINS
Posted Jan 29 2012 11:36PM

DALLAS (AP) Jason Terry was more than willing to take the big shots, with Dirk Nowitzki just getting back into the Dallas Mavericks' lineup. Terry made them when they mattered, too.

Terry scored the last four points in overtime, after hitting a tying 15-footer with a half-second remaining in regulation, and the Mavericks came back after blowing a big lead against San Antonio's reserves to beat the Spurs 101-100 Sunday night.

"He put us on his shoulders there," said Nowitzki, who played for the first time after a four-game hiatus to strengthen his sore right knee and do some conditioning work. "He made some great pull-ups. He got to his sweet spot to send it to OT."

Terry put Dallas ahead to stay when he took a pass from Nowitzki and made a 12-foot baseline jumper with 42 seconds left to make it 99-98. After Shawn Marion stole the ball from Gary Neal, Terry got fouled and made both free throws with 17 seconds left.

"It's just the will to win when the game is on the line," Terry said. "I like to take the shot when the game is on the line. ... When my team needs me the most, I'm going to come through regardless of what's going on the entire night. Fourth quarter is winning time."

Terry scored 26 of his season-high 34 points after halftime, though the Spurs still had a chance after his last two free throws.

Neal, who finished with 19 points, drove for a layup and was fouled by Marion with 12 seconds left. But Neal missed a potential tying free throw that was rebounded by Ian Mahinmi, who was fouled and missed two free throw attempts.

After Neal got that rebound and the Spurs called timeout, Vince Carter knocked the ball loose. Danny Green grabbed it and threw up a 3-pointer that ricocheted off the front of the rim as the game ended.

Green and the Spurs thought he had a game-winner at the end of regulation, but his 14-footer was disallowed when replay clearly showed that shot didn't get out of his hands before the buzzer sounded.

"I thought it was good, but I guess it was too good to be true," Green said.

Dallas led by as many as 18 points in the third quarter before San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich decided to go with his reserves. The Spurs' last 51 points after that came from bench players, and they went ahead by as many as nine in the fourth quarter with the help of a flurry of 3-pointers.

"We were just on fire shooting 3s and it got us back in the game. It's as simple as that. I thought the energy defensively was great; we double-teamed everywhere," Popovich said. "They were playing great. There's no sense in taking them off the court."

The last Spurs starter to score was Richard Jefferson on a 3-pointer with 4:28 left in the third quarter. When Jefferson came out less than 2 minutes later, the only starter to re-enter the game was Kawhi Leonard for 1.1 seconds in overtime.

Terry's tying shot at the end of regulation was set up after Rodrigue Beaubois, starting for injured Jason Kidd, drove for a layup with 30 seconds left and then blocked a shot on a drive by Neal. Nowitzki grabbed the rebound and got the ball to Terry.

San Antonio still had a chance to win the game. Green swished his jumper off the inbound pass, but officials looked at the replay before ruling it didn't count and sending the game to overtime.

"We got a little lucky there," Nowitzki said. "I thought it was over."

Carter had 21 points, his most with the Mavericks, while Beaubois had 14. Nowitzki had 10 points on 5-of-14 shooting with 13 rebounds.

"I'm moving better," Nowitzki said. "Definitely that was an improvement from before. I'm going to keep working and get back to normal soon."

Richard Jefferson, Tim Duncan and Green each had 12 points for the Spurs.

Dallas (13-8) took over the Southwest Division lead, ahead of Houston (12-8) and the Spurs (12-9).

The Mavericks had a 67-49 lead after Terry's basket with 3:48 left in the third quarter. That's when San Antonio's reserves took over.

There were seven consecutive points to cut the gap, that capped by Matt Bonner's 3-pointer that helped ignite a frenzy of 3-pointers.

San Antonio opened the fourth quarter with a 17-2 surge that included five 3-pointers. Bonner's trey from the right wing with 8:24 left in regulation put the Spurs up 75-71.

That was from about the same spot that Green had hit before a missed shot by Nowitzki.

San Antonio, which made seven 3s in the fourth quarter, led 84-75 with 5 1/2 minutes left when Neal stole the ball from Terry and had a fast-break jumper. It was still 89-81 only 2 minutes later when Neal made a 3-pointer.

"We were unable to capitalize on it," Neal said. "They were able to make shots and forced it into overtime."

Notes: Kidd has a right calf strain, and is expected to miss at least five games. ... San Antonio finished with 12 3s, which was four less than they made when the teams first played 3 1/2 weeks ago when the Spurs won 93-72 at home. ... Manu Ginobili (broken left hand) missed his 16th consecutive game for the Spurs, while T.J. Ford (torn left hamstring) has missed 11 in a row. ... When former Mavericks owner Don Carter and his wife were showing on the video board during a timeout in the first quarter, both flashed their 2011 NBA championship rings. ... Brendan Haywood had a season-high five blocked shots for Dallas.

Notebook: Mavericks 101, Spurs 100

By Dave Ivey, for NBA.com
Posted Sunday January 29, 2012 10:32PM

THE FACTS: Jason Terry scored a season-high 34 points, including the game-tying 16-footer with 0.5 seconds left in regulation and the go-ahead jumper in overtime, leading the Dallas Mavericks to a thrilling 101-100 victory Sunday against the rival San Antonio Spurs at the American Airlines Center.

Danny Green had two chances to be the hero for the Spurs. He drained a baseline bucket at the fourth-quarter buzzer, but the replay showed the ball was still in his hands when the red light came on, sending the game to OT tied at 91-91. After Ian Mahinmi missed two free throws for Dallas with 11.5 seconds left in overtime, Green was off the mark with a long 3-pointer at the horn.

QUOTABLE: "It's just the will to win when the game is on the line. I like to take the shot when the game is on the line. When my team needs me the most, I'm going to come through regardless of what's going on the entire night."
-- Terry.

THE STAT: After shooting 4-for-14 from 3-point distance through the first three quarters, San Antonio was 7-for-8 from downtown in the fourth quarter. Gary Neal knocked down three of them and scored 13 of his team-high 19 points in the fourth.

TURNING POINT: The Spurs took a 98-95 lead in OT on Green's layup with 1:26 to go. Dirk Nowitzki cut it to one with a bank shot and then Terry took over, sinking the go-ahead pull-up jumper with 41.9 seconds to play and converting two free throws with 17.9 seconds left.

QUOTABLE II: "It's disappointing. I don't know what you want me to do. Do you want me to cry? I don't know what you want me to do. How disappointing? Very disappointing, is that OK? It's disappointing."
-- San Antonio head coach Gregg Popovich.

HOT: Terry was 14-for-23 from the field. The 14 field goals were two shy of his career high and were his most since a 14-for-24 night at Sacramento on Jan. 11, 2009.

NOT: The Spurs had trouble with the freebies, shooting 53 percent (10-for-19) at the charity stripe.

GOOD MOVE: Popovich employed an unusual tactic to overcome an 18-point third-quarter deficit: He benched all five starters. Replacing the likes of Tim Duncan and Tony Parker, the lineup of Green, Neal, Matt Bonner, Tiago Splitter and James Anderson fueled a furious fourth-quarter comeback. The reserves opened the fourth with a 26-4 run and San Antonio led 84-75 with 5:33 to play.

BAD MOVE: Popovich may have stuck with his second unit a little too long, particularly when the game went to the extra session. None of the starters returned after the 2:44 mark of the third quarter. The fresher legs of the Mavericks closed the fourth with a 16-7 run, including 10 points from Terry.

FANTASY SPOTLIGHT: After missing the last four games with a sore right knee, Nowitzki turned in a double-double with 10 points on 5-for-14 shooting and a game-high 13 boards. Vince Carter scored 14 of his season-high 21 points in the first half. Rodrigue Beaubois added 14 points, seven assists and three blocked shots and Brendan Haywood had a season-high five blocks.

NOTABLE: Dallas point guard Jason Kidd will be sidelined at least a week with a strained right calf, but the news could have been worse. He said the initial fear when the injury occurred in the first quarter of Friday's win against Utah was a torn Achilles' tendon. ... The Mavericks snapped a four-game losing skid against the Spurs. ... Dallas committed a season-low eight turnovers. ... San Antonio dropped to 2-8 on the road. ... The Mavericks (13-8) took a one-game lead in the Southwest Division over the Spurs (12-9), with the Houston Rockets (12-8) a half-game back.

UP NEXT: For the Mavericks, Monday @ Phoenix, Wednesday vs. Oklahoma City, Friday vs. Indiana. For the Spurs, Monday @ Memphis, Wednesday vs. Houston, Thursday vs. New Orleans.

• Spurs: Ford, Ginobili
• Mavericks: Kidd, Williams

• Spurs: --
• Mavericks: --

• Lead Changes: 7
• Times Tied: 4

• Arena: American Airlines Center, Dallas, TX
• Officials: #55 Bill Kennedy, #30 John Goble, #68 Marat Kogut
• Attendance: 20262
• Duration: 2:44