Mavericks-Spurs Preview

By NOEY KUPCHAN
Posted Dec 22 2012 3:14PM

The San Antonio Spurs are at full strength after getting a couple of key pieces back earlier this week.

The same can't be said for a Dallas Mavericks team dealing with more than its fair share of injuries.

Looking to stay unbeaten at home this month, San Antonio tries to hand Dallas a season-worst fifth consecutive road loss Sunday night as these Southwest Division rivals square off for the first time.

After dropping four of five and playing six of their previous seven on the road, the Spurs (20-8) beat New Orleans 99-94 in the opener of a four-game homestand Friday. Tony Parker compiled 25 points on 10-of-17 shooting while Tim Duncan scored 15 to go along with 10 rebounds for San Antonio, which shot 51.3 percent and outscored the Grizzlies 25-5 in transition.

Kawhi Leonard, who started the first nine games, had eight points and two steals in 20 minutes off the bench in his first action since missing over a month with right knee tendinitis. Stephen Jackson added five points in his third game back from a broken finger.

"It was great to be back (at home), and it is going to take a little time getting used to having those guys back," Duncan said. "A lot of adjustments right now, but it is good to be home and good to have everybody back to full strength."

The Mavericks (12-15), meanwhile, continue to play without former league MVP Dirk Nowitzki and could be missing a slew of other players Sunday.

Derek Fisher (strained right knee) is expected to sit for a third straight game while Elton Brand (strained right groin) and Darren Collison (illness) are both uncertain to play. Collison had been starting in place of Fisher but played just over 10 minutes and sat out the entire second half of Friday's 92-82 loss at Memphis.

Dallas, which fell 110-95 to Miami the night before, committed 24 turnovers and shot just 40.8 percent against the Grizzlies but still managed to keep it close down the stretch.

"I was very pleased," coach Rick Carlisle said. "We were undermanned, coming off of a late night back-to-back. The guys really hung in and gave what they could give. I was really happy with how everybody fought. There's not much consolation when you lose, but the effort was good."

Things aren't about to get any easier for Dallas with a visit to San Antonio in store. The Mavericks, who've dropped five of six overall and four straight on the road, have been outscored by an average of 17.0 points during a three-game skid at the AT&T Center.

The Spurs have typically dominated opponents on their own court, going 9-2 while allowing 93.4 points per game. San Antonio is 5-0 at home this month and has won 21 consecutive December home games dating to 2009.

Slowing down Parker, whose 19.0-scoring average is his highest since 2008-09, could prove crucial for Dallas if it hopes to keep up Sunday. Parker's 50.4 field-goal percentage ranks second among point guards, and the Spurs are 14-0 this season when he shoots at least 47.0 percent from the floor.

He had eight points in the final 5:36 against Memphis.

"Tony has been doing that all season," coach Gregg Popovich said. "He is having a great year. He really feels the responsibility down the stretch in games to get something done. If we are a little bit flat or not making shots, that kind of thing, he has stepped up and been very confident in those situations."

Spurs rout Mavs in Nowitzki's return from surgery

By RAUL DOMINGUEZ
Posted Dec 23 2012 11:09PM

SAN ANTONIO (AP) Dirk Nowitzki wasn't expecting to play much during his season debut Sunday night against the San Antonio Spurs.

Still, after missing the Dallas Mavericks' first 27 regular-season games, he didn't expect to take a seat on the bench after 20 minutes with the game completely out of hand.

"In the middle of the third we were down by 80, so I didn't really have to go back in," Nowitzki said, exaggerating the Mavs' largest deficit just a bit.

Danny Green scored a career-high 25 points and the Spurs spoiled Nowitzki's season debut with a 129-91 rout of the Mavericks.

San Antonio's largest lead was actually 46, but the deficit seemed larger to Dallas.

"We got a (butt-kicking), that's it," Shawn Marion said. "No need to explain it ... it was an old-fashioned (butt-kicking)."

The Spurs set a franchise record with 20 3-pointers, besting the record of 19 they set Dec. 8 in Charlotte. San Antonio also set a season high for largest margin of victory.

Tony Parker had 18 points, Kawhi Leonard added 17, Tim Duncan 15 and Stephen Jackson 14 for the Spurs (21-8).

Darren Collison scored 15 points to lead Dallas (12-16), which lost its third straight. Vince Carter added 13 points and Chris Kaman had 10.

San Antonio also had 33 assists, a season-high 17 steals and forced 20 turnovers.

"We don't create that many turnovers normally," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. "So that's a heck of a night for us as far as steals are concerned. That's not going to happen very often. We were fortunate it was one of those nights when your opponent has a bad night and you have a great night and it ends up like tonight."

It came on the night Nowitzki returned following surgery on his right knee Oct. 19 after battling soreness the previous season.

He entered with 6:28 left in the first quarter to a hearty mix of cheers and boos. The former MVP quickly picked up a rebound for Dallas and finished with eight points - going 3 for 4 from the field - and six rebounds in 20 minutes.

Nowitzki decided to play less than an hour before tipoff after testing the knee during practice last week.

"Before the game I felt decent, so I said I'm going to give it a go," Nowitzki said. "I felt actually good out there. I thought the wind was OK, but my legs were a little heavy there after a couple of trips up and down but I thought I fought through it OK."

Nowitzki's presence did little to stifle San Antonio's outside shooting. The Spurs were 20 from 30 from 3-point range and shot 56 percent from the field overall.

"Luckily it felt good tonight," Green said. "Some nights you have it and some nights you don't. Good thing we had it tonight. Not just myself, but everybody else on the team.

Manu Ginobili and Boris Diaw hit consecutive 3s to push San Antonio's lead to 55-45 with 3:42 left in the first half.

Green's seventh 3-pointer gave the Spurs a 77-57 lead with 7 minutes left in the third quarter.

The Spurs led by as many as 46, while the Mavs' lone lead came at 4-3 on Kaman's jumper with 10:30 left in the first quarter.

Tiago Splitter's dunk gave San Antonio a 100-66 lead at the close of the third. Splitter ran to the sideline after the dunk with a huge a smile, where he was immediately greeted with a low five by an equally happy Duncan.

Dallas was outscored 36-14 in the third quarter. San Antonio closed the quarter on a 31-9 run.

"We need to keep on working," Nowitzki said. "We've got a lot of areas to improve. We might not be as talented as some teams on the top, but if we're not, you have to make it up with how you play and compete and it's just not there."

Every active Spurs player scored and played at least eight minutes.

NOTES: Spurs G Gary Neal left the game early in the fourth quarter with a strained right calf. His status is unknown. ...San Antonio has dominated Dallas at home, holding a 51-26 advantage against their intrastate rivals. ... Seven players have led the Spurs in individual scoring this season. ... San Antonio has had 12 players start this season, the most in the NBA. ... The Spurs lead the league in assists at 25.4 per game and the team's bench leads all reserves at 11.3. ... Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle let official Karl Lane know he was not happy with the officiating. "Does counting fouls lose you the game? It's so lopsided, it's ridiculous." The fouls were 8-4 in favor of the Spurs at that point. The Spurs closed the game with 22 fouls compared to 18 for the Mavericks.

Notebook: Spurs 129, Mavericks 91

Tim Price, for NBA.com
Posted Sun Dec 23, 2012 10:46 PM - Updated Sun Dec 23, 2012 10:46 PM

THE FACTS: Dirk Nowitzki returned to the Mavericks lineup for the first time since his offseason knee surgery, but Dallas continued to struggle Sunday night against the Spurs. San Antonio connected on a franchise-best 20 3-point shots, including 7-for-8 for a career-high 25 points from Danny Green, and the Spurs beat Dallas 129-91 at AT&T Center.

Nowitzki made his first three shots and finished with eight points (3-for-4 shooting) and six rebounds in 20 minutes.

Overall, Green was 9-for-10 from the floor as San Antonio (21-8) shot 56 percent from the floor and finished 20-for-30 from the 3-point line.

Lost in the flurry over Nowitzki's return was the appearance of Elton Brand and Chris Douglas-Roberts for Dallas (12-16). Brand (1-for-4, two points in 13 1/2 minutes) had missed three games because of a right groin strain, and Douglas-Roberts (three points, all from the foul line in 9 1/2 minutes) was signed in the morning from the team's D-League affiliate (Texas Legends) to fill the spot that came open when Dallas granted Derek Fisher's request to be released.

QUOTABLE: "I practiced really hard the past couple of days, but this morning I didn't really know (about playing). I felt actually good out there. My wind was OK. My legs were a little heavy after a couple of trips up and down, but I thought I fought through it OK. It went better than I would have thought. That's encouraging for me, but as a team we've got a long way to go. We're not very good defensively, that's obvious. Offensively our decision making is horrible."
-- Nowitzki

THE STAT: Beyond Green's accurate outside shooting, the Spurs outscored Dallas 60-15 from the 3-point line.

TURNING POINT: Though the Mavericks trailed by 12 at halftime, they did have some hope; Dallas shot 57 percent in the first half. But the Mavs missed 13 of their 17 attempts in the third quarter and were outscored 36-14 to fall behind 100-66 to start the fourth.

QUOTABLE II: "Everybody else on the team stepped up and knocked down some shots. It's a lot easier to shoot like that when you move the ball and get open looks."
-- Green

HOT: Green's previous career high in points was 24 last season against Denver, and his previous career high for 3-pointers of seven came earlier this month at Charlotte. But it's his first multiple 3-point game since Dec. 15 against Boston, and in the three games since then heading into tonight Green was 3-for-17 from the 3-point line.

NOT: Dominique Jones got his first start at point for the Mavs and went 1-for-7.

FANTASY SPOTLIGHT: Green had 25 points in his first double-digit scoring game since Dec. 15. He added four rebounds but no assists. Tim Duncan (15 points, five rebounds) has hit double-digit scoring in four straight games.

GOOD MOVE: The Spurs kept spreading the floor and hiking up the 3-ball. The 66.7 percent from 3-point territory was a season-best (59.3 percent was the previous mark).

BAD MOVE: The Mavs have been bothered by injuries this season (and have just granted a release to Fisher), and whether or not Nowitzki has come back too soon from knee surgery remains to be seen. He appeared to move around fine during the game, spinning well on a turnaround jumper and getting out to set screens on the perimeter. At least Rick Carlisle got Nowitzki out of the game with three minutes left in the third quarter and the Mavs down by 30.

ROOKIE WATCH: Jae Crowder had nine points and four rebounds in 16 minutes for Dallas. The Spurs' Nando De Colo had five assists but three turnovers in 13 minutes.

NOTABLE: The Mavs started their league-leading 13th different lineup tonight, a lead which surely could increase now that Nowitzki is back. ... Kawhi Leonard made his first start for San Antonio in more than a month since suffering from tendonitis in his quadriceps and had 17 points in 26 minutes. ... The Spurs had a season-best 17 steals. ... Gary Neal strained his right calf muscle and did not return for San Antonio after nine first-half minutes. ... O.J. Mayo picked up a technical for Dallas when, following a layup, he removed his mouthpiece and yelled at referee Tony Brothers in the second quarter.

UP NEXT: For the Mavericks, Thursday @ Oklahoma City, Friday vs. Denver, Sunday vs. San Antonio. For the Spurs, Wednesday vs. Toronto, Friday vs. Houston, Sunday @ Dallas.

• Mavericks: Cunningham, James
• Spurs: Joseph

• Mavericks: Mayo
• Spurs: --

• Lead Changes: 2
• Times Tied: 1

• Arena: AT&T Center, San Antonio, TX
• Officials: #25 Tony Brothers, #65 Sean Wright, #77 Karl Lane
• Attendance: 18581
• Duration: 2:07