Spurs-Mavericks Preview

Posted Dec 29 2012 5:33PM

As good as the San Antonio Spurs have been offensively, that success has not carried to the road recently.

The Spurs are seeking their third five-game winning streak of the season but also looking to avoid a fifth straight road loss when they try to beat the slumping Dallas Mavericks for the second consecutive Sunday night.

After a strong defensive effort led to a 100-80 win over Toronto two days earlier, San Antonio (23-6) showed it could run with high-scoring Houston in a 122-116 victory Friday night. That capped a 4-0 homestand during which the Spurs averaged 112.5 points and hit 53.2 percent from the field.

They haven't played nearly as well in losing their last four on the road, averaging 96.3 points on 43.2 percent shooting. The Spurs had lost just five of their previous 36 regular-season road games.

Now they'll try to match a season high with a fifth straight win overall by beating Dallas for the seventh time in nine tries.

The first matchup this season wasn't much of a contest, with San Antonio outscoring the Mavericks by 22 in the third quarter in a 129-91 victory at Dallas last Sunday.

"We know they are going to play with a lot of energy with them being at home," said Tony Parker, whose Spurs lost both visits to Dallas last season. "We beat them pretty good here so we have to make sure to match their energy."

Danny Green scored a career-high 25 in the first meeting, hitting 7 of 8 from beyond the arc, and had another solid game Friday with five 3-pointers and 17 points. However, he's totaled 13 points over the last three road games, going 3 for 16 from beyond the arc.

Tim Duncan and Tony Parker were able to sit out the fourth quarter of the Dallas win but are coming off big games. Parker had 31 points and 10 assists against the Rockets while Duncan added 30 points, marking the first time two Spurs scored 30 in a game since Feb. 2, 2009, when Duncan and Manu Ginobili both had 32.

"Those guys have been great all season," said Ginobili, who had a season-high 23 points. "I kind of joined in on the scoring. The main thing is that we beat another great team that has been rolling."

The Spurs, leading the Western Conference in field-goal shooting (48.3 percent), are averaging 109.1 points in December and facing a Dallas team that has allowed 109.6 during its five-game losing streak.

A night after playing defending West champion Oklahoma City tough in a 111-105 overtime loss, the Mavericks (12-18) dropped their eighth in nine games Friday with a 106-85 defeat to Denver.

Dirk Nowitzki had five points in 17 minutes, continuing to ease his way back after missing the first 27 games following knee surgery late in the preseason.

The perennial All-Star forward, averaging 7.3 points in three games since returning, missed his last six shots Friday and didn't play in the fourth quarter.

"Really, these are my first games in a long time," Nowitzki said. "So it's ugly. I've got to keep fighting, keep working hard in practice days and eventually I'll be able to come back."

O.J. Mayo showed some signs of breaking out of his slump with a team-high 15 points, but he went 1 of 5 from 3-point range. While he leads the team at 18.7 points per game, Mayo has averaged 8.8 points on 30.2 percent shooting during the team's losing streak.

The Mavericks are hoping to find some rhythm after shooting 5 of 25 from 3-point range against the Nuggets to fall to 32.2 percent from beyond the arc in December - among the worst in the NBA.

Big 3 help Spurs send Mavs to sixth straight loss

By SCHUYLER DIXON
Posted Dec 30 2012 11:03PM

DALLAS (AP) Dirk Nowitzki grabbed a loose ball in the backcourt and started the fast break himself, pulling up for a 3-pointer just like the days before his first knee surgery.

The difference this time: The Dallas Mavericks star threw up an airball.

Nowitzki will need more time to work his way back from a surgery that cost him the first 27 games of the season. Even then, it may not be enough to keep up with the San Antonio Spurs and their Big Three.

Tony Parker had 21 points and nine assists, Manu Ginobili had several key baskets among his 20 points and the Spurs handed the Mavericks their sixth straight loss, 111-86 on Sunday night.

Two nights after his second 30-point game of the season, Tim Duncan had 10 in the second quarter before settling in for a more typical outing: 18 points and 10 rebounds for his 16th double-double to go with three blocks.

The Spurs, who snapped a four-game road losing streak, never trailed a week after beating the Mavericks by 38 in San Antonio when Nowitzki made a surprise debut earlier than expected.

"I liked the focus of the team," Parker said. "It's never easy to play a team that we beat pretty bad last week. From the get-go, we moved the ball, took good shots and played great defense."

Nowitzki followed his first-half airball by missing three more in the second half before finally getting a basket on a driving layup. He finished with eight points on 3-of-9 shooting - and didn't come close to trying another 3-pointer. He did have five rebounds and three blocked shots.

"He's not Dirk Nowitzki, basically, one of the greatest players that's ever played, so it's going to take time for him," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. "It's very, very difficult when you have a guy like that out, and then he comes back."

Darren Collison scored 18 points to lead the Mavericks, whose losing streak is their longest since January of their championship season in 2010-11.

Dallas was within five in the third quarter when Ginobili hit a 3-pointer with the shot clock winding down, and he made an even longer 3 with the shot clock inside a second to put San Antonio ahead 80-70. He finished the third quarter the same way he did the second - with a last-second shot that put the Spurs up by 12.

Ginobili scored 10 points in the third quarter and added five rebounds and five assists for the game with just one turnover.

"We were very solid, and at not one point did we let them have a great run, and have one of those streaks where they make a lot of 3s," Ginobili said.

Ginobili keyed a late spurt in the first half that turned a five-point lead into a 12-point halftime edge. He assisted on a 3-pointer by Kawhi Leonard and scored the final two baskets of the half, the last a pull-up jumper with less than a second left for a 57-45 lead.

The Spurs ran out to a 20-6 lead on midrange jumpers from Parker, who scored 10 in the first quarter, and a couple of 3-pointers from Danny Green, who had a career-high seven from long range against Dallas a week ago. Green finished with eight points and was 2 of 3 from beyond the arc.

The Mavericks closed the gap late in the first behind Elton Brand, who scored six in the first quarter after going scoreless for the second time this season two nights earlier against Denver. Brand had 14 points and 10 rebounds.

O.J. Mayo, Dallas' leading scorer, was held under 10 points for the third time in four games. He came in averaging 9 points on 33-percent shooting the previous four games and finished with eight on 4 of 14 shooting. Green blocked two of his 3-point attempts in the second half, including one after Mayo tried a pump fake that instead just gave Green enough time to get there before Mayo shot it.

NOTES: Mavericks F Vince Carter made his first start after coming off the bench the first 30 games. ... Spurs G Gary Neal missed his third straight game with a strained right calf. ... Mayo had a career-high five steals in Friday's loss to Denver. But he also had six turnovers for the third straight game. ... Green was 14 of 19 from 3-point range the previous three games. He was 7 of 8 when the Spurs set a franchise record with 20 3-pointers a week ago against Dallas. ... Oklahoma football players drew some boos when they were shown on the big board. The Sooners play Texas A&M in the Cotton Bowl at Cowboys Stadium on Jan. 4. Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Manziel of Texas A&M attended a Mavs game a few days after winning the award.

Notebook: Spurs 111, Mavericks 86

Dave Ivey, for NBA.com
Posted Sun Dec 30, 2012 10:26 PM - Updated Sun Dec 30, 2012 10:52 PM

THE FACTS: Tony Parker and the San Antonio Spurs hammered the Dallas Mavericks for the second straight Sunday, stretching their winning streak to five with a 111-86 victory at the American Airlines Center. Parker scored 21 points, Manu Ginobili added 20 and Tim Duncan tallied 18 points and 10 rebounds as the Spurs (24-8) led wire-to-wire against the miserable Mavericks (12-19), who have lost six straight and nine of 10.

Three-point shooting was a decisive factor again. Last Sunday, the Spurs set a franchise record with 20 3-point field goals in a lopsided 129-91 defeat of Dallas at the AT&T Center. San Antonio was a more modest 8-for-19 this time, but the Mavericks were just 1-for-16 from behind the arc (6.3 percent).

Darren Collison had 18 points and eight assists and Elton Brand contributed 14 points and 10 boards off the bench for the Mavericks. Dirk Nowitzki had eight points, five rebounds, three blocked shots and two assists and played 22:30 in his fourth game back from knee surgery.

QUOTABLE: "We were fortunate. Obviously Dirk is not ready. He's not Dirk Nowitzki, basically one of the greatest players that's ever played, so it's going to take time for him. Everybody's just trying to figure out their place and work around and get back into a rotation. It's very, very difficult when you have a guy like that out and then he comes back.."
-- Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich.

THE STAT: The last time the Mavericks were seven games under .500 was on April 6, 2000 (34-41). That was the first season Mark Cuban owned the team.

TURNING POINT: Every time the Mavericks pulled within single digits, the Spurs had an answer. Ginobili finally took the wind out of Dallas for good when his 28-foot heave just beat the shot clock and put San Antonio up 80-70 with 31.9 seconds left in the third quarter.

QUOTABLE II: "We've got to stick together and we've got to fight -- and we've got to fight harder than we did tonight."
-- Mavericks head coach Rick Carlisle.

HOT: Parker was 10-for-17 from the field with a game-high nine assists and five rebounds.

NOT: Shawn Marion, Rodrigue Beaubois and Chris Douglas-Roberts shot a combined 2-for-15 for the Mavericks.

FANTASY SPOTLIGHT: It was Brand's third double-double of the season and 399th of his career, his first since a Dec. 1 win against the Pistons. He was 7-for-11 from the floor. Brand had scored a combined eight points in his previous three games.

INSIDE THE ARENA: The Mavericks had a moment of silence before the game for the late Horace Ardinger, one of the original owners/investors of the franchise. ... Members of the Oklahoma and Texas A&M football teams, in town for the Cotton Bowl, attended the game.

NOTABLE: The Mavericks used their 14th different starting lineup in 31 games, with Vince Carter getting his first start of the season (948th of his career). ... This was the Mavs' eighth loss by 20 or more points this season. They had four in 2011-12. ... San Antonio improved to 18-3 when scoring 100-plus points, 17-1 when leading at halftime and 13-0 when shooting 50 percent or better from the field (50.6). ... The Spurs are 13-1 when two or more players score at least 20 points. ... San Antonio snapped a four-game road losing streak. ... Dallas outscored San Antonio 19-2 in second-chance points.

UP NEXT: For the Mavericks, Tuesday @ Washington, Wednesday @ Miami, Saturday vs. New Orleans. For the Spurs, Monday vs. Brooklyn, Wednesday @ Milwaukee, Thursday @ New York.

• Spurs: Joseph
• Mavericks: Cunningham, James

• Spurs: --
• Mavericks: --

• Lead Changes: 0
• Times Tied: 0

• Arena: American Airlines Center, Dallas, TX
• Officials: #14 Ed Malloy, #33 Sean Corbin, #52 Scott Twardoski
• Attendance: 19928
• Duration: 2:03