Mavs/Spurs Postseason Morning Links

Great sports day yesterday.  Mavs beat Houston.  Michael Finley beats the Hornets.  Mavs fans get the series most of them were hoping for.  And I flipped over to the Rangers game just in time to see Ian Kinsler hit for the cycle.

But it's Mavs/Spurs that I really cared about.  It was the series I wanted, not only because I feel Dallas could win, but because every game figures to be great entertainment.

"It's a great match-up," Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle said. "These are two teams that know each other well. We have respect for them, and I believe they have respect for us. "We look forward to a great series."

Sefko recaps the game calling it a "hard-fought win", and Mike Fisher has his game notes with some praise for the D on Yao.

Hollins, the 7-foot member of the LIBB, got 12 explosive minutes. Brandon Bass also played some center, getting 25 minutes while sometimes replacing the ineffective Erick Dampier. Result? Yao Ming, who'd scored 19 in the first half, was held scoreless for the final 21 minutes of the game.

Said Bass of wrasslin' with people like Yao: "You need legs, body, heart, guards, everything when you go up against those guys."

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JJT says Josh Howard is the key to the series.

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Kelly Dwyer, JET's number 1 fan, makes the obvious case for Terry as 6th man of the year.

The guy carried the Mavericks for long stretches, he competes, he engages the crowd, he deals with the media the right way (this doesn't play a factor in how I rank him amongst his peers, but it is worth pointing out), and it's nice that this known but heretofore unheralded (or, "not heralded enough") talent is getting some pub that falls in line with his production.

Dywer also had this funny line in his 'Behind the Box Score'.

Dirk Nowitzki was typically terrorizing, 31 points and 15 rebounds with just one turnover in 41 minutes. Jason Terry might be the best person ever made, and he scored 23 points off the bench. And Jason Kidd had another Jason Kidd-style triple-double, with 11 points, 12 assists, and 10 rebounds. Great win for a dangerous team.