One of the weird things about opening the season against a division rival it's hard to determine what it means. Did the Mavs blow an important home game or was it simply game one and there are 81 more to go? It's somewhere in between I guess. Pretty busy today so here's a quick rundown...
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David Lance has some quotes from the Spurs about what winning game one vs Dallas meant to them.
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JJT thinks the Mavs blew it by not attacking and settling for the outside shot. Avery agrees.
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Charley Rosen breaks down the Mavs last night. He was impressed by Croshere like I was. He made some good observations but his column has his usual overstatements and absolutes.
Despite his awesome array of skills, Howard remains too immature and undisciplined to be a major cog in a championship team.
--------------------Mercedes Mayer points out some ugly stats from the 4th quarter.
Dirk Nowitzki, below, shot 3-of-10 from the floor.
The Mavs combined to shoot 6-of-21 (28.6 percent).
The Mavs were outrebounded 15-11.
The Spurs went 8-of-14 from the line; the Mavs 3-of-5.
The Mavs had four turnovers to the Spurs' one.
Tim Duncan shot 1-of-3 and scored two points.
--------------------The Mavs combined to shoot 6-of-21 (28.6 percent).
The Mavs were outrebounded 15-11.
The Spurs went 8-of-14 from the line; the Mavs 3-of-5.
The Mavs had four turnovers to the Spurs' one.
Tim Duncan shot 1-of-3 and scored two points.
Randy Galloway didn't like the pace.
But, unlike the classic playoff matchup last May between the two teams, the pace never got going in the second half. Not a good thing for the Mavericks, who averaged 103 points in the seven games of that postseason thriller.
Using grind-it-out muscle in a half-court crawl, San Antonio served notice that last season ain't this season, holding control down the stretch in a 97-91 win.
"We were running our plays and playing at our pace in the first half," said Mavs coach Avery Johnson, reflecting on a 51-45 intermission lead. "But the second half, we looked like the Mavericks of the past. We were not so good in the fourth quarter."
--------------------Using grind-it-out muscle in a half-court crawl, San Antonio served notice that last season ain't this season, holding control down the stretch in a 97-91 win.
"We were running our plays and playing at our pace in the first half," said Mavs coach Avery Johnson, reflecting on a 51-45 intermission lead. "But the second half, we looked like the Mavericks of the past. We were not so good in the fourth quarter."
Art Garcia recaps the game and lists the 'firsts' for the season
Basket: A Dirk Nowitzki layup -- 11:27 of the first quarter.
Jump shot: Jason Terry from 17 feet -- 11:00.
Assist: Jason Terry to Josh Howard for a jump shot from 10 feet -- 7:20.
Substitution: Erick Dampier for DeSagana Diop -- 5:03.
Dunk: Erick Dampier off a pass from Devin Harris -- 1:24.
3-pointer: Austin Croshere off a pass from Harris -- 11:48 of the second quarter.
--------------------Jump shot: Jason Terry from 17 feet -- 11:00.
Assist: Jason Terry to Josh Howard for a jump shot from 10 feet -- 7:20.
Substitution: Erick Dampier for DeSagana Diop -- 5:03.
Dunk: Erick Dampier off a pass from Devin Harris -- 1:24.
3-pointer: Austin Croshere off a pass from Harris -- 11:48 of the second quarter.
Lang Whitaker at SLAM online writes about all the technical foul calls.
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If you read just one of these links, make it this one. The Cavalier at YAYsports! takes off his comedy hat and talk about why he loves Mark Cuban.