Dallas Mavericks squeak past San Antonio Spurs 101-100 in overtime - NBA Recap
This encounter between two giants of the Western Conference had everything in it what the fans covet.
Reigning NBA World Champions, Dallas Mavericks were cruising to a victory after dominating the first three frames, in front by 11 points 69-58 by the end of the third.
But for the San Antonio Spurs, the game was not finished by any means.
With their starters struggling, San Antonio put the second unit out on the court and they stunned the Mavs by fuelling a magnificent 17-2 spurt, comprising of an outstanding five downtown strikes, to announce their comeback. They kept scoring quickly to get in a commanding position and actually went ahead by as much as 9 points 84-75 with less than six minutes remaining in the game.
However, the game had another turn in store as the Mavs started to push. The Spurs were the clear favourites ; ahead by 4 points 91-87, just 40 seconds away from an outstanding win.
However, the Mavs struck twice to tie the game. With barely a moment left though, Danny Green prodeuced a bucket right at the fourth-quarter buzzer, but to the deperation of the Spurs, the replay showed the ball was still in his hands when the red light came on, sending the game to OT, tied at 91.
Spurs were aggressive in the OT and managed to get ahead 98-95 with almost a minute remaining in the game. Dallas however again showed their class and rattled a 6-0 run, led by Dirk Nowitzki and Jason Terry in the ensuing passage to get their noses in front at 101-98.
Gary Neal drove a layup to make it 100-101 for Spurs, but time was quickly running out. Green had another chance to be a hero as he attempted a three in the last 2 seconds of the game. This time though, he missed handing Dallas the win.
Jason Terry was outstanding and led the Mavs with a game high 34 points on 14-23 from the floor. More importantly, he scored at crucial phases in the game.
"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."
Vince Carter had 21 points while Nowitzki, returning after a conditioning layoff, finished with 10 points and 13 boards. Rodrigue Beaubois pounded 14 points and dished out seven assists.
Gary Neal led the Spurs with 19 points including 3-for-5 from downtown and 7 assists.
"We were unable to capitalize on it," Neal said. "They were able to make shots and forced it into overtime
Richard Jefferson, Tim Duncan and Daniel Green amassed 12 each for the Spurs.
Tags: