Monta & Blair Help Mavericks Force a Game 7
By Brian Gosset
May 2, 2014; Dallas, TX, USA; Dallas Mavericks center DeJuan Blair (45) celebrates during the second half against the San Antonio Spurs in game six of the first round of the 2014 NBA Playoffs at American Airlines Center. The Mavericks defeated the Spurs 113-111. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
DALLAS MAVERICKS vs SAN ANTONIO SPURS Recap- May 2
Series tied 3-3
Monta Ellis scored 22 of his 29 in the second half, DeJuan Blair recorded a big double-double after his Game 5 suspension, and the Dallas Mavericks hung on 113-111 in Game 6 on May 2 to force a decisive Game 7 back at the AT&T Center on May 4.
Ellis scored 10 in the third and 12 in the final frame, helping the Mavs outscore the Spurs 37-30, marking a series-high for points in a quarter for Dallas. Ellis tied his playoff-career high for points with his Game 3 effort.
Blair finished with 10 points, 14 boards (five on the offensive glass) and four steals, including a swipe of Tony Parker with the Mavericks up three with 29 seconds left. He would make both at the line after getting fouled soon after.
Shawn Marion put Dallas up six with 20 seconds left before the Spurs came right down and nailed a three to cut it back to a one-possession game.
Ellis hit both his attempts to make it a five-point game with 11 seconds, but once again the Spurs came down and hit a three (the first from Danny Green, second from Patty Mills).
The Mavs led 113-111 with seven seconds.
Ellis either tried drawing a foul or tossing it ahead to kill more clock, but threw it away with 1.3 left.
San Antonio caught a break when its full-court inbound heave was tipped out by the Mavs in the half-court with 0.4 left.
Mills caught it at the top of the key, but couldn’t get the shot off.
Dirk Nowitzki added 22 points and has scored 20 or more in two-straight games after failing to do so in the first four.
Dallas went up as much as 11 in the first half before the Spurs made a small run to cut it back to three.
Tony Parker scored a team-high 22 points while Danny Green added 12 (on 5-of-5 shooting) of his 17 in the opening quarter.
Both teams shot 55.6 percent in the first 12 minutes as the Mavs led 34-26.
After trailing by six at the break, the Spurs started the third on an 11-4 run to take the lead, 63-62. They would go up five points three different times and led 81-76 going to the fourth.
There was seven lead changes in the third quarter.
San Antonio would go up seven to begin the final frame before back-to-back treys from Vince Carter and Jose Calderon.
Those two combined for 25 points on 9-of-15 shooting, 4-of-7 from behind the arc.
Once again, the Spurs would go up five then three before Ellis’ 3-pointer gave the Mavs a 94-92 lead with under five to play.
Dallas would go up five after Blair’s and-1 basket, and eight after Ellis’ jumper with three minutes remaining.
The Spurs went on another 11-4 run in the next two minutes to cut their deficit to one, 106-105 with 49 seconds left to play.
Game 7 will be televised on ABC on May 4, which will be an early tip, set to tip at 3:30 p.m. ET.
HE’S BACK BUT NOT QUITE: After just 16 points a game in the first four, Nowitzki went off and had himself a fourth quarter during Game 5. That translated to Game 6’s win-or-go-home, do-or-die contest back at American Airlines Center. Nowitzki scored 22 points on 11-of-20 shooting. He continues to struggle with the three-ball, missing all three attempts. He’s now a measly 1-of-10 (10 percent) from behind the arc in the series. Nowitzki finished the regular season at 39.8 percent. However, in the last two games, he’s averaging 24 points on 53 percent shooting. The Big German is back and thirsty for more, ready for another big-time Game 7 in San Antonio against Tim Duncan and the Spurs (2006).
SUPPORTING CAST: Two players off the bench joined Blair in double figures, Carter (13) and Devin Harris (11). The bench came through for Dallas, outscoring the Spurs’ bench by 12 points. Manu Ginobili came in averaging 19.6 points in the series, but the Mavericks did an excellent job, holding him to six points on 1-of-8 shooting, missing all five 3-point attempts.
FREE THROW ISSUES: Dallas finished with the third-best free-throw percentage in the regular season, but have struggled here in the first round. The Mavs were 15-of-24 from the line in Game 6 while the Spurs were 24-of-28. Dallas missed 10 free throws in its four-point Game 4 loss. On the series, the Mavericks are 86-of-115 (75 percent) from the charity stripe, 46-of-67 (69 percent) in the last three games.
PAINT PAINT PAINT: The Spurs have dominated this series inside the paint. They finished with a 54-28 advantage in the paint during their Game 5 win. Dallas did a great job at keeping it close, actually finishing Game 6 with a 50-48 advantage. The Mavs held it 30-20 at halftime, but the Spurs quickly went up 38-36 before the Mavs finished 14-10 in the paint.
PLAYOFF HISTORY: The Dallas Mavericks are 4-1 in Game 7s, having won their last four. They lost in the 1988 West Finals vs the Lakers. There was a stretch from 2003-06 in which the Mavericks played in four Game 7s in eight total series. Dallas defeated the Blazers in the 2003 First Round, 107-95 at home. Nowitzki poured in 31 points and 11 boards. Dirk did one better in the next round against the Kings as he finished with 30 points and 19 rebounds in a 112-99 victory. Three series later in the 2005 First Round, Dallas defeated the Rockets by 40 as Dirk had 14 and 14. Finally, no one will forget the 2006 Conference Semis as Dirk’s and-1 helped send the Mavs into overtime and defeat the Spurs 119-111. He had 37 and 15 as the Mavericks blew a double-digit lead as well as a 3-1 series lead.
Dirk during Game 7s- 28 points, 14.8 boards, four double-doubles, 53.3 percent shooting (40-of-75)
Mavs-Rockets 2005
Mavs-Spurs 2006