NBA playoffs: Mavericks at Spurs, Game 2 (Dallas leads 1-0) :WagerWeb Entertainment

NBA playoffs: Mavericks at Spurs, Game 2 (Dallas leads 1-0)

20 April 2009 309 views No Comment

The Dallas Mavericks weren’t a great road team during the regular season, but that didn’t stop them from rallying for a 105-97 victory in San Antonio in Game 1 of this Western Conference quarterfinal on Saturday.

Dallas was just 18-23 on the road this season, including going 2-6 away from Dallas down the stretch. And the Mavs had lost nine consecutive playoff road games before Saturday. The Game 1 loss was just the fourth in 20 home playoff games for the Spurs since winning their last NBA championship in 2007.

No team has won consecutive playoff games in San Antonio since the 2002 Lakers, and if Dallas can do that tonight, this series is all but over. But the Spurs are 6.5-point favorites (over/under 189) on WagerWeb.com to even the series headed back to Dallas.

The bench play was a big key on Saturday. The Spurs’ bench had just 14 points, while Brandon Bass, J.J. Barea and Jason Terry — the league’s presumptive Sixth Man of the Year — combined for 39 bench points for Dallas. Basically, the Spurs concentrated on stopping Dirk Nowitzki and Terry in Game 1.

Dallas coach Rick Carlisle was pleased with the production he got from unexpected places in Game 1. Bass matched the scoring of the Spurs’ entire bench by himself.

“Sometimes, that’s what you have to do,” Carlisle said. “If you try to fight city hall and throw the ball to (Nowitzki), they’re going to make you look bad. The onus is on other guys to step up.”

Nowitzki had a fairly quiet 19 points on Saturday, while Josh Howard led the team with 25. Terry was held to 12.

“I thought Josh Howard had a fantastic game making shots,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. “The majority of them were contested, but he knocked them down.”

Dallas also shot 53.8 percent from the field in the second half and scored 60 points after halftime against one of the league’s top defensive teams.

Spurs star guard Tony Parker had 24 points in Game 1 but made just two field goals in the second half, when the Mavs started the half with Barea guarding him.