Just sit back, Tim, and enjoy the present the rest of the guys got you. Manu and Tim and Pop told them what you like, and George, DeJuan, Richard, and Antonio went out and got it for you. It’s your birthday, you shouldn’t have to do any heavy lifting today. Get us some boards, play some good defense. But leave the scoring to everybody else; they got this.
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Things are starting to get chippy. It’s bound to happen in any playoff series, especially one so hard fought and between two teams that know each other so well. 3 flagrant fouls, one ejection, and probably more bruises and sores than can be counted.
The Mavs came out hungry, as was to be expected. This was a game that they needed to win. In the 2nd quarter it seemed as if they were going to run away with it. But the Spurs came out in the 3rd quarter ready to play. George Hill couldn’t miss a shot; DeJuan Blair’s energy finally started to outweigh his naivete (welcome to the playoffs, young man). But make no mistake–this game was won with with our 2nd half defense. It was superb. We were rotating hard and smart, being disruptive, and giving Dirk lots of different looks. Dirk is a great player, and he made smart passes that led to open 3s. But for the Mavs to win, Dirk needs to score efficiently, and we really limited him tonight.
What can we say about George Hill? He surely deserves his own paragraph. On a night when none of the Big 3 had particularly good games, George Hill carried us. Yes, he carried us. 5 3-pointers, tons of clutch shots, and his usual long-armed pesky defense. He was the flash point of a very nice subplot for this game: the continued stepping up of the Spurs “other” players. Jefferson played a solid game; McDyess continued his superb defense on Dirk and made a handful of clutch jumpers; and DeJuan was the beast we fell in love with in the regular season, creating positive plays out of nothing with sheer force of will and hustle. That’s the player that deserves time on the floor.
A word of caution, though: don’t start counting your chickens. Being up 3-1 is fantastic, and assures us a close-out opportunity on our home floor. But the Mavs have a lot of pride and experience, and they will not go down without a fight. Remember 2006. A 3-1 lead is not safe. How we play in Game 5 will say a lot about this team’s character. The Mavs will come out hungry and scrappy and playing with a sense of urgency that neither team has had yet. Will we handle their best shot and make it a close game, with a chance to win the game and the series in the closing minutes? Or will we let up just a bit, content in the knowledge that we have a Game 6 back in San Antonio to try and close the series out?
The difference between those two could be the difference between a nice playoff run and a championship run.
A note to TNT: Overall, you do great work, and I really like Doug Collins calling our game. But you’re broadcasting a basketball game, not an art house indie film. I don’t need the eye-level handheld camera shots during action; I don’t need the crazy, unique angles. Just give me the standard camera perspective, so that I can see all the action. Thank you.
Good call on the TNT handling of the camera placement. There were a few minutes where I thought the camera guy was trying to get a look up Red Rocket's shorts.