Stats of the Game: Spurs at Mavericks
After three days of rest and three days focusing on improving their defense, the San Antonio Spurs (55-13) bounced back nicely, beating the Dallas Mavericks (48-21) 97-91 on the road.
When the Spurs couldn't make their shots, they turned to their defense and made sure they secure another victory over their South West Division rivals. The Spurs won the season series 3-1.
It's now time to look at some numbers that stood out in latest Spurs' win.
94.7 - The Spurs were nearly perfect from the line, making 18-of-19 (94.7%) free throw attempts, including 8-of-8 from Manu Ginobili and 6-of-6 from Tim Duncan. The Mavericks on the other hand, connected on on 13-of-17 (76.5%) of their foul shots.
80 - San Antonio's "Big Three" combined for 80 points and outscored the Mavericks' starters 80-44.
49.3 - The Mavericks shot fairly well from the floor, making 36-of-73 (49.3%) field goal attempts while the Spurs went 36-of-83 (43.4%) from the field.
46 - Both teams were even inside the shaded area, scoring 46 points apiece.
41 - Dallas won the rebound battle, outrebounding the San Antonio 41-36. The Spurs made 7-of-17 (41.2%) 3-pointers and held the Mavericks to just 6-of-23 (26.1%) shooting from behind the arc.
33 - Tony Parker had a game-high 33 points as he constantly attack the Mavericks' defense on the open floor.
25 - Ginobili added 25 points, five assists, three steals and one block for San Antonio.
23 - Dirk Nowitzki is the only Mavericks starter to score in double figures, he scored 23 points and grabbed nine rebounds.
22 - Duncan had 22 points, eight boards, three blocks and two steals for the Spurs. He scored six points during a 9-0 run that kept San Antonio in control after the Mavericks tied the game at 60.
20 - The Mavericks shared the ball better, they had 20 assists for the game compared to only 15 dimes for the Spurs.
19 - Jason Terry scored 19 points off the Mavs' bench on 5-of-14 field goal shooting.
17 - With Parker, Ginobili and Duncan doing the heavy lifting on offense, the rest of the Spurs just managed to score 17 points.
13 - Shawn Marion scored 13 points in 14 first half minutes, but didn't play the second half because of an injured right wrist. The Mavericks missed his energy, scoring and defense during their comeback bid.
0 - Matt Bonner went scoreless in 19 minutes, but grabbed six rebounds. Gary Neal did not commit a single turnover in 28 minutes of action.
Rookie Watch: Neal had eight points, one rebound, one assist and one steal and shot 3-of-9 from the floor, James Anderson stayed on the floor for a total of three seconds. Tiago Splitter did not play.
What's Next? The Spurs will host the Charlotte Bobcats at the AT&T Center in San Antonio on their second night of back-to-backs.
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I can't remember a game where only three players from the whole team went to the free throw line. In this game, Duncan, Parker and Ginobili are the only players who went to the line. Good thing all of them did well.
Stat of the Game: 80 - San Antonio's "Big Three" combined for 80 points and outscored the Mavericks' starters 80-44. That was some ass whopping by the Spurs.
Great over a great team, the Big 3 carried the Spurs to victory. I want to see more of these in playoffs, combined with great effort from our reserves.
The bottom line is the Mavericks don't have any answer for Tony Parker! Go TP! Go Spurs Go!
I called it! I said Tim, Tony and Manu will all have great game and the Spurs will beat the Mavs! It feels good!
