NBA -- Mavs' rally falls short, Spurs score 50th win
By Homer D. Sayson
PhilBoxing.com
Fri, 15 Mar 2013
CHICAGO -- Buoyed by a four-game winning streak, the resurgent Dallas Mavericks rallied from a seven-point deficit late, only to fall short as the San Antonio Spurs held on to a thrilling 92-91 triumph Thursday night at the AT&T Center.
When Kawhi Leonard swished a 3 that gave the Spurs a 92-84 bubble with only 2:37 left to play, it appeared like San Antonio was well on their way to easy street.
But Dallas, behind a Vince Carter triple and baskets by O.J. Mayo and Dirk Nowitzki, erupted with a 7-0 run to come to within 92-91 with just 28.2 ticks left. And after Manu Ginobili missed a jumper on San Antonio's ensuing possession, Carter also missed what would have been a winning 3 as time expired.
The narrow escape gave the Spurs their 50th win against 16 losses. They hold a 1 1/2 game lead over the 48-17 Oklahoma City Thunder for the best record in the Western Conference while the Miami Heat of the Eastern Conference continues to own the NBA's top record overall with 49-14 slate, thanks to an ongoing 20-game winning streak.
Still without the injured Tony Parker, the Spurs relied heavily on future Hall-of-Famer Tim Duncan, who delivered with 28 points and 19 rebounds on 12-for-20 shooting from the field. Gary Neal was terrific off the bench with 16 while Leonard added 12 for the Spurs, who knocked down 37 of their 84 field goals and five of their 13 treys.
"I thought they played better than us. We continued to play in the mud like we have been for the past two weeks. Nothing that's hard to guard, I'm not sure what to attribute to it, but it's a fact. We were really fortunate to win this game," San Antonio head coach Gregg Popovich told NBA.com.
Nowitzki, who spearheaded the Mavericks' charge with 21 points and 11 rebounds, didn't hide his displeasure over his team's last shot in which Carter hoisted a 3, telling reporters, "Vince has been unbelievably clutch for us this year. He's hit tough shots. We still had six seconds to get a good look (at a last shot). I was kind of in his way. I don't necessarily like the last play call."
At 30-34, the Mavericks are currently 10th in the Western Conference and three games behind the 34-32 Los Angeles Lakers for the 8th and last playoffs berth. (Homer D. Sayson)
Photo: Spurs guard Gary Neal (L) tries to carve a path to the basket in San Antonio's 92-91 win over the Dallas Mavericks Thursday night at the AT&TCenter.
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