23/05/2006
News
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USA - Determined Dirk dazzles for Dallas
Playoffs results
SAN ANTONIO (NBA) - Dirk Nowitzki rescued Germany at the EuroBasket last summer when they captured a silver medal, and he's doing the same for Dallas in the NBA play-offs.
Nowitizki's three-point play forced overtime and the Mavericks finally defeated the San Antonio Spurs to book their place in the Western Conference finals. The Mavs stopped Tim Duncan in the extra period and surged to a 119-111 victory in Game Seven of a fantastic Conference semi-final series.
Nowitzki, whose shot at the end put Germany into the EuroBasket 2006 final in Belgrade, had 37 points and 15 rebounds for the fourth-seeded Mavericks, who ended the reign of the champions and top seeds to reach Conference finals for the third time in franchise history. They will face the Phoenix Suns, who beat the Los Angeles Clippers in the other semi-final.
"We believed it was our time to win this," Nowitzki said.
Dallas narrowly avoided squandering a 3-1 series lead and a 20-point second-quarter lead in this game. Instead, the Mavericks showed the mental toughness that has made the Spurs champions.
They denied San Antonio the chance to become the ninth team - and second during this post-season - to overcome a 3-1 deficit. Wilting under the demands of defending Duncan - who had a play-off career-high 41 points, 15 rebounds and six assists - the Mavericks faced their first deficit right near the end.
Duncan passed out of a double-team to Argentina's Manu Ginobili, whose three-pointer gave the Spurs a 104-101 lead with 32 seconds remaining in regulation and brought a roar from the crowd at the AT&T Center, who sensed the completion of a historic comeback.
But Nowitzki had other ideas and instead of settling for one of his patented jump shots, he overpowered a smaller defender on his way to the basket and dropped in a lay-up while drawing a hard foul from Ginobili. His free throw then tied it with 21 seconds to go.
Ginobili and Duncan missed in the final seconds of regulation, and the Spurs never led again.
In overtime, they repeatedly went to Duncan, who had put practically the entire Mavericks roster in foul trouble but could not solve back-up centre DeSagana Diop.
Duncan made 12 of 24 shots and 17 of 23 free throws, fouling out Erick Dampier and Keith Van Horn in the process. But in overtime against Diop, he was just one of seven, perhaps giving into the fatigue of carrying his team.
Diop, who is from Senegal, can expect to be getting some calls when his country begins its preparations for the FIBA World Championship in Japan.
"We put ourselves in position to win the game," Duncan said. "We fought all the way back in overtime and we didn't have much left in the tank."
Diop even gave the Mavericks the lead for good at 108-106 on a dunk with 3:32 to play. He "pulled the chair" and got Duncan to travel before Jerry Stackhouse made a jumper.
Ginobili and Jason Terry traded a pair of free throws before Diop contested a lane jumper by Duncan and Stackhouse made a tough pull-up from the baseline for a 114-108 lead at the 1:48 mark.
"We just didn't play as sharp in the overtime as we did during when we were making our comeback," Ginobili said. "They hit a couple of great shots down the stretch."
Duncan made a driving hook but could not get another one to drop with 50 seconds to go. Diop sealed matters by rebounding a miss by Terry and splitting a pair from the line for a 115-110 lead with 22 seconds remaining.
"Tim missed some shots that he usually makes at the end of games and I was trying to make him work hard on the offensive end," said Diop, who had started the first six games of the series. "We'll take the shots he missed and be happy with it."
Terry returned from a one-game suspension to score 27 points. Josh Howard added 18 before fouling out and Stackhouse contributed 13 for the Mavericks, who cooled after a blistering start but still shot 52% (42 of 81).
France's Tony Parker scored 24 points and Ginobili added 23 for the Spurs, who shot 47% (36 of 76) and stayed in the game by making 33 of 39 free throws.
It was the ninth overtime game of the 2006 postseason, setting a record with two full rounds remaining. This series featured two OT games and four others decided by a combined nine points. Fingered as a flaw in the playoff seeding system, the matchup instead became an unforgettable classic.
"This has been an amazing series," said Nowitzki, who will play for Germany at the FIBA World Championship in Japan in August. "Every game but Game Two was a battle. A couple of plays here and there and the games go either way. This was a special series."
"This is the best series I've ever played (in)," Duncan said. "Both teams gave their all. It went down to the wire, it was about the ball and whether the ball bounced one way or another and the result is just how it bounced."
Suns end Clippers' season
The Phoenix Suns sank a team play-off-record 15 three-pointers and won their second Game Seven of the post-season to return to the Western Conference finals with a 127-107 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers.
MVP Steve Nash had 29 points and 11 assists for the second-seeded Suns, who have been pushed to the limit in each of their first two series but have emerged with convincing closing wins on their home floor.
In the first round, Phoenix became the only ninth team in history to erase a 3-1 deficit and win a series, roaring to a 121-90 win over the Los Angeles Lakers in Game Seven.
By PA Sport
SAN ANTONIO (NBA) - Dirk Nowitzki rescued Germany at the EuroBasket last summer when they captured a silver medal, and he's doing the same for Dallas in the NBA play-offs.
Nowitizki's three-point play forced overtime and the Mavericks finally defeated the San Antonio Spurs to book their place in the Western Conference finals. The Mavs stopped Tim Duncan in the extra period and surged to a 119-111 victory in Game Seven of a fantastic Conference semi-final series.
Nowitzki, whose shot at the end put Germany into the EuroBasket 2006 final in Belgrade, had 37 points and 15 rebounds for the fourth-seeded Mavericks, who ended the reign of the champions and top seeds to reach Conference finals for the third time in franchise history. They will face the Phoenix Suns, who beat the Los Angeles Clippers in the other semi-final.
"We believed it was our time to win this," Nowitzki said.
Dallas narrowly avoided squandering a 3-1 series lead and a 20-point second-quarter lead in this game. Instead, the Mavericks showed the mental toughness that has made the Spurs champions.
They denied San Antonio the chance to become the ninth team - and second during this post-season - to overcome a 3-1 deficit. Wilting under the demands of defending Duncan - who had a play-off career-high 41 points, 15 rebounds and six assists - the Mavericks faced their first deficit right near the end.
Duncan passed out of a double-team to Argentina's Manu Ginobili, whose three-pointer gave the Spurs a 104-101 lead with 32 seconds remaining in regulation and brought a roar from the crowd at the AT&T Center, who sensed the completion of a historic comeback.
But Nowitzki had other ideas and instead of settling for one of his patented jump shots, he overpowered a smaller defender on his way to the basket and dropped in a lay-up while drawing a hard foul from Ginobili. His free throw then tied it with 21 seconds to go.
Ginobili and Duncan missed in the final seconds of regulation, and the Spurs never led again.
In overtime, they repeatedly went to Duncan, who had put practically the entire Mavericks roster in foul trouble but could not solve back-up centre DeSagana Diop.
Duncan made 12 of 24 shots and 17 of 23 free throws, fouling out Erick Dampier and Keith Van Horn in the process. But in overtime against Diop, he was just one of seven, perhaps giving into the fatigue of carrying his team.
Diop, who is from Senegal, can expect to be getting some calls when his country begins its preparations for the FIBA World Championship in Japan.
"We put ourselves in position to win the game," Duncan said. "We fought all the way back in overtime and we didn't have much left in the tank."
Diop even gave the Mavericks the lead for good at 108-106 on a dunk with 3:32 to play. He "pulled the chair" and got Duncan to travel before Jerry Stackhouse made a jumper.
Ginobili and Jason Terry traded a pair of free throws before Diop contested a lane jumper by Duncan and Stackhouse made a tough pull-up from the baseline for a 114-108 lead at the 1:48 mark.
"We just didn't play as sharp in the overtime as we did during when we were making our comeback," Ginobili said. "They hit a couple of great shots down the stretch."
Duncan made a driving hook but could not get another one to drop with 50 seconds to go. Diop sealed matters by rebounding a miss by Terry and splitting a pair from the line for a 115-110 lead with 22 seconds remaining.
"Tim missed some shots that he usually makes at the end of games and I was trying to make him work hard on the offensive end," said Diop, who had started the first six games of the series. "We'll take the shots he missed and be happy with it."
Terry returned from a one-game suspension to score 27 points. Josh Howard added 18 before fouling out and Stackhouse contributed 13 for the Mavericks, who cooled after a blistering start but still shot 52% (42 of 81).
France's Tony Parker scored 24 points and Ginobili added 23 for the Spurs, who shot 47% (36 of 76) and stayed in the game by making 33 of 39 free throws.
It was the ninth overtime game of the 2006 postseason, setting a record with two full rounds remaining. This series featured two OT games and four others decided by a combined nine points. Fingered as a flaw in the playoff seeding system, the matchup instead became an unforgettable classic.
"This has been an amazing series," said Nowitzki, who will play for Germany at the FIBA World Championship in Japan in August. "Every game but Game Two was a battle. A couple of plays here and there and the games go either way. This was a special series."
"This is the best series I've ever played (in)," Duncan said. "Both teams gave their all. It went down to the wire, it was about the ball and whether the ball bounced one way or another and the result is just how it bounced."
Suns end Clippers' season
The Phoenix Suns sank a team play-off-record 15 three-pointers and won their second Game Seven of the post-season to return to the Western Conference finals with a 127-107 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers.
MVP Steve Nash had 29 points and 11 assists for the second-seeded Suns, who have been pushed to the limit in each of their first two series but have emerged with convincing closing wins on their home floor.
In the first round, Phoenix became the only ninth team in history to erase a 3-1 deficit and win a series, roaring to a 121-90 win over the Los Angeles Lakers in Game Seven.
By PA Sport
