Slam Dunk Central

Whether the San Antonio Spurs missed Tim Duncan tonight is up for debate - I think they do - but be that as it may, they got a monster effort from guard Manu Ginobili. Ginobili’s 16 third quarter points would prove to be pivotal as the Spurs were able to narrowly defeat the Dallas Mavericks 97-95 at San Antonio.After being behind by 10 points in the first half, San Antonio would go on a 15-6 run to open the 3rd quarter. Ginobili would tie the game at 49 with 10:21 left in the 3rd and the Spurs would take the lead 53-52 on Tony Parker’s layup with 8:06 remaining in the period. By outscoring the Mavericks 31-17 in the 3rd period, San Antonio built a 73-66 lead to start the 4th quarter. The Spurs were up by 11 before Dallas closed in; the Mavericks go to within 4 with 58 seconds left in the game after Jason Terry stole the ball from the Spurs’ Michael Finley and dunked the ball making the score 97-93. Terry would then make a layup but miss a free throw for a 3-point play. With 3 ticks left, San Antonio’s Francisco Elson blocked Terry’s layup attempt then Dirk Nowitski would miss a last second 3-point attempt.

Ginobili, starting for the first time this season, would lead all Spurs scorers with a season-high 37 points; Parker added 23 while Finley scored 14 with 8 rebounds from off the bench. Dallas was led by Jason Terry with a solid 20 points; Brandon Bass in 25 minutes from off the bench added 18 while Nowitski was rather quiet as he scored 15. San Antonio (16-3), winners of 4 straight, continues their homestand as they host the Utah Jazz Friday night. Dallas (12-7) returns home to host the Denver Nuggets on Thursday.