April 30th, 2010 
Stephen Rhodes 
Posted in 
The San Antonio Spurs, I suspect, got the mother of all tongue-lashings after they got punked by the Mavericks last Tuesday 103-81.
Thursday night would find the Mavericks and Spurs at it again, with lots at stake; if the Spurs won, they would advance to the second round while if the Mavericks won, they would stretch the series to a seventh game.
If anything else, this game was not only competitive, but entertaining as well; there were the obligatory peaks and valleys in the action. But when the smoke cleared, Manu Ginobili’s 26 points helped San Antonio defeat and eliminate Dallas from the playoffs 97-87 from AT&T Center.
The Mavericks got off to one of their slow starts as they trailed 22-8 after the first quarter , making just four of their first 18 shots. By halftime, it was 47-34, a franchise playoff low for Dallas.
But the Mavericks would get back into the game as Dirk Nowitzki, who was in foul trouble, put the Mavericks ahead 57-56 with a 3-pointer midway through the third quarter; however, the Spurs’ George Hill came through again as he scored 10 points in the fourth period, capped by a trey with just 3:19 left in the game, putting the Spurs up 89-81 and sealing the game and series.
Ginobili led all Spurs scorers with 26 points, 2 rebounds, 5 assists and a steal while Hill added 21 with 6 rebounds, 2 assists and a steal; Tim Duncan chipped in 17 with 10 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 steals and 3 blocks.
The Mavericks were led by Dirk Nowitzki with 33 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists while Caron Butler added 25 with 3 rebounds, an assist and 2 blocks; Rodrigue Beaubois poured in 16 with 5 rebounds and an assist.
San Antonio, by winning this series, will await the winner of the Phoenix-Portland series.
Tags: 
