The San Antonio Spurs can take solace in a few things after Sunday night's 100-94 loss to the Dallas Mavericks.
Dirk Nowitzki will not make 12 of his 14 shots again in this series. If Antonio McDyess plays the same stick-to-the-hip defense in Game Two, Nowitzki will miss more than a few attempts.
The idea that Bruce Bowen somehow manhandled the German forward is a misnomer. No team in the history of the world has an answer for Nowitzki when he shoots as he did Sunday.
Just as the Spurs have no one who can stop Nowitzki, the Mavs have no one to stop Tim Duncan. Brendan Haywood will play the McDyess role, but Duncan can find ways to beat whatever defensive scheme Rick Carlisle throws his way.
Maybe Manu Ginobili was right. The Spurs were right there, they had a chance. They will get the same chance for the duration of the series.
Popovich aired out Richard Jefferson at the podium without saying his name.
"We had a lot of guys play like dogs tonight."
By "a lot," he means one athletic forward making $14 million, brought in last summer to make the difference in a series like this.
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Article written by Robert Kleeman
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