The Dallas Mavericks finally found a solution for Tim Duncan and San Antonio, surging to a 119-115 win in overtime to halt the Spurs' bid for their second straight NBA title.
Dirk Nowitzki, who had 37 points and 15 rebounds, forced overtime with a season-saving three-point play for the Mavs who reached the conference finals for the third time in franchise history.
"We believed it was our time to win this," Nowitzki said.
PHOTO: AP
Dallas, who have never been the National Basketball Association Finals, will face Phoenix in a best-of-seven semi-final series after the Suns eliminated the Clippers 127-107 in one of two game sevens on Monday. Dallas hosts game one today.
Dallas narrowly avoided the specter of a catastophic collapse. After squandering a 3-1 series lead, the Mavericks blew a 20-point second-quarter lead and were one miss away from yet another setback to their Texas-sized nemesis.
Instead, the Mavericks showed the heart that has made the Spurs champions. They denied San Antonio the chance to become the ninth team -- and second during this postseason -- to overcome a 3-1 deficit.
Wilting under the demands of defending Duncan -- who had a playoff career-high 41 points, 15 rebounds and six assists -- the Mavericks faced their first deficit at a terrible time.
Duncan passed out of a double-team to 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 ATT Center, who sensed the completion of a historic comeback.
Nowitzki had other ideas. Instead of settling for one of his patented jumpers, he overpowered a smaller defender on his way to the basket and dropped in a layup while drawing a hard foul from Ginobili. His free throw tied it with 21 seconds to go.
"We had a similar situation in game six," Nowitzki said. "We didn't have a lot of time left, I forced a three and the game was over. This time, I had a clear shot to the basket and a lot of time left.
"I don't know how the ball went in. Manu hit my hand. It was a lucky bounce."
Ginobili and Duncan missed in the final seconds of regulation, and the Spurs never led again.
In overtime, they repeatedly went to Duncan, who couldn't pull the trigger and missed a series of close shots.
"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."
Directed by MVP Steve Nash in Phoenix, the Suns sank a team playoff-record 15 three-pointers and won their second game seven of the playoffs.
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.
"When the games mean the most that is when it is the most fun," Nash said. "Game seven brings out the best in us."
In the first round, Phoenix became the 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. This one was not as overwhelming but just as effective.
Often overpowered on the interior in this series, the Suns stayed true to their style and fired early and often from the arc.
They attempted 27 three-pointers, with six players making at least one. Meanwhile, the Clippers were 0-of-4 from the arc.
"Unfortunately we knew they were capable of putting a game like this together," Clipper coach Mike Dunleavy said.
"In a one-game series they can be unbeatable," he said.
Overall, Phoenix shot a sizzling 60 percent (48-of-80), which may have been the result of fresh legs. After playing 13 games in 25 days, the Suns had three days off between games six and seven.
Nash certainly appeared refreshed and healthier.
Having looked tired at times in this series, he piloted the offence with precision, making 11-of-16 shots, including four-of-five from long range.
‘SU-PENKO’: Hsieh and Ostapenko face a rematch against their Australian Open final opponents, the same duo Hsieh played in last year’s Wimbledon semi-finals Taiwanese women’s doubles star Hsieh Su-wei and Latvian partner Jelena Ostapenko on Wednesday survived a near upset to the unseeded duo of Sorana Cirstea of Romania and Russia’s Anna Kalinskaya, setting up a semi-final showdown against last year’s winners. Despite losing a hard-fought opening set 7-6 (7/4) on a tiebreak, the fourth seeds turned up the heat, losing just five games in the final two sets to handily put down Cirstea and Kalinskaya 6-3, 6-2. Nicknamed “Su-Penko,” the pair are next to face top seeds Katerina Siniakova of the Czech Republic and Taylor Townsend of the US in a reversal of last
Taiwanese tennis veteran Hsieh Su-wei (謝淑薇) and her Latvian partner Jelena Ostapenko finished runners-up in the Wimbledon women's doubles final yesterday, losing 6-3, 2-6, 4-6. The three-set match against Veronika Kudermetova of Russia and Elise Mertens of Belgium lasted two hours and 23 minutes. The loss denied 39-year-old Hsieh a chance to claim her 10th Grand Slam title. Although the Taiwanese-Latvian duo trailed 1-3 in the opening set, they rallied with two service breaks to take it 6-3. In the second set, Mertens and Kudermetova raced to a 5-1 lead and wrapped it up 6-2 to even the match. In the final set, Hsieh and
Taiwanese tennis veteran Hsieh Su-wei and her Latvian partner, Jelena Ostapenko, advanced to the Wimbledon women’s doubles final on Friday, defeating top seeds Katerina Siniakova of the Czech Republic and Taylor Townsend of the US in straight sets. The fourth-seeded duo bounced back quickly after losing their opening service game, capitalizing on frequent unforced errors by their opponents to take the first set 7-5. Maintaining their momentum in the second set, Hsieh and Ostapenko broke serve early and held their lead to close out the match 6-4. They are set to face the eighth-seeded pair of Veronika Kudermetova of Russia and Elise Mertens
Outside Anfield, the red sea of tributes to Diogo Jota and his brother, Andre Silva, has continued to grow this week, along with questions over whether Liverpool could play at Preston today, their first game since the brothers’ tragic loss. Inside Anfield, and specifically a grieving Liverpool dressing room, there was no major debate over the pre-season friendly. The English Premier League champions intend to honor their teammate in the best way they know how. It would be only 10 days since the deaths of Jota and Silva when Liverpool appear at Deepdale Stadium for what is certain to be a hugely
RSS