Mavericks oust Spurs from playoffs with 106-93 win

[March 19, 2010]  SAN ANTONIO (AP) -- Dirk Nowitzki and the Dallas Mavericks calmly walked off the floor with little more than some high-fives, as if they've done this before in the playoffs.

They have, but it's been a while.

Nowitzki scored 31 points and the Mavericks won a playoff series for the first time since 2006, eliminating the San Antonio Spurs in five games with a 106-93 victory Tuesday night.

It is the first time San Antonio has lost in the opening round since 2000, one year after the Spurs won their first of four NBA titles. San Antonio was the third seed, but throughout the series it was Dallas that clearly looked like the higher-slotted team.

The Mavericks advance to the Western Conference semifinals to play either Denver or New Orleans. The Nuggets lead that series 3-1 and can finish off the Hornets on Wednesday at Denver.

Tim Duncan scored 30 and Tony Parker had 26 but once again got little help -- the story of the series for the two-dimensional Spurs.

"It was a tough series," said Mavs sixth man Jason Terry, who scored 19 points. "Obviously our bitter rival, but I think everybody came to play."

Getting to the West semifinals is a dramatic turn for the Mavericks, who were a borderline playoff team as late as March and got a public lashing from owner Mark Cuban after a listless loss to woeful Oklahoma City. Dallas pulled together to win seven of nine entering the playoffs, and has now won 11 of its last 14.

The Mavs can also stick this to their Interstate 35 rivals: only twice in the Tim Duncan era have the Spurs been eliminated on their home court, and both have came courtesy of Dallas.

Josh Howard rang in his 29th birthday with 17 points, and may have permission from coach Rick Carlisle to celebrate this time.

Howard enraged former coach Avery Johnson last year when he didn't cancel his birthday plans despite a blistering Mavs playoff defeat, but the party may be on coach Carlisle after this series win.

Howard's biggest gift to the Mavs: a momentum-changing 3-pointer with 4:20 left in the third, which he celebrated by skipping down the sideline and razzing the crowd. When Jason Kidd hit another 3-pointer at the buzzer in the third, his teammates jumped from their seats and spilled onto the floor.

They could sense the victory, and the Mavs put it away in the fourth having never trailed.

The Spurs, meanwhile, end their season the same way it started: plenty of Parker and Duncan, but not much else. After combining for 75 percent of San Antonio's points in a Game 4 loss, the duo were once again the only Spurs in double figures.

"The Mavs beat the Spurs," coach Gregg Popovich said. "They're the best team, and that's that."

San Antonio lumbers into the offseason facing questions about where its team, the NBA's winningest over the last decade, goes from here. Along with the flourishes of another Southwest Division title and 10th consecutive season with 50-plus wins, there was also the ignominy of the worst playoff loss in Spurs history in Game 3.

Injuries played its debilitating part, from Duncan's creaky 33-year-old knees to Manu Ginobili playing just 44 games and missing the playoffs because his ankles were either still recovering or still hurting.

Parker picked up the slack best he could, posting a career season that Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said made him as valuable to his team as any NBA player. Parker also had 12 assists in the series finale.

But a supporting cast from sharpshooter Roger Mason to veteran Michael Finley disappeared down the stretch, leaving the Spurs without the reliable role players they leaned on in previous title runs.

The Big Three will be back next year for the Spurs, piloting what is now a championship drought by their standards: San Antonio has been a denied an NBA finals trip the past two seasons, their longest lapse since the gap between their 1999 and 2003 titles.

Notes: The AT&T Center took some precautions against the spread of swine flu, setting up hand sanitizer stations around the arena and arming ushers with wipes for fans who wanted them. There are three confirmed cases of the virus near San Antonio. ...The Mavericks shot 13 free throws in the first half to San Antonio's two. This season, the Mavs were 28th in the NBA in free throw attempts. ... Spurs F Drew Gooden, acquired during the season for the postseason push, didn't play.

[Associated Press; By PAUL J. WEBER]

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