Spurs at Mavericks
After an easy win in San Antonio on Wednesday, the Dallas Mavericks attempt to carry momentum home for Game 3 against the Spurs on Saturday. The Mavericks won 10 of 14 on the road down the stretch and dominated Game 2, but they split their last 10 home games. "I like our intensity right now, but it’s a little dangerous going home,” Dallas forward Dirk Nowitzki told the Dallas Morning News. “We’ve been a decent road team all year, but at home we haven’t figured it out yet.”
Meanwhile, the Spurs were far and away the best road team in the NBA at 30-11 and will be chomping at the bit after an embarrassing 113-92 loss in Game 2 that featured a season-high 24 turnovers and little production from their starters. Manu Ginobili scored 27 points off the bench to keep San Antonio around until a dominant run in the second half by Dallas turned it into a rout and a 1-1 series tie. The Spurs have won four straight regular-season games in Dallas, including a 109-100 victory earlier this month despite the absence of star point guard Tony Parker.
TV: 4:30 p.m. ET, TNT, FSN Southwest (San Antonio), KTXA (Dallas)
ABOUT THE SPURS: Parker and Tim Duncan combined for just 23 points in rather insignificant showings in Game 2, but the more notable performance was that of fellow starter Kawhi Leonard, who had only one basket near the end of the fourth quarter. Leonard finished with six points, his lowest scoring total in a game not cut short by injury since New Year's Eve. The normally productive swingman is just 5-of-16 from the floor - including 1-of-5 from 3-point distance - and has yet to provide an assist in 53 minutes this series.
ABOUT THE MAVERICKS: Devin Harris had 18 points, five assists, four rebounds, one steal and one blocked shot in 24 minutes off the Dallas bench in Game 2, which came after he led the Mavericks with 19 points in a Game 1 loss. His production in the playoffs against the Spurs is nothing new, as the veteran averaged 16 points in four Mavericks' wins in a second-round defeat of San Antonio in 2006. Harris' efforts have helped Dallas seize homecourt advantage despite sluggish performances by Nowitzki and guard Monta Ellis, who have combined to average 29.5 points - more than 11 below their collective average during the regular season - on 34.3 percent shooting.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Dallas is 24-of-29 from the line in the series, compared to 35-of-51 for San Antonio.
2. Spurs SG Danny Green, who averaged 9.1 points during the regular season, has tallied two baskets and six points in 46 minutes through the first two games.
3. The Mavericks' last home win against the Spurs was on March 17, 2012.