Mavericks at Spurs
After a gutsy effort on the road in Game 4 of a first-round series with Dallas, the San Antonio Spurs can now take control at home in Game 5 on Wednesday. Five days after they were blown out in Game 2 and two days after losing on a buzzer-beater, the Spurs blew a 20-point lead on Monday before finishing strong for a 93-89 win that tied the series at 2-2. Boris Diaw hit a go-ahead 3-pointer in the last minute and Manu Ginobili had 23 points to help San Antonio regain homecourt advantage.
DeJuan Blair was the driving force behind Dallas' second-half rally on Monday night. However, the Mavericks were left to wonder what might have been if he was not ejected after kicking the head of Spurs center Tiago Splitter with just over three minutes left. The action, which came with Dallas clinging to an 83-82 lead, prompted the NBA to suspend Blair without pay for Game 5.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, TNT, FSN Southwest (San Antonio)
ABOUT THE MAVERICKS: Blair's suspension deprives Dallas of one of its key reserves as the former Spur had given his club plenty of life off the bench when afforded the opportunity. He was 5-for-5 from the floor in producing 12 points and 11 boards in just 16 minutes of Game 4, and tallied eight points, seven rebounds and four steals in 14 minutes of the Game 2 rout in San Antonio. The Mavericks will hope for more second-unit scoring from Devin Harris, who has totaled seven points in the last two games of the series after averaging 18.5 in the first two.
ABOUT THE SPURS: Diaw has been on the floor at or near the end of games, and has rewarded coach Gregg Popovich's trust in the veteran forward, hitting tiebreaking shots in the final minute in each of the last two contests. Diaw made 4-of-8 3-pointers in the two games in Dallas, a notable boost for a San Antonio squad that led the NBA in long-range shooting (39.7 percent) during the regular season but has slumped to 33.3 percent in the series. The Spurs' five starters combined to go 0-for-3 from beyond the arc in Game 4.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Mavericks F Brandan Wright is 10-of-11 from the floor in the series.
2. San Antonio has 60 turnovers in the first four games, compared to 40 for Dallas.
3. Dallas F Dirk Nowitzki is averaging 16 points in the series but has yet to reach 20 after doing so in 23 of his previous 26 playoff games.