Spurs G/F Manu Ginobli was bleeding profusely after he caught an inadvertant elbow from Dirk Nowitzki, then disappeared into the locker room while leaving a trail of red blotches behind him on the tunnel floor. He didn't know yet his nose was broken. So he patched up his gushing nose with a bandage and came back late in the third. He then scored 11 of his 15 points in the fourth to lead the San Antonio Spurs to a 94-90 victory over the Dallas Mavericks on Friday night. The Spurs took a 2-1 lead by surviving the first shot at home from the NBA's best road team. Ginobili was diagnosed with a nasal fracture after the game. He is scheduled to undergo a CT scan on Saturday.
The Mavs have their own problems to diagnose. Nowitzki made good on his vow after the Game 2 loss to hit the looks he got last time, scoring 35 points. He and J.J. Barea jump-started the Mavs back into the game with a 17-0 run in the third quarter that gave Dallas a lead for only the second time in the series since their Game 1 win when Nowitzki had 36 points. Nowitzki had help in that game though; notably from Caron Butler, who had 22 in the victory. Friday night Butler never left the bench in the second half on Friday as coach Rick Carlisle instead went instead with Barea in the backcourt. Butler has gone from being a major force in Game 1 to being nonexistent by Game 3. He made just one of three shots and finished with two points, which comes after he averaged 19.5 points in two games in Dallas.
The Mavs will spend between now and Sunday trying to figure out how to even this series. They can start by figuring out what happened to Nowitzki's supporting cast. Terry scored 17 points and Barea had 14 but Butler, Jason Kidd, and Shawn Marion had 16 points combined. Aside from Game 4, Sunday is also when Duncan turns 34 but so far in this series, he's looked ten years younger. He scored 25 points for the second straight game, and has the Spurs in position to possibly celebrate a commanding lead in this series if they can win on his birthday.
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There was no special play play being diagrammed in the final Boston huddle, no brilliant piece of strategy. Paul Pierce simply wanted the final shot and his coach Doc Rivers let him take it. And with Dwyane Wade watching helplessly from the bench, cramps rendering him unable to put any weight on his left leg, Pierce put Boston one win away from a first-round sweep of the Heat. Pierce dribbled the clock down to 2 seconds, got to his favorite spot just off the right side of the key and nailed a 21-footer at the buzzer Friday night, giving the Celtics a 100-98 victory in Game 3 of an Eastern Conference first-round series. No team has ever rallied from an 0-3 deficit in a series.
But Miami might have even bigger problems. D-Wade hurt his left calf after missing a 3-pointer with 14 seconds left, replays showing he landed on Celtics guard Ray Allen's foot. D-Wade, who had to change jerseys during the game because he was sweating so much, crumpled to the court and was carried off by reserve center Jamaal Magloire and the team trainer, he then chugged a cup of Gatorade after stretching out his legs so he could play if the game went to overtime. It didn't. Pierce saw to that, his final shot capping a 32-point effort. Wade said he didn't think he landed on Allen's foot, insisting a cramp was his only problem. He took intravenous fluids after the game, but said he will play Sunday for game 4.
Boston has made all the plays against Miami this season, winning all six meetings and 14 of the last 15. And when Miami didn't elect to use its "foul to give" in the last 2 minutes, all Pierce had to do was make the shot. For the last play, the Celtics loaded the floor with shooters and ran a bunch of cuts, all of which were merely decoys. Doc Rivers said the play was basically to let Pierce have the ball and get out of his way. Allen added 25 points for the Celtics, who got 17 from Rondo and 16 from KG. Wade finished with 34 points, eight assists and five rebounds for the Heat, who rallied from a nine-point deficit in the fourth quarter to take the lead, yet saw the game and more than likely, the season, slip away. Michael Beasley scored 16 points, Dorell Wright had 15 and Udonis Haslem and Mario Chalmers added 10 each for the Heat.
Peace and Much Love To Ya :)
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