G5: Mavs 106, Spurs 93 - Your All-Access Pass

   I’ve got a meeting with Mayor Leppert today. I’m making sure Dallas isn’t mapping out any parade routes just yet.

   Still, it’s always worth celebrating when DallasBasketball.com has an All-Access Pass to a close-out 106-93 Game 5 Mavs win in San Antonio:

    JASON KIDD – THE THING WITH TWO HEADS: So the third quarter is ticking down. Mavs are up 10, and my son and I have this exchange:

   Son: “It’s be great if the Mavs can take a 10-point lead into the fourth.''

   Father: “A 10-point lead, plus I bet Kidd plays the whole fourth. With Jason Kidd in charge, that’s golden.’’

    And then Dirk scores over a double-team to get to his 23^rd point (on the way to 31). And immediately after that, Josh gets a steal (one of his three) and he flips to Jet, who gets an assist by finding J-Kidd, who coolly cans a buzzer-beating 3.

   And now it’s 82-67. A 15-point lead going into the fourth. And Kidd really does start the final period and play the whole way as he puts up 41 minutes and 12 points and seven assists and seven rebounds.

   Golden.

   “I can’t say enough about what he’s done for the team,’’ coach Rick Carlisle said of Kidd. “His knowledge of the game, his knowledge of the team, him having the pulse of the team, all so critical. He’s really led our team.’’

   As I said the other day, one of the lowest-BBIQ teams in the playoffs from the last few years has become a BB-savant team in the last few months.

   And the reason is Jason Kidd – The Thing With Two Heads.

   THE MOST IMPORTANT PLAYER ON THE TEAM: Remember when Slick Rick said that at training camp? It’s been mangled and misinterpreted along the way. But this is clear, at this moment: Josh Howard might not be the MIP.

  At this moment, he’s better: He’s the MVP.

   “He’s probably our MVP of the series,’’ Carlisle said.

   But J-Ho also ranks pretty high since mid-February, and since the start of April. All he’s done since mid-February is be on the floor for 16 Mavs wins in 22 Mavs outings. All he’s done since the last day of last month is be on the floor for nine Mavs wins in 12 Mavs outings.

   HOW TO MAKE A GREAT RIVALRY GREATER: It’s true, right? Mavs-Spurs is one of pro sports’ greatest rivalries? But you know how to make it greater for Mavs fans?

   To win. To never trail in Game 5. To win two of three games on the road. To hand them their worst playoff loss ever. To defeat them so soundly that they begin to question everything they stand for.

   To win.

   DOUBLING DIRK: And that, Basketball 101 students, is what happens if you don’t double-team Dirk Nowitzki. “You doubling him and “Udokaing him'' are two entirely different things.

   QUOTE OF THE NIGHT: “This is our players’ team. It’s not my team. It’s their team. It took on their personality and I’m really happy for that.’’ – Carlisle.

    You people paying attention at home. ... Let's play "Compare and Contrast,'' shall we?

   PLAYOFF BEARDS: You saw Dirk all Scooby-Doo shaggy? The Mavs have been growing their “playoff beards.’’ Speaking of which, before Tony Parker married her, I thought Eva Longoria was his “playoff beard.’’

   That joke just keeps on working. …

   HOW LONG, HAS THIS BEEN GOIN’ ON?: Everybody keeps writing, ‘And the Mavs advance past the first round for the first time since 2006.’ People, I know the previous two postseasons have been fruitless and frustrating. And I know we’re spoiled by 9X50. But let’s not make it sound like we’ve been on the Bataan Death March, shall we?

    ANOTHER TIMEOUT FOR POP?!: You knew the Spurs were in trouble when we were one-and-a-half quarters into Game 5 and Pop had already called 17 timeouts.

   Seriously, it all made me go to the rulebook just to confirm that the six-per-game thing hadn’t been changed to “six-per-game, unless you’ve won four championships, in which case you do as you please.’’

   DON’T RUIN THIS: Hey, please don’t ruin this for yourself by saying, “It’s only SA,’’ or “They were hurt,’’ or “It’s only the first round.’’ Those sort of followers – God bless ‘em – are like parents who don’t enjoy their kid’s first-grade finger-painting because they’re too worried about what college Junior is going to attend.

    Enjoy the ride.

   FISH WASHING DONNIE’S TRUCK: It’s permissible today, right?

   The Mavs Personnel Dept. stuff this year was based on change with Kidd and Carlisle, an injection of LIBB, and staying the course by trusting everyone from the trustworthy (Dirk) to the … um. … less trustworthy. (Josh). Cuban and Donnie said they believed in J-Ho. They also had no interest in swapping him for 60 cents on the dollar.

   Their patience, loyalty, trust, whatever, should be celebrated today.

   Pass the sponges and let’s get to washin’.

   CLIP-AND-SAVE: The boxscore.

   YOU CAN ONLY HOPE TO CONTAIN DIRK: Now, just a sec on Dirk, OK? He wasn’t exactly chopped livah in the first four games. Hell, in G3 the only reason he didn’t score a skillion points is because Dallas was ahead by two skillion.

   But he was feelin’ it here. And it was only a matter of time.

  Dirk knocked down four of his first five shots, mostly while being guarded looked at by That Bonner Character. Then he went to the bench and did some Pilates or somesuch. Then he returned to the game and got busy scoring 31 points.

    He did most of that while being fronted by the smaller Udoka, who harassed Dirk into a couple of fumbles when The UberMan held the ball down low while setting up. But once Dirk squared up, it was no longer Okey-Udoka.

    BRINGING IN THE KIDS: By the way, good move by Pop to inject some youth into the rotation by playing this new kid Ime Udoka.

    Ime Udoka is 31.

    THE CHESS GAME: How nice is it to feel confident that if the Mavs run into a master – a Nellie, a Riley a Pop – their coach isn’t necessarily going to get intellectually spanked? Or do you anticipate Rick Carlisle next week frantically trying to change team hotels after a playoff road loss?

    P.J. CARLESIMO SUCKS. … COUGH DROPS: Or at least he should. What’s wrong with that guy’s voice? The TNT announcer talks like he’s still got Sprewell’s hands wrapped around his neck.

    Oh, and because P.J. – the former Spurs assistant as recently as 2007 – spent the night talking about the Spurs’ “great future,’’ Kurt Thomas’ “dominance’’ and George Hill getting fouled when it was Hill who undercut Jason Terry, he doesn’t just suck cough drops.

   He also just plain sucks.

   DEEP IN THE DEPTH OF TEXAS: We’ve made a lot of fun of SA’s lack of bench strength, especially compared to Dallas’. But here’s an example of where it really stood out: The 10:12 mark of the fourth quarter. Mavs on the floor: Dirk and Damp. Plus Kidd, Jet and JJB.

    Where’s Josh? Where’s the MVP?

    The Mavs went with the 3-PG Lineup from thatpoint to the 5:55 mark. Four minutes that helped limit Josh to 37 minutes (fewer than Dirk, Damp and Kidd), thus giving his ankle some relief.

    I believe it is fair to say that if Josh Howard played for this Spurs team, he would not sit half of a fourth quarter in a close-out playoff game.

   THE BEST POINT GUARD: The argument rotates around in crazy circles, and the people move around like it’s Musical Chairs. “Parker’s coming up!’’ “No, CP3 is a one-man team!’’ “Nah, Deron is the Next Big Thing!’’ “Devin is going to be a superstar!’’ “Nobody can handle Baron Davis!’’ “Here comes Rose. ... no, wait, here comes Rondo!’’

   And then there’s the great PG who’s position in the game of Musical Chairs never really moves. He just sits there. He’s in the game. Among the top … something.

   The other eight or 10 or 20 best, they take turns on the Hot Hits Chart, moving mercurially. Frantically. Crazily.

   Jason Kidd just sits there, owning whichever Musical Chair that is.

   A ‘REFERENDUM’ ON AVERY: Saying this takes nothing away from what The Lil’ Johnson accomplished in 2006. But in terms of what KIDDIRK & Friends did last postseason and what the Mavs are doing now under the man who is most definitely not “Ivory Johnson’’?

   You don’t have to label this season a “success’’ if you don’t want to.

   But you have to label the dismissal of The Miracle Worker a success.

   THE PLANE RIDE: By all reports, the Mavs were extremely business-like in their behavior as they left the court (handshakes with the opponents) and in the locker room (high-fives and calm media interviews). They acted as if they’d been here before.

   Because, of course, they have.

    But I’m going to ask around for some reports on the plane ride home. They knew there would be no practice today … reason enough for Josh Howard to get toasted, right?

     FORGOTTEN KIDD GEMS: There are so many little tiny momentum-grabbers Kidd records over the course of a game … and because none of them are dunks, you never see ‘em on SportsCenter. But that “fumble recovery’’ in the fourth quarter – the 36-year-old relic out-hustled everyone for the ball on the floor, diving, recovering it and then all in the same split-second passing it to Jet – was suitable for framing.

   THANKS AGAIN, GARY BOREN: With 1:12 left in the third quarter, the Mavs – driving, pounding, fighting – had attempted 21 FTs and made 16 of them. Meanwhile, the Spurs – launching, launching, launching – had tried six. And made two.

    JOSH GOES SAGGIN’: In a lovely fashion statement, when J-Ho was on the bench wearing his warmup pants, he was wearing his warmup pants about mid-thigh.

    Stylin’!

    HOW GOOD IS TONY PARKER IF. …: He’s always cramping and tired and “exhausted’’?

    “He’s exhausted,’’ said TNT analyst P.J. Carlesimo, the former Spurs assistant who spent the evening on national TV playing Alibi Ike for his Alamo City pals.

    Parker had just nearly airballed a fourth-quarter layup.

   C’mon, Spurs. You’re too tired to lift a basketball all the way up to a rim?

   Pickle juice, son. Pickle juice.

   POP’S LAWN JARTS: I’ve written before about how there seemed to be little logic to Pop’s rotation plans over the course of the series, and I’ll give another standout example: George Hill.

   Before the series, fans and media called for the rookie to get some burn against the explosive Dallas backcourt. But the Spurs coach said Hill wouldn’t be a fit in this round.

   So he wasn’t. Until G5, when he played 33 minutes.

   DAMP VS. BABY TIMMY: If Dallas plays Denver in Round 2, Erick Dampier’s role might be completely different. (Give me some time to research the thing, OK? Damp-vs.-Nene doesn’t sound all that fun at this moment.) But for now, props to Damp, who in Games 1 and 2 was the most consistent Mav out there, was pretty close to as good in Games 3 and 4, and in G5, was all about guarding Duncan one-on-one.

    Duncan scored 30 to go with eight rebounds. Good.

   But Damp – with little rest due to his 41 minutes (wonder why he didn’t get The Tony Cramps?) -- was good for 11 points and 12 rebounds. His second double-double of the series.

   And that, ladies and gents, is as close to negating Tim Duncan as you’re gonna get.

   ONE SPURS THING ALMOST WORKED: For the final six minutes of the first half, the Spurs went with The Tony-N-Timmy Show plus Hill, Udoka and Finley. That’s classic SmallBall, and it did help the Spurs go on a 15-5 run to narrowed the Dallas lead to four points at halftime. But it came with two problems: One, it was sort of a gimmick, a curveball that SA could not have sustained. (As it was, SA was in the process of getting demolished on the boards again). And two, had these two teams decided to play 48 minutes of SmallBall, Dallas would’ve destroyed SA that way, too.

   PASSING PARKER: Seven turnovers. All of them while trying to play drive-and-dish. Turns out – in yet another DB.com “I-Told-You-So’’ – that Tony Parker has the “drive’’ part down. But the other, not so much.

   DALLAS’ SURPRISING’ BENCH: Popovich is probably still mumbling this to himself, this notion that the Dallas bench “made shots and plays it doesn’t usually make.’’

   One of his exact quotes from Tuesday: Their role players are really playing well," he said. "They're shooting the ball like they didn't shoot it going into the playoffs."

   That’s simply not true.

   In this game, Jason Terry scored 19. In this game, Brandon Bass scored six points. In this game, JJB had 10 points. In this game, Antoine Wright scored zero points. In this game, Ryan Hollins scored zero points.

   What’s so “surprising’’ about any of it?

   The more Pop says he was “surprised’’ by what Dallas’ bench accomplished, the more I think SA fans should wonder if the Spurs ownership can afford a projector.

   NOJETSKI: The two things were going to happen.

   It was nice that they happened together, at the same time.

    In the first four games of Round 1, NoJetSki combined for an average of just 28 ppg, 17 points fewer than their regular-season average. But that all changed here.

  Jason Terry had a big-number breakout game, with 19 points on 7-of-14 shooting. He did it in a flurry, during a 47-second span in the fourth when he received two JJB passes and converted them both into 3’s. The Spurs had pulled to within 11, but Jet pushed it back out again, and made 3-of-5 from the arc.

   Dirk Nowitzki had a big-number breakout game, with 31 points on 11-of-17 shooting, plus 8-of-8 from the line and … finally! …  his first 3-pointer of the postseason, and a total of three of them on six tries. Oh, and nine rebounds, three assists and a steal.

    Now it’d be nice if it can all happen again in Round 2.

 

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