2014 NBA Playoffs
Western Conference Quarterfinals – Game #4
#1 San Antonio Spurs at #8 Dallas Mavericks
Mavericks Lead Best of Seven Series 2-1
American Airlines Center – Dallas, Texas
Monday, April 28, 2014, 9:35 pm Eastern, TV: TNT
Opening Line: San Antonio -4
Current Line: San Antonio -4
Opening Total: 204
Current Total: 201 1/2
Opening Money Line: Spurs -180 / Mavericks +155
Current Money Line: Spurs -185 / Mavericks +160
Before the Western Conference quarterfinal series between the #1 San Antonio Spurs and #8 Dallas Mavericks, San Antonio had beaten Dallas 9 straight times. The Spurs continued that winning streak with a 90-85 win in game one. However, Dallas won game two going away 113-92 to steal home court advantage. The series moved to Dallas for game three Saturday afternoon. The Mavericks would win a thriller 109-108 on a buzzer beating three pointer from Vince Carter. The Spurs look to even the series in game four Monday in Dallas. A Mavericks win, of course would give them a commanding 3-1 series lead.
In game three Saturday, the Spurs would take a 34-27 at the end of the first quarter. However, San Antonio would only score 20 points in the second quarter and would trail 59-54 at halftime. The game was back and forth in the second half. Spurs’ guard Manu Ginobli dribbled out most of the shot clock late in the fourth before hitting the go-ahead shot from 6 feet that rolled around the rim several times before falling to give San Antonio a 108-106 lead with 1.7 seconds left. After a Dallas timeout allowed then to advance the ball, Jose Calderon inbounded the ball to Carter in the left corner. Carter buried the game winner. Reviews showed he clearly got the shot off before the clock reached 0.0. It was the first playoff game winnign shot in the illustrious career of probable Hall-of-Famer Carter.
Dallas won despite Dirk Nowitzki being held under 20 points for the third straight game in the series. Nowitzki had 18 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 steals. Guard Monta Ellis led the Mavericks with 29 points, including 12 in the fourth quarter. Carter struggled for most of the game with 11 points before the game winner. Tim Duncan led the Spurs with 22 points. Tony Parker scored 19 points. Ginobli scored 12 points.
San Antonio is coached by Gregg Popovich, who won his third NBA coach of the year award last week. San Antonio is 45-40 ATS and the total is 46-38-1 this season.
San Antonio is outscoring teams 105-97. The Spurs are #6 in scoring and #6 in points allowed. San Antonio is shooting 48.6% from the field and 39.7% from 3 point range. The Spurs are #2 in field goal percentage and #1 in 3 point shooting. San Antonio is #4 in free throw shooting at 78.5% from the line. Opponents are shooting 44.4% from the field and 35.3% from 3 point range. The Spurs are in the top 10 in both categories. San Antonio is averaging 43.3 rebounds per game and opponents average 42.2 per game. The Spurs average 25.2 assists, 14.6 turnovers, 7.5 steals and 5.2 blocks per game. Opponents average 20.3 assists, 14 turnovers, 7.8 steals and 4.7 blocks per game.
Point guard Tony Parker averages 16.7 points, 5.7 assists, and 2.3 rebounds per game. Forward Tim Duncan averages 15.1 points, 9.7 rebounds, 3 assists, and 1.9 blocks per game. Forward Kawhi Leonard averages 12.8 points, 6.2 rebounds, 2 assists, and 1.7 steals per game. Guard Manu Ginobli averages 12.3 points, 3 rebounds, 4.3 assists, and 1 steal per game. Guard Marco Belinelli averages 11.4 assists, 2.8 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game. Guard Patty Mills averages 10.2 points, 2.1 rebounds and 1.8 assists. Boris Diaw, Danny Green, Tiago Splitter, Cory Joseph, Jeff Ayres, and Matt Bonner will also get significant minutes.
Dallas is coached by Rick Carlisle. The Mavericks are 47-38 ATS and the total is 47-38 this season.
Dallas is outscoring teams 105-102 this season. The Mavericks are #8 in scoring and #20 in points allowed. Dallas is shooting 47.4% from the field and 38.4% from 3 point range. The Mavericks are #4 in field goal shooting and #2 in 3 point shooting. Dallas is #3 in free throw shooting at 79.5% from the line. Opponents are shooting 46.4% from the field and 35.9% from 3 point range. Dallas averages 40.9 rebounds per game and opponents average 42.8 per game. The Mavericks are #26 in rebounds. Dallas averages 23.6 assists, 13.5 turnovers, 8.6 steals and 4.4 blocks per game. Opponents average 22 assists, 16 turnovers, 7.8 steals and 3.5 blocks per game.
Forward Dirk Nowitzki averages 21.7 points, 6.2 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game. The first-ballot Hall-of-Famer passed Oscar Robertson to become the 10th leading scorer in NBA history recently. Guard Monta Ellis averages 19 points, 3.6 rebounds, 5.7 assists, and 1.7 steals per game. Guard Vince Carter averages 11.9 points, 3.5 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game. Guard Jose Calderon averages 11.4 points, 2.4 rebounds and 4.7 assists per game. Forward Shawn Marion averages 10.4 points, 6.5 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 1.2 steals per game. Brandan Wright, Devin Harris, Samuel Dalembert, DeJuan Blair and Jae Crowder will also get significant minutes.
San Antonio is 8-3 ATS on one day rest, 11-3 after allowing 100 points or more, 7-4 in first round playoff games, 3-8 after a straight up loss, 1-4 after scoring 100 points or more, in road games and against teams with winning home records, 0-5 overall and against Western Conference teams, 0-4 after allowing 100 points or more, after failing to cover, after the opponent scores 100 points or more, against Southwest Division teams, and after the opponent allows 100 points or more. The Spurs are 12-6 ATS in the last 18 against the Mavericks, including 4-1 in Dallas. The road team is 8-2 ATS in the last 10 games in this series.
Dallas is 4-0 ATS against teams with winning records, overall, against Western Conference teams, and against Southwest Division teams, 5-1 after the opponent scores 100 points or more, 18-7-2 in first round playoff games, 5-2 in Monday games and after scoring 100 points or more, 2-5 on one day rest, 1-4 against teams with winning road records, and 1-5 in home games. The over is 4-1 in the last 5 games in the series, and the last 4 games in Dallas have gone over the total. The underdog has covered the last 5 games in this series. The Mavericks are 4-1 ATS in the last 5 against the Spurs.
Dallas is ahead in this series despite Nowitzki struggling, because they are getting balanced scoring. San Antonio needs this game to avoid being on the brink of elimination. Really, if it weren’t for a double digit comeback in the fourth quarter of game one, San Antonio would be down 3-0. I think the Spurs win a close game tonight to make it a best of three series.
