The San Antonio Spurs came into game four knowing that they needed a much better performance than what they put on Sunday afternoon. They did just that, coming out and quickly putting the Mavericks in a 20-point deficit. In the end, the Spurs walked out of American Airlines Center with a 93-89 victory.
The Mavericks battled back and at one point in the game was tied at 87 apiece. The Spurs then ran a simple pick and roll play with Tony Parker being trailed by Devin Harris. Nowitzki, who was in foul trouble most of the fourth quarter, was playing a bit too soft and the defensive exchange did not happen in time giving Boris Diaw time to float to the top of the key the go-ahead 3-pointer.
“It was just a regular pick-and-roll,” Diaw said. “We try to put Dirk Nowitzki in pick-and-roll because it’s harder for him than for [Samuel] Dalembert, for example, to switch on Tony. It’s harder for Dirk to be able to help and come back to the player that set the screen. That’s why I was the one on the pick-and-roll. That’s exactly what happened. He helped on Tony and he was a little late and I was wide open for the three.”
Before the game, both the Spurs and the Mavericks showed solidarity to the Clippers organization and protested the Clippers owner by wearing black socks.
“My understanding is that the whole league is doing it,” Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle said. “The fact that they’re together and doing it to basically say that this is not right, is something I respect.”
“We’re going to do the same thing that Houston and Portland did,” Spurs Coach Gregg Popovich said before the game. “Both teams are going to wear the black socks. Rick (Carlisle) and I talked and we’re both going to wear them in support.”