It was something that most fans and pundits expected before game seven. That is, a blowout. The San Antonio Spurs took full advantage of their home court, pounding the Dallas Mavericks into submission and out of the playoffs with a 96-119 victory.
Mavericks Coach Rick Carlisle praised the Spurs after the fight.
“We got hit by a tidal wave early,” Carlisle said in the post conference. “They had their best game today. They’re the best of the best, and they’ve been great for a long time. They’ve got a great chance, obviously.”
Spurs Coach Gregg Popovich readily agrees.
“I’m certainly glad it’s over,” Popovich said in the post conference. “(It) kept many of us up, night after night, trying to figure them out. We’re thrilled, and I think our best game was tonight. We played very, very well, and I think it was one our best games of the year.”
The Spurs next face the Portland Trailblazers in the Western Conference Semi-finals. The Trailblazers closed out the Houston Rockets in six games and none more exciting than the buzzer-beater shot by Damian Lillard to end the series, the first time since 1997 where John Stockton of the Utah Jazz did the exact same thing to the Rockets.
“It was a hell of a win,” Portland Coach Terry Stotts said after the game. “I don’t know that it could have been any more dramatic.”