Rick Carlisle | SAN ANTONIO SPURS TICKETS

Spurs’ bench nearly steals one

By Jeff McDonald

DALLAS — As soon as the ball left his hand, Danny Green had a plan.

It is one he lifted from one of the most painful chapters of Spurs history, from a player who made a similar shot facing similar odds nearly eight years ago.

Even before Green pulled a Derek Fisher — swishing a turnaround jumper that appeared to give the Spurs a breathtaking buzzer-beating victory over Dallas — he had mapped his escape from the American Airlines Center.

“I was going to run out of the gym, just like Derek did,” said Green. “I said, ‘Guys, let’s go. Let’s get the heck out of here.’

“Nobody wanted to follow my lead.”

That was a stark contrast to what had happened for the previous quarter-plus, when the Spurs rode their young bench players to the brink of an improbable comeback victory against the defending NBA champs before falling in overtime 101-100.

Officials reviewed, then disallowed Green’s shot, launched with 0.5 seconds left — more time than Fisher had for his 0.4 dagger for the L.A. Lakers in the 2004 playoffs. The game went to OT, where Dallas — ahead by 18 points in the third — dodged more bullets.

“The one thing I’m not going to allow to happen is to have our team feel bad about a win,” Dallas coach Rick Carlisle said. “Wins are hard to get.”

With his starters stumbling into a 67-49 hole late in the third quarter, Spurs coach Gregg Popovich took the unorthodox step of benching them all.

Aside from 1.1 seconds logged by Kawhi Leonard in OT, no Spurs starter appeared after the 2:44 mark of the third.

Dallas (13-8) led 67-53 at that point, but behind a barrage of bench 3-pointers — three from Gary Neal and two apiece from Green, James Anderson and Matt Bonner — the Spurs clawed back.

Popovich said he never contemplated putting his starters back in the game, even as the deficit shrank.

“That group was playing great,” Popovich said. “Why would I?”

Implausibly, a game that seemed headed toward a blowout quickly took on the tenor of the most memorable Spurs-Mavericks playoff clashes.

Albeit, instead of Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili battling Dirk Nowitzki and Jason Terry, it was Neal, Anderson and Green.

Neal ended with 19 points, though he missed a free throw that could have tied the game with 12.6 seconds left in OT. Green scored 12 points, while Anderson added eight points, three assists and five rebounds.

In all, the Spurs’ reserves accounted for the team’s final 51 points and were largely responsible for the 24-6 run that had the Spurs (12-9) up nine with 5:33 to go in the fourth.

“Those guys got us back out of a hole,” said Duncan, who had 12 points in 23 minutes. “You ride with what’s going good. It was the right call.”

With the Spurs ahead by four with 37.8 seconds left, Dallas’ Rodrigue Beaubois answered with a drive. Then Terry — who finished with 34 points — took the ball coast-to-coast after a Neal miss to drill a game-tying 12-footer with 0.5 seconds left.

That set the stage for Green to reprise Fisher, with one notable exception.

“His goes in the books,” Green said. “Mine doesn’t.”

Referees originally ruled Green’s shot good, then disallowed it after replays showed the ball still on his fingertips as the horn blared. Afterward, Duncan joked he wished that same crew had been around for Fisher’s shot in Game 5 of the 2004 Western Conference semifinals.

“I don’t know if the clock started early, or Danny’s release is slower, or what,” Duncan said.

Still, even with Green going anti-Fisher, the Spurs had a chance to win in OT. They were ahead 98-95 on Green’s drive with 1:18 left but again could not close.

In the end, it came down to the Spurs behind by one, the ball again in Green’s hands. A discombobulated final play led Green to try a desperation 3-pointer that was no good.

So when Green finally left the floor at the American Airlines Center, he did not run. He walked.

“I guess it was just too good to be true,” he said.

jmcdonald@express-news.net

– Associated Press photos

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Mavericks 101, Spurs 100 (OT) – Jan. 29, 2012

Dallas Mavericks guard Jason Terry (31) shoots against San Antonio Spurs forward Matt Bonner (15) during the first half of an NBA basketball game in Dallas, Sunday, Jan. 29, 2012. (AP Photo/LM Otero) (AP)

Dallas Mavericks guard Vince Carter (25) shoots against San Antonio Spurs forward Kawhi Leonard (2) during the first half of an NBA basketball game in Dallas, Sunday, Jan. 29, 2012. (AP Photo/LM Otero) (AP)

Dallas Mavericks forward Dirk Nowitzki (41) looks to shoot as San Antonio Spurs forward DeJuan Blair (45) watches during the first half of an NBA basketball game in Dallas, Sunday, Jan. 29, 2012. (AP Photo/LM Otero) (AP)

San Antonio Spurs forward Kawhi Leonard (2) dribbles past Dallas Mavericks guard Vince Carter (25) as Spurs center Tim Duncan watches during the first half of an NBA basketball game in Dallas, Sunday, Jan. 29, 2012. (AP Photo/LM Otero) (AP)

San Antonio Spurs center Tim Duncan (21) dribbles against Dallas Mavericks center Brendan Haywood (33) during the first half of an NBA basketball game in Dallas, Sunday, Jan. 29, 2012. (AP Photo/LM Otero) (AP)

San Antonio Spurs guard Daniel Green (4) tries to block a shot by Dallas Mavericks guard Jason Terry (31) during the second half of an NBA basketball game in Dallas, Sunday, Jan. 29, 2012. The Mavericks won in overtime. 101-100. (AP Photo/LM Otero) (AP)

Dallas Mavericks guard Jason Terry (31) spreads his arms as the crowd cheers after Terry scored, forcing overtime in an NBA basketball game against the San Antonio Spurs in Dallas, Sunday, Jan. 29, 2012. The Mavericks won 101-100. (AP Photo/LM Otero) (AP)

San Antonio Spurs center Tim Duncan raises his arms as he and fellow starter Tony Parker, left, watch from the bench with other teammates during overtime against the Dallas Mavericks in an NBA basketball game in Dallas, Sunday, Jan. 29, 2012. The Mavericks won 101-100. (AP Photo/LM Otero) (AP)

San Antonio Spurs center Tiago Splitter (22) shoots over Dallas Mavericks center Ian Mahinmi (28) during overtime in an NBA basketball game in Dallas, Sunday, Jan. 29, 2012. The Mavericks won 1010-100. (AP Photo/LM Otero) (AP)

San Antonio Spurs forward Richard Jefferson (24) and Dallas Mavericks guard Vince Carter (25) greet each other after an NBA basketball game in Dallas, Sunday, Jan. 29, 2012. The Mavericks won 101-100. (AP Photo/LM Otero) (AP)

San Antonio Spurs guard Daniel Green (4) shoots against Dallas Mavericks guard Jason Terry (31) as time expires in the fourth quarter of an NBA basketball game in Dallas, Sunday, Jan. 29, 2012. The shot went in, but a replay showed that he still has the ball when the buzzer sounded. The Mavericks won 101-100 in overtime. (AP Photo/LM Otero) (AP)

Dallas Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle calls a play during the second half of an NBA basketball game against the San Antonio Spurs in Dallas, Sunday, Jan. 29, 2012. The Mavericks won 101-100 in overtime. (AP Photo/LM Otero) (AP)

San Antonio Spurs center Tim Duncan (21) looks to shoot against Dallas Mavericks center Brendan Haywood (33) during the second half of an NBA basketball game in Dallas, Sunday, Jan. 29, 2012. The Mavericks won 101-100 in overtime. (AP Photo/LM Otero) (AP)

San Antonio Spurs point guard Tony Parker (9) closes his eyes and listens to coach Gregg Popovich during the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Dallas Mavericks in Dallas, Sunday, Jan. 29, 2012. The Mavericks won 101-100 in overtime. (AP Photo/LM Otero) (AP)

Mavs give Top 10 list on ‘Late Night with David Letterman’

The Dallas Mavericks have been busy the last several days.

The championship celebration in Dallas Thursday came after a visit by “Late Night with David Letterman” for a presentation about the “Top Ten Good Things About Winning the NBA Championship.”

For the edification of Spurs Nation, the players’ reasons are listed below. Or they are available on.

10: Shawn Marion, “I don’t have to sit here and lie about how winning isn’t important.”

9: J.J. Barea, “The congratulatory sext from Anthony Weiner.”

8: Rodrigue Beaubois, “Helped take the sting out of hearing Hef’s wedding was cancelled.”

7: Brian Cardinal, “It’s every kid’s dream to lick the Larry O’Brien Trophy.”

6: Rick Carlisle, “U.S. Constitution permits NBA champs to sit in on national security briefings.”

5: Tyson Chandler, “Celebrating with my kitties.”

4: Caron Butler, “Why didn’t anyone tell me we won?”

3: Jason Terry, “Now I can ask Mark Cuban for a raise.”

2: Mark Cuban, “If you thought I was cocky and obnoxious before – get ready.”

1: Dirk Nowitzki, “It might land me a Kardashian sister.”

It was an interesting, eclectic choice of presenters.

Considering his importance to the team, I wonder where Jason Kidd was when the remote crew showed up?

Miami ‘D’ hangs on in fourth

By JONATHAN FEIGEN
jonathan.feigen@chron.com

DALLAS — All those days in the gym, Dirk Nowitzki has worked on all those moves and launched all those shots just for these moments.

The spins. The fadeaways. The impossibly high release. They were all there as the final seconds of Game 3 of the NBA Finals slipped away. And Nowitzki had been on a roll, scoring 12 consecutive points to give Dallas a chance.

But Udonis Haslem wasn’t at any of those workouts. With the game in Nowitzki’s hands, the Miami Heat put Haslem on Nowitzki, and he never let him loose. Haslem forced a turnover, then masterfully contested the shot Nowitzki missed at the buzzer as Miami held on for an 88-86 win Sunday at American Airlines Center to take a 2-1 series lead.

“The look with four seconds to go, I think it was as good as you can get it,” Nowitzki said.

Added Miami coach Erik Spoelstra: “That was a very similar situation to what we saw the other night. Had a different matchup. That’s a makeable shot. But (Haslem) did a great job keeping his chest in front of him and forcing him into a fadeaway. Nowitzki is a tough player.

“That shot hung up in the air about as long as it was in between Game 2 and Game 3. It was a good offensive play and a good defensive play. And he happened to miss.”

Of the 11 previous Finals in which the teams split the first two games in the current 2-3-2 format, the team that has won Game 3 won the series.

“This is a total win,” said Dwyane Wade, who led Miami with 29 points. “You want to win the game on the defensive end of the floor, and we got a stop.”

The Heat were burned in Game 2 after letting the ?Mavs erase a 15-point lead in the final seven minutes. Sunday, they were again up with seven minutes left, this time by seven.

And just as he had at the same point of Game 2, Nowitzki went to work. He scored the Mavericks’ next 12 points including when he cut to the rim for a slam with 2??1/2 minutes left.

“He knows he’s going to have to carry a certain load, not just a scoring load,” Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle said. “He’s going to have to make plays. We’d like to make it easier for him.”

After Wade hit a jumper, Nowitzki dropped in a fadeaway to tie the game with 1:40 remaining, giving him 34 points — 15 in the fourth quarter.

The Heat found a way to win partly because of a big shot from a struggling member of their Big 3.

Chris Bosh had made just 15 of 51 shots in the Finals, but he took a pass from LeBron James and swished a baseline jumper from 16 feet, giving Miami an 88-86 lead with 39.6 seconds left.

“That’s fundamental basketball at its best,” Spoelstra said. “You see an open man. You hit an open man.

“The important thing we did we didn’t necessarily do in Game 2 was trust. The ball moved. The play wasn’t designed for him. The ball moved, and we hit the open guy. I don’t care what happened to that point. He makes winning plans. He made a big one for us.”

In Game 2, Spoelstra had Bosh on Nowitzki during his string of clutch shots. This time, Haslem locked down Nowitzki as Bosh could not. After Bosh’s jumper, Haslem closed so quickly that Nowitzki looked for Shawn Marion in the corner, but threw his pass away with 30.2 seconds left.

The Mavericks, however, had a last chance after James missed a 3-pointer with 4.9 seconds left.

Nowitzki created enough space to get his fadeaway off cleanly from 16 feet out. But the ball bounced harmlessly off the rim at the buzzer.

“He’s a great player, 7 feet, so he’s going to shoot over me,” Haslem said. “I’ve got to make it tough on him.”

Jason Kidd had nine points and 10 assists for the Mavericks, but also four turnovers. Giveaways haunted Dallas throughout the game, especially the first half, helping keep Miami comfortably ahead.

“We have to have somebody step up besides Dirk,” Kidd said. “We have to figure out how to get up front and play up front. The big thing is we’ve got to be able to make plays late in the game. Game 2 we made the plays, Game 3 we just didn’t.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.