The AP reports:
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Dirk Nowitzki opened the playoffs in a high gear, making 12 of 14 shots and scoring 36 points to lead the Dallas Mavericks to a 100-94 victory over the San Antonio Spurs on Sunday night.
Caron Butler scored 22 points and Brendan Haywood added 10 in their playoff debut for Dallas. Both were part of a major trade in February that turned a good Mavericks team into a much better one…
Duncan had 27 points and eight rebounds, Ginobili scored 26 and Parker had 18 points and four assists. George Hill started at point guard, but was scoreless with two turnovers in 18 minutes…
Jason Kidd had 13 points, 11 assists and eight rebounds for the Mavericks, and Erick Dampier had five points, 12 rebounds and lots of bruises from bumping against Duncan.
MAVERICKS NOTES
– Dirk Nowitzki matched his 1st half regular season high of 19 points (at IND, 11/27) with 19 in 20 minutes on 7-9 FGs, 5-5 FTs. He added 6 rebounds and 1 block.
– Nowitzki finished the game with 12th 35-point game of his playoff career with a game-high 36 points (12-14 FGs, 12-12 FTs) and 7 rebounds in 40 minutes.
– Jason Kidd recorded his 35 playoff points-assists double-double with 13 points (5-12 FGs, 3-6 3FGs), 8 rebounds, 11 assists and 4 steals in 41 minutes.
– Erick Dampier scored all 6 of his points at the free throw line tonight. His 12 FTAs were a career-high (previously 10). He added a game-high 12 rebounds and 1 block in 30 minutes.
– For the 9th time in his playoff career, Caron Butler scored 20 points. He contributed 22 points (8-19 FGs, 1-3 3FGs, 5-6 FTs), 6 rebounds and 3 steals in 40 minutes.
– The Mavericks forced 10 steals tonight led by Kidd’s 4. During the regular season, Dallas was 19-2 when coming away with 10+ steals.
– Dallas improves to 1-0 in the postseason when shooting a lower percentage than the opposition. San Antonio outshot Dallas 50.0% (39-78 FGs) to 47.3% (35-74 FGs). In the regular season, the Mavs were 13-23 when shooting worse than their opponent.
– Tonight’s attendance was 20,372 fans (19,200 capacity). The Mavs have sold out 358 consecutive regular season games at AAC. Dallas currently owns the longest running sellout streak in the NBA. Dallas has sold out all 41 games in each of the past eight seasons. The Mavericks have now sold out 45 consecutive playoff games dating back to 2002.
