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Dallas Mavericks’ center Erick Dampier has been fined $35,000 for publicly criticizing game officials, it was announced today by Stu Jackson, NBA Executive Vice President, Basketball Operations.
Dampier was fined for comments made to the media following the Mavericks’ 94-90 loss to the San Antonio Spurs in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference First Round on April 23.
More details tonight.
Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News reports:
The Mavericks now are down 3-1 in the best-of-7 series that returns to American Airlines Center on Tuesday.
Only eight times in NBA history have teams rallied from a 3-1 deficit. Rick Carlisle coached one of those teams when he was with Detroit, which came back to beat Orlando.
For the second time in a row in San Antonio, the Mavericks blew a game that was well within reach. They owned a 15-point lead in the second quarter and were still up by double figures four minutes into the third quarter.
But the Spurs scored 15 points in a row to go up 62-57. The Mavericks scored just 11 points in the quarter, with just two in the final seven minutes.
The AP reports:
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Tim Duncan had a miserable 34th birthday and Manu Ginobili looked as bad at times as his bandaged-up nose. But George Hill scored 29 points and San Antonio beat the Mavs 92-89 on Sunday night to take a 3-1 lead in their first-round series.
Popovich called out his supporting cast after losing Game 1. But it was his Big Three who had little bark in Game 4.
InsideHoops.com reports:
It was a sight to see. Hill was awesome. And the energy of DeJuan Blair helped San Antonio a lot.
The Mavericks scored 31 points in the second quarter and 30 in the fourth, but just 17 in the first and 11 in the third.
For the Spurs, Hill scored 17. Ginobili had 17 points (just 4-of-16), four rebounds, seven assists and four steals. Richard Jefferson (6-of-9) had 15. Antonio McDyess and Tony Parker each scored 10. Duncan had just four points and 11 rebounds.
For the Mavs, Caron Butler had 17 but on 18 shots, with six rebounds. Dirk Nowitzki was a mere 4-of-10 for 17 points and 11 rebounds. Shawn Marion had 14 but on 13 shots, and seven rebounds. Jason Terry had 13 on 11 shots.
The AP reports:
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Blood dripped from Manu Ginobili’s nose. He had caught an elbow from Dirk Nowitzki, then disappeared into the locker room while leaving a trail of red blotches behind him on the tunnel floor.
He didn’t know yet his nose was broken. That diagnosis would have to wait.
Ginobili still had work to do, so he patched up his gushing nose with a bandage and came back late in the third, then scored 11 of his 15 points in the fourth to lead the San Antonio Spurs to a 94-90 victory over the Dallas Mavericks on Friday night…
Dirk Nowitzki made good on his vow after the Game 2 loss to hit the looks he got last time, scoring 35 points…
But Caron Butler never left the bench in the second half on Friday as coach Rick Carlisle instead went instead with Barea in the backcourt…
Aside from Game 4, Sunday is also when Duncan turns 34—but so far in this series, he’s looked practically ageless. He scored 25 points for the second straight game, and has the Spurs in position to possibly celebrate a commanding lead in this series if they can win on his birthday.
Tony Parker had 23 points off the bench while continuing to thrive in the sixth man role that Ginobili held for so many years.
Manu Ginobili suffered a nasal fracture in the third quarter of tonight’s Spurs-Mavericks game. X-rays taken at the AT&T Center confirmed the injury.
Tomorrow Ginobili will be re-examined by Spurs team physicians at which time he will undergo a CT scan. Additional details will be announced after this examination.
The AP reports:
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Knowing he was among the guys Spurs coach Gregg Popovich thought “played like dogs” in the opener, Richard Jefferson bounced back by scoring 17 of his 19 points in the first half to help San Antonio beat the Dallas Mavericks 102-88 in Game 2 on Wednesday night. The win ties their first-round series at a game apiece, with the next two games in the Alamo City…
Tim Duncan was San Antonio’s second-half star, scoring 17 of his 25 points then, often just in time to douse Dallas rallies. He also had 17 rebounds…
Mavs star Dirk Nowitzki went from hardly missing in Game 1 to hardly making. The Spurs didn’t even smother him; merely knowing they were creeping his way threw Nowitzki out of whack. He missed six of his first seven shots, and even missed a free throw after having made 88 in a row.
“If they give me those same looks on Friday, I’ll take them,” said Nowitzki, who finished with 24 points, down from 36 in the opener…
Manu Ginobili had 23 points, including a 3-pointer with 1:48 left that he punctuated with a celebratory punch as fans began rushing toward the exits.
Tony Parker, still coming off the bench, had 16 points and eight assists.
Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News reports:
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Spurs point guard Tony Parker admits he hasn’t quite been feeling like himself lately. He’s been feeling a little off, a little out of sorts, a little Argentine.
“I’m Manu Jr.,” Parker said.
Coming off the bench, it seems, can create quite an identity crisis. For the past seven games including Sunday’s Game 1 defeat at Dallas, Parker — like Manu Ginobili once did — has found himself in unaccustomed territory as a reserve.
In the Spurs’ 100-94 playoff-opening loss, Parker backed up George Hill and produced a Manu Jr.-like bench line: 18 points and four assists.
It is an arrangement Parker has told coach Gregg Popovich he’s OK with, even though he started all but seven of his first 662 career games.
Mike Monroe of the San Antonio Express-News reports:
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Unable to stop Dirk Nowitzki, who finished with 36 points on 12-for-14 shooting, the Spurs intentionally fouled Mavericks’ center Erick Dampier on three straight possessions. Popovich has been a frequent employer of the tactic in previous playoff series, most notably against center Shaquille O’Neal, when he played for the Lakers and Suns.
Dampier made four-of-six free throws, finishing off by making both on the third intentional foul.
The Mavericks weren’t surprised by the ploy.
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.
Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-news reports (via blog):
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Spurs guard George Hill tweaked his previously injured right ankle stepping on a camera man in the first quarter of tonight’s game at Dallas and will not return.
Hill, who missed four games this month with a strained ankle tendon, landed on the cameraman on the baseline after completing a layup with 7:14 to play in the quarter.
InsideHoops.com Says:
I’m actually surprised this doesn’t happen more often. Some of the camera and photographer areas near the basket are extremely crowded. There’s very little room for NBA players around the baseline near the basket support. Which is strange, because players are a tad more important than the guys who record or take photos of them.