While Dirk and Vince combined for 54 points with their prowess it was San Antonio who had the biggest advantage when converting from the paint. Spurs won that battle 54-28. Rebounds were even at 47 each and even in defeat the Mavericks kept their turnover count to 8. Even second chance points were even at 18 apiece. A moral victory if you will when on the road.
Easter Sunday was a special outing for Collin McHugh as he followed up a 12 strikeout gem in Marinerland with a 2-hit performance and a 5-1 victory at Minute Maid Park. Only a single in the 1st and 9th were what was allowed by the journeyman pitcher.
Expect Game 5 to be even more intense now that momentum has returned to the Spurs favor. Dirk is very due for a high scoring game. The Mavericks will have to keep turnovers to a minimum. Samuel Dalembert did a nice job of wiping the glass with 15 rebounds in Game 4. He’ll need to do more of that for Game 5.
We almost saw D.C. United tie things up in the 17th minute when Eddie Johnson was in line for a netter after being fed beautifully by Fabian Espindola. At the last moment Johnson and FC Dallas goalie Chris Seitz would collide after Seitz punched the ball skyward. While falling Seitz had the presence of mind to follow the ball and catch it while prone on the ground.
A low scoring third period had Dallas only scoring 18 points to the Spurs 20. Turnovers aside Dallas led 77-74 after three. In the final period the threes, the steals, and the haymakers all came into play. Matching one another shot for shot you could hear a pin drop when Manu Ginobli had 24 seconds of clock left when running in a layup and leaving only 1.7 seconds left.
Wednesday, April 30, 2014 at 10:22PM