NBA Beat: Spurs eliminate Mavs
TIM DUNCAN AND THE SPURS SEND DIRK NOWITZKI AND DALLAS PACKING, the Associated Press
SAN ANTONIO – Manu Ginobili stepped off the podium and bumped into Dirk Nowitzki. They shook hands. Nowitzki gave his longtime foe a congratulatory slap on the back and Ginobili disappeared down the hallway. He was off to celebrate a playoff series win. Just like old times for the Spurs. “We’re thrilled that we beat them,” Ginobili said. “We’re really proud of it.” Nowitzki then sat down for a playoff ritual of his own — dissecting yet another first-round failure by the Mavericks. Ginobili scored 26 points and San Antonio survived blowing a 22-point lead to finish off the Mavericks 97-87 in Game 6 on Thursday night, getting payback after Dallas eliminated the Spurs a year ago in the opening round. The Spurs will play either Portland or Phoenix in the West semifinals that start Monday.
OTHER PLAYOFF SCORES…
PHOENIX TAKES OUT PORTLAND: Jason Richardson scored 28 points, including five 3-pointers, and the Phoenix Suns advanced to the second round of the playoffs with a 99-90 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers in Game 6 on Thursday night. The third-seeded Suns will face seventh-seeded San Antonio, which advanced by beating Dallas 97-97 on Thursday night. The opening game of the Western Conference semifinals is Monday night in Phoenix. The Suns last went to the second round in 2007, when they got past the Los Angeles Lakers to open the playoffs before falling to the Spurs.
In 2008, the Spurs got the best of Phoenix in the first round. Grant Hill of the Suns advanced past the first round for the first time in his career. The Suns went up 53-41 at halftime and led by as many as 16 points in the second half. The Blazers tied it at 76 midway through the fourth quarter, but could not pull ahead. Martell Webster had 19 points for Portland, which failed to advance out of the first round for the second straight year.
To view highlights of San Antonio’s win, click the play arrow.
April 30th, 2010 at 4:31 am
San Antonio Spurs is our beloved team, and we do our best to attend their games. It’s honorable to see them in the playoffs and in any other games. Go Spurs, our hearts with you!! If someone interested in Spurs tickets I recommend ticketwood.com.