Take a look at the run the Warriors went on at the end of the second quarter. After Austin Croshere hit a big three to make it 53-32 Mavericks, here's some of what happened:
- Al Harrington 3PT off a Baron Davis assist.
- Jason Richardson 3PT off a Matt Barnes assists.
- Mickael Pietrus dunk off a Monta Ellis assist.
- Stephen Jackson 3PT off a Monta Ellis assist. The Warriors are still down by 14 (59-45) at this point.
- Richardson hit a jumper.
- Stephen Jackson 3PT off a Pietrus assist.
- Pietrus 3PT off a Matt Barnes assist.
- After a Richardson tip in, the half ends with it 62-55. Dirk has three fouls, and Stackhouse got whistled for a technical (to lead off the 3rd quarter.
In summation: Bombs away! The Warriors dropped five three-pointers in 5 minutes (off 5 assists), scored 23 points, and cut the lead from 21 to essentially 6.
3rd quarter notes:
- Technical is good. 62-56.
- With the score 65-63, Jason Terry just drops Baron Davis for no reason! That's a technical. Wait, just one technical? No ejection? Shouldn't Terry be looking at a suspension? He just dropped Baron Davis for no reason....
- Dallas is clearly panicked. The only shot they have hit is Dirk, on a no-think, have to shoot because there is only 2 seconds left on the shot clock jumper. That's it.
- Jackson with a steal, and an assist to Richardson, who hits the 3PT. 67-67
- Alright, let's forward to 2:40 left in the third - it is 84-79. Diop hits a layup with 2:00 to go.
- Warriors turn it over, but with a chance to demoralize the Warriors, Dirk misses a huge jumper.
- Devin Harris also misses a dagger three on the next possession. Baron Davis gets fouled, hits free throws to make it 86-81. 1:17 left. Baron has 10 points in the quarter, mostly on FTs.
- Worth mentioning that Stephen Jackson has 12 points, 5 assists, and 3 steals so far.
- Richardson for three, and it is now 87-84 with 51 seconds left in the quarter. Throughout the series the Warriors have done a great job of closing out the quarters.
- Damn, as I typed that Stackhouse hits a three.
- Ah, Baron Davis redeems me with a three. After Harris misses the three at the buzzer, the score at the end of the 3rd quarter is 90-87.
Stat check: Howard 22 points, 4 rebounds, and 5 assists (!) - that's got to be a season high in assists. Dirk has 18 points with 9 rebounds. But note that he is 8-8 from the line, and only 5-13 from the field. Stackhouse has 15 off the bench.
Baron has 19 points, Stephen has 12. Both have 5 assists. Richardson has 15, and 29 points off the bench from Pietrus (10), Harrington (7), and Barnes (12). Those three bench players also have a combined 14 rebounds and 4 assists.
4th quarter notes:
- 90-89 Dallas. Who is going to step up for Dallas?
- Offensive foul by Howard. Good defense by the Warriors. That's 5 fouls for Josh Howard, too. Huge moment for the Warriors.
- Baron Davis throws it away. The Warriors have been too sloppy tonight, and the assists (aside from the three pointers) have been lower than normal.
- And as I type that, Baron Davis gets a steal and feeds Matt Barnes, who dunks on the Mavs and gives the Warriors their first lead, 91-90. "That's gotta hurt the Mavs' pysche!"
- We do all realize that Matt Barnes is a scrub, right? And Richardson had knee surgery not too long ago. And Baron Davis is as fragile as they come in the NBA? This is the squad that is taking the Mavs apart? I can't wait until the Warriors get crushed in the second round, just so everyone can piece it together that Dallas was just really, really, weak.
- Richardson with a three (#4), tying the game at 94-94.
- Devin Harris drives, gets the basket and the foul (that's 7 straight for Devin, the only Mav with soul), and it is 97-94.
- Baron Davis with a huge three pointer! And Pietrus gets fouled on the play, so he has a chance for the four-point play. He hits it, and it is 98-97 Warriors! 8:00 left.
- Harris again. 99-98. That's 9 straight.
- Barnes with a big offensive rebound, gets it to Jackson, who is open for three. That's his third three (101-99, Warriors).
- And Croshere with a three for Dallas. 102-101. By the way, I know Howard is on the bench, but where is Dirk? And Terry (unless he got tossed during halftime)?
- Baron gets fouled. 6:44 left. He hits both free throws, to make it 103-102.
- Dirk is almost out of out of bounds, tosses it to Stackhouse, who tosses it back to Dirk and he misses the pass. Turnover, Dallas. Dirk is only 1-2 FG in the second half.
- Baron Davis gets called for foul #4. Croshere with an airball. Timeout, 5:44 left. It is still 103-102 Golden State.
Seriously, aside from Devin Harris and Austin Croshere, no one else on Dallas is even trying to take a big shot. At least Austin isn't afraid. You are telling me Terry or Dirk can't get open?
- Jackson misses, but another offensive board (by Richardson). Baron Davis with a pretty look to Jackson, who gets fouled. He hits a free throw, to make it a quiet 104-102.
- Dirk passes to Terry, who misses a long shot. Baron Davis fires the rebound down court to Jason Richardson, for an alley oop from almost half court. 106-102.
- Barnes fouls Diop, who hits one of two. 106-103. 4:33 left.
- Barnes to Richardson, for three from the corner... it is good, of course. #5 for Richardson makes it 109-103. The Warriors are this close to sending the Mavs home.
- The Mavs aren't even looking for Dirk anymore.
- Davis almost loses the ball, chucks it up, and hits a three. 112-103.
- Dirk is still alive. He hits a big three, with 3:00 to goto make it 112-106.
- Dirk with a huge block on Barnes.
- And Dirk with a nice pump fake, then hits the huge three. 112-109, with 1:55 to go. Timeout, Golden State.
We see it being Baron Davis, with Richardson as Plan B. Regardless of the outcome, Dirk has finally started to step up, and in doing so may have saved himself an offseason of bad press. That block was vicious.
- They are doubling Baron, so Richardson goes up, and misses a jumper.
- Harris gets a basket and the foul (#5 on Baron). Misses the free throw. 112-111.
- Baron is doubled again. Jackson with the jumper. No good. Less than 1:00 to go.
- Dirk gets fouled on the entry pass. 48.6 to go, Dirk hits both free throws. 113-112, Mavs.
What to do if you are the Warriors? Do you go to Baron, knowing the double team will come? If so, who is the open guy? They need to move the ball around, and not settle for a jumper. Okay, let's see it.
- Pietrus misses. Barnes grabbed an offensive rebound, but Jason Richardson misses. Baron Davis fouls out with 21.6. Josh Howard hits the first free throw, to make it 114-112, but misses the second. But it goes off Barnes, so it is Dallas ball.
- Barnes fouls Dirk. He hits both free throws, to make it 116-112, with 18.7 left.
- Barnes airball.
And that is the game. The crowd is finally relaxed. The Warriors had a chance to finish the Mavs for good, but they didn't. I still think the Warriors are in control of this series, because Dallas has to win in Oakland to have a chance. That is no easy task. And Dallas has just to figure out how to slow down the Warriors.
On the plus side for Dallas, they came through in the clutch. Dirk finally had an MVP like final three minutes, dominating on both sides of the court, and lifting his game. We'll see what he can do in Game 6.
Leave a comment
|
5 Comments
Comments
P.S. Missed your comments on the Terry thing, but now that I've read them, I completely agree with you. Should have been an ejection, and it better be a fine at the very least.
SML (Erin, too!)
I'ma say the same thing to you I just said over at TSF: "I'm starting to get a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach, it feels something like "Mavs in 7," but I'm trying to fight if off..."
Discuss.
I hear ya, Poet. It's the same feeling I have about the Nets in Game 6, too. But that's probably just from years of watching teams (Knicks, Jets) underachieve or come up short in big games....
Seriously, here's what the Warriors need to do: establish Jason Richardson early. The Mavs will focus on Baron Davis; Richardson has had some huge 1st quarters in the Warriors' run over the last two months (I'm thinking back to that 45 point 1st quarter against the Suns - he had like 7 3PTM in the first quarter alone); if he can get the Warriors going early, if they can open up a lead, I think the Mavs will collapse under the weight.
We've seen that the Warriors are able to fight back from deficits. I don't believe the Mavs can. Like Erin said, the Mavs couldn't figure out how to stop the bleeding until there was just a minute left, and they didn't have the luxury of thinking anymore. It was straight "we need to hit a three quick" mode; that's when Dirk is at his best... like when he ended up with the ball with 2 seconds left on the shot clock, and just let a shot fly. The less they think, the better. Because for a long while there in the fourth, the Mavs were just passing the ball around the perimeter, not moving towards the basket or getting open. And only Austin Croshere of all people was willing to let it fly.
So here's what I say to you, Poet: I may be wrong about this, but if I had to bet on the next game, I would bet on Baron, on J-Rich, on Jackson and Nellie and the crowd in Oakland than on Dirk, on a frustrated Terry, on Avery. The only player that scares me from Dallas is Josh Howard.
Warriors in 6.
No doubt Josh Howard is That Dude, against the Warriors, at least. I think Dirk will get back to his regular fade-away jump shooting self against the Rockets or Jazz next round, if he makes it that far.
I still say Oaktown can win, but the refs gotta let em play. Up to now, they've called a lot of bullshid at crucial times against the Warriors. Sure, overall, they've let both teams play, but I'm talking about the crucial moments, like Dizzle's 5th foul v. Devin Harris (ticky tack), Barnes' late game foul on a shot-block of a Mavs player whose name I can't recall (non-existent), and Dizzle's phantom 6th foul, of course. Meanwhile, Dirk tags Jason Richardson on a corner 3 late in the game, no call. And let's not even talk about the ridiculous ejection of Jax for yet another clapping incident. (I've quickly grown tired of cats getting tossed for clapping, laughing and shid - even if Dizzle did deserve the first one in game 2. After all, I pay the money (cable bill counts as money) to watch players play, and I couldn't give a got-damn if some ref gets his lil feelings hurt. Man up and let that "heat of the moment" type stuff go, or seek another line of work!
Now I'm not blaming the refs, shid, their just being human, and this sort of thing happens all the time when your dealing with a #1 v. #8 seed. If nothing else, though, I think Oaktown has earned a lil more respect than that, so let the players play! Otherwise, it's a wrap, and next week we'll be talking about how the L's MVP ALMOST got smacked by some pimp daddy hustle stack money type n-words!
I'm out, but I'll be back for game 6.
From what I saw (and this may seem contradictory) the Warriors just proved they can win in Dallas. I know they didn't actually win, but they came back from a 21 point deficit and should have had this game. The point is, until the last minute or so, the Mavs couldn't figure out what to do to pull away. I'm absolutely convinced that Dallas will lose in Oakland in Game 6.
Also, the Mavericks' players appear to be a bunch of assholes. What was with Jason Terry pile-driving Baron Davis on the sideline? Even if, as Reggie Miller claimed, Davis was "acting," it sure looked pretty ridiculous to me. Seems like the sort of play the NBA will be assessing a fine for later this week.