Tim Duncan, called the “backbone” of the team by coach Gregg Popovich, led the NBA-champion Spurs with 31 points and 15 rebounds in a 97-94 victory over the new-look Dallas Mavericks on Thursday night.
“Offense, the ball goes through him. On defense, he’s our defender, our rebounder,” Popovich said. “Everybody rotates off him. He’s just really special. We don’t get anything done without him.”
It was the Spurs’ seventh straight win and put them a game ahead of New Orleans in a tight Southwest Division, in which Dallas is third and only 2½ games separates San Antonio from fourth-place Houston. The Spurs lead the Mavericks 2-1 in their season series.
The loss snapped a three-game winning streak for the Mavs and dropped them to 3-2 since they acquired guard Jason Kidd from New Jersey.
“I thought we had some good looks, maybe a foul here or there,” said Kidd, who had 10 assists and seven points. “But at the end of the game we had our chances.”
Dirk Nowitzki scored 28 points for the Mavericks. Josh Howard and reserve Brandon Bass each added 16.
Manu Ginobili scored 17 points for San Antonio and Michael Finley had 16.
“Every time we come down here it’s a highly contested game,” Dallas coach and former Spurs point guard Avery Johnson said. “It’s a big-time rivalry. Hopefully next time when we play . . . we can finish with one more point.”
The Mavs will get their chance next month when they host the Spurs.
“This game didn’t mean much. We’ll see them again,” Dallas guard Jason Terry said. “We’re still a work in progress.”
The Spurs were up 73-72 heading into the fourth quarter. With the game tied at 94, Erick Dampier fouled Duncan, who sank both shots from the line to put San Antonio up 96-94 with 34.5 seconds to go.
Nowitzki missed two shots with less than 30 seconds on the clock, and Terry’s shot was blocked by Bruce Bowen with 3.9 seconds left. The Spurs got the ball back with 3.3 seconds to go, and Dampier fouled Finley with 0.4 left. Finley hit the first of two from the line.
“The effort was huge for both sides,” Ginobili said. “When you play a game like this, you know the effort is going to be there.”
Kidd came out for the last 30 seconds but said he supported the decision.
“They’ve been together down the stretch,” Kidd said. “I understand what play they’re looking for, so I’m over here cheering for my guys to know down a 2 or a 3.”
The game was tied four times in the fourth as the teams traded baskets and neither took a lead of more than five in the period.
Bowen added 14 points for the Spurs and Tony Parker had 10.
After coming out of halftime tied at 47 and staying close more than 5 minutes into the third, the teams took turns holding the momentum.
The Mavericks went up by 10 after a 16-4 run that included a 3 from a pumped Nowitzki off a feed from Kidd and ended with a goaltending call against Robert Horry that gave Terry a basket and put Dallas up 67-57 with 3:44 to play.
But the Spurs answered with a 13-1 burst, including two free throws thanks to technicals called on Terry and Johnson in an increasingly testy atmosphere. Finley scored nine points in the surge that gave San Antonio a 70-68 lead with 1:20 to go.
Ime Udoka’s last-second corner 3 put the Spurs up 73-72 with one period left.
In the first half, Kidd, who has brought a passing mentality to the Mavs since his return to the team that drafted him No. 2 overall in 1994, accounted for seven of the team’s 11 assists.
