a bitch-slapping

That is the only way to describe the Spurs beating up the Mavs tonight. The Mavs jumped out early, leading by as much as twelve late in the first quarter. And then the champs systematically dismantled them the rest of the way. Bowen is in the jersey, but more importantly, in the head of Nowitzki. I don't know how he could have played better than he did tonight. The Spurs got mediocre performances from Duncan and Ginobili. Maybe a little better than mediocre from Duncan but worse than that from Ginobili, and they handled Dallas comfortably.

Brent Barry continued his strong play since the trading deadline, providing a much needed spark tonight. Nazr Muhammed was outstanding, particularly in the third quarter. The Mavericks led this game most of the way; it wasn't until the middle of the third quarter before the Spurs took their second lead of the game - the first was 2-0. But they were outplayed in every facet tonight. They got strong games from Terry and Howard and numbers from Nowitzki.

This leaves the two teams tied in the standings. But the Spurs have a somewhat favorable schedule down the stretch and the last meeting will again be in San Antonio. The Spurs lead the season series 2-1, and so even if they lose the next meeting, can hold the tie-breaker with a better division or conference record, which seems very certain given the current records.

But the bigger issue is not about who finishes the one seed and who finishes the four seed. The Spurs have three championships; the Mavericks have never been to the finals. The Spurs have won the division title basically every time in the Mavericks face in recent memory. I hope they like those bridesmaid dresses up in Dallas.