Spurs keep on rolling: Bowen's block turns back Mavericks
Web Posted: 02/29/2008 12:34 AM CST
Jeff McDonald
Express-News
Dallas' Jason Terry came charging at Bruce Bowen late in the third quarter Thursday night, no good flashing in his eyes. Considering neither player was dribbling a basketball, and play had long been whistled dead, it was safe to say trouble was afoot.
Presented with a fight-or-flight situation, Bowen chose neither option. He simply turned the other cheek, and allowed Terry to pick up a technical.
Later, after the Spurs had survived a slugfest to take a 97-94 victory over their Southwest Division rivals at the AT&T Center, Bowen would say the incident made him feel "kind of like a coward."
"Sometimes you want to exert your manliness against someone," Bowen said.
Before the night was over, Terry would have his comeuppance. And Bowen would have the best revenge of all.
Bowen blocked Terry's leaning 6-footer with 3.9 seconds left, helping the Spurs preserve a two-point lead in the wild waning moments of a white-knuckle victory before a playoff-ready sellout crowd of 18,797. It also allowed the Spurs to maintain their place atop the divisional standings.
The block finished a breathless final sequence in which Dallas had three chances to tie the game in the final 34 seconds, but couldn't do it.
"Tonight's game was a heavyweight fight," Dallas coach Avery Johnson said, "and we just didn't have the last punch to bring it home."
Tim Duncan had another monster night — 31 points and 15 rebounds — to lead the Spurs (39-17). They extended their season-best winning streak to seven in a row and capped a 10-1 February that has allowed them to keep pace with the Lakers, who have a one-game lead for top seed in the Western Conference.
Taking advantage of a 7-foot hole in the middle of the Mavericks' rotation, made possible when Dallas swapped center DeSagana Diop to New Jersey for Jason Kidd, Duncan cruised to a 20-point first half.
"I just got my shot to go down, and it goes from there," said Duncan, who finished with his 35th double-double of the season. "It's a great situation to be in when the jumper is going down, because I can start doing different things."
After half, Dallas (38-20) switched defenses, sending a steady array of double-teams at Duncan. That opened up looks for Spurs shooters such as Michael Finley, who scored 13 of his 16 points in the second half.
Bowen added 14 points, hitting 5 of 8 from the field. In that, Bowen made as many field goals as Dirk Nowitzki, Dallas' human pop-a-shot machine.
Nowitzki was 5 of 15 on his way to 28 points, getting 17 of them from the foul line.
After a seesawing first half, Dallas grabbed the momentum with a 16-4 run that left it ahead by 10 with 3:44 left in the third.
When the game swung back the Spurs' way, it did so on a goal-tending call. Terry punctuated the Mavs' spurt with a layup attempt that Robert Horry illegally blocked. Incensed at an elbow he says Bowen threw at him after the play, Terry came galloping at the Spurs forward.
Bowen characterized the dustup as "two guys bumping and grinding, and one guy reacting."
Terry was restrained by his teammates, and no blows were thrown, but he wound up with a technical. Finley hit the ensuing foul shot, then polished off a four-point possession with a 3-pointer.
Moments later, Johnson picked up another technical for arguing a non-call on Duncan. By the time Dallas had regained its composure, the Spurs had rattled off a 13-1 run to take a 70-68 lead with 1:20 left in the quarter.
"I'm not going to say a technical foul is what it takes for us to get going," Bowen said. "It just so happened it happened at that moment."
Duncan broke the final tie of a back-and-forth fourth quarter with a pair of foul shots with 34.5 seconds left, setting the stage for the frenetic final moments.
Nowitzki tried one failed jumper, then another, before the ball wound up in Terry's hands.
Again, Terry came charging at Bowen, this time with overtime in his eyes.
Fight or flight? This time, Bowen had another choice.