Dallas Mavericks: Game 21 Reaction

The Mavs won, but at what cost?

The basketball sabermetrics that had the Mavs up by 18 late in the third quarter also saw them down by as much as nine by the middle of the fourth, and eventually winning by only one in OT as a last-ditch three-point attempt from Danny Green failed.

Danny Green and an assortment of San Antonio scrubs had the Dallas starters puzzled and on their heels for most of the fourth quarter. Without a rash of late game heroics from Vince Carter and Jason Terry, including JET's game-tying shot with exactly 0.5 seconds remaining in regulation to force OT, the scrubs would have won.

When Dallas was busy building up their 18-point lead early in the third, it appeared that Spurs' coach Popovich decided it was time to rest his starters, cede the game, and live to fight another day. Ride the bench players and try to at least make things respectable appeared to be the game plan. They got more than that.

While Duncan, Parker, and Jefferson didn't see another minute of play after the Mavs went up by 18, Dallas kept Carter, Terry, Dirk, and Marion on the court, desperately trying to catch up once they fell behind. Conversely, the Spurs' reserves went on to score their last 51 points.

Yes, the win over San Antonio feels good, especially in such dramatic fashion. And especially since the last meeting between these two was a drubbing at the hands of the Spurs on their home court, 93-71. This was a rivalry game and felt every bit of that.

While this was Dirk's first game back from a four-game rest that saw him working out two-a-days to strengthen his ailing knee and overall game, he was not stellar. Even though his 10 points did make a difference in the final total, his 13 boards were a bigger contribution. The contribution of 21 from Carter and 34 from Terry were clearly bigger. Even the 14 from Roddy B. They stepped up. And that provides me comfort and helps relax the knee-jerk reaction that this thing is in trouble for 2011-12. While the Big Man is regrouping his game, other starters are able to step in, make up the difference and then some. And, currently, the Dallas bench provides the most points in the league.

But I come back to "at what cost?" All this extra effort to come back and win a regular season game they already had in the bag. This doesn't change the fact that the Mavs have to immediately board a plane and get to Phoenix for a game in their gym tomorrow night; fly back to Dallas for a showdown with OKC on Wednesday and Indy on Friday; and close-up the week at Cleveland on Saturday night. Perhaps we won't see as much Carter and Terry against Phoenix on Monday night, and perhaps they won't need it. But the Spurs will have their starters ready at Memphis tomorrow. And while their back-ups nearly walked away with a win at Dallas, they definitely took away an earned sense of confidence.