SAN ANTONIO — With 2:11 left in the third quarter and the Dallas Mavericks losing control of the game and probably the series, the referees stopped play to get rid of some trash on the court.
Curiously, they let the Mavericks stay, but it wasn’t long before the San Antonio Spurs got rid of them too.
A third quarter that was pure garbage doomed the Mavericks to a crushing 92-89 loss as former Spurs spare part George Hill turned in a superstar performance with 29 points on 11-of-14 shooting.
“George Hill was something else,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said.
The Mavericks now are down 3-1 in the series.
Only eight times in NBA history have teams rallied from a 3-1 deficit. Dallas coach Rick Carlisle coached one of those teams when he was with the Detroit Pistons, who came back to beat the Orlando Magic.
For the second time in a row in San Antonio, the Mavericks blew a game that was well within reach. They owned a 15-point lead in the second quarter and were still up by double figures four minutes into the third quarter.
But the Spurs scored 15 points in a row to go up 62-57. The Mavericks scored just 11 points in the quarter, with just two in the final seven minutes.
“It’s not pretty,” Mavericks star Dirk Nowitzki said of Dallas’ situation. “We thought we could get one down here. We just gave it away. Our mind-set now is to win the game. We lost three in a row and we have to stop the bleeding at home.
“It’s tough. I’m not going to lie to you. But I’m going to keep fighting until it’s over.”
