LOS ANGELES, 25 May 2003 — Reigning two-time league most valuable player Tim Duncan is expected to dominate a game, but Tony Parker was great on Friday night. Tim Duncan had a monster game with 34 points, along with 24 rebounds, and six blocks, rallying the visiting San Antonio Spurs past the Dallas Mavericks 96-83, to grab a 2-1 lead in the Western Conference finals.
The Mavericks couldn’t find an answer for Parker either after the second-year guard tied his playoff career-best 29 points, including 19 in the third quarter.
With the victory, the Spurs regained home-court advantage in the best-of-seven-game series, which resumes Sunday with Game 4 in Dallas. Nick van Exel scored 16 points while Dirk Nowitzki added 15 and nine rebounds for Dallas, which will try to regroup without the German wunderkind.
Nowitzki had to be carried off the floor after suffering a twisted left knee midway through the fourth quarter when Spurs’ Manu Ginobili banged into him. “It happened really quick,” Nowitzki said.
X-rays were negative but he will undergo an MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) test Saturday morning. Though Nowitzki’s status is uncertain, Mavs’ coach Don Nelson expects to be without his best player for the remaining series.
In front of 20,695 wildly supportive fans at the American Airlines Arena, the Mavs grabbed a 46-38 half time edge behind van Exel who scored 13 points in a 24-12 closing run. But with Parker exploding for 19 points on eight-of-11 shooting, the Spurs grabbed a 69-66 lead.
“After closing out the quarter with two free throws, Parker added four more points, while Duncan had eight in a 12-0 run, to start the fourth frame that opened up a 81-66 cushion. After losing control of the game, the Mavericks then lost Nowitzki less than a minute later. “I hope he’s not out because these games are best when everybody has their horses,” Popovich said.
Rockets Coach Tomjanovich Resigns
Houston Rockets coach Rudy Tomjanovich, who took a leave of absence earlier this season to receive cancer treatment, resigned on Friday, saying he needed to get away from stress.
Tomjanovich, 54, fought back tears as he told a press conference that his 12-year run as Houston’s coach was over.
“It’s not an easy decision to make, very emotional, but I do think it’s best for me,” he said. “I just think that at this stage, with the health situation, the best thing is to back off and try to be a regular guy for a while.”
Tomjanovich left the Rockets late in the regular season when it was discovered he had bladder cancer. Although media reports said the treatment had gone well, the man known affectionately as “Rudy T” said it was time for a break.
