ersonnel change, thats just part of
ersonnel change, thats just part of
(SportsNetwork.com) - The San Antonio Spurs will try to even their series with the Dallas Mavericks Monday night when the two teams collide at American Airlines Arena for Game 4. The Mavericks took a 2-1 lead in their Western Conference first round series with a dramatic 109-108 home win Saturday. The venerable Vince Carter nailed a 3-pointer at the buzzer to give the Mavs the lead in a series they could easily be up 3-0 if not for a major drought at the conclusion of Game 1. Catching an inbound pass from Jose Calderon on the left sideline, Carter pump- faked Manu Ginobili in the corner and let the shot fly as he fell out of bounds. After it went in, Carter stomped on the court and was mobbed by teammates. Dirk Nowitzki put him in a headlock. Mavericks owner Mark Cuban rushed to give him a hug. However, Dallas is already focusing on Game 4. "I think its behind us now," Carter said following Sundays practice. "It was just a great opportunity. I mean, it was just great to come in and everybody was like, Hey, man, it still was a great shot. But once practice started we kind of put that past us and we prepped ourselves for tomorrow, because this is just as big as Game 3." Carter finished with 11 points on Saturday. Monta Ellis led the Mavericks with 29 points, followed by 18 from Nowitzki. Calderon chipped in 16 and Samuel Dalembert gave Dallas a lift with 13 points, 10 rebounds and four blocked shots. Tim Duncans 22 led the way for the Spurs. Tony Parker netted 19 and Kawhi Leonard finished with 17. Tiago Splitter registered a double-double with 14 points and 13 boards, while Ginobili managed 12. As focused as the Mavericks are for Game 4, the Spurs were as pragmatic about what happened at the end of Game 3. "Vince made a shot. Manu guarded him, he did it well and Vince made a shot," said Spurs coach Gregg Popovich. "Give him credit. There was no breakdown or anything like that. Manu was right there and he did everything he could. Vince knocked it down." Ellis, who had 12 points in the fourth quarter, hit a 3-pointer to give Dallas a lead with 6 1/2 minutes left, then a jumper the next time down the court. Later, another jumper cut San Antonios lead to one. Ellis three-point play after he was fouled on a baseline shot tied the score at 102-102 with 70 seconds remaining. Boris Diaw knocked down a baseline jumper for the Spurs but Ellis came through for the Mavericks again, tying the game with 24.9 ticks remaining on a one- handed runner. Ginobili drove around Shawn Marion at the other end and made his go-ahead bank shot over Dalembert. Then, Carter made his 3-pointer to give Dallas the win. The Spurs had won 10 in a row over the Mavs prior to the Game 2 loss. Now, theyre staring at a very difficult situation, should they lose Game 4 on Monday night. San Antonio could be the sixth No. 1 seed to lose to an eighth seed in the first round. The Spurs fell to the Memphis Grizzlies in this situation three years ago. Game 5 will be Wednesday night in San Antonio. Wholesale Nike Shox .J. -- Pitcher Carl Pavano is retiring after 14 major league seasons. Nike Shox Cheap Mens . Whenever United loses, its crisis. When other top teams slip up, its the quirky nature of the Premier League. The predictable reaction speaks to the sky-high expectations for a team proven perennial contender and 13 times Premier League champion. http://www.cheapnikeshox.net/. Dwyane Wade followed a few days later. Nike Shox For Sale . Dallas also Monday recalled defenceman Aaron Rome from his conditioning assignment with the Texas Stars of the American Hockey League and assigned goaltender Jack Campbell to the AHL squad. Cheap Nike Shox China .Y. -- That hangover from the Big East tournament is gone for Villanova.Veteran skip Kevin Martin will have a much different lineup if he decides to return for another season on the mens curling circuit. Team second Marc Kennedy and lead Ben Hebert plan to leave Martins rink after this season to join reigning national champion Kevin Koe. Its the first major move of whats expected to be an off-season loaded with significant roster changes. As for the 47-year-old Martin, who has national, world and Olympic titles on his glowing resume, he plans to take some time after the season to consider his future plans. "I cant confirm that Im looking for a new roster," Martin told The Canadian Press on Wednesday from Napa Valley, Calif. "But I can confirm that Marc and Ben are going to curl with Kev, yeah. I havent decided if Im going to curl again at all." The timing of the news is less than ideal for Koe and his current lineup of third Pat Simmons, second Carter Rycroft and lead Nolan Thiessen, who will try to put the distraction aside as they prepare to play at the world championship in Beijing this Saturday. Koe preferred to keep his focus on the upcoming competition and respectfully declined comment. Rycroft, whose wife is pregnant, has already said hell be taking a year off from the sport after this season. Simmons and Thiessen were not available for comment and their future plans remain unclear. Hebert declined comment and a message left with Kennedy was not immediately returned. Martin said it was unfortunate that the news surfaced during the season and before the world championship. "I sure wish none of this stuff (came) out," he said. "Im not exactly sure how it did but its too bad." With the Olympic season nearly complete, several roster changes are expected as teams prepare for the next four-year cycle. Team Brad Jacobs, which won gold at the Sochi Games last month, will be one of the rinks to beat next season. Whats uuncertain at this time is what ripple effect the new Koe lineup might have on teams throughout the country.dddddddddddd. The 2014-15 season isnt necessarily critical as rinks start to look ahead to the 2018 Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea, but the sooner that players can lock in the better. Martin, Kennedy and Hebert teamed with John Morris to win Tim Hortons Brier titles in 2008 and 2009, going undefeated en route to the championship each year. They also won Olympic gold at the 2010 Games in Vancouver. Morris left the team almost a year ago and later joined Jim Cotters B.C. rink. Morris was replaced by Dave Nedohin and the current Martin lineup has enjoyed a strong season. Martin wasnt surprised at the pending departure of two of his teammates since they want to position themselves for the next Olympic cycle. "Having teams change and personnel change, thats just part of sport," he said. "Thats not unusual I dont think. Its just unfortunate that any of these changes -- and there are a lot of changes that are going to happen this year -- happen before the end of the (season). That should definitely happen in May." Martin added the moves make "perfect sense" for Kennedy and Hebert. The veteran skip expects to decide on his own future plans by the end of June. There is still one major event left on the curling calendar -- the April 15-20 season-ending Grand Slam Players Championships in Summerside, P.E.I. That competition was already shaping up to be an emotional one with Alison Kreviazuks announcement this week that it will be her last competition with Team Rachel Homan. The longtime second has decided to move to Sweden to be with her boyfriend. Joanne Courtney of Val Sweetings rink will join Homan, lead Lisa Weagle and third Emma Miskew next season. Homan is the reigning national champion and won silver at the world championship last weekend. ' ' '