Dallas Downs Spurs, 100-94, to Open Playoffs

When it comes to the Dallas Mavericks and the San Antonio Spurs, throw seeding out the window. Home court advantage doesn't necessarily factor into the equation, either. Because when it comes to these two teams, who have squared off in the playoffs more times than not over the past decade, nothing is as simple as it seems -- on the surface. So many factors make this series playoff gold. History. Rivalry. Familiarity. Similarity. Regardless of the final outcome, this series is going to be a good one.

And it started off on the right foot in game one. Dirk Nowitzki was unstoppable, his shooting unbelievable, as he went 12-of-14 on field goals and a perfect 12-of-12 from the free throw line, for a team high 36 points. Rather than double teaming Dirk, the Spurs decided to try and run a series of individual defenders at him, all to no avail. Jason Kidd was, in the words of Spurs' Coach Popovich, "a gnat." He was, as expected, all over the court, making things happen at both ends of the floor. Kidd, who played 41 minutes, more than even Dirk Nowitzki, had another near triple-double, with 13 points, 11 assists, eight rebounds and four steals. Caron Butler was a big help on the offensive end, scoring 22 points, and grabbing three steals on defense. Although he played some decent defense (five rebounds and two blocked shots), Shawn Marion was nearly a nonfactor on offense, with just nine points and three assists. Even less of a factor was Jason Terry, who scored only five points.

In the third quarter, once it was painfully obvious that the Spurs were defenseless against Dirk, Popovich decided to switch things up a bit by stealing another move from Nellie's old playbook: the Hack-a-Shaq technique, where a player purposefully fouls a poor free throw shooting opponent, sending them to the stripe in hopes they will miss. Only this time around, it was Hack-a-Damp (Erick Dampier). After three straight fouls which resulted in six free throw attempts, four of which Dampier nailed, it was back to business as the Spurs again tried to squash the Mavs. Dampier finished the game with five points and 12 rebounds to go along with one steal and one block.

But the biggest factor in this particular game was the free throw shooting. Dallas was aggressive from the get go, earning them far more trips to the charity stripe than their opponent. Dallas shot an incredible 34 free throws, making 25, while the Spurs only attempted 14, hitting 12 free throws. Who knew Bennett Salvatore could actually call fouls in the Mavs' favor?

Game 1 was a tight one, a hard fought victory for the good guys. Game 2 promises to be a thriller as well, so tune in tonight on TXA 21 as the Mavs again take on the Spurs at the AAC.