SAN ANTONIO - After another Tony Parker bucket, this one just beating the third-quarter buzzer, the San Antonio point guard went to the bench and was greeted by an arm around his neck and a knuckle rub to his scalp by Tim Duncan.
It was a lot friendlier than what the Spurs did to the Mavericks' head, which was nothing less than a battering that hurt worse than a hangover after a long night on the Riverwalk. Game 2 was a thorough knockout as the Mavericks fell behind by 21 points in the first half and never gave themselves a chance in the second, finally getting drop-kicked, 105-84, at AT&T Center.
They looked perfectly content to take their split in the first two games and go home, where the next two games will be contested at American Airlines Center.
They were mangled by Parker, who finished with 38 points. He got enough help from Tim Duncan's double-double to reverse the momentum back to the Spurs' side after the Mavericks' gritty Game 1 win.
The Mavericks could not stop Parker, whose 19-point first quarter set the tone for the night.
For the second game in a row, Dirk Nowitzki was shut down. He also suffered an injury on his left thumb or hand that was taped up during a timeout late in the third quarter.
He continued to play, but when he and Antoine Wright had 3-pointers rattle in and out midway through the fourth quarter, the Mavericks were done. If those shots had fallen, the lead would have been down to 12. Instead, the Spurs cruised without a sweat down the stretch.
The Spurs promised adjustments, but not the radical kind that coach Gregg Popovich has been known for in the past.
When he lost series openers in years past, he often altered the starting lineup in the next game.
"I was smarter then," he said before the game.
He also had a healthy Manu Ginobili to insert, if he so desired. That's not the case in this series.
"There's always adjustments," Popovich said. "But you have to know why you won a game or lost. That's how you make decisions and adjustments. You don't just change because you lost or not change because you won."
What certainly changed was the Spurs' aggressiveness, especially in the rebounding department.
In Game 1, the Mavericks won the rebounding battle and had 21 second-chance points to eight for the Spurs.
In the first quarter, the Mavericks had zero offensive rebounds and only four on the defensive end.
They had a grand total of two second-chance points in the first half, in which they trailed by as much as 21 before creeping back to 57-46 at halftime.
The Spurs raced ahead behind their two-man shot. Parker and Duncan had the Spurs' first 20 points. Parker was embarrassing the Mavericks' defense, which seemed inclined to take the night off.
Parker scored or assisted on 11 of the first 12 San Antonio baskets.
The Mavericks made a brief push early in the third quarter behind J.J. Barea, who nailed a 3-pointer and fed Erick Dampier for a dunk as the Mavericks crept to 61-52.
In a flash, the Spurs got the next eight points in a span of 1:47 to blow open a 69-52 advantage.
The Mavericks were moving the ball, but the Spurs' defense always seemed to be a step quicker in reacting to every Maverick move.
