The result: Parker had a 38-point field day anyway, and the Spurs evened their first-round series at a game apiece with a 105-84 victory.

As the festivities move to Dallas for Game 3, Mavericks center Erick Dampier believes he has the solution to his team's growing Parker problem.

"Every time he drives the lane, we have to put him on his back," Dampier told the Dallas Morning News. "The first foul has to tell him he's in for a long night. My first foul Thursday night is going to put him on his back. I guarantee it."

As far as playoff guarantors go, Dampier isn't exactly Joe Namath.

By announcing his intentions, Dampier may have painted a scarlet target on his back. An NBA official said Tuesday that Dampier's comments were "under review," and that the league will be watching to see if he makes good on his called shot. The review could result in a fine for Dampier.

The Mavericks wouldn't be the first team to employ such a black-and-blue strategy against the Spurs' blur of a point guard. Unofficially, Parker leads the league in floor burns.

It wouldn't even be the first hard foul Parker has absorbed in the series. In Game 2, Jason Terry took him down with a shot that referees ruled a Flagrant 1.

"I'm used to it," said Parker, the Spurs' leading scorer. "It's no different for me. I'm still going to try to penetrate and be aggressive. I'll definitely be on the ground, but I'm going to get up."

By hook or by crook - or by hip-check or well-placed elbow - finding a way to control Parker will be the Mavs' priority as they aim to reassume command of the series.

Parker took over Game 2, using every weapon in his arsenal to make 16 of 22 field goals. He finished just three shy of his career playoff high of 41 points, set in the first round last year against Phoenix.

Parker scored 19 points in the first quarter, 27 in the first half, and probably could have made it to 50 had the Spurs needed him to.

"He did a good job of staying aggressive and keeping it that way," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. "He didn't drift. He didn't lose focus."

In that, Parker was just picking up where he left off.

Parker averaged a career-high 22 points during the regular season, the most for a Spurs player since Tim Duncan scored 22.3 in 2003-04. In franchise history, only George Gervin enjoyed a more prolific season at guard.

Asked to shoulder a bigger load with Duncan and Manu Ginobili battling injuries throughout the regular season, Parker led the Spurs in scoring 40 times, including in 23 of the final 27 games.

From Feb. 24 to March 20, Parker was the Spurs' scoring leader in 14 consecutive contests, the longest streak since Duncan accomplished it in 19 straight in 2002.

"He's been consistently great," Duncan said.

Save for a fourth-quarter lockdown at the hands of J.J. Barea in Game 1 that in retrospect seems like a fluke, Parker's postseason is shaping up to be as dazzling as his regular season. Even in the Spurs' loss, he scored 24 points.

With Game 3 looming, the Mavericks go back to the drawing board, with Parker in their crosshairs. There aren't many options left that won't draw the ire of the league.

"He's a difficult guy to deal with," Carlisle said. "It's a five-man responsibility. We're going to have to keep throwing a bunch of different guys at him, but he's tough."

If Dampier backs up his words with deed, Parker will get a chance to show just how tough.