Yet asked Friday, the eve of the revival of the Interstate 35 postseason rivalry, to name one enduring memory from the last time the Spurs and Mavericks hooked up in the playoffs, Finley pursed his lips and paused a beat.

If he recalled Jason Terry taking a swing at his groin in the heat of the 2006 Western Conference semifinals, Finley wasn't letting on.

"Oh-six?" Finley said finally. "Seems so long ago."

And, of course, it was.

So much has happened since 2006, when the Mavericks exorcised their Spurs demons with a thrilling Game 7 overtime victory. Most of it has been good for the Spurs and bad for the Mavs.

Dallas has won just one playoff series since, beating Phoenix in the '06 conference finals before losing to Miami in the NBA Finals. After their second consecutive first-round ouster last season, Dallas fired coach Avery Johnson and replaced him with Rick Carlisle.

The Spurs, meanwhile, added a fourth championship ring in 2007 and made the conference finals again in 2008.

When the two rivals square off again tonight for their first Game 1 since 2006, the feel will be part family reunion and part sibling rivalry. The Spurs bounced the Mavericks from the playoffs in 2001 and 2003 before Dallas' 2006 breakthrough that wasn't.

"They ended our season every year, it seemed," Mavs star Dirk Nowitzki told reporters in Dallas. "Then, in 2006, we finally beat big brother."

That 2006 series was one for the ages, with as much fur flying off the court as on it.

There was Terry's turn as Mike Tyson, which earned him a suspension for Game 6. There was Mark Cuban's verbal assault on a pair of San Antonio institutions - the River Walk and Tim Duncan.

And, of course, there was Game 7 at the AT&T Center.

"The Manu foul," as Spurs guard Tony Parker remembers it.

The Spurs appeared to have a dramatic finale to a back-and-forth series won, until Manu Ginobili's ill-advised foul on Nowitzki led to overtime, where the Mavericks prevailed 119-111.

With most of the principal actors still around, this year's sequel, three years in the making, has the potential to be another classic.

Dallas won seven of its last nine to go from almost out of the playoffs to sixth place. Nowitzki led the charge by topping 20 points in the final 24 games, the longest current streak in the NBA.

"They really pulled it together," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. "Besides Cleveland, and maybe L.A., they're playing better than anybody."

In these playoffs, the Spurs will be attempting to accomplish something even their head coach has said is impossible - make a run at a fifth NBA title with Ginobili out for the season.

Ginobili's stress fracture likely eliminated the Spurs from serious consideration as a championship contender, but it doesn't mean they can't compete with the Mavericks in the first round. Both of the Spurs' victories against Dallas in the regular season came with Ginobili sidelined.

"The Lakers are the best in the West this year, with their record and how they've played," Duncan said. "We think we're still up there. We think we still have a chance."

The Spurs had their chances in 2006, too. They just weren't good enough for one overtime period.

Finley's lasting recollection of 2006?

"We just came out on the wrong end," Finley said. "It was a good series. This one has a chance to be the same. We'll just have to wait and see."