Buckle Up: Spurs vs. Mavs Game 2 Is Coming

Holy smokes. Anyone watching Sunday's breathtaking Game 1 simply can't wait for the next battle in the Spurs/Mavericks showdown: everyone, that is, except for fans of either team, who all had heart attacks and keeled over from the intensity.

To recap: Tim Duncan dropped 31 points, Bruce Bowen played great defense on Dirk, and the Spurs pulled off an (extremely) narrow 87-85 victory when Jerry Stackhouse airballed on the final possession. The Mavs led for a solid 80% of the game, so one guesses that their offensive miscues in the final minutes must still be bugging them. The series was everything fans though it would be, as the NBA's flawed seeding system has placed the two best Western Conference teams on the same side of the bracket. Thus, Spurs/Mavs is for all the marbles, while Suns/Clips looks to be a battle to see who can lose to SA or Dallas in 5 in the Western Conference Finals. Unfortunate, but true.

Tonight's game has some interesting drama: while San Antonio should be better rested than they were Sunday (due to an ABC scheduling gaffe, the Spurs had to play twice and fly cross-country in 36 hours), All-Star Tony Parker may see limited minutes due to injuries suffered in the past two playoff games. If this is true, Dallas should be able to exploit an advantage at the point while playing against creaky vet Nick Van Exel or unproven youngster Beno Udrih (who is from beautiful Slovenia!) Dallas head coach Avery Johnson is also getting downright Phil Jackson on us in his strategic whining about Bruce Bowen's defense, and Dirk Nowitzki just seems to be bummed out. A Mavs win will tip the series in their favor; a loss will just about kill them. Tonight's game should tell us what the Mavs are capable of in the clutch. Tune in.

Tonight's game begins at 8:30pm local time and can be seen on TNT. Photo via Matt Wright.