NBA PLAYOFFS Kerr's 3-pointers carry Spurs past Dallas and into title series

San Antonio plays host to New Jersey in Game 1 Wednesday night.
DALLAS (AP) -- Steve Kerr was a forgotten man for most of the postseason.
"I'm 37. I'm slow. I'm not a very good defender," Kerr said, explaining why San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich had kept him at the end of the bench.
Kerr went into Game 6 of the Western Conference finals having played just 13 minutes with zero field goals.
But in the third quarter Thursday night, Popovich had nothing to lose. His team was playing poorly, his starting point guard was ill and the backup wasn't effective. So he turned to the guy with four NBA championship rings and told him to fire away.
Rekindling images of his days alongside Michael Jordan in Chicago, Kerr hit four 3-pointers, three during a fourth-quarter rally that took the Spurs from 13 points behind all the way to the NBA Finals.
San Antonio beat the Dallas Mavericks 90-78 to win the series 4 games to 2. The Spurs play the New Jersey Nets in the championship round, starting at home Wednesday night.
Coach's warning
"I mentioned to Steve that he needed to be ready tonight, and he was real ready," Popovich said. "It's a fitting finish to what I thought would be the end of his career, but he told me we're going to have to think about an extension or he won't be available for the finals. And he said that with a straight face."
Dallas led by as many as 15 and was ahead 71-58 when Nick Van Exel made a jumper with 10 minutes, 53 seconds remaining. Even with Dirk Nowitzki missing a third straight game because of a sprained left knee, the Mavericks appeared headed to a seventh game in San Antonio.
"I didn't think the game was over," Mavs guard Raja Bell said, "but you can't help thinking about Game 7."
The Spurs came back with stingy defense and the outside shooting they lacked in previous games. Their six straight 3-pointers to open the fourth quarter were the ultimate zone-busters.
Manu Ginobili had the first, then Stephen Jackson hit two. Kerr's trio came in a span of four possessions, with the first tying it at 71 and the last making it 79-71. Ginobili added two free throws before Van Exel ended Dallas' drought with 2:51 remaining.
Over 8:02, the Mavericks missed seven shots and committed six turnovers. It was a stunning meltdown for a team that has thrived on making other teams collapse, such as in Game 5, when they came from 19 points down.
"We were playing so well for so long and the bottom just dropped out," coach Don Nelson said. "We couldn't get a shot to go in. We went cold at the wrong time."
Scoring leader
Jackson scored 24 points, making five of San Antonio's 10 3-pointers, on a night when Tim Duncan was constantly double- and triple-teamed.
Duncan had 18 points and 11 rebounds, Rose had 12 and Ginobili added 11 to help San Antonio overcome scoreless outings from two starters -- Tony Parker and Bruce Bowen.
Van Exel had 19 points to lead the Mavericks, who were without Nowitzki for the third straight game because of a knee injury that probably would've prevented him from playing in a Game 7.