NBA PLAYOFFS Free throws dominate Mavericks' Game 1 win

After missing its first attempt, Dallas made 49 straight to beat the Spurs.
SAN ANTONIO (AP) -- They do stuff big in Texas.
Want a nice string of consecutive foul shots? The Texas-sized total is 49.
Game 1 of the Western Conference finals was dominated by the San Antonio Spurs, but only for a limited amount of time. When crunch time came Monday night, the Dallas Mavericks outplayed the Spurs, kept making their foul shots and defeated them with a stunning comeback, 113-110.
"You can talk about what you want to: Who plays, who doesn't play, offense on defense. It's all baloney," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said.
Or to put it in Texas terms, that dog don't hunt.
What mattered most was this: The Mavericks missed their first free throw and made their final 49.
Three-hour game
That stat, more than Don Nelson's Hack-a-Bruce defensive gimmick or the preponderance of fouls, made winners out of the underdog Mavericks in a game that lasted more than three hours.
"When you look at someone who shoots 49-of-50 and you shoot 31-of-47, you miss 16 of those babies and you're giving the game away," Popovich said.
The Mavericks gladly accepted that gift, giving them the early edge in the series that will determine the Western Conference representative for the NBA Finals.
Dallas closed with a 24-9 run after falling behind by as many as 18 and trailing for nearly the entire game.
Dirk Nowitzki scored 38 points, going 17-for-17 at the line, and Michael Finley was 10-for-10 at the stripe while scoring 26. Nick Van Exel was 7-for-7 at the line for 14 points, and Steve Nash was 6-for-6 and scored 22.
"The big thing for us is we got to the line 50 times," Nowitzki said. "Usually we average 10 or 11 per game and get outshot by about 20."
NBA playoff history includes 10 games in which a team made all of its free throws, with the best a 28-for-28 performance by Phoenix in 1989.
That makes what Dallas did even more impressive, given that they were 0-for-1 from the line after Eduardo Najera missed the first one with 2:25 remaining in the first quarter -- the same quarter in which Tim Duncan looked all but unstoppable.
The Mavs made a few comebacks, only to have the Spurs respond each time.
One for annals
But after Dallas fell behind 101-87 with 81/2 minutes remaining, the Mavericks made a comeback that was one for the postseason annals.
Finley ended it by driving around his defender and scoring on a floater over Duncan for a 111-110 lead with 14 seconds to go.
Duncan shot an airball from in close while being double-teamed, and Nowitzki made two free throws with four seconds remaining.
The Mavericks wouldn't allow the Spurs to attempt a tying 3-pointer, choosing instead to foul Duncan immediately after he caught the inbounds pass.
Duncan missed both free throws -- a fitting ending on a night when he missed 7-of-19.
Duncan tied his career playoff high with 40 points and had 15 rebounds, while Tony Parker had 18 points.