NBA WEST Nelson coaches in unconventional ways

The Dallas Mavericks' coach learned long ago how to win games.
SAN ANTONIO (AP) -- To understand why Don Nelson would employ the strange strategy of intentionally fouling Bruce Bowen, one must understand the genesis of how Nelson became the quintessential unconventional coach.
The strategy against Bowen helped Dallas kill San Antonio's momentum in Game 1 as the Mavericks took a 1-0 lead in the Western Conference finals. Game 2 is tonight.
Not many coaches would use the Hack-a-Bruce strategy, but there aren't many coaches like Nelson, now in his 26th season.
Nelson's NBA career began as a player during a time when the common belief was that teams needed a dominant big man to win championships.
So it was in the 1960s when Bill Russell was with the Celtics, and the trend continued in the early '70s as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's Milwaukee Bucks, Wilt Chamberlain's Los Angeles Lakers and Willis Reed's New York Knicks won the decade's first four titles.
First job
But when Nelson took his first head coaching job with Milwaukee, he had no big man. The Bucks' three best players were two guards and a small forward, Brian Winters, Bob Dandridge and Junior Bridgeman.
"He was trying to do things the conventional way and it just wasn't clicking for him," assistant coach and son Donnie Nelson said. "He was losing games as a result, and finally he just made the decision: 'I'm probably going to lose my job if I do things conventionally,' and he started doing things the way he thought was right based upon his personnel and philosophies. Since that time, he's never looked back."
The Bowen strategy was not as crucial as the Mavs' 49-for-50 free-throw shooting, but it was important nonetheless.
After the Spurs dominated the first 18 minutes, leading by as many as 18 points, Dallas got the deficit to 10. Steve Nash then committed an ordinary foul against Bowen, who went to the line and missed both shots.
The light bulb went off in Nellie's noggin: Time for Hack-a-Bruce.
Not the first time
"He did it to me in once in Dallas, and he did it again. It's more or less of a mind game type of thing, I guess," said Bowen, who is shooting 51 percent from 3-point range and 42 percent from the foul line during the playoffs.
Dallas intentionally fouled Bowen away from the ball on four of the next six possessions. The game slowed to a crawl. The once-rabid crowd quieted down.
Bowen made five of eight free throws during that span, and Dallas only reduced its deficit by one. But something else had happened. The game had turned weird and the Spurs were a bit stunned. Dallas eventually found a way to win.
"It took the crowd out, that kind of thing, stopped momentum," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich grudgingly conceded.