Even at home, Spurs have a barrier in path

San Antonio isn't taking its Game 7 opponent lightly.
DALLAS (AP) -- The boos turned into cheers for Michael Finley as soon as he set foot back in San Antonio.
When the Spurs' team plane arrived at home early Saturday, about 1,000 fans were there to congratulate them for rallying back from a 3-1 deficit to force a Game 7 in their second-round series against the Dallas Mavericks.
If that many people were so hyped up that they went to the airport at 2 a.m. instead of partying or sleeping, then imagine what the atmosphere will be like in San Antonio tonight for the conference-finals-or-bust game that Mavs owner Mark Cuban is hyping as "the Rumble by the Riverwalk."
Benefit
"This is the benefit of having one of the best records in the league," forward Bruce Bowen said Sunday. "But [winning] is not given to us because we're at home. We have to fight for this."
San Antonio earned the advantage by winning 63 games in the regular season, the most in club history and three more than Dallas.
Last June, the Spurs benefited from being at home for their last Game 7, beating the Detroit Pistons in the NBA Finals to claim their second title in three years and third in seven.
Over the last four postseasons, home teams have won 17 of 21 Game 7s. That includes Detroit beating Cleveland on Sunday, and Dallas' victories over Houston last year and both Portland and Sacramento in 2003.
The only other Game 7 in Mavs history was back in 1988, when they lost -- on the road -- to the Los Angeles Lakers in the conference finals.
Huge opportunity
That remains the closest the franchise has ever gotten to making the finals, although getting past San Antonio would be a huge step for this team's chances. The Mavericks would have home-court advantage in the Western Conference finals, regardless of whether Phoenix or the Los Angeles Clippers win the other series.
But Dallas already has blown two chances two advance. A third would make the Mavericks only the ninth team in league history to squander a 3-1 series lead.
"We've won big games on the road all season and we've won in their building already in the playoffs," leading scorer Dirk Nowitzki said.
The Mavericks failed to wrap things up Friday night because their offense wasn't the same without guard Jason Terry, who was suspended for punching Finley in the shorts in Game 5. Dallas fans berated Finley throughout Game 6 -- and Terry can expect the same venom-filled treatment tonight.
Response
"Don't care about their reaction," Terry said after rejoining teammates for practice Sunday. "But I know we want to keep it real quiet in that arena."
While enthusiasm helps fuel a budding rivalry, tight games mean more. And this series has been filled with them; five points or less separated the teams in all but one game.
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