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SAN ANTONIO -- The Spurs rode the wide shoulders of Tim Duncan to victory. The Mavericks were not going to let San Antonio beat them with 3-pointers, and they did not want Tony Parker using the lane as his personal playground. So the veteran Duncan overcame a brief injury scare to score 27 points. The Spurs held Dallas to one field goal in the final seven minutes to rally for a 90-85 win Sunday in Game 1 of their first-round playoff series. The Mavericks also went scoreless for 5 1/2 minutes during that stretch, their lone field goal coming with less than a second remaining. San Antonio won despite going 3 for 17 on 3-pointers and getting only 23 points from its normally potent bench. "We got killed on 3s in the first four outings this year," Mavericks star Dirk Nowitzki said. "It was no secret; we stayed home a little more on 3-point shooters, but youve got to give them something, and Duncan in there is obviously still solid." Duncan scored nine points on 4-for-5 shooting from the paint in the final quarter to help the Spurs overcome a 10-point deficit. "Timmy, hes not going to score 24 a game or anything like that," San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich said. "Hes the base from which everything else occurs, whether hes scoring or not. It just gives us a comfort level and a point from which to operate. He plays (defence), rebounds, scores here and there. He just does his job." Parker had 21 points, and Manu Ginobili added 17. Kawhi Leonard had 11 points and 10 rebounds and Tiago Splitter pulled down 11 rebounds for top-seeded San Antonio, which has won 10 straight against Dallas. Devin Harris scored 19 points for the Mavericks, who nearly pulled off a huge upset. The Spurs had insisted that what happens in the regular season doesnt matter, and they were proven right for much of the game -- much to the home fans dismay. Absent were the crisp passing, aggressive defence, bench scoring and 3-point shooting that made for the leagues best record. "Its always tough to change gears from the regular season to the playoffs when youre preparing for a team and theyre preparing for you specifically," Duncan said. San Antonio returned to its winning formula over the final seven minutes, taking an 86-81 lead with a 15-0 run. Splitter tied the game with five minutes remaining, rolling to the basket off a screen for an easy layup off a pass from Parker. The All-Star point guard then drove the lane for a layup and drained a 13-foot jumper, which he punctuated with a loud scream after Dallas called timeout with 2:45 to go. "I was able to push the ball and get some easy baskets," Parker said. "It got our confidence going, so once again defensively, the stops that we made helped us offensively." Dallas had taken an 81-71 lead when Brandan Wright completed a three-point play with 7:45 remaining. The Mavericks proceeded to miss their next 12 shots and committed three turnovers. "Defensively, we started making stops," Ginobili said. "We were at a point where they were getting to the rim. They were making shots and nothing seemed to work for brief periods. There was a point where we were down 10 where we made a couple of steals. We ran, we got fouled, we got a couple of easy buckets, and that changed our mentality." Nowitzki, who finished with 11 points, was 2 for 6 from the field in the final quarter. The veteran forward was closely defended by Splitter. "Theyre not necessarily unbelievably athletic and long, but they are very smart," Nowitzki said. "What they want to do defensively is take you out of your comfort zone." Duncan, wearing a heavy brace on his left knee, walked off the court gingerly with 3:24 remaining in the third quarter after banging knees with Monta Ellis. He did not get up as he customarily does during a timeout to greet his teammates. Duncan later left the court, followed closely by trainer Will Sevening and team doctor David Schmidt, returning a minute later limping slightly less, and he played big down the stretch. "I knew as soon as I felt it," Duncan said. "My leg just kind of went numb, so I knew it was hopefully just a charley horse. I knew I needed just a couple of minutes just for the feeling to come back and I would be fine." NOTES: Referee Joey Crawford screamed twice at a pair of scoring officials during a timeout, telling them at one point to do their jobs. Crawford, who once ejected Duncan for laughing from the bench during a game against the Mavericks, was booed regularly by the fans. Robert Williams Jersey . There will be no Down Under four-peat for Djokovic, as the eighth-seeded Swiss slugger Wawrinka outlasted the second seed 2-6, 6-4, 6-2, 3-6, 9-7 at Melbourne Parks Rod Laver Arena in yet another five-set thriller in their burgeoning rivalry. Marcus Smart Jersey .com) - Devan Dubnyk stopped all 30 shots fired his way and made several big saves down the stretch for his third shutout of the season as the Minnesota Wild beat the Calgary Flames 1-0 on Tuesday. http://www.shopceltics.com/Cheap-Kevin-M...Celtics-Jersey/. Head coach Corey Chamblin announced on Monday that Avon Cobourne had been hired as the defending Grey Cup champions new running backs coach. Marcus Morris Jersey . FLIP SAUNDERS (Timberwolves): Im not the least bit surprised that he appointed himself as head coach after his search concluded. Shaquille ONeal Jersey . According the CSNBayArea.com, the 31-year-old suffered an ACL injury in his right knee on Friday when he collided with Anaheims Emerson Etem during a pre-season game.HAMILTON, Ont. -- Jeremiah Masoli threw three second-half touchdown passes as the Hamilton Tiger-Cats beat the Montreal Alouettes 28-23 in the CFL exhibition opener for both teams Saturday. Masoli, entering his second CFL season, put Hamilton ahead 28-23 with a 16-yard TD pass to Sam Giguere at 9:21 of the fourth quarter at McMaster Universitys Ron Joyce Stadium. Montreal led 23-21 on Delbert Alvarados 26-yard field goal at 2:27. Masoli gave Hamilton a 21-20 advantage with two third-quarter TD strikes. He hit C.J. Gable on a six-yard pass at 6:32, then capped a 105-yard, six-play march with a 20-yard toss to Luke Tasker at 12:31. Alvarados 43-yard field goal had put Montreal ahead 20-7. Zach Collaros, Hamiltons top off-season acquisition, played the opening quarter and finished 5-of-8 passing for 52 yards and had a 13-yard run. Tyrell Sutton and Kyle Graves had the Montreal touchdowns. Sean Whyte added the converts and a field goal while Alvarado booted two. Dan LeFevour scored Hamiltons other touchdown. Brett Lauther had two converts while Justin Medlock added one. Alex Brinks nine-yard TD strike to Graves at 13:38 of the second staked Montreal to a 17-7 half-time lead. Graves, the former Acadia quarterback trying to make the Alouettes as a receiverr, scored after Whyte connected from 43 yards at 10:20 to break a 7-7 tie.dddddddddddd Sutton opened the scoring with a one-yard TD run at 9:33 of the first, set up by a pass interference call in the end zone on Hamiltons Brandon Stewart. Montreal took over at the Ticats 25-yard line after Medlock was tackled recovering an errant third-down snap resulting in a 40-yard loss on the play. LeFevour tied it with a one-yard TD run on third down on the final play of the first. It was set up by a pass interference call on Montreals Michael Carter in the end zone after Hamiltons Eric Norwood forced and recovered a fumble on a punt return. NOTES -- Former NFL star receiver Chad Johnson didnt dress for Montreal due to an ankle injury. Quarterback Troy Smith and linebackers Chip Cox -- CFLs top defensive player last year -- and Kyries Hebert also didnt suit up for the Alouettes . . . Hamilton finishes its exhibition schedule visiting the Toronto Argonauts on Thursday night at Varsity Stadium. Montreal hosts the expansion Ottawa Redblacks on Friday night . . . CFL teams must reduce their training camp rosters to 65 players by 11:59 ET on Sunday . . . Hamilton is scheduled to play its first game at the new Tim Hortons Field on July 26 hosting Ottawa. ' ' '