Mavs Pulls Out First Game with Free Throws

The Dallas Mavericks made 49 free throws in a row, which brought the first game victory for the Mav.

The Mavs turned around and pulled out a victory in Game 1 of the Western Conference finals in San Antonio, Monday, May 19, 2003 with a remarkable succession of free throws. The NBA record is 57.

The Dallas Mavericks missed their first free throw but made the other 49 free throws they had to the final scored. The 49 throws occupy 43% of all the points the Mavs made, demonstrating how important free throws are during the playoff.

Dirk Nowitzki led Dallas with 38 points, going 17-for-17 from the line, and Michael Finley was 10-for-10 at the stripe while scoring 26. Nick Van Axel was 7-for-7 at the line for 14 points, and Steve Nash was 6-for-6 and scored 22.

The San Antonio Spurs made out only 17 of their 48 free throw chances, or recording a 64.6% success rate. The referees called a total of 72 fouls - 36 on each team, producing numerous free throw chances for both teams.

The Dallas caught up with more than 10-point deficit, and turned the game over. It was Finley who ended it by driving around his defender and scoring on a floater over Duncan for a 111-110 lead with 14 seconds left. Then, Nowitzki added two more points for the Mavs, widening the gap by three.

Tim Duncan did his part, scoring 40 and making 15 rebounds. But he missed two air balls and two free throws near the end.

The second game will take place on Thursday at the same place.

Jong-Seok Kim kjs0123@donga.com