Nba Playoffs, Manu Ginobili | featured news

The San Antonio Spurs had just taken Game 1, and Manu Ginobili didn't want to hear another word about winning 15 in a row or not losing in more than a month. "I don't even want to know about that," Ginobili said.

Coach Gregg Popovich says injuries to Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili robbed the 61-win San Antonio Spurs of their rhythm heading into the playoffs.

The Spurs moved on, and Dallas is done early again. Manu Ginobili scored 26 points and San Antonio survived blowing a 22-point lead to beat the Mavericks 97-87 in Game 6 on Thursday night, handing Dirk Nowitzki and second-seeded Dallas another first-round exit.

Tim Duncan had a miserable 34th birthday and Manu Ginobili looked as bad at times as his bandaged-up nose. But George Hill scored 29 points and San Antonio beat the Mavs 92-89 on Sunday night to take a 3-1 lead in their first-round series.