d. "Weve had some battles this year weve had to deal with, but its kept us together

DALLAS -- Monta Ellis is headed to his first Game 7, and DeJuan Blair gets a chance to play his old team in San Antonio one more time after all. Jusuf Nurkic Blazers Jersey . Dallas star Dirk Nowitzki will return to the site of one of the best moments of his stellar career. Ellis scored 12 of his 29 points to lead a fourth-quarter comeback that also got an energetic boost from Blair in his return after getting suspended, and the Mavericks forced a deciding game in their first-round series with top-seeded San Antonio, beating the Spurs 113-111 on Friday night. "Put all of our chips on the table and see what happens," said Ellis, whose 3-pointer put eighth-seeded Dallas ahead for a good at 94-92 with 5 minutes to go. Tony Parker matched Nowitzki with 22 points to lead the heavily favoured Spurs, who are stuck in a tossup series after they won all four games against the Mavericks during the regular season and had a 10-game winning streak against them after taking the opener. The only other time these teams played a Game 7, Nowitzki had an improbable three-point play to force overtime in San Antonio in 2006. The Mavericks went on to win the second-round series and reached the NBA Finals for the first time in franchise history. "Well, its the ultimate thrill," said Nowitzki, who is 4-0 in Game 7s in his career. "Nothing matters anymore. Just this one game." And Blair will be there. He missed Game 5 in South Texas after the league suspended him for kicking Tiago Splitter in the head when he was called for a foul when the pair got tangled up and fell to the court in Game 4. He never said he was mad that the league suspended him, but he showed it, knocking Parker the court with a hard screen that led to a three-point play at the end of the first half for Devin Harris. Then, he had four rebounds and two steals in the fourth quarter -- and finished with 10 points and 14 boards for his second double-double of the series. "His energy was great," said his old coach, San Antonios Gregg Popovich. "He was a man possessed on both ends of the floor. Thought he was really super." Blair had plenty of time to think about Game 6 after watching the previous game alone in his hotel room in San Antonio. "Winning on their court would be the best revenge," said Blair, who spent his first four seasons with the Spurs and was with them for a heartbreaking loss to Miami in the NBA Finals last year. "We just have to bring it next game." The Mavericks handed the Spurs their first road defeat when leading after three quarters this season on the same floor where Vince Carter had given them a 2-1 series lead and sent the crowd into hysterics with an improbable winning 3-pointer. Fans were standing the entire fourth quarter this time, when the Mavericks trailed by five points to start the final 12 minutes before a 14-2 run for an eight-point lead. Parker got the Spurs close again and had a duel of driving layups with Ellis in the final 2 minutes. Parker, who had 13 of his points in the fourth and added six assists, spun through the lane before shovelling one up over Nowitzki with his left hand to get the Spurs within 106-105. The Mavericks pushed the lead back to six before the Spurs made it interesting again with 3-pointers from Danny Green and Patty Mills. It wasnt over until a shot by Mills on an inbound play with 0.4 seconds left was ruled to have been late. It was short anyway. "I thought we just made too many mistakes tonight," said Tim Duncan, who had 16 points and nine rebounds. "Giving up 37 points in the last quarter is just too much for us. Defensively, weve got to be a little more solid than that." Both teams had six players in double figures, with Splitter making 11 of 12 free throws for a playoff career-high 19 points. Danny Green had 17, matching his total for the first five games of the series combined, and Tim Duncan had 16 points and nine rebounds. Carter finished with 13, and Jose Calderon had 12 points and six assists. NOTES: The Spurs were 25-0 on the road when leading after three quarters before this game. Theyre now 55-2 overall for the season. ... The Mavericks had seven turnovers in the second quarter, and the sloppy stretch helped the Spurs cut an 11-point deficit to two at 41-39. Dallas had seven more turnovers in the third, when a six-point lead turned into a five-point deficit. ... Mavericks C Brandan Wright did not play for the first time in the series after playing a series-high 26 minutes in Game 5 when Dallas pick-and-roll defence was shredded. Hassan Whiteside Jersey . With their coach gone, they finally played offence the way he would have wanted. Amare Stoudemire made all seven shots in the first half, Anthony passed and shot well, and the Knicks shook off the surprising departure of their coach to rout the Portland Trail Blazers 121-79 on Wednesday night, snapping a six-game losing streak. Skal Labissiere Blazers Jersey . - The Raiders have released guard Mike Brisiel after two disappointing seasons in Oakland. https://www.blazerslockerroom.com/Clyde-Drexler-City-Edition-Jersey/ .com) - Former foes from the Mountain West Conference battle in the 23rd annual Las Vegas Bowl, as the 23rd-ranked Utah Utes clash with the Colorado State Rams at Sam Boyd Stadium on Saturday.LOS ANGELES -- Doc Rivers couldnt begin the Los Angeles Clippers only day of preparation for Game 7 in the film room or on the practice court. The coach was downtown at the Clippers team offices Friday, meeting with an angry roomful of ticket-sellers and marketers still outraged by owner Donald Sterlings racist comments. "Ill say this much: Our players thought about not working. So did our employees, and they still felt that way," Rivers said. "They needed somebody to ask them to continue to work and support us. Were still trying to put this thing together." For both the Clippers and the Golden State Warriors, basketball has been secondary for much of this extraordinary series. But after the most tumultuous week in Clippers history, the first round is finally down to its grand finale. The Clippers will host a seventh game for the first time in franchise history on Saturday night, hoping to draw energy from their Staples Center crowd for a cathartic victory. The winner gets a second-round date with Oklahoma City or Memphis. "Weve got to protect home court," Clippers centre DeAndre Jordan said Friday. "Our season is tomorrow." The Warriors have been just one obstacle faced by the Clippers, who endured sleepless nights and immense scrutiny while their owner was exposed and subsequently banned for life from the NBA between playoff games. Los Angeles has lost two of three games since the Sterling saga began, playing lifelessly in Game 4 before struggling along with the Warriors in Game 6 on Thursday night. When the Clippers went back to work Friday, Sterling-related memorabilia had been removed from the trophy case in the hallway at their palatial $60 million training complex built by Sterling six years ago. Even the "Sterling Drive" sign outside the Playa Vista facility had been taken down. The Clippers missed their chance to wrap the series in Oakland, but the Pacific Division champions played all year for the chance to finish a series on their home court. "Its going to be tough, and youre going to face adversity, and we clearly have faced adversity in this round," said Blake& Griffin, who managed just 17 points on 8-for-24 shooting in Game 6. Caleb Swanigan Jersey. "I think its just important that we all stayed the course and had positive thoughts about it. It is a Game 7, but its still a playoff game. It doesnt change a whole lot." Neither team plans to spend much time working on tactics or adjustments after six games of seeing everything their opponent has to offer. Both teams arent saying much about various nagging injuries, from Chris Pauls strained left hamstring for the Clippers to Jermaine ONeals sprained right knee for Golden State. Instead, two relatively inexperienced playoff teams are eager to show off everything theyve learned about perseverance and toughness over the past two weeks, culminating in a rare winner-take-all finish to their series. "Im not sure that both teams love each other, but Im pretty positive that both teams have tremendous respect for each other," Warriors coach Mark Jackson said. The Clippers core played a Game 7 two years ago, beating Memphis on the road for just their second playoff series victory since Sterling bought the team in 1981. Jordan and Griffin said there was little to draw from that victory, with Jordan barely remembering it. The Warriors havent played a Game 7 since 1977, no surprise for a franchise with just three playoff berths in the last 20 years. When asked if an injury could keep him out of Game 7, Paul scoffed. "Ill be there," Paul said. "Seven-thirty, that balls throwed up, Ill be there. Cant wait." Even with the Clippers on the front page during this series, Golden State has plenty of its own internal drama. Jackson could be coaching his final game for the Warriors after the club ownerships reluctance to publicly back his return despite the most successful two-year stretch in two decades. "I think weve had more controversy than them throughout this whole season that gets overlooked, kind of thrown under the rug a little bit," Golden States Andre Iguodala said. "Weve had some battles this year weve had to deal with, but its kept us together and made us stronger." ' ' '