Schedule and 2003 Results
Regular Season Records: San Antonio 60-22, Dallas 60-22
Game 1 on Monday, 19 May: Dallas wins at San Antonio, 113-pts-110
Game 2 on Wednesday, 21 May: Dallas loses at San Antonio, 119-pts-106
Game 3 on Friday, 23 May: San Antonio wins at Dallas, 96-pts-83
Game 4 on Sunday, 25 May: San Antonio wins at Dallas, 102-pts-95
Game 5 on Tuesday, 27 May: Dallas wins at San Antonio, 103-pts-91
Game 6 on Thursday, 29 May: San Antonio wins at Dallas, 90-pts-78

SERIES NOTES:

After Game 6: The San Antonio Spurs visited and defeated the Dallas Mavericks 90-pts-78 to win best-of-7 series 901, ousting the Mavericks 4-games-2 from the 2003 NBA playoffs. Dallas led San Antonio 69-pts-56 after three quarters: In best-of-7 NBA playoff games from 1947 through 2002, when the home team led by 13 points after three quarters, its game record was 42-0, and when either the home or the road team led by 13 points after three quarters, the leading team's game record was 64-1: Given their 13-point deficit on the road after three quarters, the San Antonio Spurs' Game 6 victory was most improbable. The Dallas Mavericks now have a best-of-7 NBA playoff series record of 3-6; that for the San Antonio Spurs is now 11-12. The win order for MLB/NBA/NHL best-of-7 playoff series 901 was LWWWLW: Series 901 is the second NBA Semifinals series, the eighth NBA series (all rounds), the eleventh MLB/NBA/NHL Semifinals series, and the 35th MLB/NBA/NHL series (all rounds) to follow the LWWWLW win order. The first best-of-7 playoff series to follow this win order was the 1911 World Series, in which the Philadelphia Athletics defeated the New York Giants.

After Game 5: The Dallas Mavericks visited and defeated the San Antonio Spurs 103-pts-91 to narrow the Spurs' lead in MLB/NBA/NHL best-of-7 playoff series 901 to 3-games-2. When leading a best-of-7 NBA playoff series 3-games-2, the San Antonio Spurs have a series record of 4-1 and a Game 6 record of 3-2; when trailing 3-games-2, the Dallas Mavericks have a series record of 0-2 and a Game 6 record of 1-1. In best-of-7 NBA playoff series from 1947 through the 2003 NBA Quarterfinals, when a team posts a win order of LWWWL through five games (as San Antonio has), its series record is 12-2 with a current 10-series winning streak (all rounds). The Dallas Mavericks trailed Game 5 by seven points after one quarter, 11 points after two quarters, and seven points after three quarters before outscoring the Spurs by 19 in the fourth quarter to win on the road: In best-of-7 NBA playoff series from 1947 through 2002, when the road team trailed by 7 points after one quarter, its game record was 15-54 (.217); when the road team trailed by 11 after 2Q, its record was 4-53 (.070); when the road team trailed by 7 after 3Q, 8-50 (.138).

After Game 4: The San Antonio Spurs visited and defeated the Dallas Mavericks 102-pts-95 to take a 3-games-1 lead in best-of-7 series 901. When leading a best-of-7 NBA playoff series 3-games-1, the San Antonio Spurs have a 6-1 series record and a 4-3 Game 5 record; when trailing 3-games-1, the Dallas Mavericks have a 0-3 series record and a 0-3 Game 5 record. In best-of-7 NBA playoff series from 1947 through the 2003 NBA Quarterfinals, when a team leads 3-games-1 at a site order of HHVV (home-home-visiting-visiting), its series record is 92-1 -- the sole defeat was suffered by the Phoenix Suns to the Houston Rockets in MLB/NBA/NHL best-of-7 playoff series 691 during the 1995 NBA Quarterfinals. Thus (in an all-Texas story) the 1995 Houston Rockets set a favorable precedent for the 2003 Dallas Mavericks in their series vs. the 2003 San Antonio Spurs.

After Game 3: With MLB/NBA/NHL best-of-7 playoff series 901 in Dallas for Games 3-4, the San Antonio Spurs defeated the Dallas Mavericks 96-pts-83 to take a 2-games-1 lead in series 901. When leading a best-of-7 NBA playoff series 2-games-1, the San Antonio Spurs have a series record of 6-1 and a Game 4 record of 5-2; when trailing 2-games-1, the Dallas Mavericks have a series record of 1-4 and a Game 4 record of 3-2. The host Dallas Mavericks led by eight points at halftime: In NBA best-of-7 playoff series from 1947 through 2002, when the road team trailed by eight points at halftime (as San Antonio did in Game 3), its game record was 14-46 (.233).

After Game 2: Tying MLB/NBA/NHL best-of-7 playoff series 901 at 1-game-all, the San Antonio Spurs hosted and defeated the Dallas Mavericks 119-pts-106. When tied 1-game-all in an NBA best-of-7 playoff series, the San Antonio Spurs have a 2-6 series record and a 3-5 Game 3 record, while the Dallas Mavericks have a 2-1 series record and a 1-2 Game 3 record. In best-of-7 NBA Semifinals-round playoff series from 1947 through 2002, teams beginning the series with a win order of LW at a site order of HH (as San Antonio has) have a series record of 7-7 overall, but only a 1-5 series record in the past six such series.

After Game 1: The Dallas Mavericks visited and defeated the San Antonio Spurs 113-pts-110 to take a 1-game-nil lead in MLB/NBA/NHL best-of-7 series 901. Dallas trailed by 13 points after the first quarter: In best-of-7 NBA playoff games from 1947 through 2002, when the road team trailed by 13 points after 1Q, its game record was 8-24 (.250). Dallas also trailed by nine points after the second quarter: In best-of-7 NBA playoff games from 1947 through 2002, when the road team trailed by 9 after 2Q, its game record was 7-40 (.149). In best-of-7 NBA playoff series from 1947 through 2002, when a team won Game 1 by three points (such as Dallas has), its series record was 15-6 (.714). When leading a best-of-7 NBA playoff series 1-game-nil, the Dallas Mavericks have a series record of 1-0; when trailing a best-of-7 NBA playoff series 1-game-nil, the San Antonio Spurs have a series record of 1-10, with the sole victory occurring in the Preliminary round of the 2003 NBA playoffs vs. Phoenix.

Pre-series assessment: In the 2002-03 regular season, Dallas and San Antonio finished with identical records, but San Antonio has home-court advantage. From 1947 through the 2003 NBA Quarterfinals, when an NBA team was tied with its playoff opponent (in terms of regular-season record) but had home-court advantage, it has gone on to post a 7-4 (.636) best-of-7 series record in that series against that opponent. Series 901 is the second best-of-7 meeting between Dallas and San Antonio; the first was MLB/NBA/NHL best-of-7 series 840 (in the 2001 NBA Quarterfinals), won by San Antonio.