Game 1 of the Western Conference finals was dominated by the San Antonio Spurs, but only for a limited amount of time. When crunch time came on Monday night, the Dallas Mavericks outplayed the Spurs, kept making their foul shots and defeated them with a stunning comeback, 113-110.

　　"You can talk about what you want to: Who plays, who doesn't play, offense on defense. It's all baloney," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said.

　　What mattered most was this: The Mavericks missed their first free throw and made their final 49.

　　That stat, more than Don Nelson's Hack-a-Bruce defensive gimmick or the preponderance of fouls, made winners out of the underdog Mavericks in a game that lasted more than three hours.

　　"When you look at someone who shoots 49-of-50 and you shoot 31-of-47, you miss 16 of those babies and you're giving the game away," Popovich said.

　　The Mavericks gladly accepted that gift, giving them the early edge in the best-of-seven series that will determine the Western Conference representative for the finals.

　　Dallas closed with a 24-9 run after falling behind by as many as 18 and trailing for nearly the entire game.

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

　　NBA playoff history includes 10 games in which a team made all of its free throws, with the best of the bunch a 28-for-28 performance by Phoenix in 1989.

　　That makes what Dallas did even more impressive, given that they were 0-for-1 from the line after Eduardo Najera missed the first one with 2:25 left in the first quarter - the same quarter in which Tim Duncan looked all but unstoppable.

　　The Mavs made a few comebacks, only to have the Spurs respond each time. But after Dallas fell behind 101-87 with 8 1/2 minutes left, the Mavericks made a comeback that was one for the postseason annals.

　　Finley ended it by driving around his defender and scoring on a floater over Duncan for a 111-110 lead with 14 seconds left. Duncan shot an airball from in close while being double-teamed, and Nowitzki made two free throws with 4 seconds left for a three-point lead.

　　The Mavericks wouldn't allow the Spurs to attempt a tying 3-pointer, choosing instead to foul Duncan immediately after he caught the inbounds pass.

　　Duncan missed both free throws - a fitting ending on a night when he missed seven of 19 foul shots and the Spurs missed 17 of 48. "It came down to free-throw shooting and being aggressive," Duncan said. "They're a high-octane team, and the whistle was blowing left and right."

　　The referees called a total of 72 fouls - 36 on each team.

　　Duncan tied his career playoff high with 40 points and had 15 rebounds, while Tony Parker had 18 points.

　　Bruce Bowen, the object of Nelson's Hack-a-Bruce strategy, added 13 points for the Spurs, who were outscored 30-19 in the fourth quarter.

　　Duncan scored six of San Antonio's first eight points of the fourth quarter, and Kevin Willis had a follow shot to give San Antonio a 101-87 lead, with 8:05 remaining.

　　But it wasn't over.

　　A 7-0 run made it a seven-point game, and Duncan picked up his fifth foul while battling Nowitzki for a rebound with 5:47 left.

　　Nowitzki made those foul shots, Van Exel made three after being fouled on a 3-pointer, and suddenly it was 101-99. San Antonio held a small lead for the next five minutes, but it was only 110-109 when the clock ticked inside the final minute.

　　A missed drive by Parker gave Dallas a chance to go ahead, but Van Exel missed on a drive and Raef LaFrentz missed a tip. With Nowitzki covering Duncan on the inside, the Spurs kept the ball on the perimeter and Parker missed a 20-footer with Finley's hand in his face. Finley put the Mavs ahead for good on the next possession.

　　Nelson went to a strategy ofshavingsone of his reserves intentionally foul Bowen, a 38 percent foul shooter during the postseason. The Mavericks did it five times within seven possessions, with Bowen making only half of his 10 attempts.