NBA Finals Live Blog: Day 1, Game 1

Ready like Ray Allen for Game 1. Photo credit: Rodney Fisher

The first installment of my game-by-game blog covering the 2014 NBA Finals. Find out new information that may sway the entire series, not just game 1...And a quick reminder about the central Texas weather.

by +Rodney Fisher

TheLateShift: Game Recap - Spurs Take Game 1 Over Mavs 90 - 85

Spurs Take Game 1 over Mavs 90-85. Photo credit NBA

Join me for a special edition of TheLateShift live from the AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas for Game 1 of the NBA Playoffs.

The San Antonio Spurs beat the Dallas Mavericks 90-85 to keep home-court advantage.

Interviews with Gregg Popovich, Rick Carlisle, Danny Green, and Tim Duncan...

2013 NBA Finals: Gary Neal After Game 1 Win Over Miami Heat

We caught up with Gary Neal of the San Antonio Spurs after beating the Miami Heat in Game 1 of the 2013 NBA Finals. He talks about how confident his team is ans what they did to prepare for a win.

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2013 NBA Finals: Boris Diaw After Game 1 Win

We caught up Boris Diaw after the San Antonio Spurs took a 1-0 series lead over the Miami Heat. Diaw has played a huge role off the bench for the Spurs the last two seasons and is confident his team is ready to go.

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Video: LeBron's OT buzzer-beating game-winner vs Pacers - Game 1

Another classic game from this years NBA Playoffs...

Doc Rivers, Celtics not a fan of the refs in Game 1 loss

ESPN NBA Doc Rivers upset with technicals

Carlisle wants all the blame for Game 1 loss

Up by 7 with less than 2 minutes left on the road in game 1 of a playoff series against the most athletic team in the NBA sounds like a steal for the oldest team in the league, but no. On a last second shot by Kevin Durant, NBA scoring champion for a third straight year, the Thunder get the win. The shot was well contested by Shawn Marion, but got a lucky bounce. Dirk Nowitzki turned the ball over in the last minute to give the Thunder a break-away slam to give them a 1 point lead before Dirk hit two clutch free throws. In short, a lot of different story lines to the game and it's outcome, but head coach Rick Carlisle wants all the blame.

During the post game press conference, Carlisle did not shy away from the criticism and even put more on himself. "We should have double teamed [Durant] and got the ball out his hands...blame me", he stated. He is probably right, but hard to argue the defense Shawn Marion played on Durant making the shot as difficult as it was. More of the blame should go the coach for not having a timeout left after he made the shot. There was 1.5 seconds on the clock which in basketball is enough time get a good shot off after advancing the ball. Knowing that he did not have a timeout left, maybe there should have been a set play to run to get the ball in hands of a better shooter than Shawn Marion. The Thunder assumed that Dallas would take a timeout and did not react to the inbound pass until mid-court.

After taking the blame, Carlisle reminded us of the one thing that his Maverick team has over every team in the playoffs this year; age. The Mavericks are the most veteran team in the league, even more than San Antonio and Boston. He says his guys will battle back and "keep coming...guns blazing every game". They have been threw these type of situations before in 12 start years in the playoffs.

LIVE from #LoudCity for Mavs vs Thunder Game 1 - Pregame Report

It is playoff time...
The feel in the Mavs locker room was anxiety as the players awaited the start of the real season. Delonte West after suffering a stomach illness will play. Dirk chose to skip the locker room media invasion to shoot hoops in front of the Thunder crowd with Brad Davis. James Harden did the same thing getting ready for his first game back from a concussion.
The stage is set. The players are ready. The season for the Mavs starts now...