Mavs jump out big, force Spurs to throw in towel

DALLAS — Erick Dampier never messed with Tony Parker. He didn't have to.

Instead of delivering his guaranteed hard foul, Dampier and the Dallas Mavericks slapped around the San Antonio Spurs with tight defense, the return of Dirk Nowitzki's shooting touch and the energy of their home crowd, turning it into an 88-67 victory Thursday night and a 2-1 lead in their first-round series.

Dampier drew the scrutiny of the league office for saying he would pop Parker on his first drive of this game. Dampier ended up going the whole game without colliding with Parker — although he did swat away a shot during a frenzied first-half defensive performance by the Mavericks.

"This is how we have to play as far as tempo goes," Mavs guard Jason Terry said. "Defensively, we were there with great energy."

San Antonio finished with its fewest points in a playoff game, while it was the fewest Dallas ever allowed in the postseason.

Dallas allowed only 30 points over the first two quarters. When the Mavs hit a series of jumpers to start the third quarter, swelling a 16-point halftime lead to 26, Popovich decided this was a lost cause. He pulled Parker, Tim Duncan and the rest of his starters with 7:42 left in the third quarter to save them for Game 4 on Saturday.

Nowitzki had 20 points and seven rebounds, hitting the bench for good once Dallas' lead reached 30. Josh Howard had 17 points and eight rebounds.

J.J. Barea had 13 points and seven assists in his first career playoff start and Jason Kidd had six assists and eight rebounds. Kidd's only points came on a 3-pointer that was immediately followed by Popovich's give-up move.

CELTICS 107, BULLS 86: At Chicago, Paul Pierce scored 24 points, Rajon Rondo added 20 and the defending champion Boston Celtics to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round playoff series.

The teams split two dramatic games in Boston, but this one never really was in doubt. The Celtics led by 11 after one quarter and 22 at the half on their way to an easy win.

Rondo looked just fine after spraining his right ankle in Game 2 and missing practice Tuesday, turning in another dominant postseason performance. Besides hitting eight of 15 shots, he had 11 rebounds and six assists. He's now averaging 22.7 points, 9.7 assists and 10.7 rebounds in the series.

The Bulls committed 22 turnovers, shot 37.5 percent from the field and were 17-of-27 at the line after going 46-of-51 in the first two games. Ben Gordon scored 15 on 5-of-13 shooting, while John Salmons added 14.