reporters since his injury, including again on Wednesday. A team

(SportsNetwork.com) - The storied rivalry between the San Antonio Spurs and Dallas Mavericks will add a new chapter Sunday afternoon when the two teams meet for Game 7 of this Western Conference first round series at AT&T Center. For the second time in the Tim Duncan/Dirk Nowitzki era, these two perennial titans will clash in a Game 7. In the second round of the 2006 Western Conference playoffs, Dallas prevailed in the critical final game. Since Nowitzki turned the Mavericks into a title contender, they are 4-0 in Game 7s. Duncans Spurs have won four titles under his stewardship and his San Antonio team is 2-2 in Game 7s. This series finale will be in San Antonio, which owned the best record in the NBA this season. "You play the whole season to have a Game 7 at home," Spurs guard Tony Parker said. If the Mavs, who won Game 2 in San Antonio, prevail, it will mark the sixth time a No. 8 seed has bested a No. 1 seed. It will also be the second time the dubious distinction happened to the Spurs, who fell in round one three years ago to the Memphis Grizzlies. Game 7 is necessary because the Mavericks defended their home court in Game 6 Friday night. Monta Ellis led a fourth-quarter surge and finished with 27 points Friday as Dallas forced a winner-take-all Game 7 in San Antonio with a hard-fought 113-111 victory. Ellis scored 12 of his 29 points in crunch time, but nearly wiped it all away when he threw an ill-advised pass out of bounds with 1.3 seconds remaining to give the Spurs one final look. Patty Mills off-balanced shot at the buzzer was well short and came after the clock struck zero. "My teammates just told me to be aggressive," Ellis said. "My team just believed in me, and I just had to go out there and respond." Nowitzki chimed in with 22 points and Dallas deep supporting cast came up with big plays down the stretch, notably former Spur DeJuan Blair. Parker netted 13 of his 22 points in the fourth quarter to lead the Spurs, who led 81-76 entering the fourth and appeared in control before the Mavs rattled off nine straight points midway through the frame. Ellis hit a go-ahead 3-pointer during the run and Blair, who was suspended for Game 5 after kicking Tiago Splitter in the head the previous game, capped it with a three-point play for a 97-92 Mavericks lead with 4:25 to play. After some sensational play from Parker, the margin was one. Dallas Vince Carter made it a three-point game with two free throws, and Blair picked off a Parker pass intended for Duncan under the basket, forcing the Spurs to foul the rest of the way. Dallas made 5-of-8 free throws and hung on despite Ellis head-scratching turnover in the closing seconds. The winner will meet the Portland Trail Blazers on Tuesday. If its San Antonio, Game 1 of the conferences second round will be in Alamo City, but if Dallas prevails in Game 7, the series opener of the second round will be in Portland. Cheap Flyers Jerseys Authentic .com) - Carmelo Anthony tallied 31 points to help the New York Knicks continue their improved play of late with a 100-92 victory over a short-handed Oklahoma City Thunder squad. Cheap Flyers Jerseys .C. United to a 4-1 victory over short-handed FC Dallas on Saturday night. http://www.cheapflyersjerseys.com/ .A. remained bitter for Henrik Lundqvist and the Rangers on the long flight back home to New York. Wholesale Flyers Jerseys ." Those traits were clear to the 24,071 at Olympic Stadium on Saturday as the Impact dominated the scoring chances but settled for a 2-2 draw with the New York Red Bulls in a battle of still-winless Major League Soccer teams. Cheap Flyers Jerseys China . First reported by FOX Sports Ken Rosenthal, its unknown if the impetus for the deferral proposal came from players or management, but it never left the preliminary stages.ASHBURN, Va. - Many ifs and maybes and buts surround Robert Griffin IIIs status for the Washington Redskins game Monday night against the Dallas Cowboys. There is so much uncertainty, he has been declared a wild card by coach Jay Gruden even though Colt McCoy is the announced starter.Gruden said Wednesday that McCoy remains the starter as of right now. He also said Griffin has yet to be cleared for full contact, and that hed like to see Griffin go through a couple of days of rigorous practice once the OK comes from the doctors.Gruden went on to say that, for the benefit of the team and the coaches game-planning, hed like to make a definitive decision by the end of Thursdays practice as to whether McCoy or Griffin will start. He added that Griffin will likely start or be inactive — and not in uniform as a backup.Thats a lot to digest, and the timeline outlined by the coach doesnt seem to work in Griffins favour. Or, as Gruden put: Theres a lot of variances as to whether or not we think hell be ready for Monday night.Griffin, recovering from a dislocated left ankle injury from Week 2, worked in individual and one-on-one drills during the portion of practice open to reporters Wednesday, usually leading off ahead of McCoy and Kirk Cousins. Griffin appeared fired up by his performance, clapping hard one time after a long completion to Jordan Reed down the left sideline. Another long pass to Logan Paulsen was worth four claps.Once practice was closed, all three quarterbacks worked with the starters, according to Gruden, who could afford to experiment a little because of the extra day of practice ahead of a Monday night game.He did a little bit of everythinng.ddddddddddddFirst team, second team, third team, he did it all. So did Kirk. So did Colt, Gruden said. We were alternating. It was just a bonus day for us. ... Well find out from the trainers how he feels right now, and then tomorrow morning will be the big thing, and another days work tomorrow. Well see how he progresses.Griffins thoughts on his progress remain unknown. The Redskins have repeatedly declined to make him available to reporters since his injury, including again on Wednesday. A team spokesman said Griffin will make a statement on Friday unless he is named the starter before then.Some of Grudens statements are likewise as clear as mud. McCoy is the starter. Or maybe Griffin is.Ive already made the decision. Ive said its going to be Colt, Gruden said. Ive said Robert will be the wild card, possibly, if hes ready to go, and that still hasnt been decided yet.Furthermore, said Gruden, Griffins return date might not be until Nov. 16, following the teams week off.If we have to wait for another week, or another two weeks, or after the bye week, then so be it, the coach said.The incidental — but important — player in the Griffin yes-or-no saga is McCoy, who is eager to make his first since 2011. McCoy entered the game at halftime after Cousins was benched on Sunday and led the Redskins (2-5) to a 19-17 win over the Tennessee Titans, breaking the teams four-game losing streak.My focus is Im just going to prepare as the starter, McCoy said. Theres nothing else that I can do. The decision is not up to me.___AP NFL websites: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP_NFL___Follow Joseph White on Twitter: http://twitter.com/JGWhiteAP ' ' '