SAN ANTONIO -- Faced with the possibility of having a second straight season end with a Game 7 loss, the San Antonio Spurs played with emotion and let Tony Parker have some fun. Get Deion Sanders Falcons Lights Out Jersey . Parker scored 32 points and the San Antonio led by as many as 31 on its way to a 119-96 victory over the Dallas Mavericks, closing out a stressful first-round series Sunday in seven games. The finale featured Tim Duncan diving into Dallas bench to save a ball and the Spurs reserves continually on their feet to celebrate baskets. But no one had as much fun or hit the floor more than Parker. The All-Star point guard was 11 for 19 from the field and 10 for 13 on free throws as Dallas was unable to keep him from attacking the lane, despite a series of hard fouls. "I just knew that I had to be aggressive if we wanted to have a chance to win the game because of the strategy that the Mavericks chose," Parker said. "They just dared me to score." Manu Ginobili scored 20 points, Danny Green added 16 points and Tim Duncan and Kawhi Leonard had 15 points apiece for San Antonio. Dirk Nowitzki had 22 points and nine rebounds to lead Dallas. Last season ended for the Spurs with a Game 7 loss in the NBA Finals against the Miami Heat. Facing a much earlier end, San Antonio rode a raucous home crowd and overwhelmed Dallas. San Antonio advances to face the fifth-seeded Portland Trail Blazers, who upset the Houston Rockets in a six-game series. The series opens Tuesday in San Antonio. The Spurs got off to a quick start as they had done at home all series, but the Mavericks were unable to respond as they did in winning Game 2 on the road. Leonards 16-foot jumper gave San Antonio an 18-7 lead 6 minutes into the game and the lead swelled to 29 with 2 minutes remaining in the first half. "We gave ourselves a chance but today we got hit by a tidal wave early," Dallas coach Rick Carlisle said. "They had their best game today and we just werent able to do quite enough to stay in it early. "Its hard when you get hit with an onslaught early the way the guys did." Nowitzki struggled through much of the series, but the Mavericks pushed the Spurs to the brink of elimination behind strong post-season performances from Monta Ellis, Vince Carter, Devin Harris and DeJuan Blair. "On the court what confounded us was that theyve got shooters all the way around," San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich said. "Dirk Nowitzki gets a crowd, if you double him you, you leave a lot of other open shooters. So we played him pretty much one-on-one, so we could stay at home a little bit better. That and the ability to shoot it; spread the floor, run the sets that Rick does and the speed of Harris and Ellis was tough for us to handle." Dallas also played a physical series. There were two technical fouls and two flagrant fouls in Game 7 and two more flagrants reversed upon review. Parker was assessed a technical with 31.6 second left in the first quarter after making a layup on and jawing with former teammate Blair as the two ran down the court. The two had been talking to each other all series and Parker was clearly frustrated at times with the hard fouls committed by Blair on his drives earlier in the series. But Parker said it was all in good fun. "I was just laughing with DeJuan," Parker said of the technical. "Thats why it was so funny to get a technical for that, because I was not even cursing at him. DeJuan played four years (for the Spurs). He lived for a year at my house. I love DeJuan." Blair was later assessed a flagrant foul for elbowing Ginobili in the face on a drive. After the foul, Blair stared down Popovich, who was screaming at officials over the severity of the foul. The flagrant foul energized the Spurs, who went on a 14-2 run to take a 51-27 lead with 8 minutes remaining in the first half. "Everybody was active and kind of focused," Duncan said. "We had very little mistakes." San Antonio never led by less than 14 points in the second half. NOTES: The Spurs were 7-0 in games decided by three points or less during the regular season but were 0-2 against Dallas in such games in their first-round series. . Sundays game between Dallas and San Antonio was the 50th post-season game this season. It was also the fifth Game 7 of the first round. "I think its great for basketball and for the fans," Popovich said. "It drives all the coaches crazy. (But) for the game and everybody, its been a wonderful thing. " ... Blair was booed heavily each time he entered the game or committed a foul. Custom Falcons Jersey . And, for a few hectic seconds, Peter Budaj had to do it without his stick. The Canadiens goaltender lost his stick in a crowd while the Capitals were pressing in the offensive zone. He started to reach down and pick it up, but everything was happening too fast. Finally, he used his pads to stop a close-range shot from Martin Erat and smothered the puck with about three minutes remaining, and Montreal held on for a 3-2 win Friday night. Jake Matthews Grey Jersey . 1 for the New York Jets. For the moment. FRISCO, Texas -- Toronto FC ended a difficult early-season stretch with the kind of game they didnt want. The Reds were dominated in possession and conceded an astounding 16 corner kicks to Western Conference leader FC Dallas, but still managed to hang in until a devastating goal in the final minutes handed them a frustrating 2-1 loss Saturday night at Toyota Stadium. Blas Perezs score off a free kick in the 88th minute kept TFC (3-3) from leaving North Texas with an encouraging draw and instead left the players looking for answers. The loss was the third in four games for Toronto, a stretch that included three road games. The Reds now get a week off before returning to action May 3 against New England at home. "We have to be honest with ourselves tonight and just say we werent good enough," said midfielder Michael Bradley, who returned after missing a game with a strained quadriceps. "You have to have a mentality that says youre not afraid to make mistakes. Youre not afraid to play. Youre not afraid to really get after it. And we fell short in those areas tonight." That much is clear from the numbers. FC Dallas controlled 61 percent of possession-- 63 percent in the second half-- and those 16 corners were a club record. Toronto was also outshot 16-11 and allowed 23 open-play crosses. "We were a little timid at times," midfielder Kyle Bekker said. "We gave the ball away too cheaply. We just have to have the confidence to play. Too many times I think were afraid to play out. We just need to grow and get a little more confidence, but I think that will come as we keep playying together. Jake Matthews Falcons Jersey. " Still, the Reds were on the verge of picking up a point. They grabbed an early lead when rookie Issey Nakajima-Farran followed his own shot after Dallas Chris Seitz made a diving save and blasted in the rebound in the 21st minute. They were able to get some quality scoring chances off counter-attacks, among them a controversial non-call in the 75th minute after Dallas defender Kellyn Acosta took down Toronto forward Gilberto in the box. "Oh its just a blatant penalty," TFC coach Ryan Nelsen said. "I mean hes got the inside line on him. The guys out of position, and he just pushed him in the back. Its just absolutely ridiculous. You dont push a guy like that in the back." For the most part the night belonged to FC Dallas (5-1-1), which pushed the ball forward again and again for shots, but mostly for corners. A team that lives on set pieces, having scored nine of its MLS-high 15 goals from them entering the game, Dallas finally took advantage of its many chances. The tying goal came in the 37th, when free-kick specialist Michel curled a corner in front of the net and Matt Hedges rose to head it in. The winner was also off a set piece, a long free kick from Michel that was headed by Stephen Keel and Hedges and fell to the foot of Perez, who slipped it past TFC goalkeeper Julio Cesar for the killing blow. "Its frustrating because we have to find ways to get results on our bad days, and we didnt do that today," defender Justin Morrow said. "If we want to make the playoffs, these are the games we have to get points from." ' ' '
