"Shawn Marion said he had Manu Ginobili "on clamps," and maybe he did. Marion also said he can't be effective if he's "pulled in and out like a rag doll," and maybe he can't.

But the Spurs have gone through this before with him. They beat Marion's Suns three consecutive times in the postseason partly because they found ways to turn his unique ability against him.

This time was different, though.

This time, his team did the job for the Spurs.

There was no sign of that at practice on Saturday. Marion said his "rag doll" comments the day before came in the heat of the moment, and he said it was time to support his coach, Rick Carlisle.

Carlisle responded accordingly. He ended the session by personally working with Marion on some post moves, something he almost never does.

Asked why, Marion smiled. "He's reaching out to me a little bit," he said.

Carlisle needed to reach out to several Mavericks. His odd substitution pattern in the second half insulted some of them (Marion and Caron Butler) and exhausted the rest."