Turns out they didn't have the edge at point guard. They didn't have the deeper bench. They didn't have enough Monday night even after Chris Webber turned an ankle in the third quarter, same as Peja Stojakovic two games before.

The Mavericks?

They just didn't have it.

Even in the areas so many marked down as theirs, after Webber and a healthy chunk of the nation's hoop scribes proclaimed them series favorites, the Mavericks finished second in a two-team track meet. And so they filed quietly out of Arco Arena, sent home from a Game 5 for the second time in 12 months, left only with the solace that no one took 17 shots and bricked 16 this time.

This time, Michael Finley signed off with 26 points, trying to take the ball to the rim to the end, straining to drag the season at least to Don Nelson's 62nd birthday Wednesday. Finley aside, last time was considerably easier, when the Mavericks had to know the Spurs would spank them. They proceed to summer vacation beaten again, but also kicking themselves.