For the sixth time since 2001, the San Antonio Spurs and Dallas Mavericks will square off in the playoffs, starting Sunday afternoon at the AT&T Center. Watch the game live on TSN2 starting at 1pm et/10am pt. For the 17th consecutive season, the Spurs will be in the postseason. For the seventh time since 1997, the Spurs finished with the best record in the Western Conference. The Big Three of Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili returned intact and key contributors did exactly what Spurs role players do - they played sensationally. Kawhi Leonard, Danny Green, Tiago Splitter, Patty Mills, Boris Diaw and, especially newcomer Marco Belinelli, played brilliantly for stretches this season. Popovich is a master of resting his players as the season progresses and San Antonio heads to the postseason in good health. "We had an unbelievable regular season, we put ourselves in a great situation to be No. 1 overall," said Ginobili. "Were going for it, like every year." If there was ever a season the Spurs couldve folded, this wouldve been the one. Their longevity is stunning, but this season couldve very easily been a championship defense until Ray Allen stuck a dagger in the Spurs hearts. Miamis Allen made a crazy 3-pointer to tie Game 6 of the NBA Finals, a game the Heat went on to win. Miami took Game 7 to win back-to-back titles, but the inevitability of a San Antonio win in Game 6 was so clear, tape was being put up around the floor in Miami to prepare for San Antonios celebration. "What does impress me about the group is that theyve gotten themselves in this position after a devastating loss in the Finals last year," Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich said earlier in the week. "I thought they were pretty amazing after Game 6 to play as hard as they did in Game 7, when I think a lot of teams would have just given in. Beyond that, they came back, put it aside and have done what theyve done. I think thats pretty impressive. I dont think a lot of people have picked up on that but I have and Im really impressed with them." The Mavericks are back in the playoffs after a one-year absence, meaning Dallas has been in the postseason 13 of the last 14 years. They earned the eighth seed after a gritty overtime loss on Wednesday to the Grizzlies in Memphis. "Yeah, well be OK," Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle said immediately after the loss in Memphis. "I feel good about our team. I really do. And (Wednesday night) is a great indication of the fight we have in us. Were going to take that fight to San Antonio." The Spurs have won nine straight against their Texas rivals, including a four- game sweep this season, but that doesnt mean Dallas doesnt know what it takes to beat San Antonio. "What youve got to do against San Antonio is youve got to be a little smarter than we were in the last couple of outings," said Mavericks forward Dirk Nowitzki. "We feel like one little, two little mistakes and boom, its a three. A brutal missed boxout, pass out and three. Against that team youve got to be smart, youve got to execute perfectly and weve got to shoot the ball well." Nowitzki made yet another All-Star team with averages of 21.7 ppg and 6.2 rpg. He shot 90 percent from the foul line, almost 50 percent from the field and just about 40 percent from long range. Monta Ellis and Jose Calderon joined the Mavs in the offseason and formed a very strong backcourt. They combined to average 30.4 ppg and 10.4 apg. After the All-Texas match-up, the Miami Heat begin their title defense in earnest on Sunday afternoon when they welcome the Charlotte Bobcats to American Airlines Arena. Watch the game live on TSN2 starting at 3:30pm et/12:30pm pt. Miami has won the last two NBA titles and lost in the Finals three years ago to the Dallas Mavericks. The Heat have made the playoffs 10 times in the last 11 years and earned the second seed in the Eastern Conference. Miami has won four straight Southeast titles and is trying to become the first three-time champion since the Los Angeles Lakers from 1999-00 to 2001-02. "I dont need extra motivation. Im motivated enough," said LeBron James. "This is the best part of the season, its the best time of the year. Im happy to be here once again." The Heat had a real chance at the No. 1 seed, but head coach Erik Spoelstra elected to sit James and Chris Bosh the last two games. Dwyane Wade missed significant time toward the end, but he played late to get some timing back. "Weve got to carry the load," said James, who said all Heat players participated in practice for the first time since training camp. "Its great. I guess guys are ready for the playoffs." The decision to concede the No. 1 seed could hurt later in the postseason, if the Heat advance. Last season, Miami won Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals against the Indiana Pacers and Game 7 of the NBA Finals against the San Antonio Spurs in South Beach. The Heat come into the postseason in a bit of a rut. They lost the last three games of the regular season, although, they did rest some key pieces. However, Miami did drop six of its last eight and James and Bosh were in the lineup for most of those setbacks. Charlotte is in the playoffs for only the second time in franchise history and was swept in four games by the Orlando Magic back in 2009-10. The Bobcats surprised the NBA world with just the second record of .500 or better in team lore at 43-39, one season after going 21-61 and compiling only 28 wins in the previous two years. What was the difference this season? That would be the offseason addition of Al Jefferson. Jefferson, the reigning Eastern Conference Player of the Month for April, averaged 21.8 points and 10.8 rebounds for the Bobcats, who were 20-9 after the All-Star break and ended with 14 wins in the last 19 games of the regular season. Jefferson was the only player in the Eastern Conference and one of only five players in the NBA averaging at least 20.0 points and 10.0 rebounds on the season. New head coach Steve Clifford infused the team with a defensive mindset. The Bobcats finished fourth in opponents scoring and sixth in opponents field- goal percentage. Charlotte did have some trouble scoring this season. The Bobcats finished 23rd in points, while Miami was 12th. The Heat ranked fifth in opponents scoring. The Bobcats won their last three regular-season games and eight of their last nine. The Heat swept all four games against the Bobcats in the regular season and are undefeated in the past 16 games between the teams. Charlotte has lost nine straight and 12 of its last 13 trips to South Beach. Nike Air Max 90 Womens Sale Australia . Not bad for a defenceman. The goal, that is. Although the shuffling dance steps werent bad, either. Barrie scored 55 seconds into overtime, Semyon Varlamov stopped 29 shots, and the Avalanche moved a step closer to their first playoff berth in four years with a 3-2 win over the Vancouver Canucks on Thursday night. Balenciaga Triple s Australia . The seventh-ranked Berdych wants to focus on the ATP Tour after helping the Czechs beat the Netherlands in the first round. Seeking their third straight Davis Cup title, the Czechs will rely again on veteran Radek Stepanek. http://www.salenikeshoesaustralia.com/balenciaga-clearance.html . Louis Cardinals continued their offensive tear with a 9-5 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers in the opener of a four-game series. Air Max 95 Mens Australia . -- The guys in green raced off the court and into the locker room where they danced and sang, compared whose shot was most likely to end up featured on "One Shining Moment," and checked Twitter to see who was giving them a shoutout. Jordan 1 Sale Australia . -- Among the 31 players at the Montreal Canadiens rookie camp, none feels closer to cracking the NHL roster than right winger Aaron Palushaj. TAMPA, Fla. -- Tuukka Rask and the Boston Bruins put together an all-around strong performance. Rask stopped 23 shots and five Boston players scored to help the Bruins beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 5-0 on Saturday night. "You want to win," Rask said. "You never want to let the team back in the game. Tonight, we gave them nothing and it paid off." Rask made a nifty glove save on Steven Stamkos point-blank redirection in the third period. It was the goalies first shutout this season and 17th overall. David Krejci, Adam McQuaid, Patrice Bergeron, Chris Kelly and Shawn Thornton scored for the Bruins, who have won six in a row against Tampa Bay. Boston leads the all-time series 50-20-9. "Everybody showed up from the drop of the puck tonight, and obviously it shows on the result," Bergeron said. With the game well in hand late in the third, Boston fans in attendance began chanting "Lets go, Red Sox!" One win from the World Series, the Red Sox were playing at the same time in Game 6 of the AL championship series at Fenway Park. "Not that I dont like you guys, but Id like to check out the game right now," Thornton said with a smile. "Everybody knows Im a fairly big Red Sox fan." The Lightning are 3-2 during a seven-game homestand. "The only thing good about tonight was, probably, the national anthem," coach Jon Cooper said. Stamkos called Tampa Bays perrformance "embarrassing.dddddddddddd" "They wanted it more, and it showed," Stamkos said. "Unacceptable." Krejci stopped a nine-game goal drought to put the Bruins up 1-0 from the low slot off a pass from Milan Lucic 1:32 into the game. Krejci has a point in four straight games. After McQuaid scored his first goal in 24 games at 4:37 of the second, goals 55 seconds apart later in the period by Bergeron (14:52) and Kelly (15:47) made it 4-0. Thornton extended Bostons advantage to 5-0 just 34 seconds into the third as the left wing ended his 29-game goal drought. Tampa Bay goalie Ben Bishop, who won all five of his previous games this season, was pulled after Kellys goal and replaced by Anders Lindback. Bishop allowed four goals on 17 shots. Lightning defenceman Victor Hedman finished the game minus-5. NOTES: Lightning COO Steve Griggs told a group of employees during a meeting in the stands before the game that the team is working hard to bring the All-Star game to Tampa and that NHL officials were present at Tuesday nights game against Los Angeles. ... Bruins C Carl Soderberg returned after missing the first six games of the season due to an ankle injury. He had an assist. ... Boston RW Jordan Caron was scratched. ... Bruins RW Jarome Iginla played in his 1,239th NHL game, which moved him past Doug Weight into 80th place on the career list. He had an assist and a fight. ' ' '