In the aftermath of the Mavs' thrilling victory on Saturday night, Tim Duncan's post-game comments displayed his true colors as he blamed the officials for knocking him out of the game with his sixth personal foul in the final minutes of the fourth quarter: "[Dirk Nowitzki] might have fallen, but I didn't touch him," Duncan said. "He tried to draw contact. I moved out of his way. If he stepped on my foot, he stepped on my foot, but there was zero contact." Kind of anomolous to say "zero contact" in the same sentence where you admit that Dirk Nowitzki stepped on your foot, isn't it, Timmy? Under the NBA's rules, when a defensive player contacts an offensive player in the act of shooting, it's a foul unless the defensive player established his position prior to the contact. Duncan's foot was moving, and Nowitzki drew contact. Seemed like a fair call to me. Regardless, in order for Duncan to complain about the officiating, he had to turn a blind eye to the horrendous calls that benefitted the Spurs earlier in the game. Midway through the fourth quarter, Mavs' center Desagana Diop cleanly knocked the ball out of Duncan's hands as Duncan held the ball at waist level. It wasn't surprising that the officials called Diop for contact, as they've been giving Duncan the benefit of the doubt all series. What was surprising was the fact that the officials called it a shooting foul. They knew that Duncan was eventually going to shoot the ball, as he's been the Spurs' most prolific offensive weapon in the Lone Star Showdown. But I always thought that you had to actually be in the act of shooting in order to get to the free-throw line when the other team hasn't committed five fouls yet. And with the game tied at 98-98 with 1:24 left, the officials saw more phantom contact when Josh Howard cleanly blocked Manu Ginobili from behind on a Ginobili mid-range shot attempt. Ginobili split his free throws to put the Spurs up by one. So, if Duncan's going to cry about the foul call on Nowitzki that occurred 20 seconds later, maybe somebody should remind him about the other calls that favored the Spurs. The Spurs haven't gone down 2-1 to the Mavs because the NBA officials have a grudge against San Antonio. If anything, the calls should be going the Spurs way because Mark Cuban's consistent criticism gives the officials reason to be spiteful towards the Mavs. But the officials are an easy scapegoat, and the discombobulated Spurs don't have a ready answer for why the Mavs have outplayed them so far. Even the Spurs' fans, who aren't used to trailing in playoff series, decided to blame referee Steve Javie for the blowout loss in Game 2, as they chanted "Javie sucks" during the second half. Popovich, who blamed no one while giving all the credit to the Mavs, remains a class act. On the other hand, his city and top player are bringing the Spurs to new lows. It's easy to act gracious and sportsmanlike when you win an NBA championship. But it's your reactions to tough losses that show your true character. So far, Duncan's showing that he's a bit of sore loser. If the Spurs want to even the series, he's going to need to forget about the past, while letting Popovich's adjustments dictate the Spurs' performance. But if the Mavs are holding a large lead in the second half of Game 4, expect tempers to flare as Duncan and the Spurs will blame everyone but themselves for their dire predicament. A former "class act" is showing his true colors, as the team and the city are on the verge of making a classless exit from the playoffs.