Tag: Atlanta

Game rewind: ‘Fantastic’ bench leads victory over Hawks

The Spurs’ bench again stepped  up in a big way when it was most needed Wednesday night.

After the starters struggled to hold a lead early into the second half, Spurs coach Gregg Popovich didn’t hesitate to pull them.

“Our bench was fantastic,” Popovich said. “A number of people came into the game and played good solid basketball both at the defensive and offensive ends. I was really pleased with the bench.”

That effort helped boost the Spurs to a convincing 105-83 victory over Atlanta, which came into the game as one of the league’s hottest teams.

Here’s how the Spurs claimed their ninth home victory in 10 games. 

Game analysis: A balanced attack featuring five players in double figures and eight with at least eight points swarmed the Hawks and cruised to an easy victory.

Where the game was won: After Atlanta had pulled within 70-61 on Joe Johnson’s 20-footer with 2:03 left in the third quarter, the Spurs erupted on a 20-6 surge to put the game away. DeJuan Blair scored the last five points of the third quarter and capped the run with hoop to give the Spurs a commanding 90-67 advantage with 7:02 left in the game.

Bring on the bench: The Spurs’ bench was instrumental in charging past Atlanta, outscoring the Hawks 27-11 in the first half and 51-27 in the game.

Player of the game I: Matt Bonner had a couple of defensive busts that caused Popovich to go apoplextic, but it was hard to argue with his shooting. He hit 5 of 7 3-pointers en route to a 17-point effort that matched his season high.

Player of the game II: It was another strong game for Tiago Splitter who produced 16 points on 5 for 6 shooting, grabbed eight rebounds and dealt out two assists. Splitter has notched a career-best five consecutive double-figure games as his confidence in the Spurs’ rotation is soaring.

Player of the game III:  Maybe it was fatigue from all of the recent minutes, but Tony Parker had trouble sticking with Atlanta guard Jeff Teague. The second-year Wake Forest product went for a game-high 20 points as he sliced through the middle of the Spurs’ defense. Teague also added five rebounds — all in the first half — and produced a game-high three steals as he was a pest for the Spurs  for most of the game.

Most unsung: The Spurs needed some kind of lift at the point as Parker struggled early in the game. They got one from Cory Joseph, who had his strongest game with the team with eight points, four assists, a steal and a blocked shot in 18 minutes.

Did you notice: For the second straight game, the Spurs were burned by a missed call on an offensive goaltending. Blair’s basket with 7:37 left in the game was wiped out when officials thought he interfered  with the ball in the cylinder. Television replays indicated otherwise. And several plays later, lead official Zach Zarba apologized to Popovich along the sidelines for the blown call.  

Did you notice II: The two teams combined to shoot only 25 foul shots and were whistled for 33 fouls between them. That led to the game being played in 2 hours.

Did you notice III: Local product Ivan Johnson of Fox Tech High School and Cal State-San Bernardino had a big game for the Hawks. The rookie notched eight points, three rebounds and two assists in 21 minutes — most of any non-starter for the Hawks.

Stat of the game: The Spurs shot 51.2 percent for the game, becoming the first Atlanta opponent to top 50 percent this season.   

Stat of the game II: The Spurs’ perimeter game was solid with 11 3-pointers, including five from Bonner and two apiece from Richard Jefferson, Danny Green and Parker. It was the Spurs’ second most 3-pointers of the season, behind only the 16 they scored against Dallas on Jan. 5. The Spurs shot 47.8 percent from 3-point territory, marking the fifth straight game they have improved their 3-point percentage from the previous game.

Stat of the game III: The Spurs piled up a season-high 29 assists. But the most impressive part  of that that was that 10 of  the 12 players in San Antonio’s lineup accounted for at least one assist in the game.

Stat of the game IV: Thanks to strong performances from Blair and Splitter, the Spurs dominated the game inside with a 52-34 edge in points in the paint. It was tied for their second highest differential of the season.  

Weird stat of the game: The Spurs’ shooting improved in every quarter of the game. They shot 47.4 percent from the field in the first quarter, 50 percent in the second quarter, 52.4 percent in the third quarter and 55 percent in the fourth quarter.

Weird stat of the game II: The Spurs again were outrejected by their opponents with three blocked shots and eight of their shots blocked. During the last three games, the Spurs have blocked six shots and had 24 shots blocked.

Best plus/minus scores: Splitter was plus-27, Green was plus-19 and Joseph was plus-15.

Worst plus/minus scores: Tim Duncan was minus-4.

Quote of the game: “My instantaneous creativity is nonexistent,” Bonner, describing how he was hung up after attempting an awkward bank shot in the third quarter when he appeared to be looking for a teammate for a pass.

How the schedule stacks up: The Spurs have the day off  before starting a three-game road trip with games Friday at Minnesota, Sunday at Dallas and Monday in Memphis. Atlanta continues a five-game road trip with trips Friday to Detroit, Sunday to New Orleans and Tuesday to Toronto.

Injuries: Manu Ginobili missed his 14th game (Spurs record 9-5) after undergoing surgery for a fractured fifth left metacarpal.  T.J. Ford missed his nine game (Spurs record 6-3) with a torn left hamstring. Atlanta guard Kirk Hinrich (left shoulder injury) returned for his first game of the season. Al Horford (torn left pectoral muscle) missed Wednesday’s game.

With Wade absent, weight of Miami’s offense falls on LeBron

Before the Spurs headed to Florida for back-to-back games against the Miami Heat and Orlando Magic, Spurs coach Gregg Popovich was asked about his approach to defending the Heat and its Big Three of Dwyane Wade, LeBron James and Chris Bosh.

His response: “As soon as either Dwyane or LeBron catches the ball, I cover my eyes.”

Popovich can keep his eyes open more often tonight. It appears the right ankle sprain Wade suffered Friday night in Denver is going to keep him on the sidelines. Coach Erik Spoelstra won’t give a timetable for his return, but it is almost certainly not for tonight’s game.

Of course, that means more touches for James, the two-time Most Valuable Player who enters tonight’s game averaging 29.5 points, 8.2 rebounds and 7.4 assists.

For James, the burden of carrying the Heat for however long they are without Wade becomes one more measure of his value to a team that polarized NBA fans last season after James helped orchestrate the construction of a roster some believed would dominate the league for several years.

This season’s team returned after being humbled by the Mavericks in the NBA Finals and reeled off victories in eight of its first nine games, but comes into its game against the Spurs on a three-game losing streak that revealed, yet again, James’ tendency to shrink from the challenge of the fourth quarter.

Here’s a look at the latest dilemma for James, Wade and the Heat:

LeBron James

The good

• In 11 games (he sat out one game with a sore left ankle, a road win in Atlanta), he is averaging 29.5 points, 8.2 rebounds and 7.4 assists in 40.1 minutes per game.

• In the two games he played during the three games Wade missed, he scored 65 points, grabbed 15 rebounds and handed out 22 assists.

The bad

• Until he made 3 of 5 3-point shots in Friday’s loss to the Nuggets, he had not made a shot from long distance all season, going 0 for 5.

• He has committed 23 turnovers in his last four games.

The ugly

• He did not attempt a shot in the fourth quarter of the Heat’s overtime road loss to the Warriors last Tuesday; also failed to get a rebound or an assist in the fourth quarter.

• Acutely aware of the criticism leveled at him for his passivity in the fourth period at Golden State, he scored eight points and grabbed four rebounds in the fourth quarter of what would be another overtime loss, this time to the Clippers, the next night in Los Angeles. However, he also missed 4 of 10 fourth-quarter free throws in that one, including two in the final 16.7 seconds.

Dwyane Wade

The injuries

Today is Wade’s 30th birthday, and he reached this milestone with evidence mounting that time is taking a toll on a player whose game is based on athleticism and reckless abandon. Thus far this season, he has missed two games with a sprained right mid-foot, one with a strained left calf and, in all likelihood, several more with an ankle sprain that hurt so badly when it happened, he feared a broken bone.

The quandary

Playing hurt already had limited Wade’s effectiveness this season, his shooting percentage (43.9) and scoring average (19.6) down significantly from last season (50.0 and 25.5). Spoelstra insisted he was not being coy with the media Sunday when he maintained he could not give a timetable for Wade’s return. The safest course may be to shut him down for a while to allow all his injuries to fully heal, but in a compressed season, that might mean losing a lot of ground to the Bulls in the battle for the best record in the Eastern Conference.

mikemonroe@express-news.net

Game rewind: Why the Spurs’ road defense has to improve

Even with a breakout game from Tiago Splitter, the Spurs couldn’t overcome their defensive woes in another road defeat Saturday night in Houston.

It was more of the same road problems that have dogged the team all season when the Rockets singed them for 57.7 percent field-goal shooting in a 105-102 victory.

The Rockets were the sixth road teams in seven games that has shot better than 50 percent against the Spurs.  San Antonio has lost all of those games.

And even including a frigid 33.3 effort by Orlando earlier this week in a game where the Magic were coming off their third game in three nights, Spurs road opponents have shot a collective 50.8 percent from the field. 

At the ATT Center, opponents have shot a more respectable 42.9 percent as the Spurs have gone 9-1. Only one opponent has shot better than 50 percent against them at their home facility.

Until that road defense improves, the Spurs are doomed to a lot of similar performances as the one that beat them at the Toyota Center Saturday night.

No matter how good their offense may be, the inability to make critical defensive stops down the stretch remains their biggest weakness.

It cost them the victory Saturday night.

Here’s a look at the specifics of San Antonio’s third loss in its last four games.  

Game analysis: The Spurs fell behind early before catching up and going ahead on strong performances by Splitter and Tony Parker. But they again didn’t have the offensive firepower to keep up with Houston down the stretch as the game got away in the final minutes.

Where the game was won: A 7-0 run punctuated by five straight points by Gary Neal appeared to have given San Antonio a boost with an 84-79 lead with 9:15 left. But Houston answered with a run of eight straight points capped by a 17-foot jumper by Samuel Dalembert and never trailed during the rest of the game.  

Almosts don’t count: The Spurs made Houston sweat after Richard Jefferson’s 3-pointer had pulled them within 103-102 with 10.1 seconds left.  But Kevin Martin sank two foul shots and Neal misfired on a potential game-tying 3-pointer with 4.8 seconds remaining to allow Houston to escape with the victory.  

Player of the game I: Martin was the most consistent weapon for Houston throughout the game with 25 points and three assists.

Player of the game II: Houston point guard Kyle Lowry was the Rockets’ go-to player down the stretch, scoring 10 of his 14 points in the fourth quarter. Lowry also added five rebounds and eight assists as he expertly ran Houston’s offense.

Player of the game III: Splitter took advantage of Tim Duncan’s absence to produce the best game of his NBA career. He scored a career-high 25 points, grabbed 10 rebounds and dished off four assists. A variety of Houston defenders unsuccessfully tried to combat him as he missed only two of his 13 field-goal attempts.  

Most unsung: Houston guard Goran Dragic scored 14 points, but none was bigger than a circus scoop shot that bailed the Rockets out of a near 24-second violation with 54.6 seconds left. Earlier in the possession, the Rockets nearly lost the ball in the backcourt, but Dragic maintained the possession before just beating the shot clock with a one-hander to give them a four-point lead.

Did you notice: Other than Splitter inside, the Spurs had a lot of trouble with Dalembert. San Antonio was rattled early when Dalembert produced three blocks and a steal in the first 7:17 of the game despite hobbling with a sprained ankle.

Did you notice II: Even though he struggled offensively in a miserable 2-for-11 shooting night, Jefferson was an active defender who came up with several big plays to help spark the run that gave  the Spurs the lead in the fourth quarter. Most impressively, he was making them at the power forward position.

Stat of the game: Houston shot 55.7 percent from the field and 58.8 percent from the field in the fourth quarter to bring home the comeback victory and claim their sixth straight victory.  It’s their longest winning streak since late in the 2008-09 season.

Stat of the game II: The Spurs’ 3-point shooting improved for the third consecutive game, but it was still at only 31.8 percent. In their last five games the Spurs have shot 26.9 percent from 3-point territory and are 2-3.

Stat of the game III:  Parker produced 13 assists — the first time this season a Spur has notched a double-figure assist total this season.

Weird stat of the game: Despite not having leading rebounder Duncan in the lineup as he rested, the Spurs had a 43-32 rebounding edge and piled up a season-best 60 points in the paint.

Weird stat of the game II: Duncan’s absence was the seventh game his missed over the last two seasons. The Spurs are 1-6 in those games.   

Weird stat of  the game III: The Spurs are now 0-3 in the second game of home-road back-to-backs this season.

Quote of the game: “Splitter did his best Tim Duncan impresson,” Houston coach Kevin McHale, to reporters after the game about Splitter’s big game.

How the schedule stacks up: The Spurs have the day off  before facing Western Conference bottom feeder New Orleans Monday night, a home game Wednesday against Atlanta and road games Friday night at Minnesota and Jan. 29 at Dallas. For the Rockets, they play Monday at Minnesota, and then return home Wednesday against Milwaukee and Friday with Washington.

Injuries: Manu Ginobili missed his 12th game (record 7-5) after undergoing surgery for a fractured fifth left metacarpal.  T.J. Ford missed his seventh game (record 4-3) with a torn left hamstring. Parker appeared to be favoring his hip along the San Antonio sidelines midway during the fourth quarter, but later told  reporters it was merely discomfort from a fall suffered earlier this week. Houston center Jordan Hill returned to the lineup after missing his  last game with flu-like symptoms. Dalembert played despite a sprained left ankle.  And rookie forward Marcus Morris is out indefinitely with a sprained left ankle.