Author: katadmin

Spurs look to go up 2-0 on Thunder

 

“It was a hard-fought ball game. Nothing to be ashamed of.” Thunder Head Coach Scott Brooks

The San Antonio Spurs have continued their winning ways and look to capture their 20th consecutive victory tonight as they face the Oklahoma City Thunder for Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals.

In game 1, the Spurs showed the rust of a week plus off while waiting for the Thunder and were behind for 3/4 of the game until Head Coach Gregg Popovich uttered those words that will most likely flood the city of San Antonio via posters and T-shirts “I want some nasty!”

The “nasty” that Popovich was looking for erupted in the 4th quarter as the Spurs outscored the Thunder 39-27 to turn a 10-point deficit into a 10-point lead that the Spurs never relinquished.

“They found some rhythm. They were able to attack us through penetration,” said point guard Derek Fisher. “We spent a lot of time trying to talk about doing the job, taking away the penetration of Ginobili and (Tony) Parker. We didn’t do that in the fourth quarter. You can’t give up a 30-point quarter in a playoff game and expect to win.”

The Spurs and Thunder kick off Game 2 tonight at the AT&T Center at 7:30.   Get your tickets to the hottest series thus far in the NBA Playoffs.

Spurs single-game tickets to go on sale Friday

The Spurs will begin selling individual tickets for home games through Feb. 2 this Friday at 10 a.m. The tickets will range in price from $10 to $175, including seats in the lower bowl. Tickets can be purchased online at or , and in person at the ATT Center southeast box office.

Single game ticket availability for the second half of the season will be announced in mid-January.

The Spurs will tip off their 40th season in New Orleans on Oct. 31 at 7 p.m. Their home opener is Nov. 1 against Oklahoma City.

Udoka’s unlikely return to San Antonio

One of the Spurs’ greatest strengths is their willingness to think outside the box. Ken Rodriguez explores one of the latest examples at with his piece on the unusual circumstances surrounding former role player Ime Udoka’s  hiring to assist Gregg Popovich.

A quick summary: Having coached at the AAU level for the past three years, the 35-year-old Udoka was in Las Vegas to keep tabs on a couple of his former players at summer league. He bumped into Popovich, who asked if Udoka might be interested in returning to San Antonio as a coach. Udoka was, but also spoke to several teams about another season on the court in the month that passed. When Popovich called with a firm offer, Udoka’s decision was clear.

“I realize how fortunate I am to go straight into coaching,” he told Rodriguez. “It’s very rare.”

As a hard-working grinder who had to battle for every minute he got in the NBA, Udoka should fit right in with the blue-collar mentality over at Spurs headquarters. Indeed, it was those qualities that led Popovich to encourage Udoka to get into coaching in the first place.