Tag: David Robinson

Parker gets All-Star nod, but not Duncan

By Jeff McDonald

NEW YORK — After 13 trips to the NBA All-Star Game, Spurs forward Tim Duncan has a pretty good idea of what an All-Star looks like.

In his mind, it looks a lot like Tony Parker.

“Easily,” Duncan said when asked if the Spurs point guard should make this year’s Western Conference squad. “There’s no doubt.”

Apparently, West coaches agreed.

When the NBA announced All-Star reserves Thursday night, Parker found his name on the list, an accomplishment that pushes him further into rarefied air in San Antonio.

The Feb. 26 game in Orlando, Fla., will mark Parker’s fourth All-Star appearance, making him one of only four Spurs players all-time to boast at least that many. Two of them (David Robinson and George Gervin) are in the Naismith Hall of Fame. The other (Duncan) one day will be.

“It will be a great reward for my team and the whole Spurs organization,” Parker said.

This time, however, Parker will be going alone.

Until now a death-and-taxes-style lock for the All-Star Game, Duncan was left off the West squad for the first time in his career.

His omission not only snaps a string of 13 consecutive All-Star appearances, it ends a streak of consecutive starts (12) that was the second-longest in NBA history. Only Boston great Bob Cousy (13) enjoyed a longer one.

Though Duncan’s numbers — 13.9 points and 8.3 rebounds in 27.6 minutes — are similar to last year’s, he appears to have been outpolled by Memphis’ Marc Gasol for the final big man spot.

By rule, Spurs coach Gregg Popovich could not vote for his own players while casting a ballot for the reserves, but offered Parker a heavy endorsement in recent weeks.

“Tony’s played All-Star basketball all year long,” Popovich said.

With star guard Manu Ginobili out with a broken hand since Jan. 2, Parker has lifted his game — and lifted the Spurs to the second-best record in the West (19-8).

Heading into Saturday’s game at New Jersey, Parker is averaging 18.9 points and a career-best 7.7 assists. Since the beginning of January, when Ginobili was hurt, he’s averaging 19.8 points and 7.9 assists.

Parker’s inclusion on the West team gives the Spurs a representative in 14 consecutive All-Star games. In Orlando, he will join a backcourt that includes starters Chris Paul (L.A. Clippers) and Kobe Bryant (L.A. Lakers) and reserves Steve Nash (Phoenix) and Russell Westbrook (Oklahoma City).

“We’ve needed Tony to be a scorer the whole time Manu’s been out,” Popovich said. “He scores, he assists, he’s been leading us out there. He’s been really special.”

Barring a setback, Ginobili is due back Saturday in New Jersey. Because of Parker, the Spurs were not only able to survive Ginobili’s absence, but thrive.

The Southwest Division-leading Spurs will carry an NBA-best six-game winning streak into New Jersey.

In the past 2 1/2 weeks, Parker turned in the top assist game of his career (17 at New Orleans) and two of his top-10 scoring nights (42 against Oklahoma City, 37 at Philadelphia).

The All-Star honor is one Parker openly courted and coveted in the past few weeks. He missed participating in last year’s game in Los Angeles, when Duncan and Ginobili played and Popovich and his staff coached.

“It would be great to go back,” Parker said a day before the announcement. “It would be nice after what happened last year. Everybody went, and I wanted to go.”

In the end, the Western Conference coaches gave Parker his golden ticket to Orlando. It will be a lonely trip, but a well-deserved one.

jmcdonald@express-news.net

Spurs memory No. 27: Robinson’s quadruple-double stuns Pistons

 Robinson’s quadruple-double upstages Elliott’s return with the Pistons

Date: Thursday, February 17, 1994

Place: Alamdome, San Antonio

Score: San Antonio Spurs 115, Detroit Pistons 96

 The arrival of Coach John Lucas to the Spurs in 1992 brought a change in offensive philosophy that was unlike anything David Robinson had ever experienced to that point in his career.

Lucas decided to run his offense through Robinson, utilizing him as a point center of sorts because of his athleticism, speed and ball-handling ability.  

Robinson gravitated to the new role by producing many key games that utilized his all-around talents. His most impressive was a game where he notched only the second quadruple-double in team history and the most recent one in NBA history.  

Robinson produced 34 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists and 10 blocked shots in the victory over Detroit, leaving the court with about four minutes left to chants of “MVP, MVP” from the Alamodome crowd of 19,451.  

The big game spoiled the return of Sean Elliott, who made his his first appearance back in San Antonio after being traded earlier in the season to the Pistons.

Terry Cummings missed the game with the flu, forcing Robinson into more of an active offensive role in the game.

Robinson responded by scoring 17 points in the first half as he overmatched Detroit centers Greg Anderson and Charles Jones from the beginning of the game. 

He had all of the other statistical categories covered before picking up his decisive 10th block when he swatted Lindsey Hunter’s 10-foot try in the lane with 5:21 left in the game.

Robinson’s monster game was the NBA’s first quadruple-double since Hakeem Olajuwon did it on March 29, 1990. The only other players with quadruple-doubles since the NBA began keeping track were Nate Thurmond in 1974 and the Spurs’ Alvin Robertson in 1986.

 The victory in Robinson’s quadruple-double game set a team record at the time with San Antonio’s 11th straight victory and  moved them into a virtual tie with Houston for first place in the Midwest  Division.

The Spurs seized the game in the third quarter, building a 57-49 lead and extending the margin to 75-59 as the quarter continued.

Dennis Rodman took some of the heat away from Robinson inside by producing 22 rebounds. Rodman also added five assists, matching the total of Detroit’s four guards.

Robinson finished the season 1993-94 season with five triple-doubles to lead the league. But none was as impressive as was his quadruple-double game.

Vinny Del Negro scored 23 points and Dale Ellis added 19 for the Spurs. Lindsey Hunter led the Pistons with 26 points and Terry Mills chipped in with 18 points and 16 rebounds. Detroit lost for the 25th time in their previous 29 games.

Elliott was greeted by a 40-second standing ovation when he was introduced. He scored the Pistons’ first basket and had 20 points in the game.

They said it, Part  I:  “I’ve been close a number of times, so this is something I wanted to do. I’m excited because it’s one thing you never know if you’re going to get,” Robinson on his quadruple-double.

They said it, part II: “We didn’t even talk about the winning streak. We did talk about David’s quadruple-double. He was just great. But I was mad at him. He missed seven free throws and he should have had 41 points.” Spurs coach John Lucas on Robinson’s big game.

They said it, part III: “How could I not know I was close with the bench and the stat crew. Every rtime I came to the bench, (backup center) Jack (Haley) would tell me how many more blocks I needed,” Robinson on how much he knew about his statistical rarity.

They said it, part IV: “He’s a lot different now. I tried to talk trash with him, but he just stared. He finally cracked a smile at the end of the game, but he’s more focused than I’ve ever seen him,” Elliott on his reception from Robinson before the game.

They said it,  part V: “It wasn’t just one guy for us tonight. It was the whole team. Everyone is contributing and that’s why we are winning. Our whole team won this game for us tonight,” Lucas to the Express-News on his team’s big night.

They said it, part  VI: “I would have to like have seen him play against our real horses, our guys from the past. We don’t have a center now,” Detroit guard Isiah Thomas, described Robinson’s big night against Detroit’s injury-depleted rotation of big men.

They said it, part VII: “David has really stepped up his play. He played at an All-Star level before and he’s stepped it up a notch. You can see it in his eyes. Right now, he’s playing the best basketball of his career,” Spurs forward J.R. Reid, to the Express-News about Robinson’s playing surge. 

They said it, part VIII: “David has always been nice. And their team has always been nice. The question is, do you want a bunch of nice guys who are nice all the time or do you want to win a championship?” Thomas, to the Detroit Free Press about the Spurs’ winning streak.

They said it, part IX: “It’s nice that I’ve convinced the fans in San Antonio (about the MVP). Now, I have to convince the rest of the country. But it’s still just February,” Robinson on fans chanting “MVP, MVP” during his quadruple-double.

The upshot: Robinson led the NBA with five triple-doubles in 1993-94 and also led the league with a career-best 29.8 scoring average. Robinson also averaged a career-best 4.8 assists during the season. He led the league with a 30.7 player efficiency rating, but was chosen as second-team All-NBA and to the All-Defensive teams behind Houston’s Hakeem Olajuwon. The Spurs notched a 55-27 regular season record and were stunned in four games by Utah in the first round of the playoffs.

Most memorable Spurs moments countdown starts Monday

It might be Sean Elliott’s Memorial Day Miracle.

Or the times that lottery balls decided the history of the franchise, leading to an eventual string of  title victories.

It might be the time when Manu Ginobili caught a bat or when George Gervin and David Robinson won scoring championships on the final day of the season.

Or it might have been when Avery Johnson’s shot settled a championship, Elliott returned from a kidney transplant or James Silas came back to have his jersey become the first in team history to be retired.

The Spurs’ 38-year history in San Antonio is stacked with a rich trove of memorable moments during a rich history that has seen the Silver and Black claim four NBA titles and emerge as one of the NBA’s most enduringly successful franchises.

Most fans likely would have difficulty whittling that history down to a workable list of the most memorable moments in franchise history.

After working all summer in settling our group, Spurs Nation.com is ready to rank the 30 most memorable memories since the team came to San Antonio in 1973.

We’ll have them all from the most thrilling victories and crushing defeats. And we’ll have a little fun to as we rank the “OMG” moments that have shaped the team over the years. We’re aiming to revisit those memories when Spurs fans still remember where  they were when they initially experienced them.

Look for the release of one moment each day beginning on Monday. It will be a regular feature each day over the next six weeks as we count down to the top memory in mid-November. 

And before we start, we’re a little curious about Spurs Nation and its collective memories.  Which moments do you most readily remember?

Feel free to comment as we release our list over the next few weeks as we relive the rich history of San Antonio’s first big-league franchise.