Tag: DENVER

Spurs’ Ginobili injured in regular-season finale

By Jeff McDonald
jmcdonald@express-news.net

PHOENIX — The Spurs could stomach losing their season finale Wednesday night.

Losing Manu Ginobili? Now that could be a problem.

In an untimely accident, Ginobili suffered a hyperextended right elbow during the first quarter of the Spurs’ 106-103 season-ending loss at Phoenix, casting in doubt his availability for the start of the Western Conference playoffs against Memphis this weekend.

Forget ceding control of the NBA’s top overall record to Chicago. There was only one way the Spurs’ season finale could have ended in catastrophe, and it happened just 2:14 into the game.

Ginobili was coming across a Tim Duncan pick, with Suns forward Grant Hill trailing, when he appeared to get his arm pinned between his teammate and his opponent, bending the elbow backward before tumbling to the court in evident discomfort.

X-rays taken at US Airways Center were negative. Ginobili is scheduled for an MRI today, at which point the Spurs will have a better feel for a timetable.

Coming into the Spurs’ season-ending road trip to face the Lakers and Suns, coach Gregg Popovich wrestled with whether to play his regulars or rest them for the playoffs.

He ultimately decided on a plan that would call for four starters, including Ginobili, to sit Tuesday’s eventual loss at L.A., then return for the finale in Phoenix, in order to ward off rust before the playoffs began.

For the Spurs, the injury to the 33-year-old Ginobili — their leading scorer coming into the night — cast a pall over the rest of Wednesday’s game.

Marcin Gortat had 21 points and 13 rebounds, and Channing Frye added 17 points as the Suns polished off their first losing season since 2003-04 by beating the West-leading Spurs, who at least began the night playing at full strength.

Phoenix raced to a 20-point lead in the first half before the Spurs made it interesting.

The Spurs (61-21) were within one, at 102-101, after George Hill’s free throws with 7.6 seconds remaining. Aaron Brooks followed with a pair of foul shots that gave Phoenix a three-point lead again.

On the ensuing possession, the Suns opted to foul Matt Bonner — the league’s top 3-point shooter — instead of giving him an open look. Bonner’s free throws brought the Spurs back within a point, but Brooks answered with two more foul shots with 3.6 seconds left.

The game was not over until Gary Neal’s corner 3-pointer missed at the horn.

While all that was playing out in Phoenix, the Spurs’ first-round playoff opponent was being decided 375 miles to the west. With three starters resting, Memphis lost 110-103 in its finale against the L.A. Clippers, ensuring an eighth-place finish and a series with the Spurs to begin either Saturday or Sunday.

Wednesday’s loss, combined with Chicago’s victory over New Jersey, also finished another piece of outstanding business. The Bulls (62-20) claimed the NBA’s top overall mark.

By the end of the night, all that seemed to matter was Ginobili’s prognosis.

Elbow hyperextensions can sideline players anywhere from a few days to a few weeks, depending on the severity. Atlanta guard Kirk Hinrich, then with Washington, suffered a similar injury in January and missed four games over the span of a week. Potentially aiding Ginobili’s recovery: He’s left-handed, and the injury was to his non-shooting arm.

Before the game, Popovich declared himself and his team ready for the postseason.

“We’re ready to get to the games that matter,” Popovich said.

Now, he’d just as soon postpone the postseason and give Ginobili time to heal.

And so, the Spurs returned home from Phoenix early today to await the results of an MRI. There was only one way their season-ending road trip might have been a disaster, and this was it.

NBA PLAYOFF SCHEDULE

WESTERN CONFERENCE

Spurs vs. Memphis
(all times Central)
Sunday, April 17: Memphis at Spurs, noon
Wednesday, April 20: Memphis at Spurs, 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, April 23: Spurs at Memphis, 6:30 p.m.
Monday, April 25: Spurs at Memphis, TBD
x-Wednesday, April 27: Memphis at Spurs, TBD
x-Friday, April 29: Spurs at Memphis, TBD
x-Sunday, May 1: Memphis at Spurs, TBD
* Spurs first-round games televised on FOX Sports Southwest

(all remaining schedules Eastern Time)

L.A. Lakers vs. New Orleans
Sunday, April 17: New Orleans at L.A. Lakers, 3:30 p.m.
Wednesday, April 20: New Orleans at L.A. Lakers, 10:30 p.m.
Friday, April 22: L.A. Lakers at New Orleans, 9:30 p.m.
Sunday, April 24: L.A. Lakers at New Orleans, 9:30 p.m.
x-Tuesday, April 26: New Orleans at L.A. Lakers, TBD
x-Thursday, April 28: L.A. Lakers at New Orleans, TBD
x-Saturday, April 30: New Orleans at L.A. Lakers, TBD

Dallas vs. Portland
Saturday, April 16: Portland at Dallas, 9:30 p.m.
Tuesday, April 19: Portland at Dallas, 9:30 p.m.
Thursday, April 21: Dallas at Portland, 10:30 p.m.
Saturday, April 23: Dallas at Portland, 5 p.m.
x-Monday, April 25: Portland at Dallas, TBD
x-Thursday, April 28: Dallas at Portland, TBD
x-Saturday, April 30: Portland at Dallas, TBD

Oklahoma City vs. Denver
Sunday, April 17: Denver at Oklahoma City, 9:30 p.m.
Wednesday, April 20: Denver at Oklahoma City, 8 p.m.
Saturday, April 23: Oklahoma City at Denver, 10 p.m.
Monday, April 25: Oklahoma City at Denver, 10:30 p.m.
x-Wednesday, April 27: Denver at Oklahoma City, TBD
x-Friday, April 29: Oklahoma City at Denver, TBD
x-Sunday, May 1: Denver at Oklahoma City, TBD

EASTERN CONFERENCE

Chicago vs. Indiana
Saturday, April 16: Indiana at Chicago, 1 p.m.
Monday, April 18: Indiana at Chicago, 9:30 p.m.
Thursday, April 21: Chicago at Indiana, TBD
Saturday, April 23: Chicago at Indiana, TBD
x-Tuesday, April 26: Indiana at Chicago, TBD
x-Thursday, April 28: Chicago at Indiana, TBD
x-Saturday, April 30: Indiana at Chicago, TBD

Miami vs. Philadelphia
Saturday, April 16: Philadelphia at Miami, 3:30 p.m.
Monday, April 18: Philadelphia at Miami, 7 p.m.
Thursday, April 21: Miami at Philadelphia, TBD
Sunday, April 24: Miami at Philadelphia, 1 p.m.
x-Wednesday, April 27: Philadelphia at Miami, TBD
x-Friday, April 29: Miami at Philadelphia, TBD
x-Sunday, May 1: Philadelphia at Miami, TBD

Boston vs. New York
Sunday, April 17: New York at Boston, 7 p.m.
Tuesday, April 19: New York at Boston, 7 p.m.
Friday, April 22: Boston at New York, TBD
Sunday, April 24: Boston at New York, 3:30 p.m.
x-Tuesday, April 26: New York at Boston, TBD
x-Friday, April 29: Boston at New York, TBD
x-Sunday, May 1: New York at Boston, TBD

Orlando vs. Atlanta
Saturday, April 16: Atlanta at Orlando, 7 p.m.
Tuesday, April 19: Atlanta at Orlando, 7:30 p.m.
Friday, April 22: Orlando at Atlanta, TBD
Sunday, April 24: Orlando at Atlanta, 7 p.m.
x-Tuesday, April 26: Atlanta at Orlando, TBD
x-Thursday, April 28: Orlando at Atlanta, TBD
x-Saturday, April 30: Atlanta at Orlando, TBD

Spurs undone by critical gaffes

By Jeff McDonald
jmcdonald@express-news.net

PORTLAND, Ore. – The doors swung open to the visiting locker room at the Rose Garden late Friday night, revealing a scene somber even for a wake.

Minutes earlier, the Spurs had just dropped a 98-96 decision at the buzzer, losing again in Portland, this time amid a roll call of fourth-quarter errors so horrifying they would later have to be seen to be fully appreciated.

Side-by-side, players sat at their lockers in pindrop silence. Coach Gregg Popovich, still in coat and tie, paced the room. All wore the same blank expression that asked the same unanswerable question: What had just happened?

On a laptop in one corner rolled video of Portland’s final, fateful play – a tie-breaking lob from Andre Miller to Nicolas Batum that beat the horn and set off Mardi Gras in bleachers. Four morbidly curious Spurs gathered around grimly, medical examiners performing their own autopsy.

Batum scored four points in the final 0.9 seconds, lifting the Trail Blazers from certain defeat, to probable overtime, to stunning victory, all without leaving time to breathe.

“It was ridiculous,” a subdued Manu Ginobili said. “One of the craziest games I’ve lost in the NBA.”

The Spurs still led 96-90 with 1:22 to go, when Ginobili drilled his fourth 3-pointer. Their Rose Garden demons, which had conjured up five straight losses in Portland, seemed on the edge of banishment.

And then, Miller scooted for a layup.

96-92.

And then, Miller took the ball from Tony Parker, his career-high eighth turnover, and made another basket with 30.2 ticks left.

96-94.

And then, Ginobili dribbled the ball off Wesley Matthews’ leg, sparking a frantic fast break that resulted in two Batum foul shots with 0.9 left.

And then, Batum – who still has not missed a free throw in March – hit both.

96-96.

And then, Steve Novak, inserted to inbound on the Spurs’ final play, with OT seeming like the worst-case scenario, threw high for Ginobili streaking to the basket. The ball went out of bounds untouched.

“I just couldn’t reach it,” said Ginobili, who had 10 of his 21 points in the fourth.

And then, with the Blazers afforded their own chance at a miracle, Miller hit Batum with a perfectly placed backdoor lob, which the latter dropped in over Parker – one Frenchman outleaping another.

And then, the final horn sounded, and the crowd exploded and the Spurs were left to make sense out of what had just occurred.

In one sense, the answer was easy. Just another end-game miscue.

“We knew they were going to the rim,” Popovich said. “We were switching it, and we did a poor job switching it.”

Miller, third among the NBA’s active leaders in assists with 6,976, had no trouble ranking his latest one.

“That was No. 1,” said Miller, who matched Batum with 21 points.

For the second game in a row, the Spurs wasted an opportunity to win with Tim Duncan and his sprained left ankle back in San Antonio. Just as in Denver two nights earlier, the Spurs came unraveled in the fourth.

Later, in the locker room, while his teammates still wondered what went wrong on the Batum tap, Ginobili still fumed about the turnovers that came all before.

“Three in 40 seconds,” he said. “Unacceptable.”

For the Blazers, it was eight points in the final 72 seconds. And another victory over the Spurs. The Spurs (57-15) have lost six of seven to the Blazers (42-30). But none like this.

It gave the Spurs their second two-game losing streak of the season, and their first since losing at New York and Boston on Jan. 4 and 5. But that was of little consolation.

Afterward, Ginobili compared Friday’s debacle to the 2005 loss to Houston, when Tracy McGrady scored 13 points in 35 seconds. Parker recalled Derek Fisher’s 0.4-shot to send the Lakers over the Spurs in Game 5 of the 2004 Western Conference finals.

“Nothing was worse than that,” Parker said.

Judging from the befuddled looks around him, that felt hard to believe. Even as he spoke the words, Parker stared at the ground, rubbing his temples like a man with a migraine.

This is the kind of loss that sticks with a team, even though it shouldn’t. There is another game Sunday in Memphis, against another tough team on the road.

“We just have to move on,” Parker said.

Mike Monroe: Sometimes less is more in terms of star power

When they arrived in Denver late Tuesday afternoon, the Spurs brought with them fans’ fears that a magical season is about to go poof.

The Spurs know they won’t disappear from their spot atop the Western Conference standings if they remember they got there as a committed and cohesive unit and not because Tim Duncan dragged them to the pinnacle.

If they need a reminder that having a healthy superstar is no guarantee of victory, they can check the Nuggets’ starting lineup tonight.

Denver traded its All-Star starter, Carmelo Anthony, to the Knicks and has made a run up the West standings without the player who had been its leading scorer.

Wilson Chandler, one of four Knicks surrendered in the trade war for Anthony, now occupies ’Melo’s starting spot at small forward. No threat to score 40 or 50 points — his career high is 31 — Chandler has averaged 14.3 points in 13 games as a Nugget, a little more than half what Anthony scored for Denver this season.

It is the Nuggets, not the Knicks, who have found redemption in the biggest trade of the season. Playing fine team basketball, they are 10-4 since the deal was made and playing the sort of unselfish ball that reduces the stress on their cancer survivor coach.

“I don’t think there’s any question there was a lifting of the stress when the trade went down,” George Karl said after putting his new lineup through a Tuesday morning practice. “There was a lot of excitement that came with that deal. Arron (Afflalo) and Ty (Lawson) were starting to play their best basketball then, and Kenyon (Martin) was getting stronger and more confident at that time.

“Then we got the new guys, and it only took us one practice to know they were pretty good.”

Denver’s first game after that first practice was an 89-75 victory over the East-leading Celtics that served as instant rebuttal of the notion the Nuggets had ceded a spot among the Western Conference elite by trading an elite-level player.

General manager Masai Ujiri didn’t help perception when he said the Nuggets had been “killed” in the trade, but such candid humility now seems more smoke screen than admission of failure.

“People need to understand that (Nuggets president) Josh (Kroenke) and Masai squeezed everything they could out of that deal,” Karl said. “We got some good pieces.”

What Karl understood after just one practice was that he had the sort of roster that breeds overachievement.

“There is competition going on for minutes in every game,” he said. “Some of us were debating yesterday about J.R. (Smith), Wilson Chandler, Arron and Danilo Gallinari. Which one will be the best player three years from now? Then you’ve got Ty and Raymond Felton. Who will be the best point guard three years from now?”

“It’s exciting, and you’ve got competition every night motivating everyone to play, and play well.”

Coaching is fun again for Karl, who now spends quality time scribbling Xs and Os, rather than managing rumors and personalities.

“Yes, it is (fun), and I think a lot of it was just a release of the six months of stress and the excitement that we’re still capable of reaching the goals of this season,” he said. “No one knows how good we’re going to be. It’s going to be determined in the playoffs.

“Everyone has said we won’t be any good, but that’s fine. They’ve been saying it’s Doomsdsay around here for a long time.”

Now Doomsday is part of the calendar in New York City. Anthony’s new team is 7-9 since his arrival, and he has discovered that you can’t be the toast of Broadway unless you give New Yorkers reason to pop their corks.

’Melo wanted the bright lights of the big city but hid in the dark of the team bus after a loss last week so that the media couldn’t shine a light on his failures.

mikemonroe@express-news.net