Tag: Gary Neal

Spurs notebook: Duncan shows depth of game against Suns

MIAMI — For much of the Spurs’ 102-91 victory over Phoenix on Sunday, center DeJuan Blair felt less like the guy starting next to Tim Duncan and more like a guy in the stands rooting him on.

“I’m Tim’s biggest fan,” Blair said. “It was like watching old-school Tim.”

Indeed, Duncan produced his most prolific box score of the season, going for 24 points and 11 rebounds, but the way the numbers came was not exactly a flashback to his mid-20s.

Instead of pounding the Suns in the low block, Duncan — as has been his preferred latter-day M.O. — stepped out and peppered them with jump shots.

Duncan was 10 of 14 from the field, getting eight of his baskets from beyond 10 feet. It is a skill the 13-time All-Star has honed since his 30th birthday, particularly during the past offseason.

“You have to,” said Duncan, 35, in his 15th season. “Especially this summer, I worked on it a lot and tried to extend my range a bit and get more consistent.”

Before Sunday night was done, Duncan had nudged his career scoring total to 21,829, passing former Seattle guard Gary Payton for 26th on the NBA’s all-time list.

There was one moment against the Suns that seemed decidedly old-school Duncan. Late in the fourth quarter, with the Spurs needing a basket, Duncan posted center Marcin Gortat and ball-faked his way to a layup.

“I always think he’s got it,” Spurs forward Richard Jefferson said. “Even on those nights he doesn’t have what people normally think ‘it’ is, he does amazing things to help us win — rebounds, key blocks, good communication on defense, a lot of things that never show up in the stat sheet.”

KING-SIZED THRILL: It has been a learning-on-the-fly season for Spurs rookie forward Kawhi Leonard, but one assignment coach Gregg Popovich spared him Sunday was guarding Suns point guard Steve Nash.

“He doesn’t even know our system yet,” Popovich said of the 20-year-old Leonard. “We don’t want to give him jobs that are not in the mainstream of what he’s going to be doing.”

Had Dwyane Wade been healthy, Leonard might not have been able to avoid an All-Star assignment tonight in Miami. He would have had to defend either Wade or LeBron James.

With Wade likely out with an ankle sprain, Leonard might still see time against James, a two-time MVP.

“He wouldn’t back away from any challenge,” Popovich said. “Guarding guys like that, it’s kind of thrilling for him. He’s been watching them on TV for the last three, four years, and now he gets to guard them.”

MEDICAL REPORT: Reserve guard Gary Neal made the trip to Miami with a right thigh contusion suffered in the Phoenix game, the latest malady for him in a season that has included an appendectomy and a gash on the head that required four staples to close.

“He’s just a mess, basically,” Popovich said.

Neal is considered questionable for tonight’s game. Big men Matt Bonner (knee bruise) and Malcolm Thomas (stomach flu) are expected to be available.

jmcdonald@express-news.net

Buck Harvey: Ginobili nails it — playoff timing

They were in New Orleans in 2008, in the second round of the playoffs, and Manu Ginobili was stretching his sore ankle in the locker room with an elastic resistance band.

Everyone was calm, relaxed — until the band snapped, catching Ginobili’s shooting hand.

A nail had been ripped off at the base, and both pain and ingenuity followed. A Spurs staffer sped to a New Orleans beauty salon, bought an acrylic nail and glued Ginobili back together again.

But he’s never been whole in the playoffs since. And that’s why, when the Spurs look for a black-and-silver lining today, they point to this:

Ginobili has finally learned when to get hurt, hasn’t he?

This is based on the belief that those left behind can win a few games before he returns. Tony Parker is capable of playing as he did in 2009, when Ginobili missed the end of the season, and there’s potential with Gary Neal, James Anderson and Kawhi Leonard.

And if the Spurs aren’t good enough to remain competitive without Ginobili: That suggests they weren’t going to advance in the playoffs with him, anyway.

At home now, able to hold only one of his twins at a time, Ginobili likely wonders what he’s done to deserve this. The last time he was healthy throughout the playoffs was 2007, which is also the last time the Spurs won a title. From then until now, he’s been afflicted from toes to nose.

The ankle that was bothering him in 2008 eventually cracked in Beijing. That was followed by a stress fracture in the other foot the next season. A broken nose against Dallas in the 2010 playoffs required yet another creative bandage. And a bent elbow last spring came in the final, meaningless game of a remarkable 61-win regular season.

Some of it can be attributed to his style of play. But some of it is as inexplicable as the accident in New Orleans. The latest is a combination.

Ginobili reached in Monday night for a steal, as he’s done a thousand times before. Only this time, the contact was so violent, he not only broke a bone in his left hand, he also tore the skin in the crease between his ring finger and his pinkie. The wound was severe enough to require a half-dozen stitches.

The fracture of the fifth metacarpal that resulted is a common one. Some call it “boxer’s fracture,” but that’s an inaccurate term. Boxers don’t break this bone. Bar fighters do, as does the guy who slams his fist into an arena wall in a rage.

Gregg Popovich might have been so tempted Monday night.

The fifth metacarpal isn’t much different than the fourth that Parker broke in 2010, except the fifth is more flexible and requires better stability. Parker didn’t have surgery and missed 16 games; Ginobili, if he needs a procedure, might miss twice as many games in a crunched season.

But Parker was hurt in early March. That, and what followed, gives the Spurs some hope now.

Ginobili surged without Parker then, when some in the franchise were wondering if he had it in him anymore. When the Spurs’ remodeled lineup won, there were coaches who thought they had found a better way to play.

For the first time, Parker’s future with the franchise was in doubt. But the playoffs adjusted that thinking, while also saying something about how broken metacarpals can heal. Parker came up with 16 points and eight assists off the bench in Game 2 in Dallas, keying the first-round upset.

Ginobili will have ample time to make a similar recovery. Given that, what Parker asked Monday night in Minnesota should be turned around.

“Why now?” Parker said in frustration, when the answer should be clear.

Why now?

Ginobili, going by standards set long ago in New Orleans, might be luckier this time.

bharvey@express-news.net

Game rewind: Horrible start to new year in frigid Minneapolis

It would be hard to imagine much worse of a start for the new year than what the Spurs endured Monday night.

The Spurs lost All-Star guard Manu Ginobili for an extended period after he sustained a fractured fifth metacarpal of his left hand. It is Ginobili’s dominant shooting hand.

Making matters worse, a blistering perimeter game by Minnesota catapulted the Timberwolves to a 106-96 victory for the Spurs’ second road loss in as many games.

Here’s a look at how the Wolves punctuated the most successful back-to-back of the team’s recent woeful history after beating Dallas Sunday night.

Game analysis: The Spurs looked old and slow in their defensive rotations as Minnesota blistered them for 87.5 percent 3-point shooting in the first half and cruised to their first victory over them since Jan. 3, 2007. 

Where the game was won: After James Anderson’s 3-pointer pulled the Spurs within 72-65 with 7:38 left in the third quarter, the Timberwolves erupted for 10 straight points to put the game away on a 3-pointer and three assists from Luke Ridnour. The Spurs never came within single digits during the rest of the game.

Player of the game: Kevin Love. The skinnier version of Love looks like he has picked up where he left off during his breakthrough season last year. Love torched the Spurs for 24 points and 15 rebounds, including four 3-pointers.

Player of the game II: Ridnour. His playing time eventually might be impacted with the emergence of Ricky Rubio, but Ridnour expertly directed the Timberwolves’ offense with 19 points on 7-for-10 shooting from the field and nine assists. He hit his first five shots and then sparked the finishing kick late in the third quarter that put the Spurs away.

Player of the game III: Tim Duncan bounced out of his recent slump to provide a season-best 16 points and five assists. It was his strongest offensive game of the season.

Most unsung: Danny Green. Before Ginobili’s injury, Green might have been expendable when Gary Neal came off injured reserve. But his strong game Monday night and Ginobili’s injury should give him an opportunity to showcase his skills. He made a good first start Monday nbight with nine points, three rebounds and suffocating defense on Rubio in 17 minutes. He was also one of two Spurs to have a postive plus-minus score at plus-1, along with Matt Bonner.

Stat of the game: The Timberwolves shot 57.7 percent from the field and 57.1 percent of their 3-pointers, including 87.5 percent behind the arc in the first half.

Stat of the game II: Minnesota’s starting backcourt of Wesley Johnson and Ridnour combined to shoot 81.3 percent from the field. Wesley Johnson hit all six field-goal attempts and Ridnour went 7 for 10.

Stat of the game III: The Spurs had 30 rebounds against the Timberwolves Monday night. It was their fewest rebounds in game since grabbing 27 against Memphis last March 27.

Weird stat of the game: The Spurs limited Minnesota to 12 points in the fourth quarter. It was the lowest-scoring quarter by a Spurs opponent this season.   

Quote of the game: “He’s pretty important to us. And we lost him. We’ve just got to deal with it,” Spurs coach Gregg  Popovich to reporters after the game on the loss of Ginobili.

How the schedule stacked up: The Spurs rested Sunday before their arrival in Minnesota. The Timberwolves were on the second night of a back-to-back after beating Dallas on Sunday night.

Injuries: Neal sat out his fifth regular-season game of the season with an appendectomy. Ginobili sustained a fractured fifth metacarpal on his left hand late in the second quarter. Minnesota guard Jose Juan Barea missed the game with a strained left hamstring and did not dress. Neither did guard Malcolm Lee, who underwent surgery last week to repair a torn meniscus in his left knee. He’ll be sidelined indefinitely.

What’s up next: The Spurs return home Wednesday to play Golden State at home, starting a run of six games over the next eight days. Minnesota will face Memphis Wednesday night, starting a run of five games over seven days.