Tag: Pau Gasol

Spain beats France despite 26 from Parker

By NESHA STARCEVIC
Associated Press

KAUNAS, Lithuania — Juan Carlos Navarro stole the spotlight from what was supposed to be a big matchup between Pau Gasol and Tony Parker, leading Spain to it second straight European basketball championship.

Navarro scored 27 points to lead Spain to a 98-85 victory over France in the final on Sunday.

Parker scored 26 points for France but the Spurs star got little help and could not bring his team its first continental title. France came within six points in the third period but a 7-0 run keyed by a 3-pointer from Navarro restored Spain’s double-digit lead.

“They played great and we can learn a lot from that,” Parker said. “That’s where we want to be as a team. They’ve been together for more than six years and it makes a huge difference. … I know what it’s like after winning three titles with the San Antonio Spurs.”

“This is a historic team,” said Navarro, who is known in his homeland as “La Bomba” for his scoring ability. “We’ll see what are the limits of this selection (of players).”

Gasol chipped in with a double-double, adding 17 points and 10 rebounds for Spain, which became the first repeat champion since Yugoslavia in 1997.

“It’s a very sweet moment for (Spanish) basketball,” the Los Angeles Lakers star said.

Navarro’s performance followed a 35-point game in the semifinal win over Macedonia and earned him the MVP honors for the tournament.

The shooting guard spent a season in the NBA with the Memphis Grizzlies before returning to Barcelona in 2008.

“Navarro has been incredible, shooting very well and stepping up for us in the clutch,” Gasol said.

Another difference maker in the final was Oklahoma City Thunder forward Serge Ibaka, who had five blocks in a five-minute span in the second quarter when Spain built a 10-point lead that it never relinquished. Ibaka, a native of the Republic of Congo, was playing his first tournament for Spain after being granted citizenship in July.

“This was my destiny and I have achieved my dream,” Ibaka said. “I knew that we were going to win because we have a great team. It is my first year with the team and look! Yes sir, five blocks, that’s right man.”

Navarro also had five assists to lead a balanced Spanish effort. Guard Jose Calderon of the Toronto Raptors added 17 points while the Dallas Mavericks’ Rudy Fernandez had 14 and the Memphis Grizzlies’ Marc Gasol — Pau’s younger brother — scored 11.

“I am extremely proud of back-to-back titles because this was a high-quality championship,” Spain coach Sergio Scariolo said.

Both teams qualified for next year’s London Olympics by reaching the final.

Spain took control early and never allowed France to come close. With 10 blocks and 10 steals — four by Calderon — Spain scored 23 points off France’s 15 turnovers.

“No doubt it was the best team,” France coach Vincent Collet said. “We tried, for a long time we were not far but not very close either. Every time we got close they found a solution. … When you lose to a better team, there is not much to say.”

Boris Diaw of the Charlotte Bobcats had 12 points for France, Chicago Bulls star Joakim Noah had 11 and eight rebounds and Nicolas Batum finished with 10 points.

In the bronze-medal game, Aleksey Shved scored the last four points to give Russia a 72-68 victory over Macedonia. American-born guard Bo McCalebb led Macedonia with 22 points. Russia won the tournament in 2007, beating Spain in the final.

Parker, Navarro, McCalebb, Gasol and Andrei Kirilenko of Russia were picked as the top five players of the tournament.

TD, Manu named among NBA’s top 10 over-30 players

Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili are both nearer to retirement than to their peak years when they helped lead the Spurs to three championships together.

Duncan had a part in four NBA titles with the franchise, while Ginobili joined him for the last three titles.

Both will go down in history among the handful of greatest players to ever play for the franchise. They likely will both have their numbers retired by the team and should end up in the Naismith  Basketball Hall of Fame when their careers conclude.

But Duncan and Ginobili still have some basketball to be played before they decide to retire.

That remaining talent led Orange County Register NBA reporter Kevin Deng to list both Duncan and Ginobili among the in a recent list for the newspaper’s website.

and  in his compilation of top players.

Here’s his list of the top 10 players 30 or older in the league.

1. Kobe Bryant, Los Angeles Lakers

2. Dirk Nowitzki, Dallas

3. Pau Gasol, Los Angeles Lakers

4. Kevin Garnett, Boston

5. Paul Pierce, Boston

6. Zach Randolph, Memphis

7. Joe Johnson, Atlanta

8. Manu Ginobili, San Antonio

9. Tim Duncan San Antonio

10. Lamar Odom, Los Angeles Lakers

11. Steve Nash, Phoenix

12. Luis Scola, Houston

13. David West, New Orleans

14. Caron Butler, Dallas

15. Ray Allen, Boston

16. Jason Kidd, Dallas  

17. Chauncey Billups, New York

18. Jason Terry, Dallas

19. Stephen Jackson, Milwaukee

20. Elton Brand, Philadelphia

It’s a strong list and the fact that Ginobili and Duncan are ranked as highly as they are indicates that they still have some basketball ability left to contribute to the Spurs.

How much, we don’t know. But over the rest of their careers, Spurs Nation should savor the contributions of these two players who have been so important to the franchise over the years.

Buck Harvey: Blowing up baby: Decision in Dallas

DALLAS — The point guard had aged. The superstar was another year closer to the end, too. And when the No. 2 seed lost badly, the reaction was swift.

“All I see,” wrote a newspaper columnist, “is further proof they need to blow this baby up.”

That was a year ago.

In Dallas.

After the Mavericks had lost to the Spurs.

What has happened since doesn’t deter similar reactions in San Antonio and now in Los Angeles. The Spurs and Lakers are home when they should be preparing for a conference showdown, and, given the age of their players, there’s only one conclusion.

“Dr. (Jerry) Buss has a lot of work to do,” Magic Johnson said last week. “He’s probably going to have to blow this team up.”

That’s the operative phrase this time of year, and for good reason. The mental imagery of lighting a fuse and powering Ron Artest to a far-away place appeals to the mob.

But it’s a visceral reaction more than a logical one, and it’s not an altogether accurate description, either. Most of what would be left of a detonated franchise would be blown mostly down.

Then there is the reality of a modern-day NBA payroll. Just as most of the Spurs are under contracts that make trades difficult, so are the Lakers. Eight of their players who are due to return are over the age of 30.

Like the Spurs, the Lakers also don’t have cap room. Their Richard Jefferson is Artest. Does anyone want Ron-Ron with three years and $21.8 million remaining?

Finding a way to trade for a Dwight Howard, of course, is something else entirely. Otherwise, do you give up on someone — such as Tony Parker or Pau Gasol — just to make a change?

Gasol was awful against Dallas. But he also took the Lakers to three Finals, two of which they won. In Game 7 last season, he merely ended with 19 points and 18 rebounds.

But logic doesn’t apply in the moments immediately after failure. The Spurs and Lakers were the two best in the Western Conference in the regular season, yet all it took was a few weeks to determine they are so old, there is nothing worth saving.

A year ago, the Mavericks faced the same. Unlike the Spurs and Lakers, they had never won a title. And when they fell again as a favorite, as a No. 2 seed, they made for blow-up material. The consensus at the time was that only Dirk Nowitzki and the promising young guard, Roddy Beaubois, were salvageable.

“(Nowitzki) had very little help,” the columnist continued then, “and has to be looking at a returning JKidd, Jet and Shawn Marion and wondering: How is this supposed to be better?”

The Mavericks reacted, instead, as both the Spurs and Lakers will try to now. The Mavericks evaluated what they had, and what was possible to change — just as every team does every year.

This time, though, they found the kind of shotblocker the Spurs could have used, Tyson Chandler, and an additional 3-point shooter in Peja Stojakovic. Beaubois watched on the sidelines, too, as JKidd, Jet and Shawn Marion made a few plays.

The Spurs will find this harder to do than the Mavericks and Lakers because of finances. On Sunday, after all, the team with the league’s second-highest payroll swept the team with the highest.

But both the Spurs and the Lakers will take the same approach. They will understand they weren’t the top seeds by accident, and that the playoffs are often about matchups and timing. They will look to see where they can find help, yet with the idea that their core of talent is too valuable to simply discard.

Blow up that baby?

They wish the Mavericks had.

bharvey@express-news.net