Tag: Pop

Spurs notebook: Title, not streak, matters to Spurs

The Spurs’ reaction to the news they can make NBA history tonight with a win in Game 2 of the Western Conference finals can best be summed up in one word: Whatever.

With their 101-98 victory over the Thunder on Sunday, the Spurs claimed their 19th straight win, matching the 2001 Lakers for the longest winning streak in NBA history that includes regular season and playoff triumphs.

That Lakers team went on to capture a title, which is all the Spurs care about.

“If it doesn’t turn out the way we want it to turn out, with us winning the championship, nobody is going to talk about the streak or even care about the streak,” guard Gary Neal said Monday. “Maybe after we complete our goals people will talk about the streak.”

Said forward Stephen Jackson: “If we lose tomorrow, then all that goes down the drain. … What we’ve done up to this point doesn’t matter. We have to be ready to win Game 2.”

The Spurs’ streak includes 10 games to cap the regular season. It’s also the longest in team history and is tied with the 1999-2000 Lakers for the fourth-longest in NBA history. With a win tonight, the Spurs will become just the fourth team to win 20 or more in a row.

But winning the franchise’s fifth title, not etching their names in the record book, is what matters most to the Spurs.

“None,” guard Manu Ginobili said when asked if he and his teammates had any awareness of the historical aspects of their scintillating run.

“When we are asked, we remember we are on a great streak, but we really don’t care,” he added. “We are close — seven games away — from accomplishing something way bigger than a streak.

“So, if it is happening, it’s fine. But we always think about the next game and how tough it’s going to be. The things we’ve got to do are beat (the Thunder) and improve.”

Only two teams have a longer streak than the Spurs’ nine to start the postseason. The Lakers won their first 11 games during the 1989 and 2001 playoffs. Both those teams reached the Finals, but only the 2001 crew won the title.

Green-light Gary: Neal said he’s “living his dream” in the playoffs. A more accurate statement is he’s living his dream with a hot hand.

Over his last two playoff games, Neal is hitting 62.5 percent from the field, including 57.1 percent from 3-point territory, while averaging 13 points. He scored seven of his 12 points in Game 1 in the fourth quarter on 3-of-4 shooting from the field. His biggest bucket was a 3-pointer to cap an 18-3 run.

Neal said his comfort with playoff basketball has a lot to do with Gregg Popovich.

“Coach Pop has given me the green light to come into the game and be aggressive,” Neal said. “When you have that kind of green light, you don’t really have a choice but to play with confidence.”

torsborn@express-news.net

Spurs made believers out of … themselves

By Mike Monroe

LOS ANGELES – No team in NBA playoff history ever had recovered from a deficit as large as the Spurs faced at the end of the first quarter of Saturday’s Game 3 at Staples Center: Clippers 33, Spurs 11.

As if this weren’t discouraging enough, L.A.’s lead grew to 24 points in the first three minutes of the second quarter, the red-clad crowd howling approval.

It was a situation so daunting even the most competitive of Spurs believed the third victory of the Western Conference semifinals series would have to wait for another day?

“At one point,” Manu Ginobili said, “I thought there was no chance. (The Clippers) were playing so well and making every shot and we couldn’t even shoot. We were turning the ball over and they were playing great. We were not ready. We looked like we were still in bed.”

If Ginobili feared all was lost he never let it show, and what ultimately got the Spurs out of such a deep hole was the calm, calculated approach to chipping away at the Clippers’ big lead, one possession at a time. It helped that Ginobili, Tim Duncan and Tony Parker had seen nearly every playoff situation imaginable, though none quite so daunting so early in a game.

“Their experience lets them know you’ve just got to stay in the system and work it, and it will either work out, or it won’t,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. “And that’s that.”

After the Clippers lead reached 24 the goal was to cut it to 10 by halftime. When they headed to the halftime break trailing, 53-43, optimism reigned.

“Once we made a little run and were down 16, 18, we were really talking about cutting the lead to 10 at halftime,” Ginobili said. “It happened, and then the starters in the third quarter were great. They just moved the ball well. They played easy and played great defense and when we went up eight (in the third) we knew it was going to be very hard for them to overcome that change of game.

“Being up 24, and then being down six, eight is very hard to overcome.”

Confidence is Popovich: When the Clippers sliced a 12-point Spurs lead to seven with 9:13 left in the game Popovich called a time out and drew up a play intended to get Gary Neal open for a 3-point attempt.

Coming from the baseline to the 3-point line off two screens, Neal took a pass from Tony Parker and nailed the long-distance shot to push the lead back to double digits.

“Coach Pop drew that play up out of a timeout,” Neal said. “It was great execution. I got two great screens from the bigs and I came up. Mo (Williams) shot the gap and I was wide open. I’m glad it went in.”

Duncan said Popovich’s skill in drawing up plays during timeouts helps the Spurs execute his plays.

“Obviously, we’ve all kind of been through this with him and he’s one of the best in the league at drawing plays up in timeouts and having them work,” he said. “He did it again.

“I don’t know how to explain it but he understands that if we’re able to execute and move the ball and find shooters good things are going to happen.”

Defying history: The Clippers are well aware no team in NBA history has overcome a 3-0 deficit to win a seven-game series.

“We have to keep fighting,” point guard Chris Paul said. “It’s never been done before in history.”

Guard Nick Young, who looked ready for a fashion runway as he exited the Clippers locker room, said the team knows precisely how to approach tonight’s game.

“We have to look at this like we did in Game 7 (vs. Memphis). Nobody wants to be in this situation. We made it hard on ourselves. We’re desperate now. It’s win or go home.”

mikemonroe@express-news.net

SPURS VS. CLIPPERS
(Spurs lead best-of-seven series 2-0)

Game 1:

Game 2:

Game 3:

Game 4: Sunday, @Clippers, 9:30 p.m., TNT

* Game 5: Tuesday, @Spurs, TBA, TNT

* Game 6: Friday, @Clippers, TBA, ESPN

* Game 7: May 27, @Spurs, TBA, TNT

* If necessary

Don’t cry for me, Argentine puppy

MAR DEL PLATA, Argentina — As fate would have it (or dumb luck in this case) the hotel I booked for the FIBA Americas pre-Olympic tournament turned  out to be the same hotel that houses the Argentine national team.

This has been a boon for a reporter unaccustomed to dealing with FIBA’s exgremely limited media access. I have bumped into Luis Scola and had a nice conversation with the player most Spurs fans refer as “the one who got away.” I met the team manager in the cafe for desayuno on Wednesday and was able to arrange some interviews for next week in the hotel.

Thursday night, however, a large convention of veterinarians moved into  the hotel for a two-day conference, some of them with animals in tow. So it was not a great surprise this morning when I was awakened around 5 a.m. by what sounded like a puppy, crying in a nearby room. The crying was intermittent, but it lasted for nearly an hour, and grew in intensity until the yelps sounded more like a coyoute’s howls.

Team Argentina has a big match tonight against Puerto Rico, and my first thought was how angry Argentine coach Julio Lamas must have been if he, too, was awakened by the distressed puppy that likely served as the wake-up call for the players, as well.

My next thought: WWPD? What Would Pop Do?

I’m not suggesting Spurs coach Gregg Popovich ever would kick a crying puppy. I’m sure he loves puppies and kittens and dogs and cats.

I am suggesting a hotel manager might have gotten the full referee treatment from a red-faced Coach Pop.