Tag: San Antonio Spurs

Spurs’ backups nearly steal a victory

DALLAS — As soon as the ball left his hand, had a plan.

It is one he lifted from one of the most painful chapters of Spurs history, from a player who made a similar shot facing similar odds nearly eight years ago.

Even before Green pulled a — swishing a turnaround jumper that appeared to give the Spurs a breathtaking buzzer-beating victory over Dallas — he had mapped his escape from the .

“I was going to run out of the gym, just like Derek did,” said Green. “I said, ‘Guys, let’s go. Let’s get the heck out of here.’

“Nobody wanted to follow my lead.”

That was a stark contrast to what had happened for the previous quarter-plus, when the Spurs rode their young bench players to the brink of an improbable comeback victory against the defending NBA champs before falling in overtime 101-100.

Officials reviewed, then disallowed Green’s shot, launched with 0.5 seconds left — more time than Fisher had for his 0.4 dagger for the in the 2004 playoffs. The game went to OT, where Dallas — ahead by 18 points in the third — dodged more bullets.

“The one thing I’m not going to allow to happen is to have our team feel bad about a win,” Dallas coach said. “Wins are hard to get.”

With his starters stumbling into a 67-49 hole late in the third quarter, Spurs coach took the unorthodox step of benching them all.

Aside from 1.1 seconds logged by Kawhi Leonard in OT, no Spurs starter appeared after the 2:44 mark of the third.

Dallas (13-8) led 67-53 at that point, but behind a barrage of bench 3-pointers — three from and two apiece from Green, and — the Spurs clawed back.

Popovich said he never contemplated putting his starters back in the game, even as the deficit shrank.

“That group was playing great,” Popovich said. “Why would I?”

Implausibly, a game that seemed headed toward a blowout quickly took on the tenor of the most memorable Spurs-Mavericks playoff clashes.

Albeit, instead of , and battling and , it was Neal, Anderson and Green.

Neal ended with 19 points, though he missed a free throw that could have tied the game with 12.6 seconds left in OT. Green scored 12 points, while Anderson added eight points, three assists and five rebounds.

In all, the Spurs’ reserves accounted for the team’s final 51 points and were largely responsible for the 24-6 run that had the Spurs (12-9) up nine with 5:33 to go in the fourth.

“Those guys got us back out of a hole,” said Duncan, who had 12 points in 23 minutes. “You ride with what’s going good. It was the right call.”

With the Spurs ahead by four with 37.8 seconds left, Dallas’ answered with a drive. Then Terry — who finished with 34 points — took the ball coast-to-coast after a Neal miss to drill a game-tying 12-footer with 0.5 seconds left.

That set the stage for Green to reprise Fisher, with one notable exception.

“His goes in the books,” Green said. “Mine doesn’t.”

Referees originally ruled Green’s shot good, then disallowed it after replays showed the ball still on his fingertips as the horn blared. Afterward, Duncan joked he wished that same crew had been around for Fisher’s shot in Game 5 of the 2004 Western Conference semifinals.

“I don’t know if the clock started early, or Danny’s release is slower, or what,” Duncan said.

Still, even with Green going anti-Fisher, the Spurs had a chance to win in OT. They were ahead 98-95 on Green’s drive with 1:18 left but again could not close.

In the end, it came down to the Spurs behind by one, the ball again in Green’s hands. A discombobulated final play led Green to try a desperation 3-pointer that was no good.

So when Green finally left the floor at the American Airlines Center, he did not run. He walked.

“I guess it was just too good to be true,” he said.

jmcdonald@express-news.net

Game rewind: Why TP finally heard the cheers

Tony Parker has never really been embraced by Spurs Nation like he probably should have been.

Sure, you see No. 9 jerseys around town, but Parker has never received the adulation of teammates Manu Ginobili and Tim Duncan over the years. Ginobili’s fan-friendly style of play and Duncan’s laser-like game focus (and four championship rings) have led them to be the faces of the Spurs’ dynasty among many fans.

Some of it might have started with Parker’s introduction. Parker came to the Spurs as a raw 19-year-old who earned a starting job by the fifth game of his rookie season. He was only replacing Avery Johnson, one of the franchise’s most historically popular players.

Parker was a part of three championship teams and earned the MVP of the 2007 Finals. He married and then divorced a television star. He brought a flash of international sizzle to a franchise that never really received much national publicity.

But some fans never really gravitated to that. And when he made some comments about the team’s future last summer — that he later backed away from — it caught the umbrage of Spurs Nation.

Ginobili’s recent injury and the gradual erosion of Duncan’s game have provided Parker with a chance to blossom in the starring role over the last several weeks. He’s played more minutes and been the team’s offensive focal point in a role that became more difficult with backup T.J. Ford’s injury.

In a compressed season caused by the lockout, Parker has never played better on a consistent basis. He’s averaging 18 points and a career-high 7.6 assists. His minutes played are more than three per game more than any of his teammates.

His game Saturday night was his most impressive as the season. Taking advantage of Gregg Popovich’s confidence to shoot more, Parker torched Oklahoma City for 42 points on 29 shots. And for good measure, he contributed nine assists with no turnovers.

His pass to Duncan with 4:56 left in the third quarter broke the franchise’s assist record. It prompted a quick 20-second time out from the Spurs that gave Parker a chance to bask in the adulation of San Antonio fans as the ATT Center’s spotlights shone on him before he returned back to the court.

At the end of his career, Parker deserves to have his jersey lifted to the rafters of the facility. And before then, more cheers like Saturday night and maybe even a berth in the All-Star game later this month in Orlando are richly earned. 

Here’s a look at how Parker’s big game helped spark the Spurs to one of their more impressive victories of the season.

Game analysis: Parker’s vintage game as a scorer and penetrator and the Spurs’ blistering perimeter game gave them the chance to convincingly beat the NBA team with the league’s best won-loss record and the best road record.

Where the game was won: After Oklahoma City jumped to a quick 11-4 lead, the Spurs hit them with a 17-4 run that boosted them back in the lead for good. Parker started it with a floater and a jumper and Kawhi Leonard contributed eight straight San Antonio points, including a pair of 3-pointers that enabled them to take control.

Closing it out: Daequan Cook’s 3-pointer capped a 14-3 Oklahoma City run that pulled them within 93-84 with 8:27 left in the game. Parker responded with a pair of baskets and Duncan added a layup on a 6-0 response and the Spurs’ margin never dipped below double digits during the rest of the game.

Player of the game I: Parker was at his best with 42 points and nine assists. After struggling against Oklahoma City in his first meeting with the Thunder on Jan. 8, Parker was anxious to have a big game and even more determined to tell the Thunder what they were about to experience.

Player of the game II: After some early struggles on Kevin Durant, Leonard did a much better job against the NBA’s scoring leader as the game progressed. Durant got 22 points, but only 11 came after the first quarter. And Leonard put some offensive pressure on the Thunder by going for 15 points, six rebounds and five assists during one of his best all-around games of the season.

Player of the game III: Duncan overcame a struggling shooting game where he hit only 5 of 16 from the field for 13 points. But he was tough inside, outplaying Kendrick Perkins, who was shut out in 21 minutes. Duncan also produced 15 rebounds — the most by a Spurs player this season.

Most unsung: Matt Bonner came off the bench to continue to Spurs’ perimeter blitz. He came up with nine points on three 3-pointers as one of the Spurs’ most effective shooters.

Did you notice I: It’s hard to remember a Spur having a more disastrous back-to-back defensive possesions as Danny Green endured early in the fourth quarter. His goaltending on a James Harden shot that wasn’t close to the basket led to an easy basket. And on the ensuing Oklahoma City possession, Green committed a bad foul when he nicked Harden in 3-point territory on a shot that wasn’t close to the rim. Those plays enabled Oklahoma City to climb back in the game. I’m sure Green will be hearing about them during the Spurs’ next film session. 

Did you notice II: After hitting his first two free throws of the game, Oklahoma City’s Serge Ibaka clanked his final five of the game. Those struggles underscored Oklahoma City’s uncharacteristic difficulties from the line. The Thunder hit 60.7 percent from the line — their lowest game percentage since hitting 50 percent against Utah on Dec. 31, 2009.

Stat of the game:  Parker torched Oklahoma City for 42 points. It was tied for the second-highest scoring total in the history of the ATT Center.

Stat of the game II: The Spurs went 12 for 23 from 3-point territory — the fifth time they have hit at least 50 percent this season. Their record in those games is 4-1.  

Stat of the game III: Oklahoma City was limited to 96 points, marking the fourth straight game the Spurs have limited opponents to less than 100 points. The Spurs have limited six of their seven last opponents to less than 100 points with Dallas’ 101-100 overtime victory on Jan. 29 being the only game that broke that streak.

Stat of the game IV: Oklahoma City came into the game as the third most productive offense in the NBA, averaging 100.1 points per game. They were limited to 96 points, marking the sixth time this season they have been limited to 96 points or less.

Stat of the game V: Tiago Splitter endured a 1-for-5 shooting effort, marking one of his two worst shooting games of the season. The only one lower was a 1-for-6 game against Golden State on Jan. 4.  

Weird stat of the game: The Spurs were pounded in the paint as Oklahoma City had a 46-30 scoring edge. The minus-16 differential was the third highest by a Spurs’ opponent this season. But in those three games, the Spurs are 2-1. They won against Dallas on Jan. 5 (minus-20) and lost Jan. 27 against Minnesota (minus-24).

Not a good sign: Gary Neal has been struggling in a recent slump after scoring 15 points Wednesday night against Houston. Since then, Neal has hit 4 of 17 (23.5 percent) from the field and 2 of 9 (22.2 percent) from beyond the 3-point arc. For the season, Neal is hitting 39.5 of his field goal attempts and 35.3 of his 3-pointers. In his rookie season last year, Neal hit 45.1 percent from the field and 41.9 percent from 3-point range.

Best plus/minus scores: Duncan was plus-24, Parker was plus-20 and Richard Jefferson and Leonard were plus-15

Worst plus/minus scores: Neal was minus-13, Splitter was minus-9 and Cory Joseph and James Anderson were minus-4.

Quote of the game: ”It was a big game for us and I got a little excited. After 11 years, you find stuff to get excited about as tonight was a good game to be in attack mode,” Parker on his on-court animation against Russell Westbrook and the Thunder during the game.

How the schedule stacks up: The Spurs will start their nine-game Rodeo Road Trip with games Monday at Memphis, Wednesday at Philadelphia and Saturday at New Jersey. Oklahoma City has four games left on a five-game road trip with games Wednesday at Portland, Thursday at Golden State, Saturday at Sacramento and Feb. 10 at Utah.

Injuries: Ginobili missed his 20th game (Spurs record 13-7) after undergoing surgery for a fractured fifth left metacarpal.  Ford missed his 15th game (Spurs record 10-5) with a torn left hamstring. Oklahoma City played without starting guard Thabo Sefolosha (right foot soreness). Backup point guard Eric Maynor is expected to miss most of the season with a torn right ACL.

Popovich: Life on road tougher than in the past

NEWARK, N.J. — Over the past nine seasons, the mythology of the Spurs’ rodeo road trip has taken on a life of its own.

It was a time when the Spurs jelled for the season’s stretch run, the place where championships were forged.

Is it still? Gregg Popovich isn’t so sure.

“As guys get older, the trip gets tougher,” the Spurs coach said. “When they were all young, it wasn’t that tough. I threw that pablum out there, ‘We all get together, it’s a bunker mentality.’

“Now, it’s ‘When is this sucker over?’”

This year’s incarnation of the rodeo trip has in fact barely begun. The Spurs are 2-0 on the nine-game jaunt heading into tonight’s game against New Jersey, still three weeks away from their next home date.

Five days in, Popovich has found value to life on the road. With so many new parts on his roster and in his rotation this season, the extended time away from home has given players a chance to bond in ways they might not have otherwise in this condensed lockout season.

A fan of team field trips on the road — he once took players on an outing to the Holocaust Museum in Washington, D.C., for example — Popovich laments the lack of time for such excursions this season.

“There’s no time for any of that stuff,” Popovich said. “This kind of trip, we’re together for so long, so we’ll do something.”

With five nights in New York City before and after tonight’s game against the Nets, the Big Apple would seem to be as good a place as any for such an outing.

Not so fast, Popovich said.

“All my field trips in New York are personal,” he said. “Total selfishness, and hedonistic.”

Duncan not heartbroken: ??After 13 straight trips to the All-Star Game, Tim Duncan was neither surprised nor dismayed to learn Western Conference coaches declined to put him on this year’s team.

“I’m not broken up about it,” Duncan said.

Popovich refused after practice Friday to enter a discussion about whether Duncan — who is averaging 13.9 points and 8.3 rebounds — deserved to be on the team. Later, Popovich joked he could have done more to promote his venerable captain’s All-Star chances.

“I thought about sending teddy bears to the coaches that said, ‘Vote for Tim,’” Popovich said.

To which Duncan shot back, with mock incredulity, “You didn’t do that?”

Lonely All-Star: Point guard Tony Parker got news of his fourth All-Star nod the way the rest of America did — by watching the TNT selection broadcast Thursday.

His inclusion gives the Spurs an All-Star representative for the 14th consecutive game.

“I was happy to keep the streak going for the Spurs,” Parker said. “I’ve always said it’s a reward for the team. We’ve been playing well.”

Parker’s only regret is that Duncan won’t be going with him. He considers Duncan in the same category as Dallas’ Dirk Nowitzki — an aging but still worthy candidate, despite a drop in numbers.

“When you see Dirk making it, I thought maybe T.D. had a chance,” Parker said. “I was sad. I have to go solo.”

jmcdonald@express-news.net