Tag: Stephen Jackson

What the Spurs, T’wolves said after Wednesday’s game

The Spurs and Timberwolves were talkative in the locker rooms after San Antonio’s 116-100 victory Wednesdaynight.

The good folks from the Spurs media services office were there to collect some of what they said.

Spurs coach Gregg Popovich

(Any word on Tony Parker?)

“I think they said mild hamstring, so we won’t know much until tomorrow.”

(How did you feel like Gary Neal did filling in the second half?)

“Gary did a great job for a two guard.  He did a great job.  He’s not a one (guard), but I think he kind of likes it for some strange reason.  We are happy that he can do what he does at that position and Manu does it a little bit, so the two of them kind of share it.”

(Talk about Tim Duncan setting the tone early on the boards…)

“Tim’s been really fresh all year long.  I’m really enthused about his health and his body…the way he’s taking care of himself.  He’s got quickness and he’s got more agility than he’s had in a while.  He’s had it for the whole season, so it’s been fun to watch.”

(Is that as good of a job as you’ve done keeping Kevin Love from dominating?)

“I think so. I thought the guys were really focused on that and at the same time, I think he helped us out.  I think he was hurting a little bit.  I don’t know what it was but I think it’s his back or something.  He looked like he was a little stiff tonight, so he helped us out too.”

(How do you think Kawhi Leonard did against him in the post?)

“He and Jack kind of shared it down there.  I think they busted their butts trying to keep him from catching it, so he definitely had fewer catches than he would have had if we had just had a big standing behind him someplace.  So, they did a good job.”

Spurs guard Manu Ginobili:

(On filling in for Tony Parker after leaving with an injury…)

“We have been doing this for short periods of time. The mindset was the same. We tried to get everybody involved and create. This did not change much. You know your role and it is just different. I think we did pretty well.”

 (On Parker’s injury with back-to-back-to-back game coming up…)

“It is very bad. Everybody knows how important Tony Parker has been for us right now. It is going to be difficult. We need to figure out. Great teams figure it out. Whether you are missing a player or not you have to find a way.”

(On his minutes and play…)

“Today I felt pretty good. The best I have felt. I was very happy about it. I played 25 minutes. I know I did not play 35 but I felt good and my legs are starting to respond better. They are not cramping or hurting now. I have to see tomorrow how I feel, but I am optimistic because it is the best I have felt.”

Spurs forward Stephen Jackson:

(On first game back in this arena…)

“We won. That’s what I am all about. I am glad to be here on a team that wins. It feels good to finally get back on the court and get this first home game out of the way. I did not have too many jitters because I have been doing this for a long time. To be able to get out there and win this game is great.”

(On shooting his 3-point shots)

“A lot of those shots just came through the offense and gave me wide-open looks. We practice this everyday and these are the shots we are going to get with this offense. We just need to knock them down.”

(On how it was playing with Tim Duncan again…)

“This is the Tim I have always known. He is moving great. From watching him last year to now, he definitely looks like the old Tim Duncan. To get where we want to be, we are going to need him to play like that.”

(On Tony Parker coming out in the second quarter…)

“Things are going to be difficult for us playing without Tony. We are in a good position with Ginobili being able to play point and move the ball. We just have to figure it out. We did not expect for this to happen but Gary Neal and Manu Ginobili are picking up the slack.”

Timberwolves center Kevin Love:

(Do you feel like the Spurs were making a big effort to keep you off the glass?)

“Yeah, as a group. They did a good job on the offensive boards. They had three days of rest and we just seemed to not have any legs, me included.”

(Did they seem like a different team since the last time you both played each other?)

“Yes, they are in playoff mode. You can tell and they’re ready for the post-season.”

(Is there a fatigue factor?)

“Yeah, we need a full roster if we’re going to win against teams like this. It’s tough. I know it wasn’t just me. It was the whole team. We just didn’t have our legs.”

 (How much does Nikola Pekovic not playing effect the team?)

“(Pekovic) is huge for us. He’s the guy we can throw it into and know we can get easy buckets and keep the other team off the glass. It was tough for us.”

Timberwolves guard Jose Barea:

(What does a team like this learn from a game like this tonight?)

“We played against a tough team tonight. They are playing really good. You have to give San Antonio a lot credit. We didn’t come ready. We started bad and we started the second half bad. They played with more energy and it’s tough without a center. We have to definitely play with some more energy on Friday and see what happens.”

(On playing without Nikola Pekovic Friday?)

“We have done a good job of bouncing back this year. I know we’re going to play a lot harder on Friday and with more energy. We definitely have to defend better.”

(What makes Tim Duncan so impressive for so long?)

“He’s just so smart. I think his coach (Popovich) helps him out a lot. I think their system and they way they have been running it for years shows they’re good at it.”

What Spurs, Sixers said after Sunday’s game

Here’s a sampling of some of the post-game comments from both locker rooms after the Spurs’ 93-76 victory over Philadelphia Sunday night at the ATT Center.  

San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich:

(On the three games in three nights…)

“I think that they showed a lot of toughness, a lot of character to do that three nights in a row with different combinations and different players playing each night.  What’s really great is they appreciate and are happy with the success of their teammates.  Whoever’s not playing isn’t hoping that something bad happens so he can get into the game or anything like that. They really pull for each other. Some guys have good games; some guys don’t, but all in all they stuck together all three nights.  Tonight was maybe their best performance in the sense that the defense got better from the beginning to the end of the game on the third night.  In the second half, I thought we were awesome defensively, really active and we executed what we wanted to do defensively better and they deserve a lot of credit for that.”

(Talk about the lift you got from the bench guys inside with Tiago and Tim both out…)

“Well, DeJuan had one of his better games for us.  He played for 48 minutes…which I guess is impossible since I didn’t put him in for that many minutes…but you catch my drift.  He did a great job while he was out there and really set a tone for us in that respect.  The small guys, they moved the basketball and they moved it well.  Matty (Bonner) and Boris complimented DeJuan very well.”

(The three new guys gave you minutes early to help your starters out, talk about that…)

“Well we had to get some minutes from young guys, like Justin for instance, so that we could continue to play and we had to go small for awhile so that the three bigs wouldn’t run out of gas.  We had to change a lot of things and they reacted real well to it against a heck of a team.  Doug’s done a great job with that group.  They’re one of the most physical groups in the league, one of the best defensive teams in the league and they come out every night with that physicality.  It’s a good win when you can play like that against a heck of a team that is well-coached and really athletic like that.”

San Antonio guard Manu Ginobili:

(On the upcoming rest for the Spurs after three games in three days…)

“For some of the guys that played in all three games it was hard and it was not easy, especially traveling in the middle. But I think we played very well. We played great defense in the second half. Defensively, we were not that sharp but overall it was pretty good.”

(On playing with the three new players for the Spurs…)

“I like the way they play. They are team-oriented players. Boris (Diaw) and Jack (Stephen Jackson) are always looking to pass and create. It was good to see them. It is good to see them adjust everyday. We need time on the court together, but it looks promising. I am excited today. We only played today with one big. That is not easy to do and we overcame that difficulty and we did a good job.”

(On the effort needed throughout the stretch of three games in three nights)

“It is very important not to make too many mistakes. In the first half we gave them the ball too much. They are a team that forces you into turning the ball over. In the second half we took care of the ball. We made them play five-on-five and really collapsed the paint. We got a lot of steals. I am glad to see the team did not have a great night offensively but winning it with our defense.”

San Antonio center/forward DeJuan Blair:

(On the adjustments the Spurs had to make with Splitter and Duncan out…)

“They are both a big part to our team. I just try to score and play defense the best I can. We got it done tonight.”

(On the up and coming back-to-back scheduled on Tuesday and Wednesday…)

“We will play two tough teams. We just need to go out there and play Spurs basketball. We need to go out there and play tough.”

(On the message sent by winning all three of the back-to-back-to-back…)

“I don’t want it to send a message. It was just something that we did. We have another one in a week or so. It is fun. I get to play with the team all day everyday and that is what I love.”

San Antonio guard Kawhi Leonard:

(On holding the 76ers to 27 points in the second half…)

“We went in at half time and discussed our rotations and shifts. We bought into the coach’s game plan and went into the second half ready to play.”

 (On the second quarter run…)

“Coach (Popovich) pulled guys out and telling them what places to be in. They were getting easy baskets but everybody sucked in (to the paint) and we got the win.”

(On the 76ers having 21 turnovers…)

“Coach Popovich always tells us to get out on misses and if we get steals to get up the court.”

(On Leonard learning the 3-point shot…)

“Everyday. When I go into practice everyday, I really focus in and work on my all around shot. I will be confident and ready to hit it when they pass me the ball.”

Philadelphia coach Doug Collins:

(Opening statement on tonight’s game…)

“This team (Spurs) brings out the worst in us.  They spread the floor and they get you in the middle pick-and-roll and they just put you in a bind the entire night. (Tony) Parker, (Manu) Ginobili you can’t keep them out of the paint.  We gave them 27 points off turnovers.  We normally turn the ball over 11 times a game and tonight it was 21 turnovers.  When it’s all said and done with, I think with 3:30 to go in the third quarter it was 68-63.  We missed Andre (Iguodala), because he’s another ball handler.  I thought Sam (Young) did some good things for us.  The one thing is we lose spacing on the floor when we have a couple of guys who don’t stretch to the three.  Then you’re playing in a phone booth.  We played in some tight spaces tonight.  We were very careless and that’s unlike us.  They did speed us up.  I have to give their (Spurs) defense credit. They stripped us around the basket around six or seven times.  Once it started going south we just couldn’t get it stopped.”

Philadelphia  forward Elton Brand:

 (On being out of sync tonight…)

“They have been scoring 103 points at home and 113 in the last five games. They just spread the court and they put guys in the right spots to score easy. They got Bonner outside the lane and then Blair on the inside, then you add Parker and Ginobili driving into the lane, it makes their offense difficult to attack.” 

 (On the Spurs’ defense in the second half…)

 “No, it was the same defensive intensity but our turnovers really hurt us. We had over 20 turnovers and that really hurt us and every time we turned it over, they made us pay.”

 (On missing Andre Iguodala tonight…)

 “He does so much for us offensively and defensively. He gets easy shots for everybody and his defensive presence was certainly missed and hopefully everything goes well with his knee.”

 Philadelphia center Spencer Hawes:

 (On how to rediscover what the 76ers had going the first few weeks of the season…)

“The schedule we have played recently has been tough on us. We have to understand that everyone goes through stretches like this and we know that the pace we started off with would be a tough one to keep up with the way the season is set up.”

 (On when he felt tonight’s game got away from them…)

 “In the second quarter, we exerted ourselves pretty well and then they can come at you in a hurry. The Spurs really put everyone in the right positions to get easy shots and at the end of the games, they really put it together. We noticed towards the end of the game it seemed that they either shoot shots in the paint or 3-pointers.”

 (On the Spurs offense…)

“There is no secret to their offense, it is one of the most efficient offenses going and they got the better of us tonight. They have been doing it for a while now and that is why they are one of the top franchises in the league for the last decade.”

 (On defending the pick and roll tonight…)

“It is tough because the way they complement each other with the guys diving in and with Bonner spacing it, you have to pick your poison.”

Game rewind: Slumping Bucks add to Spurs road woes

It was one of those nights for the Spurs.

After getting strong offensive efforts from Tim Duncan and Tony Parker to start the game, the Spurs appeared ready to snap the nagging road losing streak that had dogged them since the start of the season.

But the Spurs discombulated down the stretch, allowing the Bucks to snatch a victory away despite San Antonio leading for much of the second half. The Spurs squandered a seven-point lead — their largest of the game — early in the fourth quarter.

Game analysis: The Spurs received strong efforts from Duncan, Parker and Kawhi Leonard throughout most of the game, but it wasn’t enough as they couldn’t hold off Milwaukee’s fast-closing duo of Stephen Jackson and Brandon Jennings.

Where the game was won: The Spurs squandered two chances to win or tie in the final minute.  Trailing 104-103, Parker was stripped by Jennings, who finished the play with a  transition dunk giving gave them a 106-103 with less than 50 seconds. And after San Antonio had won a jump ball with 15 seconds remaining, Gregg Popovich couldn’t get his team to call a timeout.  Parker fed the ball to Richard Jefferson, who missed a 3-pointer as time expired for the final margin.

Player of the game I: Jackson bounced out of a slump that had dogged him all season to score 34 points and provide eight assists. Coming into the game, he was shooting  32.0 percent from the field.

Player of the game II: Duncan had his strongest game of the season with 20 points, eight rebounds and seven assists and three blocked shots. It was his first game with at least 20 points, eight rebounds and seven assists since his vintage 21-point, 16-rebound, eight-assist, five-blocked shot game against New York last Jan. 21.

 Player of the game III: Leonard had the best game of his young NBA career with 19 points, three rebounds, two assists and four steals in 33 minutes. It may have shown enough to convince Popovich to provide him with his first career start while T.J. Ford recuperates. 

Most unsung: Milwaukee center Andrew Bogut spent most of Monday flying back from Australia after taking care of an undisclosed family emergency. Despite struggling in the first half to stick with Duncan and find his conditioning, Bogut played through his weariness and provided a strong second half. Bogut snatched seven of his game-high 11 rebounds in the second half, providing the Bucks with an inside presence that helped free Jackson and Jennings outside.

Did you notice: The Spurs led in the second half for the first time on the road this season and even had an advantage into the fourth quarter. In their three previous road losses, the Spurs had not led after halftime.

Stat of the game: The Bucks forced 16 Spurs turnovers and turned them into 25 points. Six of the turnovers came in the fourth quarter, including two in the final minute.

Stat of the game II: Milwaukee snapped a five-game losing streak with the victory.

Stat of the game III: The Bucks hit 9 of 14 3-point shots for a season-best 64.3 percent.

Weird stat of the game: The Spurs shot 60 percent from the field and still lost. An NBA team has shot 60 percent and lost only four times since 1999.

Weird stat of the game II: Since the 1999 lockout, the Bucks have beaten the Spurs 13 out of 25 times. Their victory Tuesday night snapped a four-game losing streak to the Spurs.

Quote of the game: ”It’s the worst defensive team we’ve ever had. We have a long way to go,” Popovich on his team’s defensive struggles.

How the schedule stacks up: The Spurs were on the front end of of a back-to-back and will play Houston Wednesday night at the ATT Center. The Bucks will rest until a  back-to-back with a Thursday game against Detroit and a Friday night game at Dallas.

Injuries: Manu Ginobili missed his fifth game after undergoing surgery for a fractured fifth left metacarpal.  Ford strained his hamstring late in the first quarter and did not return. Popovich said there is no timetable for his return. Milwaukee played without guard Mike Dunleavy (groin injury), forward Luc Richard Mbah a Moute (right knee tendinitis) and former Spurs guard Beno Udrih (left shoulder sprain).