The San Antonio Spurs are trying to hand the New Orleans Hornets their second consecutive loss and extend a seven-game winning streak against the Hornets in New Orleans tonight. New Orleans matched last season's start for the best in franchise history with four straight wins before falling 93-90 to the Portland Trail Blazers on Wednesday. The Spurs, meanwhile, bounced back from their first loss with an 88-78 win over the Miami Heat on Wednesday.
Peter Finney, a writer for the New Orleans Times-Picayune paid great tribute to the Spurs today. What a good sport.
Finney wrote, "Let's all stand and applaud. How about a Big Easy welcome to the Invisible Dynasty that goes by the name of the San Antonio Spurs? The Spurs win by making plays that don't show up on "SportsCenter." They win with defense, by getting the ball to the open man, by wearing you down with basic fundamentals. Whatever happens tonight, win or lose, the Hornets will learn from the experience."
What a great article from the oposition's press? WOW! Do you think maybe, just maybe, Katrina changed the paradigm on how things are viewed in the Crescent City?
Imagine, remembering that sports are for fun. What a display of sportsmanship that is far to lacking these days. Thanks Peter.
The Hornets have one of the Western Conference's most potent backcourts. Third-year point guard Chris Paul dropped 21 assists on the Los Angeles Lakers in New Orleans' Tuesday night victory. Shooting guard Morris Peterson, signed as a free agent this summer, is finding his comfort zone. Backups Bobby Jackson and Rasual Butler are solid and consistent.
As a result of the San Antonio Spurs' deep bench, shooting guard Michael Finley has barely had to play. Finley, the Spurs' second-oldest starter at age 34, has only logged 20 minutes per game so far. That should go a ways toward keeping him fresh for later in the year.
So far this season, Spurs coach Gregg Popovich has been able to successfully limit the minutes of Finley. As he often does this time of year, Popovich has been utilizing an expanded rotation, playing with various pieces as he attempts to evaluate who can do what. As a result, Finley has been averaging 8.3 fewer minutes per game, than his backup, Manu Ginobili, if you concede that Ginobili actually backs up Finley, and one fewer than Matt Bonner. Effectively massaging Finley's minutes has been a pastime of Popovich's since the guard joined the Spurs two seasons ago. Finley averaged just 22 minutes per game last year, not much more time than he is receiving now.
"It's good for all the guys who are a little bit older to make sure we don't overplay them," Popovich said.
The Spurs, whose last action was a victory against the Sacramento Kings on Friday, don't face the Houston Rockets until tommorrow night. After taking Saturday off, they commenced preparations with a 21/2—hour workout Sunday morning.
The Spurs defense put the clamps down once again on the Nuggets in the second half and took the series victory with a 93-78 win Wednesday night. Denver’s point total was the lowest of any of the five games of the series with the Spurs only giving up 30 in the final two periods (11 points in the 3rd and 19 in the 4th). The Spurs held the Nuggets to 38% shooting in the contest.
The Buzz
Just like in 2005 when the Nuggets jumped out to a 1-0 series lead over the Spurs, the Spurs were able to fight back and win four straight and take the series.
The Recap
The San Antonio Spurs don't have to go back to Denver. They're headed to the Western Conference semifinals. With Michael Finley leading the way from behind the 3-point line, the Spurs beat the Denver Nuggets 93-78 on Wednesday night to win their first-round series in five games. After losing the opening game at home, the Spurs won four straight, and they will have three days' rest before opening the second round at Phoenix on Sunday. The Suns beat the Los Angeles Lakers 119-110 in Game 5 on Wednesday night.
Finley set a San Antonio playoff record with eight 3-pointers and finished with 26 points. "He was fantastic. He came out and served it up well. And he just kept shooting,'' said Robert Horry, who hit a big three late in the Spurs' Game 4 victory. "That's the one thing about it ... once you get hot, keep shooting until you miss, and he didn't miss.''
It was also a career-best in threes for Finley, who went 8-of-9 from 3-point range. Spurs coach Gregg Popovich called Finley's performance "ridiculous.'' "To be realistic, my career is coming to an end in a couple of years or so. So I'm enjoying the moment,'' said the 34-year-old Finley, who signed with the Spurs in September 2005 and is in his 12th NBA season. "I'm blessed to be playing with some tremendous basketball players, guys like Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili and Tim Duncan. Those guys attract a lot of attention and I'm just out there doing my job and knocking down shots off of things they create for me.''
The Spurs finished 10-for-21 from beyond the arc led by Finley, who came into Game 5 shooting nearly 41 percent from 3-point range during the playoffs, up from 36 percent during the regular season. "The last two threes, I think he didn't even looked at the rim. He caught it and let it fly with Carmelo Anthony on top of him,'' Ginobili said. "It was unbelievable. He was really feeling it.''
Finley's fourth three with 1:30 left in the third put San Antonio up 61-55, and they went into the final 12 minutes up 63-59. The Spurs opened the fourth quarter with a 7-0 run sparked by Finley's fifth three of the game. Finley hit his sixth 3-pointer with just over nine minutes to go and his seventh came halfway through the fourth quarter as the Spurs took an 82-71 lead. His last 3-ball came with about 2 1/2 minutes left to make it 89-76.
It's a ####' conspiracy. That's like scheduling my Falcons to play against the Saints in the refurbished Superdome in the first game in New Orleans since the Katrina tragedy. Oh ####! That happened too didn't it. Nevermind!
Celtics Snap 18-Game Losing Streak to Spurs
By ELIZABETH WHITE, Associated Press Writer
Paul Pierce gave the Boston Celtics an unexpected victory in the most unlikely of places. The Celtics ended a 17-year drought in San Antonio - fittingly on St. Patrick's Day. Pierce led Boston with 30 points as the Celtics beat the Spurs 91-85 on Saturday night. The Celtics last beat the Spurs in San Antonio on Feb. 14, 1990. The Spurs had won 18 straight against the Celtics and 15 straight at home.
"It feels good,'' Pierce said. "Regardless of who was supposed to be the favorite coming in. Especially the way it went down - us having the big lead and them coming back and then us keeping our composure.'' "You go on the road to play San Antonio and you tell me it's a two-point game with two minutes left, I'll take that,'' Pierce said.
Delonte West had 23 points, Al Jefferson added 20 points and 12 rebounds and Rajon Rondo grabbed 14 rebounds. "It was a game of momentum. We had it going then all of a sudden in the fourth, we couldn't really do anything,'' Michael Olowokandi said. "Coach just told us to be solid on the defensive end. That's what we did and it worked out.''
"We had one quarter tonight where we really locked it down and did a good job defending,'' said Michael Olowokandi. "But other than that we gave up too many (shots) percentage-wise and too many points in the paint.''
"We had one quarter tonight where we really locked it down and did a good job defending,'' said Tim Duncan. "But other than that we gave up too many (shots) percentage-wise and too many points in the paint.''
Tony Parker led the Spurs with 30 points. Duncan added 20 points and 16 rebounds and Michael Finley had 10 points. They shot just 37 percent from the field. "We tried to make a comeback but it's tough to do that,'' Parker said.
"We played terrible for three quarters,'' said Manu Ginobili. "We made a great effort down the stretch to come back. We were even ahead but then they made a couple of great shots and we stopped. Down the stretch we couldn't get anything done so that means a lot in games like this.''
The Spurs were coming off a 101-90 loss in Milwaukee on Thursday that snapped their season-high 13-game winning streak. The Celtics, who have the league's second-worst record, lost Friday to the Dallas Mavericks 106-101.
Less than four minutes into Saturday's game against Boston, Spurs coach Gregg Popovich had seen enough. Celtics guard Delonte West just beat the Spurs down the floor for a layup, so Popovich looked at his bench and told Manu Ginobili to go to the scorer's table. After Boston scored eight unanswered points, Popovich signaled for a timeout. Out went Brent Barry, in came Ginobili. Ginobili barely had time to take his seat for the second half when his coach called on him again.
Was Popovich's quick trigger a sign he's considering returning Ginobili to the starting lineup? Not necessarily. "Some nights, I might want to get Manu in a little earlier for whatever reason it might be," Popovich said after practice Tuesday, "so it's not really indicative of anything."
Ginobili has come off the bench for the past 21 games and is expected to do so again when the Spurs host Indiana tonight at the A####mp;T Center. Popovich can't say how long the lineup will remain the same, but he does like the flexibility Ginobili has afforded him. "I still think he'd rather start if he was pressed and asked," Popovich said, "but I think he's become comfortable in (a reserve) role, and our team has become a little more consistent in a rotation-sense. "It makes substitutions a whole lot easier that way. We have our top three players on the floor more often. I don't mean all at the same time, but at least one of them is on the floor, and that's important to us."
Ginobili typically replaces Barry with about six minutes left in the first quarter. With Tony Parker and Tim Duncan usually headed to the bench a couple of minutes later, Ginobili becomes the team's primary scorer on the floor. When he was starting, Ginobili said, "sometimes I went back to the bench with nothing done." "Probably it helps my confidence," Ginobili said, "but I think I can do it starting, too." At times, like Saturday's loss to Boston, it seems like Ginobili might as well be starting.
By ELIZABETH WHITE, Associated Press Writer SAN ANTONIO, March 13 (AP)-- If the San Antonio Spurs were the forgotten team in the Western Conference race earlier this season, there is no overlooking them now. The Spurs won their 13th straight Tuesday night, beating the Los Angeles Clippers 93-84. They haven't lost since Feb. 11.
That was before Valentines Day folks. Remember Valentines Day? That was a month ago.
"Thirteen games ago, we didn't say we needed to win 13 in a row to get back into this thing,'' said Tim Duncan. "We're just trying to get better as a basketball team, so when the playoffs start, we feel we can win games night in and night out. It would mean more if we won 14,'' Duncan said. "And if we win 14, then 15. You just want to win the next one. That's what it's about.''
With the Dallas Mavericks' 17-game winning streak ending with a 117-100 loss Monday to the Golden State Warriors, San Antonio now owns the league's longest winning streak and its longest of the season.
The Spurs' 46-18 record puts them 3+ games behind the Phoenix Suns, who have won five in a row, for second place in the Western Conference. "We're not looking at the standings yet,'' Duncan said. "It will figure itself out. We're just worried about ourselves right now. Just trying to play our best basketball.''
Well I am looking at the standings and it is looking like a first round playoff matchup with the Houston Rockets. That should be interesting.
MILWAUKEE, March 15 (AP) -- San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich warned the Spurs that facing a downtrodden team in its first game with a new coach can be dangerous. Then they saw it for themselves.
The Milwaukee Bucks made a winner of Larry Krystkowiak in his NBA debut, ending San Antonio's 13-game winning streak with a 101-90 victory on Thursday night. Krystkowiak said he expected a strong effort from his players the first time out. "A lot of times, you get a little adrenaline and spark,'' said Krystkowiak, a Bucks assistant who was promoted and given a multiyear deal hours after the team fired Terry Stotts on Wednesday. "I anticipated our guys playing hard.''
So did Popovich, but he didn't necessarily get it. It was a slightly off night for Spurs stars Tony Parker, Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili. "That's not going to happen very often,'' Popovich said. "They're human beings, it can happen. But I'm more concerned with the lack of aggressiveness on both ends of the court.''
Parker scored 15 points and played only 6:14 in the decisive fourth quarter. Asked if Parker was one of the players he was referring to when he talked about a lack of aggressiveness, Popovich stood silent and waited for another question to be asked. "I didn't play well at all,'' Parker said. "I'll try to do better Saturday against Boston.''
I hate the way Pops treats Parker.
Ginobili scored 12 on 2-for-10 shooting. "We played terrible,'' Ginobili said. "We've got to realize that the streak doesn't matter.''
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