McDonald: No Leftover Magic: Spurs Drop Opener

[duncan228]

No leftover magic: Spurs drop opener (http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/spurs/No_leftover_magic_Spurs_drop_opener.html)
By Jeff McDonald

The ball swung to Tim Duncan in the decisive moments Wednesday night against Phoenix, and all of a sudden it was May again.

Duncan lined up a 3-pointer, a potential game-tying shot, looking to shock the Suns again. Unlike in the playoffs last year, Duncan's shot clanged off the rim, and Phoenix held on for a 103-98 win at the AT&T Center.

Amare Stoudemire scored 22 points and Shaquille O'Neal had 15 points and 13 rebounds as the Suns handed the Spurs their first season-opening loss since 1996.

Duncan and Tony Parker each finished with 32 points for the Spurs, who were playing without Manu Ginobili, who is out until mid-December after offseason ankle surgery.

The Spurs also played without starting center Fabricio Oberto, who is suffering from a heart ailment.

With the Spurs behind by three points with under 10 seconds to go, Duncan could not recreate his big shot from last year's playoffs. In Game 1 of the first-round series against the Suns, Duncan's 3-pointer sent the game to double-overtime, and the Spurs eventually won.

Heading into this season, O'Neal had complained about Gregg Popovich's use of Hack-a-Shaq tactics in last year's playoff matchup.

Just seconds into the Suns' first possession, Popovich called for Michael Finley to foul O'Neal.

O'Neal looked at Popovich. Popovich gave him a grinning “two-thumbs up.” O'Neal grinned back.

The foul didn't lead to foul shots. It served no purpose other than Popovich's own entertainment.

“Life is too short,” he said. “We might as well enjoy ourselves.”

[THE SIXTH MAN]

:lol I started cracking up when TD launched that 3!

[Lebowski Brickowski]

Just seconds into the Suns' first possession, Popovich called for Michael Finley to foul O'Neal.

O'Neal looked at Popovich. Popovich gave him a grinning “two-thumbs up.” O'Neal grinned back.

The foul didn't lead to foul shots. It served no purpose other than Popovich's own entertainment.
:lmao

[m33p0]

suns must have shitted their pants when they saw it happening.

[The Truth #6]

Pop is even more of a badass for that first H.A.S. His two thumbs up were the highlights of the game.

[duncan228]

The updated version.

No miracles this time for Spurs (http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/spurs/No_leftover_magic_Spurs_drop_opener.html)
By Jeff McDonald

The ball was in Tim Duncan's hands at the 3-point line, the AT&T Center crowd was on its feet, and Phoenix forward Amare Stoudemire felt like he was having a bad flashback.

“I thought, ‘Oh no, not again,'” Stoudemire said.

But this was October. Not May. The Spurs-over-Suns-karma apparently works only in the postseason.

This time, when Duncan toed the 3-point stripe, he looked like a 7-footer. The potentially game-tying 3-pointer skipped off the rim with 7.6 seconds left, allowing the Suns to escape the AT&T Center with a 103-98 victory.

Duncan finished with 32 points, as did Tony Parker, but couldn't re-create what has become his signature moment against the Suns: The can't-believe-he-just-shot-that Hail Mary 3-pointer that sent Game 1 of last year's playoff series to double overtime, where the Spurs eventually won.

That rare Duncan 3-point make, part of a 40-point playoff opus, sent the home crowd into a frenzy. His latest 3-point miss sent coach Gregg Popovich into a lather.

With plenty of time on the clock, there was time to set up a play for a shooter.

“I thought I had a good look at it,” Duncan said. “In retrospect, maybe a timeout would have been better, or something back to one of our guards.”

The loss snapped a string of 11 consecutive season-opening victories for the Spurs. The last time they began 0-1 was in 1996, a year before Duncan arrived.

Stoudemire led the Suns with 22 points, 16 of them coming in the second half and nine of them coming in the final four minutes as the Spurs' fast-break defense came unraveled.

Shaquille O'Neal exacted a modicum of revenge for what he deemed the Spurs' “cowardly” use of Hack-a-Shaq tactics in last year's playoffs, finishing with 15 points and 13 rebounds.

He even made 5 of 8 free throws when Popovich broke Hack-a-Shaq out of mothballs in the first half.

Stoudemire snapped a 94-94 tie on a 3-point play with 2:53 to go, then suddenly free to run amok, followed that with a layup and a dunk to make it 101-96.

“It was the worst transition defense I've seen in years,” Popovich said. “I can't imagine how bad it was. We didn't rebound. It was our poorest performance, (including) the preseason, up until this time.”

That the game ever made it down to the wire was a testament to the Spurs. They were playing without star guard Manu Ginobili, out until mid-December after offseason ankle surgery. They were also without their other Argentine, Fabricio Oberto, out with a heart condition.

Oberto's absence left Popovich with just three big men to send at the Suns' tandem of O'Neal and Stoudemire.

In the second half, it looked as if the Spurs might pull it off.

Parker, after a sluggish start, began making his way to the rim, amassing 24 points in the second half. Duncan tormented Stoudemire and O'Neal alike with his collection of jump shots, bank shots and left-handed hooks.

Together, Parker and Duncan accounted for 22 of the Spurs' 27 points in the third quarter. This is how the Spurs will hope to stay in games against top-tier opponents.

Duncan did everything but bury a punch-in-the-gut 3-pointer. Before the night was over, he would have his chance.

Parker pulled the Spurs within 101-98 on a driving layup with 1:34 left. He missed a 3-point attempt with 39 seconds left.

After a Suns timeout and a 3-point miss by Raja Bell, the Spurs moved the ball until it found Duncan, alone on the same arc from which he stunned the Suns last May.

Duncan cocked. The crowd rose.

That's where the flashback ended.

“You can argue maybe we could have called timeout, or maybe Timmy hits it like last year,” Parker said. “With ifs, you can really do a lot of stuff.”