duncan228
12-11-2008, 01:35 AM
Duncan's 1,000th a long night he can relish (http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/spurs/Delay_causes_Spurs_to_have_short_rest.html)
By Mike Monroe
By the time Tim Duncan finished his Wednesday night's work at AT&T Center he probably felt he had compressed about 900 of his 1,000 career games into two nights.
Duncan's 1,000th NBA game — regular season and playoffs, a combined figure the league does not officially recognize for statistical comparables — required 35 minutes and 12 seconds against two of the league's better young big men, Atlanta's Josh Smith and Al Horford.
Coming 24 hours after he played 50 minutes and 21 seconds in a double-overtime victory in Dallas, Duncan acknowledged the extra portion of fatigue he felt as he exited the arena.
“Looking for a good night of sleep,” he said. “Obviously, we've got another game in a day-and-a-half. We have to regroup, and hopefully feel good on Friday.”
Spurs coach Gregg Popovich went into Wednesday's game intent on limiting the court time of his three All-Stars, Duncan, Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker. The nature of Wednesday's game required Duncan's presence in the post a bit more than Popovich would have preferred.
“Timmy is a warrior,” Popovich said. “He doesn't ever want me to take him out of the game at all. Every time I do, he says, ‘I'm fine. I'm ready to go.'
“He's just the base of everything we do. He was tough tonight.”
Duncan got banged around by Atlanta's Horford, Smith and beefy Zaza Pachulia throughout, but still managed 19 points and 11 rebounds.
Fin fine: The Spurs got a needed jolt of offense in an otherwise rough stretch of the fourth period from forward Michael Finley. In one stretch of three minutes and 21 seconds, Finley made four shots and one slick pass to Tim Duncan to finish off a pick-and-roll, allowing the Spurs to fend off an Atlanta rally and set the state for Manu Ginobili's late-game heroics.
“I just wanted to be aggressive and attack the basket,” said Finley, who scored 15. “I wasn't just looking to score, but to be aggressive, whether it was at the defensive end, denying catches and trying to rebound, or just giving us a little life, besides the scoring. The scoring was an added bonus, something we needed at the time, but I just wanted to help the team a little bit.”
“‘Fin' was crucial,” Popovich said afterward. “He came in for Roger (Mason Jr.) and made three or four jumpers in a row. If that doesn't happen, we'd be talking about a loss right now.”
Ball magnet?: Spurs center Matt Bonner grabbed a season-high 13 rebounds Wednesday, including seven on the offensive boards. Three of Bonner's four baskets were on putbacks, but Duncan suggested they were the result only of good fortune.
“He got some of the luckiest bounces I've ever seen in my life,” Duncan said. “They kind of dropped in his lap and he laid them up.”
Bonner, however, revealed his offensive rebounding secret.
“I was in my lab in the basement and came up with this new invention,” he said. “It's a magnet that works with basketballs. I just flicked it on. Don't tell anybody.”
By Mike Monroe
By the time Tim Duncan finished his Wednesday night's work at AT&T Center he probably felt he had compressed about 900 of his 1,000 career games into two nights.
Duncan's 1,000th NBA game — regular season and playoffs, a combined figure the league does not officially recognize for statistical comparables — required 35 minutes and 12 seconds against two of the league's better young big men, Atlanta's Josh Smith and Al Horford.
Coming 24 hours after he played 50 minutes and 21 seconds in a double-overtime victory in Dallas, Duncan acknowledged the extra portion of fatigue he felt as he exited the arena.
“Looking for a good night of sleep,” he said. “Obviously, we've got another game in a day-and-a-half. We have to regroup, and hopefully feel good on Friday.”
Spurs coach Gregg Popovich went into Wednesday's game intent on limiting the court time of his three All-Stars, Duncan, Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker. The nature of Wednesday's game required Duncan's presence in the post a bit more than Popovich would have preferred.
“Timmy is a warrior,” Popovich said. “He doesn't ever want me to take him out of the game at all. Every time I do, he says, ‘I'm fine. I'm ready to go.'
“He's just the base of everything we do. He was tough tonight.”
Duncan got banged around by Atlanta's Horford, Smith and beefy Zaza Pachulia throughout, but still managed 19 points and 11 rebounds.
Fin fine: The Spurs got a needed jolt of offense in an otherwise rough stretch of the fourth period from forward Michael Finley. In one stretch of three minutes and 21 seconds, Finley made four shots and one slick pass to Tim Duncan to finish off a pick-and-roll, allowing the Spurs to fend off an Atlanta rally and set the state for Manu Ginobili's late-game heroics.
“I just wanted to be aggressive and attack the basket,” said Finley, who scored 15. “I wasn't just looking to score, but to be aggressive, whether it was at the defensive end, denying catches and trying to rebound, or just giving us a little life, besides the scoring. The scoring was an added bonus, something we needed at the time, but I just wanted to help the team a little bit.”
“‘Fin' was crucial,” Popovich said afterward. “He came in for Roger (Mason Jr.) and made three or four jumpers in a row. If that doesn't happen, we'd be talking about a loss right now.”
Ball magnet?: Spurs center Matt Bonner grabbed a season-high 13 rebounds Wednesday, including seven on the offensive boards. Three of Bonner's four baskets were on putbacks, but Duncan suggested they were the result only of good fortune.
“He got some of the luckiest bounces I've ever seen in my life,” Duncan said. “They kind of dropped in his lap and he laid them up.”
Bonner, however, revealed his offensive rebounding secret.
“I was in my lab in the basement and came up with this new invention,” he said. “It's a magnet that works with basketballs. I just flicked it on. Don't tell anybody.”