duncan228
01-25-2009, 11:53 PM
Gap in West widens (http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/spurs/Gap_in_West_widens.html)
Mike Monroe
LOS ANGELES — Most of the Spurs' frailties had been exposed and exploited Sunday afternoon by the Western Conference-leading Lakers, and coach Gregg Popovich had to explain what happened.
As he began critiquing a Spurs performance that resulted in a 99-85 loss at the Staples Center, Lakers forward Pau Gasol, still dressed in his warmups, marched past Popovich on his way to a postgame radio interview, a final indignity that Popovich could not tolerate without comment.
“Hey, get out of my news conference,” he told Gasol, and then gave him a playful slap on the back.
It was as competitive a moment as any the Spurs had mustered in the second half of what turned out to be their 14th loss of the season.
“A guy kicks our ass, and then he's going to come to my flipping news conference?” Popovich said to reporters, feigning outrage. “That's bull.”
The Lakers can rationalize such audacity. Their victory Sunday pushed their NBA-best record to 35-8 and avenged a one-point loss to the Spurs at the AT&T Center on Jan. 14. They extended their lead over the Spurs, still in second place in the Western Conference, to six games.
Lakers guard Kobe Bryant, the NBA's reigning Most Valuable Player, imposed far more pain on the Spurs' backsides than Gasol. He scored 22 easy points in three quarters. So thorough was the Lakers' domination of the second half, he never got off the bench in the fourth quarter.
Respectful of the only other Western Conference team to have won an NBA title in the new millennium, Bryant took an extra measure of pleasure from Sunday's win.
“They've always been a measuring stick for us,” he said of the Spurs, “so it feels good to beat them.”
The Spurs didn't feel good about the defensive lapses that allowed a tight game to get away from them in the final 3 minutes, 42 seconds of the first half and the first 2:17 of the second.
Ahead 41-40 after a Manu Ginobili basket with four minutes left in the second quarter, the Spurs were outscored 19-4 before a Michael Finley jumper stopped the Lakers' surge with 9:24 remaining in the third period.
Most troublesome to Popovich were missed defensive rotations that left Bryant and Derek Fisher wide open for 3-pointers on the Lakers' first two possessions of the second half. Makes by both Lakers left the Spurs in a double-digit hole.
“We spotted them the two quick threes with bad rotations and never caught up after that,” Popovich said. “The game was over at that point, so it was a disappointing loss in that regard, mostly from the mental aspect. But (the Lakers) did a good job.”
Bryant's 3-pointer came on a nifty pass out of the post by center Andrew Bynum, at age 21 still learning the nuances of being an NBA pivot man.
Bynum had 15 points and 11 rebounds, but Bryant was most impressed with his lone assist.
“When I see that,” Bryant said, “it just means he's starting to recognize the double-teams and where to move the ball. That's just the next stage of his development.”
The Spurs opted to aggressively double-team the post in Sunday's game, and the Lakers made them pay, making seven 3-pointers.
“You don't want to double-team anyone,” said Finley, “but the type of people on the Lakers' team, some people deserve double-teams. When you do that, you're getting the ball out of the hands of the person you don't want to have it, but you're giving another guy an opportunity to make a play.
“That's the odds we played tonight, and most of the time that other guy made us pay.”
The Spurs, on the other hand, never made the Lakers pay for their own defensive lapses. They made only 15 of 44 shots, 34 percent, in the second half.
“Well, they went flat in the second half,” said Lakers coach Phil Jackson. “I'm not going to credit our defense.”
Mike Monroe
LOS ANGELES — Most of the Spurs' frailties had been exposed and exploited Sunday afternoon by the Western Conference-leading Lakers, and coach Gregg Popovich had to explain what happened.
As he began critiquing a Spurs performance that resulted in a 99-85 loss at the Staples Center, Lakers forward Pau Gasol, still dressed in his warmups, marched past Popovich on his way to a postgame radio interview, a final indignity that Popovich could not tolerate without comment.
“Hey, get out of my news conference,” he told Gasol, and then gave him a playful slap on the back.
It was as competitive a moment as any the Spurs had mustered in the second half of what turned out to be their 14th loss of the season.
“A guy kicks our ass, and then he's going to come to my flipping news conference?” Popovich said to reporters, feigning outrage. “That's bull.”
The Lakers can rationalize such audacity. Their victory Sunday pushed their NBA-best record to 35-8 and avenged a one-point loss to the Spurs at the AT&T Center on Jan. 14. They extended their lead over the Spurs, still in second place in the Western Conference, to six games.
Lakers guard Kobe Bryant, the NBA's reigning Most Valuable Player, imposed far more pain on the Spurs' backsides than Gasol. He scored 22 easy points in three quarters. So thorough was the Lakers' domination of the second half, he never got off the bench in the fourth quarter.
Respectful of the only other Western Conference team to have won an NBA title in the new millennium, Bryant took an extra measure of pleasure from Sunday's win.
“They've always been a measuring stick for us,” he said of the Spurs, “so it feels good to beat them.”
The Spurs didn't feel good about the defensive lapses that allowed a tight game to get away from them in the final 3 minutes, 42 seconds of the first half and the first 2:17 of the second.
Ahead 41-40 after a Manu Ginobili basket with four minutes left in the second quarter, the Spurs were outscored 19-4 before a Michael Finley jumper stopped the Lakers' surge with 9:24 remaining in the third period.
Most troublesome to Popovich were missed defensive rotations that left Bryant and Derek Fisher wide open for 3-pointers on the Lakers' first two possessions of the second half. Makes by both Lakers left the Spurs in a double-digit hole.
“We spotted them the two quick threes with bad rotations and never caught up after that,” Popovich said. “The game was over at that point, so it was a disappointing loss in that regard, mostly from the mental aspect. But (the Lakers) did a good job.”
Bryant's 3-pointer came on a nifty pass out of the post by center Andrew Bynum, at age 21 still learning the nuances of being an NBA pivot man.
Bynum had 15 points and 11 rebounds, but Bryant was most impressed with his lone assist.
“When I see that,” Bryant said, “it just means he's starting to recognize the double-teams and where to move the ball. That's just the next stage of his development.”
The Spurs opted to aggressively double-team the post in Sunday's game, and the Lakers made them pay, making seven 3-pointers.
“You don't want to double-team anyone,” said Finley, “but the type of people on the Lakers' team, some people deserve double-teams. When you do that, you're getting the ball out of the hands of the person you don't want to have it, but you're giving another guy an opportunity to make a play.
“That's the odds we played tonight, and most of the time that other guy made us pay.”
The Spurs, on the other hand, never made the Lakers pay for their own defensive lapses. They made only 15 of 44 shots, 34 percent, in the second half.
“Well, they went flat in the second half,” said Lakers coach Phil Jackson. “I'm not going to credit our defense.”