duncan228
03-06-2009, 11:52 PM
Updated.
Spurs' bench manhandles Wizards (http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/spurs/Spurs_bench_manhandles_Wizards.html)
Jeff McDonald
Bound and determined, Tim Duncan made his best move to the basket late in the third quarter of the Spurs’ 100-78 demolition of Washington on Friday night, only to find his path blocked by a guy in his 60s.
With the Spurs ahead by 25 and the game already all but decided, Gregg Popovich wasn’t letting his All-Star forward anywhere near the floor again.
So when Duncan devilishly tried to insert himself back into the game, Popovich slipped in front of him with an old-school block-out move.
“Pop knows all the techniques,” guard Roger Mason Jr. said. “He got Timmy good there.”
Popovich, however, wasn’t the only person who kept Duncan and the rest of the Spurs’ starters on the bench for the blowout’s unexciting conclusion. The reserves did their part, too.
Tony Parker scored 19 points, providing the TKO with 15 in the third quarter, but it was the Spurs’ bench brigade that overwhelmed perpetually short-handed Washington at the AT&T Center.
Led by 13 from little-used swingman Ime Udoka, the Spurs’ bench totaled 56 points to help light the fuse on the rout.
All 12 players who suited up for the Spurs scored. George Hill added 12 off the bench, matching starter Michael Finley’s production.
“We wanted to keep the lead up and actually push it up,” said Udoka, who recorded his first double-digit scoring outing since Nov. 21. “That’s something we talked about when we were going in. We had it at 25 points. We talked about, ‘Let’s get to 30 and give the (starters) the rest of the night off.’”
Part one of that mission went unaccomplished. The Spurs’ largest lead was only 29. Still, all five of the Spurs’ starters remained anchored to the bench in the fourth quarter, as did reserves Bruce Bowen and Kurt Thomas.
The only Spurs who did not score were Manu Ginobili (injured), Ian Mahinmi (injured) and newly acquired forward Drew Gooden, who watched his first game with the Spurs from the inactive list.
Against Washington, beaten up like a punching bag and in a tap dance with Sacramento for the worst record in the NBA, any of the above could have gone for double digits in street clothes and loafers.
Duncan ended with five points, his lowest-scoring outing of the season. The last time he posted so few points was Game 1 of last season’s playoff series against New Orleans, which Duncan played with the flu.
This time, Duncan was limited by the fact that the hobbled Wizards couldn’t keep the game competitive enough to warrant his presence on the floor.
“At this time of year, if you can get a game like that every once in a while where the starters can rest, it’s usually a good thing,” Popovich said. “It worked out for us.”
On Friday, it was the Wizards (14-48) who were having physical problems.
Caron Butler and his 20.3 points per game were unavailable for the third consecutive game because of a tight hamstring.
It might have been an easy game for the Spurs (41-20) to overlook, with visits from Phoenix, the Lakers and even the playoff contending Charlotte Bobcats all set to make a visit to the AT&T Center.
After losing Wednesday in a game at Dallas they thought they could have won, the Spurs weren’t about to overlook anyone.
“Pop broke down the Dallas tape and really got after us about the little mistakes we made in losing a close game like that,” Udoka said. “That is going to be our focus the rest of the year, and it started tonight.”
With the Spurs focused, the battered Wizards stood no chance. After opening up a 46-34 halftime lead — despite seven combined points from leading scorers Duncan and Parker — the Spurs blew the game open with a 33-19 third quarter.
By the time it was done, so were the Spurs’ starters. The reserves had done their job, and kept them glued to the bench.
Spurs' bench manhandles Wizards (http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/spurs/Spurs_bench_manhandles_Wizards.html)
Jeff McDonald
Bound and determined, Tim Duncan made his best move to the basket late in the third quarter of the Spurs’ 100-78 demolition of Washington on Friday night, only to find his path blocked by a guy in his 60s.
With the Spurs ahead by 25 and the game already all but decided, Gregg Popovich wasn’t letting his All-Star forward anywhere near the floor again.
So when Duncan devilishly tried to insert himself back into the game, Popovich slipped in front of him with an old-school block-out move.
“Pop knows all the techniques,” guard Roger Mason Jr. said. “He got Timmy good there.”
Popovich, however, wasn’t the only person who kept Duncan and the rest of the Spurs’ starters on the bench for the blowout’s unexciting conclusion. The reserves did their part, too.
Tony Parker scored 19 points, providing the TKO with 15 in the third quarter, but it was the Spurs’ bench brigade that overwhelmed perpetually short-handed Washington at the AT&T Center.
Led by 13 from little-used swingman Ime Udoka, the Spurs’ bench totaled 56 points to help light the fuse on the rout.
All 12 players who suited up for the Spurs scored. George Hill added 12 off the bench, matching starter Michael Finley’s production.
“We wanted to keep the lead up and actually push it up,” said Udoka, who recorded his first double-digit scoring outing since Nov. 21. “That’s something we talked about when we were going in. We had it at 25 points. We talked about, ‘Let’s get to 30 and give the (starters) the rest of the night off.’”
Part one of that mission went unaccomplished. The Spurs’ largest lead was only 29. Still, all five of the Spurs’ starters remained anchored to the bench in the fourth quarter, as did reserves Bruce Bowen and Kurt Thomas.
The only Spurs who did not score were Manu Ginobili (injured), Ian Mahinmi (injured) and newly acquired forward Drew Gooden, who watched his first game with the Spurs from the inactive list.
Against Washington, beaten up like a punching bag and in a tap dance with Sacramento for the worst record in the NBA, any of the above could have gone for double digits in street clothes and loafers.
Duncan ended with five points, his lowest-scoring outing of the season. The last time he posted so few points was Game 1 of last season’s playoff series against New Orleans, which Duncan played with the flu.
This time, Duncan was limited by the fact that the hobbled Wizards couldn’t keep the game competitive enough to warrant his presence on the floor.
“At this time of year, if you can get a game like that every once in a while where the starters can rest, it’s usually a good thing,” Popovich said. “It worked out for us.”
On Friday, it was the Wizards (14-48) who were having physical problems.
Caron Butler and his 20.3 points per game were unavailable for the third consecutive game because of a tight hamstring.
It might have been an easy game for the Spurs (41-20) to overlook, with visits from Phoenix, the Lakers and even the playoff contending Charlotte Bobcats all set to make a visit to the AT&T Center.
After losing Wednesday in a game at Dallas they thought they could have won, the Spurs weren’t about to overlook anyone.
“Pop broke down the Dallas tape and really got after us about the little mistakes we made in losing a close game like that,” Udoka said. “That is going to be our focus the rest of the year, and it started tonight.”
With the Spurs focused, the battered Wizards stood no chance. After opening up a 46-34 halftime lead — despite seven combined points from leading scorers Duncan and Parker — the Spurs blew the game open with a 33-19 third quarter.
By the time it was done, so were the Spurs’ starters. The reserves had done their job, and kept them glued to the bench.