duncan228
03-13-2009, 12:16 AM
Same old L.A. story for Spurs (http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/Same_old_LA_story_for_Spurs.html)
Jeff McDonald
The final buzzer had sounded, the Spurs' hair-on-fire comeback from 18 points behind had fallen short, and Tim Duncan was looking for someone to hug.
He settled for Kobe Bryant. Then, he patted Sasha Vujacic on the rump and waved a farewell to Derek Fisher.
To the untrained eye, the aftermath of the Lakers' 102-95 victory Thursday night at the AT&T Center looked like goodbye. If Duncan and the rest of the Spurs get their wish, it was just a see-you-soon.
“Obviously, they're the best team in the league right now,” Duncan said. “If we do see them again (in the playoffs), hopefully we've learned something from this game.”
Lesson No. 1?
“You can't spot a team like that that many points,” Duncan said.
Showing no hangover from a hard-fought victory at Houston the night before, the Lakers made 10 of their first 12 shots, burst out to a 23-9 lead after six minutes and were ahead 35-17 after the first quarter.
It was the largest first-quarter deficit the Spurs had faced this season, and they spent the rest of the game as Sisyphus, pushing the boulder up the mountain in vain. The Spurs got as close as two points in the fourth quarter.
“We hung around,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. “It's just difficult to spot the best team in the league 18 points and then play catch-up.”
Bryant and Pau Gasol each netted 23 points, with Gasol adding 11 rebounds for L.A.
The Spurs (43-21) got 25 points apiece from Michael Finley and Tony Parker — the latter of whom keyed the comeback with 20 points in the second half — but little elsewhere.
Duncan, who is 40 of 92 from the field since his return from a knee injury, labored through another off night. He finished with 16 points and 11 rebounds but missed 7 of 13 shots.
With the win, the Lakers (52-13) became the first team in the West to clinch a playoff spot and reinforced their status as the conference's top dog, extending their lead over the Spurs to 81/2 games. They also took the season series from the Spurs 2-1.
“Obviously, (winning) a back-to-back in Texas is huge for our team,” Gasol said.
Unsurprisingly, it was Bryant who provided the game's biggest made basket.
With 2:19 to play, the Spurs clawed to within two points on Parker's second 3-pointer of the night. Bryant responded by sticking a contested 3-pointer over rookie George Hill, who had just been dispatched into the game to guard him.
“That's Kobe being Kobe,” Duncan said. “He made a big shot.”
That gave L.A. a 98-93 edge with 1:46 remaining. The Spurs would manage just one basket the rest of the way.
The consensus in the Spurs locker room was that the game was lost long before that.
Gasol missed a jumper on the first possession of the game. After that, it would be 6:13 before the Spurs would get another stop.
Back-to-back 3-pointers by Derek Fisher and Trevor Ariza, followed by a Bryant drive on Bruce Bowen, gave L.A. a 23-9 lead with 5:59 to go in the first quarter, and transformed the Spurs' home arena — half-packed with Lakers fans — into Staples Center East.
“I don't know what they shot for their first nine or 10 shots,” Duncan said. “I don't even know if they missed. They really got out on us.”
It would have been worse had Finley not apparently discovered a time machine in his locker before the game. Looking a little like the former All-Star that he was, Finley pumped in 17 points in the first half to keep the Spurs from completely capsizing.
By the time the night was over, Finley had his highest scoring night since the 2007 playoffs, when he pumped in 26 points against Denver.
Finley hit another big basket in the fourth quarter, a 3-pointer that set off the 10-2 spurt that got the Spurs within a basket. The Spurs get credit for the comeback, but ultimately left the building Thursday night ruing a poor first quarter that did them in.
And hoping for a chance to make amends.
“We're going to try to finish the season strong,” Parker said. “And hopefully we can play them again.”
Jeff McDonald
The final buzzer had sounded, the Spurs' hair-on-fire comeback from 18 points behind had fallen short, and Tim Duncan was looking for someone to hug.
He settled for Kobe Bryant. Then, he patted Sasha Vujacic on the rump and waved a farewell to Derek Fisher.
To the untrained eye, the aftermath of the Lakers' 102-95 victory Thursday night at the AT&T Center looked like goodbye. If Duncan and the rest of the Spurs get their wish, it was just a see-you-soon.
“Obviously, they're the best team in the league right now,” Duncan said. “If we do see them again (in the playoffs), hopefully we've learned something from this game.”
Lesson No. 1?
“You can't spot a team like that that many points,” Duncan said.
Showing no hangover from a hard-fought victory at Houston the night before, the Lakers made 10 of their first 12 shots, burst out to a 23-9 lead after six minutes and were ahead 35-17 after the first quarter.
It was the largest first-quarter deficit the Spurs had faced this season, and they spent the rest of the game as Sisyphus, pushing the boulder up the mountain in vain. The Spurs got as close as two points in the fourth quarter.
“We hung around,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. “It's just difficult to spot the best team in the league 18 points and then play catch-up.”
Bryant and Pau Gasol each netted 23 points, with Gasol adding 11 rebounds for L.A.
The Spurs (43-21) got 25 points apiece from Michael Finley and Tony Parker — the latter of whom keyed the comeback with 20 points in the second half — but little elsewhere.
Duncan, who is 40 of 92 from the field since his return from a knee injury, labored through another off night. He finished with 16 points and 11 rebounds but missed 7 of 13 shots.
With the win, the Lakers (52-13) became the first team in the West to clinch a playoff spot and reinforced their status as the conference's top dog, extending their lead over the Spurs to 81/2 games. They also took the season series from the Spurs 2-1.
“Obviously, (winning) a back-to-back in Texas is huge for our team,” Gasol said.
Unsurprisingly, it was Bryant who provided the game's biggest made basket.
With 2:19 to play, the Spurs clawed to within two points on Parker's second 3-pointer of the night. Bryant responded by sticking a contested 3-pointer over rookie George Hill, who had just been dispatched into the game to guard him.
“That's Kobe being Kobe,” Duncan said. “He made a big shot.”
That gave L.A. a 98-93 edge with 1:46 remaining. The Spurs would manage just one basket the rest of the way.
The consensus in the Spurs locker room was that the game was lost long before that.
Gasol missed a jumper on the first possession of the game. After that, it would be 6:13 before the Spurs would get another stop.
Back-to-back 3-pointers by Derek Fisher and Trevor Ariza, followed by a Bryant drive on Bruce Bowen, gave L.A. a 23-9 lead with 5:59 to go in the first quarter, and transformed the Spurs' home arena — half-packed with Lakers fans — into Staples Center East.
“I don't know what they shot for their first nine or 10 shots,” Duncan said. “I don't even know if they missed. They really got out on us.”
It would have been worse had Finley not apparently discovered a time machine in his locker before the game. Looking a little like the former All-Star that he was, Finley pumped in 17 points in the first half to keep the Spurs from completely capsizing.
By the time the night was over, Finley had his highest scoring night since the 2007 playoffs, when he pumped in 26 points against Denver.
Finley hit another big basket in the fourth quarter, a 3-pointer that set off the 10-2 spurt that got the Spurs within a basket. The Spurs get credit for the comeback, but ultimately left the building Thursday night ruing a poor first quarter that did them in.
And hoping for a chance to make amends.
“We're going to try to finish the season strong,” Parker said. “And hopefully we can play them again.”