duncan228
03-16-2009, 11:59 PM
Spurs Thunderstruck in loss (http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/spurs/Spurs_Thunderstruck_in_loss.html)
Jeff McDonald
OKLAHOMA CITY — The college kids had already packed up and left town, but it's difficult to tell if the Spurs noticed. After all, 20-somethings all look alike to the oldest team in the NBA.
The Big 12 tournament vacated the Ford Center a day before the Spurs arrived here Monday, with some of the participants off to make more March Madness memories.
Led by a trio of players who still could be in college themselves — plus a 24-year-old from Switzerland — the Thunder had their one shining moment, overcoming an early 17-point deficit to beat the Spurs 78-76 in what might be the biggest victory in the team's short Oklahoma City history.
“We just beat one of the best teams in basketball,” a beaming Oklahoma City interim coach Scott Brooks said afterward.
Kevin Durant, the would-be junior at Texas, pumped in 25 points for Oklahoma City. Jeff Green, the could-be junior at Georgetown, had 10. Russell Westbrook, who could still be Big-Dancing as a UCLA junior, had eight points on 4-of-17 shooting, but did make one of the game's biggest shots — a contested 22-footer that gave the Thunder a 78-74 lead with 2:20 to go.
In NCAA tournament parlance, it was a 15-2 upset.
The Thunder (19-48) are bringing up the rear in the Northwest Division. The Spurs (44-22) are pacing the Southwest.
Pardon the grumpy old Spurs, however, for not smiling at the Thunder's Cinderella magic. They were too busy lamenting dual blown double-digit leads.
“We should have won that game,” guard Roger Mason Jr. said. “Yeah, they're a talented team, but we have nobody to blame but ourselves on that one.”
For the Spurs, the loss stopped a string of 41 consecutive victories when holding an opponent to 78 points or less, which dated to Jan. 15, 2005. It marked the first time this season they lost while limiting an opponent to less than 40 percent shooting (the Thunder shot 35.8).
“This is a game we should have had,” said Tim Duncan, who had 14 points and 12 rebounds but labored through a 6-of-13 night.
“We let one slip away.”
Oklahoma City, which trailed by as many as 11 in the third quarter, did not lead until Chucky Atkins buried a 3-pointer to make it 70-67 with 7:37 to play.
Down by two heading into the final 30 seconds, the Spurs had a chance to tie the game, but Tony Parker missed a pair of jumpers — the second of which was deflected by Thabo Sefolosha.
This would be a theme of the Spurs' endgame. Parker finished with 28 points, but only managed two field goals after Sefolosha, a Swiss army knife of a defender, switched to guard him late in the third quarter.
In all, the Spurs made just 5 of their 17 shots in the fourth.
“We made some poor decisions down the stretch, and they made better decisions,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said.
It was the opposite of what had happened two nights earlier at Houston, when the Spurs executed their way to a gritty three-point victory.
With Monday's result, combined with the Rockets' Yao-less victory at New Orleans, the Spurs gave back the game they had earned in Houston. They now lead the Rockets in the division and the conference by just 11/2 games, a tightening of the race not lost on the Spurs.
Their fourth-quarter follies might not have mattered if the Spurs had kept the Thunder on the canvas in the first.
The Spurs blasted out to a 17-point lead in the first 91/2 minutes, giving the game the complexion of one of those first-round NCAA blowouts. But Oklahoma City rattled off a 17-2 spurt in the span of 41/2 minutes of the second quarter to claw right back in the game by halftime.
The Spurs committed nine of their 15 turnovers in the second quarter, fueling instant offense for Oklahoma City. At the heart of the Thunder run were three consecutive Parker turnovers.
“That was killer,” Mason said. “You turn the ball over, you give them easy baskets. It's like giving away points.”
In the end, the Spurs felt like they gave one away.
The team of would-be college kids had their shining moment. The kids had earned it.
Jeff McDonald
OKLAHOMA CITY — The college kids had already packed up and left town, but it's difficult to tell if the Spurs noticed. After all, 20-somethings all look alike to the oldest team in the NBA.
The Big 12 tournament vacated the Ford Center a day before the Spurs arrived here Monday, with some of the participants off to make more March Madness memories.
Led by a trio of players who still could be in college themselves — plus a 24-year-old from Switzerland — the Thunder had their one shining moment, overcoming an early 17-point deficit to beat the Spurs 78-76 in what might be the biggest victory in the team's short Oklahoma City history.
“We just beat one of the best teams in basketball,” a beaming Oklahoma City interim coach Scott Brooks said afterward.
Kevin Durant, the would-be junior at Texas, pumped in 25 points for Oklahoma City. Jeff Green, the could-be junior at Georgetown, had 10. Russell Westbrook, who could still be Big-Dancing as a UCLA junior, had eight points on 4-of-17 shooting, but did make one of the game's biggest shots — a contested 22-footer that gave the Thunder a 78-74 lead with 2:20 to go.
In NCAA tournament parlance, it was a 15-2 upset.
The Thunder (19-48) are bringing up the rear in the Northwest Division. The Spurs (44-22) are pacing the Southwest.
Pardon the grumpy old Spurs, however, for not smiling at the Thunder's Cinderella magic. They were too busy lamenting dual blown double-digit leads.
“We should have won that game,” guard Roger Mason Jr. said. “Yeah, they're a talented team, but we have nobody to blame but ourselves on that one.”
For the Spurs, the loss stopped a string of 41 consecutive victories when holding an opponent to 78 points or less, which dated to Jan. 15, 2005. It marked the first time this season they lost while limiting an opponent to less than 40 percent shooting (the Thunder shot 35.8).
“This is a game we should have had,” said Tim Duncan, who had 14 points and 12 rebounds but labored through a 6-of-13 night.
“We let one slip away.”
Oklahoma City, which trailed by as many as 11 in the third quarter, did not lead until Chucky Atkins buried a 3-pointer to make it 70-67 with 7:37 to play.
Down by two heading into the final 30 seconds, the Spurs had a chance to tie the game, but Tony Parker missed a pair of jumpers — the second of which was deflected by Thabo Sefolosha.
This would be a theme of the Spurs' endgame. Parker finished with 28 points, but only managed two field goals after Sefolosha, a Swiss army knife of a defender, switched to guard him late in the third quarter.
In all, the Spurs made just 5 of their 17 shots in the fourth.
“We made some poor decisions down the stretch, and they made better decisions,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said.
It was the opposite of what had happened two nights earlier at Houston, when the Spurs executed their way to a gritty three-point victory.
With Monday's result, combined with the Rockets' Yao-less victory at New Orleans, the Spurs gave back the game they had earned in Houston. They now lead the Rockets in the division and the conference by just 11/2 games, a tightening of the race not lost on the Spurs.
Their fourth-quarter follies might not have mattered if the Spurs had kept the Thunder on the canvas in the first.
The Spurs blasted out to a 17-point lead in the first 91/2 minutes, giving the game the complexion of one of those first-round NCAA blowouts. But Oklahoma City rattled off a 17-2 spurt in the span of 41/2 minutes of the second quarter to claw right back in the game by halftime.
The Spurs committed nine of their 15 turnovers in the second quarter, fueling instant offense for Oklahoma City. At the heart of the Thunder run were three consecutive Parker turnovers.
“That was killer,” Mason said. “You turn the ball over, you give them easy baskets. It's like giving away points.”
In the end, the Spurs felt like they gave one away.
The team of would-be college kids had their shining moment. The kids had earned it.