duncan228
03-21-2009, 12:01 AM
Parker's big night ends foul as Spurs drop heartbreaker (http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/spurs/Parkers_big_night_ends_foul_as_Spurs_drop_heartbre aker.html)
Jeff McDonald
For the better part of four quarters, Tony Parker had carved up the Boston Celtics and their Saran-wrap defense. He had sliced them. He had diced them. He had turned the game into his own personal layup drill.
When it came time to save the Spurs on Friday night at the AT&T Center, Parker — surprisingly — found something he could not do.
Namely, make a free throw.
Parker missed four foul shots in the final 49.8 seconds, any two of which could have tied the game, as the Celtics held on for an 80-77 victory.
“I was shooting normal free throws, like I did all year long,” said Parker, an 80 percent foul shooter this season. “It's just one of those games.”
That could have been the mantra for the Spurs from the third quarter on. One of those nights.
If one bounce, one rimmed-out 3-pointer or another couple of free throws had gone the Spurs' way, they might have been celebrating a season sweep of the defending NBA champions.
Instead, the Spurs (45-23) swallowed their second bitter defeat in three games and watched as Houston inched within half a game of them for second place in the Western Conference, in advance of the teams' showdown Sunday.
After the second set of Parker misses, with the Spurs trailing 76-74, Glen “Big Baby” Davis buried a baseline jumper with 5.7 seconds to go to essentially seal the win for the Celtics.
“We're better than the way we played and executed at the end,” guard Roger Mason Jr. said. “It's a tough loss, and we're in a tight, tight situation right now. Sunday is going to be big for us.”
It is difficult — if near impossible — to blame Parker for the one that got away Friday.
Up until his 0-for-4 finish at the foul line, Parker had zipped his way to 25 points, amazingly scoring all 12 of his field goals on layups. He toyed with a triple-double, adding eight assists and seven rebounds.
And he wasn't the only Spurs shooter to clank crucial foul shots. Michael Finley — another 80-percent free-throw man — missed two in a tie game at the 2:32 mark.
“I'll take those guys on the free-throw line any day of the week, for a championship,” Mason said. “And I mean that.”
After making 9 of their first 11 free throws, the Spurs finished the game by missing six in a row.
“That's what the game is made up of,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. “They made mistakes; we made mistakes. Big Baby knocked down a jumper from the corner, and we missed six free throws in a row. It was a tough loss, but life goes on.”
Ray Allen, returning from a one-game absence nursing a hyperextended right elbow, led Boston (52-18) with 19 points, while Rajon Rondo had 16 points and 12 assists.
Kevin Garnett made his first appearance since Feb. 19, played a Doc Rivers-prescribed 14 minutes and scored 10 points.
Then, there was Kendrick Perkins. He scored 10 points as well, but was more active — and vocal — on defense.
He blocked five shots — three off them off the hands of Tim Duncan — and made sure Duncan heard about each of them. After one swat, Perkins wheeled to his bench and made a demonstrative “X” symbol with his arms.
“That's how he plays,” Duncan said. “That's what he brings to the floor, what he brings to his team. He had a great game, so credit to him.”
Duncan had reason to be magnanimous.
Coming off a one-game injury hiatus of his own, he finished with 15 points, the only Spurs player besides Parker in double figures. However, Duncan missed nine of his 15 field-goal attempts and was scoreless in the fourth quarter.
Afterward, Duncan blamed himself for the defeat, more than anybody else's missed freebies.
“I didn't play well, didn't do enough to put us over the top,” Duncan said.
Still, the Spurs were in position to perhaps force overtime in the waning moments. But Parker, who had delivered for them so often in the paint throughout the night, could not deliver again from the foul line.
“It's just one of those games,” Parker said again. “You can't think about it. There are so many games in the NBA. You just have to go on to the next one.”
Jeff McDonald
For the better part of four quarters, Tony Parker had carved up the Boston Celtics and their Saran-wrap defense. He had sliced them. He had diced them. He had turned the game into his own personal layup drill.
When it came time to save the Spurs on Friday night at the AT&T Center, Parker — surprisingly — found something he could not do.
Namely, make a free throw.
Parker missed four foul shots in the final 49.8 seconds, any two of which could have tied the game, as the Celtics held on for an 80-77 victory.
“I was shooting normal free throws, like I did all year long,” said Parker, an 80 percent foul shooter this season. “It's just one of those games.”
That could have been the mantra for the Spurs from the third quarter on. One of those nights.
If one bounce, one rimmed-out 3-pointer or another couple of free throws had gone the Spurs' way, they might have been celebrating a season sweep of the defending NBA champions.
Instead, the Spurs (45-23) swallowed their second bitter defeat in three games and watched as Houston inched within half a game of them for second place in the Western Conference, in advance of the teams' showdown Sunday.
After the second set of Parker misses, with the Spurs trailing 76-74, Glen “Big Baby” Davis buried a baseline jumper with 5.7 seconds to go to essentially seal the win for the Celtics.
“We're better than the way we played and executed at the end,” guard Roger Mason Jr. said. “It's a tough loss, and we're in a tight, tight situation right now. Sunday is going to be big for us.”
It is difficult — if near impossible — to blame Parker for the one that got away Friday.
Up until his 0-for-4 finish at the foul line, Parker had zipped his way to 25 points, amazingly scoring all 12 of his field goals on layups. He toyed with a triple-double, adding eight assists and seven rebounds.
And he wasn't the only Spurs shooter to clank crucial foul shots. Michael Finley — another 80-percent free-throw man — missed two in a tie game at the 2:32 mark.
“I'll take those guys on the free-throw line any day of the week, for a championship,” Mason said. “And I mean that.”
After making 9 of their first 11 free throws, the Spurs finished the game by missing six in a row.
“That's what the game is made up of,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. “They made mistakes; we made mistakes. Big Baby knocked down a jumper from the corner, and we missed six free throws in a row. It was a tough loss, but life goes on.”
Ray Allen, returning from a one-game absence nursing a hyperextended right elbow, led Boston (52-18) with 19 points, while Rajon Rondo had 16 points and 12 assists.
Kevin Garnett made his first appearance since Feb. 19, played a Doc Rivers-prescribed 14 minutes and scored 10 points.
Then, there was Kendrick Perkins. He scored 10 points as well, but was more active — and vocal — on defense.
He blocked five shots — three off them off the hands of Tim Duncan — and made sure Duncan heard about each of them. After one swat, Perkins wheeled to his bench and made a demonstrative “X” symbol with his arms.
“That's how he plays,” Duncan said. “That's what he brings to the floor, what he brings to his team. He had a great game, so credit to him.”
Duncan had reason to be magnanimous.
Coming off a one-game injury hiatus of his own, he finished with 15 points, the only Spurs player besides Parker in double figures. However, Duncan missed nine of his 15 field-goal attempts and was scoreless in the fourth quarter.
Afterward, Duncan blamed himself for the defeat, more than anybody else's missed freebies.
“I didn't play well, didn't do enough to put us over the top,” Duncan said.
Still, the Spurs were in position to perhaps force overtime in the waning moments. But Parker, who had delivered for them so often in the paint throughout the night, could not deliver again from the foul line.
“It's just one of those games,” Parker said again. “You can't think about it. There are so many games in the NBA. You just have to go on to the next one.”