duncan228
03-27-2009, 11:54 PM
Big Three reunite as Spurs rout Clippers (http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/spurs/Big_Three_reunite_as_Spurs_rout_Clippers.html)
Jeff McDonald
Manu Ginobili wanted to look good for his big day. So the first thing he did Friday morning was reach for a razor.
“I wanted to feel younger,” Ginobili said. “So I shaved.”
Baby-faced after cutting his whiskers, Ginobili couldn't have looked younger against the Clippers had he simultaneously sprouted hair on the back of his head.
Playing in his first game at the AT&T Center since Jan. 31, and in just his second game overall since missing a month and a half with an ankle injury, Ginobili had 14 points and seven assists in the Spurs' 111-98 victory.
He also provided proof that, with 10 games remaining until the postseason, his comeback is on schedule.
“Any time you're off a while, it takes some time to get your timing back,” Roger Mason Jr. said. “It was good to see him hit some shots and make some crazy passes.”
The buzz began to build throughout the arena midway through the first quarter, as Ginobili made his way to the scorer's table to check in. When he finally entered the game at the 4:59 mark, the crowd erupted in a “welcome home” cheer.
It marked the first time the Spurs' Big Three of Ginobili, Tony Parker and Tim Duncan had all played in the same game since Feb. 11. For much of the first half, which is the only half that really mattered as the game quickly became a rout, it was as if the trio had never been apart.
Parker waltzed through the lane, leading a layup parade that would end with 18 points in 17 minutes. Duncan, himself hobbled with sore knees, dominated the paint after taking a night off in Atlanta. He had 13 points and missed one field goal, and was allowed to rest the entire second half.
Ginobili hit his first four field goals to light the fuse on the blowout, which put the Spurs (48-24) 11/2 games up of Houston for the Western Conference's second playoff seed.
Gregg Popovich got the assist on Ginobili's first field goal, calling a play out of a timeout to set him up with an open 14-footer. Later, Ginobili drove for a layup, faking a pass to Kurt Thomas to deceive his defender out of position.
By the time the first quarter was over, the Spurs led by 20. When Ginobili opened the second quarter with back-to-back 3-pointers, it was 45-21.
One of Ginobili's “crazy passes” went to Drew Gooden, who might figure he passed his Spurs initiation by somehow catching a no-look bullet through four outstretched arms for a layup in the third quarter.
Then there was the Ginobili play that made Popovich, and anyone else with an interest in the Spurs' postseason success, recoil in fear.
Ginobili had been in the game only a few minutes when he tore after a loose ball and nearly barreled into the Clippers' bench in unsuccessful pursuit.
Asked about the play afterward, Popovich shrugged. He's long since learned to live with Ginobili's disregard for his own safety.
“He is Manu Ginobili,” Popovich said. “He's not going to play any different. I've got no shot to try and temper him at all.”
Before the game, Ginobili said his goals were to “blend in” and “not hurt the team.” Instead, he stood out and hurt the Clippers.
It was a far cry from Ginobili's March debut, Wednesday night in Atlanta, when he went 1 for 7 and was so rusty he seemed to be in dire need of some WD-40.
Against the Hawks, Ginobili said, “I didn't feel I helped the team.”
“Every time I came in, they made a run,” Ginobili said. “I wasn't feeling good. Today was different.”
It was different because for the first time the Spurs can see the light at the end of Ginobili's recovery tunnel.
Ginobili says he still doesn't feel like himself. He's a step slow and a little off. It's still early in the process.
But it's a start.
“It's going to take a while,” Ginobili said. “I'm just very happy that I'm playing again, and helping the team.”
Jeff McDonald
Manu Ginobili wanted to look good for his big day. So the first thing he did Friday morning was reach for a razor.
“I wanted to feel younger,” Ginobili said. “So I shaved.”
Baby-faced after cutting his whiskers, Ginobili couldn't have looked younger against the Clippers had he simultaneously sprouted hair on the back of his head.
Playing in his first game at the AT&T Center since Jan. 31, and in just his second game overall since missing a month and a half with an ankle injury, Ginobili had 14 points and seven assists in the Spurs' 111-98 victory.
He also provided proof that, with 10 games remaining until the postseason, his comeback is on schedule.
“Any time you're off a while, it takes some time to get your timing back,” Roger Mason Jr. said. “It was good to see him hit some shots and make some crazy passes.”
The buzz began to build throughout the arena midway through the first quarter, as Ginobili made his way to the scorer's table to check in. When he finally entered the game at the 4:59 mark, the crowd erupted in a “welcome home” cheer.
It marked the first time the Spurs' Big Three of Ginobili, Tony Parker and Tim Duncan had all played in the same game since Feb. 11. For much of the first half, which is the only half that really mattered as the game quickly became a rout, it was as if the trio had never been apart.
Parker waltzed through the lane, leading a layup parade that would end with 18 points in 17 minutes. Duncan, himself hobbled with sore knees, dominated the paint after taking a night off in Atlanta. He had 13 points and missed one field goal, and was allowed to rest the entire second half.
Ginobili hit his first four field goals to light the fuse on the blowout, which put the Spurs (48-24) 11/2 games up of Houston for the Western Conference's second playoff seed.
Gregg Popovich got the assist on Ginobili's first field goal, calling a play out of a timeout to set him up with an open 14-footer. Later, Ginobili drove for a layup, faking a pass to Kurt Thomas to deceive his defender out of position.
By the time the first quarter was over, the Spurs led by 20. When Ginobili opened the second quarter with back-to-back 3-pointers, it was 45-21.
One of Ginobili's “crazy passes” went to Drew Gooden, who might figure he passed his Spurs initiation by somehow catching a no-look bullet through four outstretched arms for a layup in the third quarter.
Then there was the Ginobili play that made Popovich, and anyone else with an interest in the Spurs' postseason success, recoil in fear.
Ginobili had been in the game only a few minutes when he tore after a loose ball and nearly barreled into the Clippers' bench in unsuccessful pursuit.
Asked about the play afterward, Popovich shrugged. He's long since learned to live with Ginobili's disregard for his own safety.
“He is Manu Ginobili,” Popovich said. “He's not going to play any different. I've got no shot to try and temper him at all.”
Before the game, Ginobili said his goals were to “blend in” and “not hurt the team.” Instead, he stood out and hurt the Clippers.
It was a far cry from Ginobili's March debut, Wednesday night in Atlanta, when he went 1 for 7 and was so rusty he seemed to be in dire need of some WD-40.
Against the Hawks, Ginobili said, “I didn't feel I helped the team.”
“Every time I came in, they made a run,” Ginobili said. “I wasn't feeling good. Today was different.”
It was different because for the first time the Spurs can see the light at the end of Ginobili's recovery tunnel.
Ginobili says he still doesn't feel like himself. He's a step slow and a little off. It's still early in the process.
But it's a start.
“It's going to take a while,” Ginobili said. “I'm just very happy that I'm playing again, and helping the team.”