duncan228
04-16-2009, 12:10 AM
Posey's miss proves timely (http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/spurs/Poseys_miss_proves_timely.html)
Mike Monroe
Before Michael Finley knocked down a buzzer-beating, straight-through-the-heart 3-pointer that sent Wednesday's game against the New Orleans Hornets to overtime at the AT&T Center, the Spurs faced the same, seemingly hopeless situation they had encountered in the final 14 seconds of a game at New Orleans Arena on March 29.
Then, trailing by a single point, their inability to intentionally foul Chris Paul in the backcourt after an in-bounds pass resulted in a foul against Paul after he had escaped to the frontcourt and shot a 3-pointer. When he made all three shots, the Spurs suffered a 90-86 defeat.
This time, trailing 89-87 with 13.1 seconds left, the Spurs defended the inbounds pass so well, they ended up in a scramble for a loose ball that eventually was scooped up by Hornets forward James Posey, who was fouled immediately by Bruce Bowen.
And this time, Posey accommodated by missing one of two foul shots, setting up the opportunity for Finley's heroics.
The Spurs denied Paul an opening to take Posey's inbounds pass. Finley and Ime Udoka then converged on Hornets forward Peja Stojakovic when he took the pass near midcourt.
“Ime tipped the ball (from Stojakovic),” Finley said, “and then I got the ball. Then Ime stole it from me, knocked it away. I was trying to get a tie-up for a jump ball, and maybe get a timeout, but Ime was trying to get the steal, being aggressive so we could maybe get the layup.
“That didn't work out for us, but ultimately, it all worked out for us.”
Udoka watched the ball pop up in front of him after Finley and Stojakovic fell to the court, but he couldn't get control of the ball.
“We weren't trying to foul,” Udoka said. “We did a good job, and (Stojakovic) fell down, and it looked like it was perfect for us, but I lost the ball. But this time, they missed some free throws down the stretch.
“I felt bad about it, because ‘Fin' was about to tie him up at halfcourt. He didn't really see me coming, and I was able to rip it out and start a two-on-one, but I lost the ball.
“There were eight seconds left, and we were down two. We could have got a two-on-one going, so I felt really bad. But Posey missed one of the free throws and gave us another chance.”
Mike Monroe
Before Michael Finley knocked down a buzzer-beating, straight-through-the-heart 3-pointer that sent Wednesday's game against the New Orleans Hornets to overtime at the AT&T Center, the Spurs faced the same, seemingly hopeless situation they had encountered in the final 14 seconds of a game at New Orleans Arena on March 29.
Then, trailing by a single point, their inability to intentionally foul Chris Paul in the backcourt after an in-bounds pass resulted in a foul against Paul after he had escaped to the frontcourt and shot a 3-pointer. When he made all three shots, the Spurs suffered a 90-86 defeat.
This time, trailing 89-87 with 13.1 seconds left, the Spurs defended the inbounds pass so well, they ended up in a scramble for a loose ball that eventually was scooped up by Hornets forward James Posey, who was fouled immediately by Bruce Bowen.
And this time, Posey accommodated by missing one of two foul shots, setting up the opportunity for Finley's heroics.
The Spurs denied Paul an opening to take Posey's inbounds pass. Finley and Ime Udoka then converged on Hornets forward Peja Stojakovic when he took the pass near midcourt.
“Ime tipped the ball (from Stojakovic),” Finley said, “and then I got the ball. Then Ime stole it from me, knocked it away. I was trying to get a tie-up for a jump ball, and maybe get a timeout, but Ime was trying to get the steal, being aggressive so we could maybe get the layup.
“That didn't work out for us, but ultimately, it all worked out for us.”
Udoka watched the ball pop up in front of him after Finley and Stojakovic fell to the court, but he couldn't get control of the ball.
“We weren't trying to foul,” Udoka said. “We did a good job, and (Stojakovic) fell down, and it looked like it was perfect for us, but I lost the ball. But this time, they missed some free throws down the stretch.
“I felt bad about it, because ‘Fin' was about to tie him up at halfcourt. He didn't really see me coming, and I was able to rip it out and start a two-on-one, but I lost the ball.
“There were eight seconds left, and we were down two. We could have got a two-on-one going, so I felt really bad. But Posey missed one of the free throws and gave us another chance.”