Blackjack
12-20-2009, 04:31 AM
Indiana Pacers 99, San Antonio Spurs 100
by Graydon Gordian
Well, that was far more stressful than I had anticipated. In a game that Gregg Popovich described as an “ugly win,” the Spurs defeated the Pacers on a go-ahead dunk from Tim Duncan with four seconds left.
After an excellent 1st quarter that ended with a Matt Bonner and Manu Ginobili led run, the team fell flat for the middle stretch of the game. The Spurs scored only 40 points in the second and third quarters combined but allowed the Pacers to score a gaudy 62 over that same period. 38 of those 62 came in the third.
The Spurs second quarter struggles seemed to stem from the absence of Matt Bonner, who left the game in between the first and second with a broken bone in his right hand. It’s hard to say he was the definitive cause of their drought; even on his best days he is a secondary offensive figure. But the spacing and spark he provided in the first was sorely needed at the close of the second, as the Spurs failed to score for the final three and a half minutes of the first half.
That’s not to say the Spurs didn’t have chances to score. They missed four free throws during that span. I’m sad to report that those would hardly be our last unproductive trips to the charity stripe.
Keep reading → (http://www.48minutesofhell.com/2009/12/19/indiana-pacers-99-san-antonio-spurs-100/#more-5537)
by Graydon Gordian
Well, that was far more stressful than I had anticipated. In a game that Gregg Popovich described as an “ugly win,” the Spurs defeated the Pacers on a go-ahead dunk from Tim Duncan with four seconds left.
After an excellent 1st quarter that ended with a Matt Bonner and Manu Ginobili led run, the team fell flat for the middle stretch of the game. The Spurs scored only 40 points in the second and third quarters combined but allowed the Pacers to score a gaudy 62 over that same period. 38 of those 62 came in the third.
The Spurs second quarter struggles seemed to stem from the absence of Matt Bonner, who left the game in between the first and second with a broken bone in his right hand. It’s hard to say he was the definitive cause of their drought; even on his best days he is a secondary offensive figure. But the spacing and spark he provided in the first was sorely needed at the close of the second, as the Spurs failed to score for the final three and a half minutes of the first half.
That’s not to say the Spurs didn’t have chances to score. They missed four free throws during that span. I’m sad to report that those would hardly be our last unproductive trips to the charity stripe.
Keep reading → (http://www.48minutesofhell.com/2009/12/19/indiana-pacers-99-san-antonio-spurs-100/#more-5537)