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01-01-2010, 04:10 AM
Spurs find way to beat .500+ foe
By Jeff McDonald - Express-News Web Posted: 12/31/2009
At the moment they walked into the AT&T Center for the last time in 2009, the Spurs were on a streak of nine victories in their past 11 games, which had commenced a quick climb back from below .500 and coaxed their fan base back from the suicide ledge.
On paper, the Spurs were as hot as any team in the league. Their coach, Gregg Popovich, was not quite so enthused.
“If all nine wins were against Cleveland, Orlando, Phoenix and the Lakers, I’d be pretty impressed with us,” Popovich said before his team blasted Miami 108-78 Thursday night. “That’s not the case. Hence, I’m not quite as impressed.”
Even Popovich the perfectionist was impressed with what he saw New Year’s Eve.
Behind a vintage performance from their Big Three and an old-school performance from their lockdown defense, the Spurs rolled to their most lopsided victory of the season — while in the process handing Miami its worst loss of the year.
On the last day of December, the Spurs (19-11) were able to accomplish something they could not in the previous 30 days — beat a team with a winning record. A perfect 0-5 against over-.500 teams heading into the night, the Spurs recorded their first quality win of the month in resounding fashion.
“It was a good 48-minute effort,” Popovich said, “which is always nice to see.”
Tim Duncan had 23 points and 10 rebounds, Manu Ginobili added 18 off the bench and Tony Parker had 15 points and nine assists, all in somewhat limited engagements.
It was the Spurs’ first victory against a team with a winning record since Nov. 27 at Houston.
“It was about time,” Ginobili said. “I was very glad to see the team perform like that for 48 minutes, without having letdowns.”
For the final three quarters, the Spurs treated the Heat as if they were just another sub.-500 team — which might soon be the case if Miami (16-14) keeps playing the way it did at the AT&T Center.
“They trampled us, and we simply got what we deserved,” Miami coach Erik Spoelstra said.
The Spurs celebrated New Year’s Eve 2009 by partying as if it were 2005.
Their Big Three owned the first half — Ginobili with his gymnastic drives, including one right-handed layup on a no-way-he-gets-that-off finish in traffic; Parker by setting up residence in the paint; Duncan by simply being Duncan.
Then the Spurs’ defense, the cornerstone of their three championship teams in the just-expired decade, popped in to say hello.
After allowing 49 points — including 20 of Michael Beasley’s 26 — in the first half, the Spurs limited the Heat to just 29 after intermission.
Miami did not record its first basket of the second half until a Beasley jumper with 6:57 left in the third. By that point, the Spurs had surged to a 66-51 lead.
The Heat, which had spent its energy in a fruitless comeback at New Orleans the night before, were finished.
Miami went without a basket from the 3:23 mark of the third quarter to the 8:41 mark of the fourth, a span of 8:11. Meanwhile, the Spurs put together a 21-1 run to grab a 96-62 advantage.
The game would have been in doubt only if Vinny Del Negro had been the coach of the Spurs.
“They played well and they deserve it,” said Miami’s Dwyane Wade, who had 16 points but was harassed into 6-of-18 shooting. “Sometimes it just takes a little time to get it going. They’re hitting their stride now.”
The Spurs, for now, remain cautiously optimistic. After closing 2009 with a pop-the-bubbly kind of victory, they are hopeful for better things to come in 2010.
“We’ve got a lot to improve to become contenders and be respected as one of the best teams in the league,” Ginobili said. “We have not been that steady so far this season, but we’re on the right track.”
http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/spurs/Spurs_find_way_to_beat_500_foe.html
By Jeff McDonald - Express-News Web Posted: 12/31/2009
At the moment they walked into the AT&T Center for the last time in 2009, the Spurs were on a streak of nine victories in their past 11 games, which had commenced a quick climb back from below .500 and coaxed their fan base back from the suicide ledge.
On paper, the Spurs were as hot as any team in the league. Their coach, Gregg Popovich, was not quite so enthused.
“If all nine wins were against Cleveland, Orlando, Phoenix and the Lakers, I’d be pretty impressed with us,” Popovich said before his team blasted Miami 108-78 Thursday night. “That’s not the case. Hence, I’m not quite as impressed.”
Even Popovich the perfectionist was impressed with what he saw New Year’s Eve.
Behind a vintage performance from their Big Three and an old-school performance from their lockdown defense, the Spurs rolled to their most lopsided victory of the season — while in the process handing Miami its worst loss of the year.
On the last day of December, the Spurs (19-11) were able to accomplish something they could not in the previous 30 days — beat a team with a winning record. A perfect 0-5 against over-.500 teams heading into the night, the Spurs recorded their first quality win of the month in resounding fashion.
“It was a good 48-minute effort,” Popovich said, “which is always nice to see.”
Tim Duncan had 23 points and 10 rebounds, Manu Ginobili added 18 off the bench and Tony Parker had 15 points and nine assists, all in somewhat limited engagements.
It was the Spurs’ first victory against a team with a winning record since Nov. 27 at Houston.
“It was about time,” Ginobili said. “I was very glad to see the team perform like that for 48 minutes, without having letdowns.”
For the final three quarters, the Spurs treated the Heat as if they were just another sub.-500 team — which might soon be the case if Miami (16-14) keeps playing the way it did at the AT&T Center.
“They trampled us, and we simply got what we deserved,” Miami coach Erik Spoelstra said.
The Spurs celebrated New Year’s Eve 2009 by partying as if it were 2005.
Their Big Three owned the first half — Ginobili with his gymnastic drives, including one right-handed layup on a no-way-he-gets-that-off finish in traffic; Parker by setting up residence in the paint; Duncan by simply being Duncan.
Then the Spurs’ defense, the cornerstone of their three championship teams in the just-expired decade, popped in to say hello.
After allowing 49 points — including 20 of Michael Beasley’s 26 — in the first half, the Spurs limited the Heat to just 29 after intermission.
Miami did not record its first basket of the second half until a Beasley jumper with 6:57 left in the third. By that point, the Spurs had surged to a 66-51 lead.
The Heat, which had spent its energy in a fruitless comeback at New Orleans the night before, were finished.
Miami went without a basket from the 3:23 mark of the third quarter to the 8:41 mark of the fourth, a span of 8:11. Meanwhile, the Spurs put together a 21-1 run to grab a 96-62 advantage.
The game would have been in doubt only if Vinny Del Negro had been the coach of the Spurs.
“They played well and they deserve it,” said Miami’s Dwyane Wade, who had 16 points but was harassed into 6-of-18 shooting. “Sometimes it just takes a little time to get it going. They’re hitting their stride now.”
The Spurs, for now, remain cautiously optimistic. After closing 2009 with a pop-the-bubbly kind of victory, they are hopeful for better things to come in 2010.
“We’ve got a lot to improve to become contenders and be respected as one of the best teams in the league,” Ginobili said. “We have not been that steady so far this season, but we’re on the right track.”
http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/spurs/Spurs_find_way_to_beat_500_foe.html