duncan228
01-13-2010, 12:58 AM
Spurs up to the challenge (http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/spurs/Spurs_up_to_the_challenge.html)
Jeff McDonald
George Hill swiped the ball from Kobe Bryant near midcourt Tuesday night, and in the 47 feet between him and a dunk, began thinking about the man whose pockets he had just picked.
In the back of Hill's imagination, Bryant was swooping in from behind, coming to stymie whatever highlight reel moment he had in mind.
“Otherwise, I probably would have tried to windmill it,” Hill said.
Ultimately, the magnitude of the moment got the better of Hill's creativity. Even though Bryant had yet to pick himself off the AT&T Center floor, Hill settled for a vanilla, one-handed jam. It was good for two points in the Spurs' 105-85 victory over the Lakers, but no style points.
The Spurs (23-13) got their most important victory of the season in much the same manner Hill got his dunk. It was resounding, but workmanlike.
Tim Duncan scored 17 of his 23 points in the first half, Tony Parker — playing through a bout of plantar fasciitis he says has been bothering him for much of the season — had 20 of his 22 points in the second half. And the Spurs, for the moment, put a halt on their struggles against teams with winning records by blasting the team with the NBA's best record.
The victory was the Spurs' most lopsided over the Lakers since May 15, 2003, when they slapped L.A. 110-82 in Game 6 of the Western Conference semifinals.
“They took our kids to school,” said Lakers coach Phil Jackson, whose team gave up 27 points off 15 turnovers and allowed the Spurs to shoot 57.3 percent.
That their breakthrough came against a Lakers team down one star (Pau Gasol) for the entire game and another (Bryant) for the fourth mattered to the Spurs, but only a little.
Bryant, already playing with a fractured index finger on his shooting hand, left the game late in the third with back spasms. He finished with 16 points.
“We played well, and they were wounded, obviously,” said Spurs coach Gregg Popovich, whose team plays in Oklahoma City tonight. “In the end, you still need to win the game.”
Parker, after a 1-for-5 showing the first half, opened the second by peppering the Lakers (29-9) with jumpers, which in turn opened up driving lanes. His 17-footer with 5:36 left in the third quarter put the Spurs ahead 71-49.
“In the second half, I wanted to be aggressive,” he said, “and participate in the win.”
The player Parker calls “my little buddy” earned his participation ribbon, too. Hill had 11 points, keying a 42-20 edge for the Spurs in bench scoring, and provided some of the game's keynote defensive moments in guarding both Bryant and Ron Artest.
Ten months ago, Hill made a different kind of memory against Bryant and the Lakers. Bryant had risen against Hill — then a rookie — and buried a key 3-pointer over him late in the Lakers' 102-95 victory last March.
Hill erased that recollection Tuesday with one play in the second quarter, punking Bryant, the Popovich-described “best player on the planet.” His only regret was that the ensuing dunk didn't come with more panache.
“If I'd missed that,” Hill said, “it probably would have been the last time I'd seen the floor.”
The Spurs' work was far from over, even after carrying a 12-point lead into a fourth quarter the Lakers would have to face without Bryant.
L.A. thrice closed to seven points, giving the sellout crowd of 18,581 flashbacks to the 13-point lead the Spurs had squandered against Dallas four nights before. Three times, the Spurs answered — the final response coming on a Manu Ginobili 3-pointer with 6:19 left that finally broke Los Angeles.
“We needed this one,” Duncan said.
“They're dealing with some injuries ... but it's a great win for us. We'll take it where we can get it.”
Jeff McDonald
George Hill swiped the ball from Kobe Bryant near midcourt Tuesday night, and in the 47 feet between him and a dunk, began thinking about the man whose pockets he had just picked.
In the back of Hill's imagination, Bryant was swooping in from behind, coming to stymie whatever highlight reel moment he had in mind.
“Otherwise, I probably would have tried to windmill it,” Hill said.
Ultimately, the magnitude of the moment got the better of Hill's creativity. Even though Bryant had yet to pick himself off the AT&T Center floor, Hill settled for a vanilla, one-handed jam. It was good for two points in the Spurs' 105-85 victory over the Lakers, but no style points.
The Spurs (23-13) got their most important victory of the season in much the same manner Hill got his dunk. It was resounding, but workmanlike.
Tim Duncan scored 17 of his 23 points in the first half, Tony Parker — playing through a bout of plantar fasciitis he says has been bothering him for much of the season — had 20 of his 22 points in the second half. And the Spurs, for the moment, put a halt on their struggles against teams with winning records by blasting the team with the NBA's best record.
The victory was the Spurs' most lopsided over the Lakers since May 15, 2003, when they slapped L.A. 110-82 in Game 6 of the Western Conference semifinals.
“They took our kids to school,” said Lakers coach Phil Jackson, whose team gave up 27 points off 15 turnovers and allowed the Spurs to shoot 57.3 percent.
That their breakthrough came against a Lakers team down one star (Pau Gasol) for the entire game and another (Bryant) for the fourth mattered to the Spurs, but only a little.
Bryant, already playing with a fractured index finger on his shooting hand, left the game late in the third with back spasms. He finished with 16 points.
“We played well, and they were wounded, obviously,” said Spurs coach Gregg Popovich, whose team plays in Oklahoma City tonight. “In the end, you still need to win the game.”
Parker, after a 1-for-5 showing the first half, opened the second by peppering the Lakers (29-9) with jumpers, which in turn opened up driving lanes. His 17-footer with 5:36 left in the third quarter put the Spurs ahead 71-49.
“In the second half, I wanted to be aggressive,” he said, “and participate in the win.”
The player Parker calls “my little buddy” earned his participation ribbon, too. Hill had 11 points, keying a 42-20 edge for the Spurs in bench scoring, and provided some of the game's keynote defensive moments in guarding both Bryant and Ron Artest.
Ten months ago, Hill made a different kind of memory against Bryant and the Lakers. Bryant had risen against Hill — then a rookie — and buried a key 3-pointer over him late in the Lakers' 102-95 victory last March.
Hill erased that recollection Tuesday with one play in the second quarter, punking Bryant, the Popovich-described “best player on the planet.” His only regret was that the ensuing dunk didn't come with more panache.
“If I'd missed that,” Hill said, “it probably would have been the last time I'd seen the floor.”
The Spurs' work was far from over, even after carrying a 12-point lead into a fourth quarter the Lakers would have to face without Bryant.
L.A. thrice closed to seven points, giving the sellout crowd of 18,581 flashbacks to the 13-point lead the Spurs had squandered against Dallas four nights before. Three times, the Spurs answered — the final response coming on a Manu Ginobili 3-pointer with 6:19 left that finally broke Los Angeles.
“We needed this one,” Duncan said.
“They're dealing with some injuries ... but it's a great win for us. We'll take it where we can get it.”