Game Blog: 1/13 - Spurs vs. Thunder

[EmptyMan]

I wish I could listen to opponents' announcers :(

I want to know what the opposition says about the Spurs.

[Ice009]

Kevin Durant pulls him out on the perimiter and drives to the basket fouling him out in 3 minutes due to him making his usual dumb fouls and not being quick enough to guard long small forwards.

I wasn't talking about tonight's game although Ruff did want to try him tonight I am talking about starting with TD in other games to see what happens.

[jdev82]

I wish I could listen to opponents' announcers :(

I want to know what the opposition says about the Spurs.

they usually give the spurs the love they deserve. clips announcers especially. but these guys were terrible. they didnt say shit about blairs 20th board, but were making special note of sephaloshas 5th.

[ThaiFanofSpurs]

I am glad we won this game. Always love the Spurs! Go Spurs Go... get the 5th championship for your fans :toast

[duncan228]

Updated with some quotes.

Jefferson lifts Spurs over Thunder 109-108 in OT (http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/recap?gid=2010011325&prov=ap)
By Jeff Latzke

San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich decided it was time to give Tim Duncan a break as the Spurs focus on the big picture.

He had no idea what rookie DeJuan Blair would do when given the chance to replace him.

Blair set new career highs with 28 points and 21 rebounds, and Richard Jefferson hit the game-winning jumper in overtime to lift the San Antonio Spurs to a 109-108 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday night.

“I’m going to take what he gave us tonight, and I don’t know how he did it,” said Popovich. “I have no clue what his moves are. He’s just a basketball player. He hustles his (tail) off, he’s got a nose for the ball, he’s got great hands and he does what you saw. We didn’t teach him any of it. He brought it all with him.”

Blair, the All-American center from Pitt who got passed over in the draft over concerns about his surgically repaired knees, provided another reminder to the teams that passed on him before the Spurs selected him in the second round at No. 37 overall.

But Blair could only watch from the bench after fouling out in overtime when Manu Ginobili—having gone scoreless in regulation—made the play of the game.

Ginobili went diving out of bounds to save an errant pass that bounced off of Antonio McDyess. George Hill then passed it to Jefferson, who beat the shot clock with a 13-foot jumper in the lane with 9.1 seconds left.

“A little luck, that’s for sure, but you need it sometimes. In back-to-backs on the road, a little luck doesn’t hurt,” said Tony Parker, who also scored 28 points—22 of them in the first half.

Russell Westbrook missed a potential game-winning 19-footer for Oklahoma City at the final buzzer.

“Both teams really busted their noodles out there tonight, and the ball bounced our way down the stretch, very honestly,” Popovich said. “It just did. It bounced our way and then we made a shot.”

Hill had 16 points and Jefferson and McDyess scored 13 apiece.

Kevin Durant scored 35 points and Westbrook had 25 points and 13 assists for the Thunder. Jeff Green added 16 points and 10 rebounds.

“I think we executed down the stretch in the fourth quarter, got stops when we needed them and made it a game,” Durant said. “But you know what? They scored more points than we did.”

The Thunder, who trailed by 19 in the first half, rallied back from an eight-point deficit in the final 4 minutes of the fourth quarter to force overtime. Thabo Sefolosha finished off an 8-0 run with a two-handed slam to tie it at 97 with 57.6 seconds left, and Westbrook was able to answer Parker’s jumper to even the score again.

McDyess missed a 3-point attempt from the left wing at the end of regulation, after Ginobili was double-teamed.

Durant put the Thunder up 108-106 on a 20-foot jumper from the right side with 1:28 left in overtime, and McDyess made one of two free throws to make it a one-point game. Jefferson then blocked Sefolosha’s shot to give the Spurs a chance to go ahead.

Ginobili drove toward the basket and bounced the ball off of McDyess. The ball then landed just shy of the end line before Ginobili laid out to save it to Hill. The extra effort turned a breakout performance from Blair into a victory.

Blair had 10 points, six rebounds, two steals and a block as the Spurs opened a 10-point lead in the first 5 1/2 minutes, and the widebodied 6-foot-7 center was also busy setting screens to clear the way for Parker, who had 16 points on 7-for-9 shooting in the first quarter.

The lead reached 19 early in the second quarter before the Thunder stormed back with an 18-4 run, powered by eight points by Westbrook.

But Blair and Parker took over again, scoring 12 of San Antonio’s points during a 20-8 push that restored the lead to 63-46 on Jefferson’s right-handed jam over Nenad Krstic with 28.4 seconds left in the second quarter.

By halftime, Blair had matched his career best with 18 points, and his 11 rebounds were one shy of his career high.

“I was really going after it today. I only had two rebounds the last three or four games, so I was going after it today,” said Blair, who had five total rebounds in his last three outings.

NOTES: The Spurs also won their only two other games without Duncan this season, beating Toronto on Nov. 9 and Dallas on Nov. 11. Parker also missed both of those games. … The Thunder had their lowest-scoring first quarter since a Nov. 22 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers, getting outscored 35-18. … The Thunder fell to 16-2 when scoring at least 100 points.

[Manu-of-steel]

they usually give the spurs the love they deserve. clips announcers especially. but these guys were terrible. they didnt say shit about blairs 20th board, but were making special note of sephaloshas 5th.

The okc announcers were almost unbearable to listen to. But in the end, they acknowledged Blair's effort and the spurs' veteran savvy. I hurt my ears listening to repeated statements and replays of okc dunks, so i turned the volume low.

[FvckMavs]

i turned the volume low.

[benefactor]

Just got done watching.

I have no idea how we won this game...but we did. Great heart shown by the Spurs tonight.

[Stringer_Bell]

I have no idea how we won this game...but we did. Great heart shown by the Spurs tonight.

I have no idea how they always lose good leads, but I gotta say it's nice to see the Spurs finding ways to win games at the end. Last season was full of awesome finishes, and it was nice to see things go our way tonight.

Especially against the Thunder, those punks have beaten up our old guys for long enough! :rollin

[EricB]

I have no idea how they always lose good leads, but I gotta say it's nice to see the Spurs finding ways to win games at the end. Last season was full of awesome finishes, and it was nice to see things go our way tonight.

Especially against the Thunder, those punks have beaten up our old guys for long enough! :rollin


They lose leads cause they get complacent.

They stop doing what got them the lead in the first place and sometimes, law of averages.

I mean when they built up that 19 point lead, Mason, parker, guys were hitting outside shots and McDyess and Blair were just getting easy layups time and again inside.

When the Thunder tightened up the D and the outside shots stopped falling and they started turning the ball over, the lead shrank quickly.

Its the same things that plague them, but they haven't fixed em yet.

Fixable problems they DEFINATELY are though IMO.

[ace3g]

the more I watch the replay the more I think the Spurs got away with one, it looks like there is a shot clock violation before Jefferson got the shot off, anyway have any replays that show he got the shot off on time

[EricB]

the more I watch the replay the more I think the Spurs got away with one, it looks like there is a shot clock violation before Jefferson got the shot off, anyway have any replays that show he got the shot off on time


The refs reviewed it and said it was good.


If it had violated the shotclock you would've known it.

I think all shots that close to the shot clock under 2 minutes are now reviewed, i could be wrong, but IMO he got it off about a half second before the light.

[ace3g]

when I saw it live , I was like yeah, he made it on time, and I knew about the shot clock time, then when I started to see the replay on ESPN it looked like he was still shooting when the clock hit 0.

I didn't see the refs review it; or the commentators mention that the refs reviewed the shot.