duncan228
02-20-2010, 12:39 AM
For Spurs, step back in Philly (http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/For_Spurs_step_back_in_Philly.html)
Jeff McDonald
PHILADELPHIA — The Spurs arrived at the Wachovia Center with opportunity spread before them like a smorgasbord.
A chance to get on a roll and add to a win streak. A chance to prove that they'd put their pre-All-Star inconsistency behind them. A chance, if Dallas would cooperate against Orlando (it didn't), to climb into a tie atop the Southwest Division.
It was all laid out in front of the Spurs for the taking Friday. Then, in a blink, the Philadelphia 76ers took it all away.
Doomed by another spectacular fourth-quarter meltdown, the Spurs lost 106-94 to the Sixers, another frustrating lowlight in their two-steps-forward, one-step-back campaign.
The Spurs swept into town on the heels of victories at Denver and Indiana, eyeing a potential 6-2 rodeo trip and believing their season was near a turning point.
“That's what we hoped,” guard Manu Ginobili said. “After tonight, we can see we're not ready yet.”
The Spurs (31-22) seemed in control for most of the first three quarters, until the Sixers fast-broke them into oblivion in the fourth.
Philadelphia (21-33) got 10 of its 38 fast-break points in the final frame, much of it during a 23-4 spurt that proved the difference. The Spurs fueled the Sixers' surge by committing six of their 11 turnovers in the fourth.
“They did a great job of bringing their athleticism, their pressure and their aggressiveness, and we folded to that,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. “They made it a fast-break contest in the second half.”
With point guard Tony Parker hobbling, the Spurs couldn't keep up. Philadelphia's Lou Williams had 14 of his 20 points in the fourth, while Andre Iguodala totaled 20 points, nine rebounds and eight assists.
With a little more than eight minutes left, Williams went coast-to-coast for a dunk after intercepting Richard Jefferson, tying the game at 82 and lifting the otherwise listless crowd to its feet.
Moments later, Williams added a tiebreaking 3-pointer. The Spurs were never the same.
“The fourth quarter, we melted down,” Ginobili said. “We folded. We disappeared.”
Unable to add reinforcements at Thursday's trade deadline, the Spurs brought essentially the same group to the arena Friday. The results looked awfully familiar, too.
Friday's loss had all the hallmarks of previous Spurs pratfalls.
Poor shooting? Check. The Spurs hit 41.9 percent, including 5 of 21 from 3-point range. Ginobili led the Spurs with 24 points and George Hill had 18, but three starters — Parker, Keith Bogans and Matt Bonner — combined to shoot 3 of 17.
Too many turnovers? Check. The 11 the Spurs committed were less than their season average. With the head-spinning speed with which the Sixers converted them to points, it only seemed like more.
Bad fourth quarter? The Spurs, after having led since early in the second quarter, were blasted 33-18 in the fourth.
To that checklist, the Spurs added another faux pas especially dangerous against the run-and-gun Sixers: poor transition defense. The Spurs did themselves no favors with their inability to make shots.
“You've got to put the ball in the hole,” Jefferson said. “If they're getting a ton of defensive rebounds and long outlets, it doesn't matter how quickly you get back.”
Sometimes, even when the Spurs could put the ball in the basket, the Sixers ran. Twice off a made free throw, Williams went the length of the floor for a layup.
“That kind of stuff is embarrassing,” guard Roger Mason Jr. said.
The loss negated the 29-point win the Spurs had earned in Denver before the All-Star break and reduced their best-case finish to the rodeo trip to 5-3. That's if they win Sunday in Detroit, the next stop on their season-long roller coaster.
“We were very optimistic about this trip,” Ginobili said. “We were hoping to keep building.”
Pondering what the Spurs had squandered in the span of 12 minutes Friday, Ginobili shook his head again.
“This one hurts,” he said.
Jeff McDonald
PHILADELPHIA — The Spurs arrived at the Wachovia Center with opportunity spread before them like a smorgasbord.
A chance to get on a roll and add to a win streak. A chance to prove that they'd put their pre-All-Star inconsistency behind them. A chance, if Dallas would cooperate against Orlando (it didn't), to climb into a tie atop the Southwest Division.
It was all laid out in front of the Spurs for the taking Friday. Then, in a blink, the Philadelphia 76ers took it all away.
Doomed by another spectacular fourth-quarter meltdown, the Spurs lost 106-94 to the Sixers, another frustrating lowlight in their two-steps-forward, one-step-back campaign.
The Spurs swept into town on the heels of victories at Denver and Indiana, eyeing a potential 6-2 rodeo trip and believing their season was near a turning point.
“That's what we hoped,” guard Manu Ginobili said. “After tonight, we can see we're not ready yet.”
The Spurs (31-22) seemed in control for most of the first three quarters, until the Sixers fast-broke them into oblivion in the fourth.
Philadelphia (21-33) got 10 of its 38 fast-break points in the final frame, much of it during a 23-4 spurt that proved the difference. The Spurs fueled the Sixers' surge by committing six of their 11 turnovers in the fourth.
“They did a great job of bringing their athleticism, their pressure and their aggressiveness, and we folded to that,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. “They made it a fast-break contest in the second half.”
With point guard Tony Parker hobbling, the Spurs couldn't keep up. Philadelphia's Lou Williams had 14 of his 20 points in the fourth, while Andre Iguodala totaled 20 points, nine rebounds and eight assists.
With a little more than eight minutes left, Williams went coast-to-coast for a dunk after intercepting Richard Jefferson, tying the game at 82 and lifting the otherwise listless crowd to its feet.
Moments later, Williams added a tiebreaking 3-pointer. The Spurs were never the same.
“The fourth quarter, we melted down,” Ginobili said. “We folded. We disappeared.”
Unable to add reinforcements at Thursday's trade deadline, the Spurs brought essentially the same group to the arena Friday. The results looked awfully familiar, too.
Friday's loss had all the hallmarks of previous Spurs pratfalls.
Poor shooting? Check. The Spurs hit 41.9 percent, including 5 of 21 from 3-point range. Ginobili led the Spurs with 24 points and George Hill had 18, but three starters — Parker, Keith Bogans and Matt Bonner — combined to shoot 3 of 17.
Too many turnovers? Check. The 11 the Spurs committed were less than their season average. With the head-spinning speed with which the Sixers converted them to points, it only seemed like more.
Bad fourth quarter? The Spurs, after having led since early in the second quarter, were blasted 33-18 in the fourth.
To that checklist, the Spurs added another faux pas especially dangerous against the run-and-gun Sixers: poor transition defense. The Spurs did themselves no favors with their inability to make shots.
“You've got to put the ball in the hole,” Jefferson said. “If they're getting a ton of defensive rebounds and long outlets, it doesn't matter how quickly you get back.”
Sometimes, even when the Spurs could put the ball in the basket, the Sixers ran. Twice off a made free throw, Williams went the length of the floor for a layup.
“That kind of stuff is embarrassing,” guard Roger Mason Jr. said.
The loss negated the 29-point win the Spurs had earned in Denver before the All-Star break and reduced their best-case finish to the rodeo trip to 5-3. That's if they win Sunday in Detroit, the next stop on their season-long roller coaster.
“We were very optimistic about this trip,” Ginobili said. “We were hoping to keep building.”
Pondering what the Spurs had squandered in the span of 12 minutes Friday, Ginobili shook his head again.
“This one hurts,” he said.