Game Blog: Spurs vs. Cavaliers

[jag]

Jefferson was damaged goods when we picked him up. Anybody that cancels a wedding days before the big night probably has a lot of personal issues in his life.

I'm tolerant of alternative lifestyles, but i really hope he waits till he's no longer on the Spurs roster to come out of the closet.

[Ice009]

Ice Duncan has played well this season mostly, but I agree on your post about Manu, utterly pathetic team this year.

Manu was out of forum earlier, but he was still sharp and had the killer instinct and the will to try and get the win no matter what.

Everyone else had played like a robot with no passion.

Well Dejuan has played with passion, but he's a rookie that makes a lot of mistakes still.

Even Tony has been disengaged most of the season. I saw TP was looking sharper though the last couple of weeks. It sucks he got hurt.

When the game is on the line no one else wants to grab it. Everyone vanishes.

[Sean Cagney]

Manu was out of forum earlier, but he was still sharp and had the killer instinct and the will to try and get the win no matter what.

Everyone else had played like a robot with no passion.

Well Dejuan has played with passion, but he's a rookie that makes a lot of mistakes still.

Even Tony has been disengaged most of the season. I saw TP was looking sharper though the last couple of weeks. It sucks he got hurt.

When the game is on the line no one else wants to grab it. Everyone vanishes.TP getting hurt is horrible man, I can't agree more there.

BTW what about Hill? I think he has played great this season.


You got some time to chat man get in there.

[SpurNation]

I think some of the players on this team just don't give a shit if they win or lose.

Some of those players being what supposed to have been key role players.

[alchemist]

Pop showed he is simply the best X's and O's guy in the biz, unfortunately his guys betray him time and time again.

[Ice009]

TP getting hurt is horrible man, I can't agree more there.

BTW what about Hill? I think he has played great this season.


You got some time to chat man get in there.

George Hill has played hard and tough this season but he hasn't shown me the killer instinct to grab the game when it's on the line. He has been playing pretty good since he's started. I don't like the progress or what I think is regression in his defense though. He needs to improve his D.

I can chat for a bit, but then I gotta go to work in a couple of hours which sucks after a game like this ;).

[silverblk mystix]

disappointing loss...but I think there are positives to take from this...

hairston AND mahinmi saw a little court time...

manu is looking better and better...

pop can still manage a game effectively and draw up good in-bounds plays...

bonner is not as horrible lately...

three very winnable games coming up to continue to gel...i think the team is still moving towards a better flow...don't be surprised if they do click just as TP returns...

gotta keep believing...

it is definitely an uncommon season...but...i just have a feeling that there is more to this team than currently meets the eye...

[duncan228]

Updated.

Cavaliers push past Spurs (http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/recap?gid=2010030805&prov=ap)
By Tom Withers

LeBron James was in street clothes. Shaquille O’Neal was nowhere to be found, and Antawn Jamison was in the locker room icing his sore knee.

If they had lost, the Cleveland Cavaliers had plenty of excuses.

They didn’t have to use one.

Mo Williams made two free throws with 9 seconds left and Delonte West made the kind of plays down the stretch reserved for James as the Cavs won for the first time in three seasons without their superstar, beating the San Antonio Spurs 97-95 on Monday night.

Cleveland had been 0-9 since 2007-08 without James.

“We had a great opportunity. Not many teams can come here and win,” said Spurs guard Manu Ginobili, who scored a season-high 38. “LeBron wasn’t playing, Jamison didn’t play the second half and Shaq wasn’t there. We blew a big one.”

Williams finished with 17 points for the Cavs, who were playing their second straight game without the injured James. The NBA’s reigning MVP is nursing a tender right ankle as well as other bumps and bruises and Cleveland coach Mike Brown is taking advantage of a lull in Cleveland’s schedule to get him rest.

West had 16 points and made a key steal in the final minute as Cleveland became the first team to reach 50 wins this season.

“Without LeBron, Shaq and Antawn, that’s the three main guys,” Williams said. “We so often get the ball to LeBron and play through him. We did a good job of finding a way.”

The Spurs were also short-handed, playing for the first time this season without guard Tony Parker. He’s out six weeks with a broken hand suffered on Saturday in Memphis.

The Cavs may suddenly have more to worry about than just James or O’Neal, out until the playoffs after having thumb surgery.

Jamison left late in the third quarter with an apparent left knee injury and did not return. He will undergo an MRI on Tuesday.

“Everything was fine in the first half. In the second half, it stiffened up,” Jamison said. “I couldn’t get the range of motion I needed. I had a slight case of this the first month of the season. It’s not anything to really be worried about.”

A back-and-forth game came down to the final minute. With Cleveland up one, West stole a pass intended for Ginobili with 55 seconds left and was fouled by San Antonio’s guard. He made both free throws to put Cleveland ahead 93-90 with 52.8 seconds left.

After San Antonio missed two potential game-tying 3s, Ginobili hit a tough step-back jumper that was ruled a 2-pointer. The officials checked the TV monitors to make sure it wasn’t a 3, and as they reviewed the play, Ginobili watched it on the giant overhead scoreboard. When he saw it wasn’t a 3, Ginobili clenched his fists in disgust and spun on his heels.

“The replay was pretty clear,” Ginobili said. “One inch. I knew I was on the line, that’s why I stepped back. I was pretty sure it was a 3, but then I saw (referee) Joey Crawford asking for a review and he looked pretty sure. It’s sad. It was a tough shot and the whole game changed.”

Williams’ two free throws made it 95-92 and the Spurs called time to set up a play. They ran it to perfection with Ginobili passing the ball out top to Roger Mason, but he missed his eighth consecutive 3-pointer and Anderson Varejao was fouled.

Cleveland’s big man made both free throws and Ginobili made a 3—the one he needed moments earlier—just before the horn.

Jamison scored 17, Jawad Williams 13 and J.J. Hickson 12, including two big free throws with 1:05 left that put the Cavs ahead 91-90. West added six rebounds, five assists and three steals.

George Hill started for Parker and scored 23. Tim Duncan had 13 points for the Spurs, who had their winning streak stopped at four.

The Spurs were excited to learn Parker will not need surgery, increasing the odds the speedy guard will be back at some point in the playoffs.

“I guess it makes me feel better,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said.

Unhappy with his club’s defense, an irate Popovich tore into his players during a timeout late in the first.

His arms flailing and his face reddening with every word, Popovich yelled and screamed from his seat. Before play resumed, he benched DeJuan Blair and Richard Jefferson and replaced them with reserves Malik Hairston and Ian Mahinmi, who entered the game having played a combined 158 minutes all season.

Jefferson drew Popovich’s wrath in the second after he allowed Jamison to drive baseline and score.

“We gave away 8-12 points just because they ran it right down our throat and our transition was godawful,” Popovich said. “That was the worst part of the whole game.”

NOTES: Ginobili made 7 3s. … James didn’t join his teammates on the bench until two minutes had expired in the first quarter. The crowd barely stirred when James, wearing a stylish, blue pinstriped suit and two-toned saddle shoes, strolled in fashionably late. He was dressed like a coach and it wasn’t long before he joined Cavs coach Mike Brown and his assistants in the huddle during a timeout. … Cavs F Anthony Parker dislocated his left ring finger in the first but returned. He finished with eight points in 21 minutes. … The Cavs are 13-1 at home against Western teams.

[TDMVPDPOY]

i question pops subbing during games...

[Amuseddaysleeper]

The reality is that this team has completely tuned Pop out.

Can't say I blame them, and I've never come across a Spurs squad that had as little camaraderie as this one.

Fuck this season

[marini martini]

we lost??????? :cry:

[angelbelow]

damn what a shot by ginobili... too bad it wasnt a 3. man hes really turned it up... just in time for the offseason..

[GhosTown]

disappointing loss...but I think there are positives to take from this...

hairston AND mahinmi saw a little court time...

manu is looking better and better...

pop can still manage a game effectively and draw up good in-bounds plays...

bonner is not as horrible lately...

three very winnable games coming up to continue to gel...i think the team is still moving towards a better flow...don't be surprised if they do click just as TP returns...

gotta keep believing...

it is definitely an uncommon season...but...i just have a feeling that there is more to this team than currently meets the eye...


Ok I'll Bite. Meets the eye? Like what? What could you possibly see in a team that can't beat teams with their best players missing. Hell 3 of their best players missing.

NO PARKER = NO PLAYOFFS

Without TP the Spurs are a jump shooting team, that can't really shoot that well. We have TD and 2 jump shooting centers, with a whole lot of average jump shooters on the perimeter.

[LakerHater]

Why did they draw up a play for A guy who was 0-8 from three point line, with the game on the line??!

[tothrowed]

thanks blackjack!
how da hell are you going to forget devin brown that nigga was cold