48MoH: San Antonio Spurs 94, Boston Celtics 73

[Blackjack]

San Antonio Spurs 94, Boston Celtics 73
by Graydon Gordian

qSEriznocFo

Given the caliber of the opponent, the margin of victory and where the game was held, I think it’s fair to describe the San Antonio Spurs 94-73 win over the Boston Celtics this evening as the Spurs most dominant win of the season. Tonight’s contest was the last in a grueling five game stretch during which the Spurs managed to go 3-2 against five of the toughest teams in the league. Let’s be honest– that ain’t bad.

Keep reading → (http://www.48minutesofhell.com/2010/03/28/san-antonio-spurs-94-boston-celtics-73/#more-7142)

[EricB]

This game IMO was more impressive than cleveland. To go into Boston who's been beasting lately and pretty much bitch slap them at home shows you something. But it's the worst spurs team I team history according to the Spurstalk experts so no need to be positive about the win.

[itzsoweezee]

But it's the worst spurs team I team history according to the Spurstalk experts

i remember you shitting on the roster. calling yourself an expert now? wow.

[LoneStarState'sPride]

If I'm not mistaken, that's 2 years in a row the Spurs have waltzed into the vaunted Boston Garden and pushed around the home team. And this year's curbstomping team is supposedly eons worse than even what we had last season.

Respect the Silver and Black while they're still breathing.

[duncan228]

A view from Boston.

Schedule, Spurs worked against C's (http://sports.espn.go.com/boston/nba/columns/story?columnist=may_peter&id=5036781)
By Peter May
Special to ESPNBoston.com

We knew this stretch of games was going to be a test. There were games against three of the top four teams in the Western Conference over a stretch of four days. There was the annual visit from the San Antonio Spurs, at exactly the wrong time of the season for the Boston Celtics.

Boston has played five good teams in the past 10 days. They've won three of those games (and a fourth against a not-so-good team, the Sacramento Kings.) They still have three testers remaining in the next week, capped by an Easter Sunday matinee against the dreaded Cleveland Cavaliers.

They've played well at times in this stretch, opening with wins at Houston and Dallas, 24 hours apart, which may have raised expectations. But they stumbled in Utah -- not the easiest place to play -- then they got absolutely hammered on Sunday night, at home, losing 94-73 to the vaunted Spurs. It was their third 20-plus-point loss at home in a little more than a month.

Hold off the bridge watches. The Celtics are not panicking, nor should they. Doc Rivers is not throwing the baby out with the bath water, nor should he. Two things happened that led to Sunday's atrocity: The Celtics played poorly and the Spurs played one of their better games of the season, which is saying something. If you haven't noticed, the Spurs are starting to ramp it up again, their annual spring surge coming just a little later than usual.

Even with Tony Parker out, the Spurs are getting their act together. They were coming off a win in Cleveland on Friday night and the victory over the Celtics was their 11th in their last 15 games. They are 8-4 since Parker went down with a broken bone in his right hand. This is a good team that the Celtics had the misfortune of playing at the wrong time. Forget their record (which isn't that bad, anyway.) These guys are just 3 ½ games out of second place in the Western Conference.

"We're playing our best basketball of the season," coach Gregg Popovich said. And that was before his team went out and vaporized the Celtics, holding them to a season low in points, outscoring them 50-30 in a second-half clinic.

So take away what you will from this one. The Celtics almost to a man were horrible. They scored 10 points in the first three minutes -- and 63 in the last 45. Their defense broke down repeatedly, usually as a result of something Manu Ginobili did. He was sensational. DeJuan Blair outrebounded the entire Boston team in the fourth quarter (9-7). "A one-man wrecking crew," Rivers called the burly Pitt rookie.

The Spurs didn't even need Tim Duncan to be dominating. He was happy to be a facilitator, adding insult to injury. He played a shade more than 26 minutes and watched the last 14-plus minutes from the bench.

"It was one of those nights," Rivers said. "We played awful. They wanted to play."

But aside from getting beaten by a hot team, this also was the Celtics' 13th loss at home this season. They now have the same home record as the Toronto Raptors. It has been clear for a while that this team, for whatever reason, has been unlike the last two Celtics' teams, which established themselves as beasts at home while picking up wins on the road along the way. We are no longer stunned when they lose at home, which is not exactly a good sign. But it's been the case all season.

So, in that respect, a loss to a very good San Antonio team at home should not be cause for great concern. A sloppy, uninspiring loss to a very good San Antonio team will, and should, cause the Celtics Nation denizens to grumble and be justifiably cranky. Just what are we to expect from these guys, anyway?

"The way they played is usually the way we play," Paul Pierce said. "But I don't feel like it's a step back. It's just one of those games that you have to get out of your system. You have nights like that. I expect us to play a lot better basketball from here on out."

They'd better. We'll give them a pass on Sunday night, as underwhelming as it was. They might well have played a terrific game and still lost. The Spurs are the Spurs.

Now, if they get hammered Wednesday night by the Thunder …

[Manu-of-steel]

The spurs are peaking at the right time. With the return of TP, if he comes back and play well, no one would want to play us in 1st round of the play offs.

[EricB]

If I'm not mistaken, that's 2 years in a row the Spurs have waltzed into the vaunted Boston Garden and pushed around the home team. And this year's curbstomping team is supposedly eons worse than even what we had last season.

Respect the Silver and Black while they're still breathing.

They had to pull out a squeeker last year against Boston with Bonner playing out of his mind and Mason making a pull up three.

Much much different scenario this year.

[ezau]

I love the defensive effort that the team has been showing. They're showing the character that past Spurs team have showed over the years. We're peaking at the right time and I hope this continues

[duncan228]

Spurs resurgent weekend sets stage for potential return to glory (http://probasketballnews.com/story/?storyid=944)
By Tony Mejia
Pro Basketball News

About last night: The only way Gregg Popovich could've been any happier on Sunday night than he was as the final seconds ticked off his team's 94-73 win at TD Banknorth Garden depend on whether he bothered with a celebratory glass of wine or a late night delicacy upon arriving for Monday night's game in New Jersey. And obviously, that's his business, so we'll just have to assume that he was no more pleased then when Manu Ginobili raced off to the locker room with time still left on the clock, followed soon after by a few other Spurs. Hit an early shower, avoid the mad rush to the bus. Tim Duncan sat patiently on the bench, having rested the entire fourth quarter alongside Antonio McDyess as Boston fans sporadically booed their Celtics. If you're San Antonio, that's your dream scenario going in coming true.

It was over when Ginobili reminded the Celtics that he's left handed, banking in a running 28-footer (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qSEriznocFo) to put them down 77-60 as the third quarter ended. The Spurs were able to go into coast mode, basking in the beauty of a weekend that saw them gain wins over Cleveland and Boston. The Nets are up next, and if the Spurs handle business accordingly, Duncan will get an opportunity to limit the impact of another road game on his legs, keeping him limber for the final few weeks as the playoffs loom. Only two back-to-backs remain in the entire regular season after tonight, as does one more key multi-game road trip. Instead of being locked in a battle to stay among the West's best eight, a legitimate concern when Tony Parker went down with a broken hand on March 6. Instead, they've gone 8-4 and are right there with Portland and Oklahoma City in the race for the No. 6 seed, with realistic aspirations of catching Dallas for the Southwest Division if the Mavs were to go cold. With Parker likely to return by the regular season's final week, the Spurs will have officially risen from the dead if they can indeed avoid the Lakers. Pursuit of an NBA, not world, championship (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qSEriznocFo) depends on Parker's form, but San Antonio should continue it's March-long Lazarus project and get closer to a favorable playoff seed by snacking on the Nets.