Kori Ellis
05-18-2005, 06:56 PM
The Ice Manu
By Chris Broussard, ESPN The Magazine
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/playoffs2005/dailydime
The San Antonio Spurs used to witness moves like this all the time. A lanky swingman would penetrate the lane, leave his feet, cup the ball in one hand as if it were a grapefruit, and finish with a stylish shot that left opponents aghast and fans amazed.
They called him The Iceman. George Gervin.
Manu Ginobili is not as smooth as Ice, but he is at times just as effective. Tuesday, in a must-have Game 5 against the Seattle SuperSonics, was one of those times. With Tim Duncan struggling to find his range and Tony Parker just plain struggling, Ginobili scored a playoff-career-high 39 points to lead the Spurs to a 103-90 victory at the SBC Center. San Antonio leads the series 3 games to 2.
"My biggest concern was just to attack, draw fouls and kick the ball to the open man," said Ginobili, who returned to the starting lineup for the first time since the Spurs' first-round opener against Denver. "I wanted to bring a lot of juice and energy."
As his he-man line suggests, Ginobili brought that and more. Remarkably efficient in his 36 minutes, he shot 10-of-15 from the floor and 15-of-17 from the stripe, all while dishing out a team-high six assists.
In a performance that included several give-that-man-a-hand moments, Ginobili outdid himself midway through the third quarter. Driving by Ray Allen from the right wing and leaping around Danny Fortson in the paint, Ginobili, holding the ball widely in his left hand, pumped once and then sank a soft five-footer while being fouled.
The move came near the end of a sensational run in which Ginobili almost single-handedly dismantled the Sonics. Having scored 19 points by halftime, he had a hand in 20 of the Spurs' first 24 points of the third. Sinking two 3-pointers and going to the hole with abandon, Ginobili scored 14. He also threw three bullet passes that found Nazr Mohammed beneath the basket for easy put-ins. Accomplishing all that in just 6½ minutes, Ginobili turned a 50-50 halftime tie into a commanding 16-point advantage for the Spurs.
"He's a fearless guy going into the paint," Sonics coach Nate McMillan said.
Kind of like The Iceman.
By Chris Broussard, ESPN The Magazine
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/playoffs2005/dailydime
The San Antonio Spurs used to witness moves like this all the time. A lanky swingman would penetrate the lane, leave his feet, cup the ball in one hand as if it were a grapefruit, and finish with a stylish shot that left opponents aghast and fans amazed.
They called him The Iceman. George Gervin.
Manu Ginobili is not as smooth as Ice, but he is at times just as effective. Tuesday, in a must-have Game 5 against the Seattle SuperSonics, was one of those times. With Tim Duncan struggling to find his range and Tony Parker just plain struggling, Ginobili scored a playoff-career-high 39 points to lead the Spurs to a 103-90 victory at the SBC Center. San Antonio leads the series 3 games to 2.
"My biggest concern was just to attack, draw fouls and kick the ball to the open man," said Ginobili, who returned to the starting lineup for the first time since the Spurs' first-round opener against Denver. "I wanted to bring a lot of juice and energy."
As his he-man line suggests, Ginobili brought that and more. Remarkably efficient in his 36 minutes, he shot 10-of-15 from the floor and 15-of-17 from the stripe, all while dishing out a team-high six assists.
In a performance that included several give-that-man-a-hand moments, Ginobili outdid himself midway through the third quarter. Driving by Ray Allen from the right wing and leaping around Danny Fortson in the paint, Ginobili, holding the ball widely in his left hand, pumped once and then sank a soft five-footer while being fouled.
The move came near the end of a sensational run in which Ginobili almost single-handedly dismantled the Sonics. Having scored 19 points by halftime, he had a hand in 20 of the Spurs' first 24 points of the third. Sinking two 3-pointers and going to the hole with abandon, Ginobili scored 14. He also threw three bullet passes that found Nazr Mohammed beneath the basket for easy put-ins. Accomplishing all that in just 6½ minutes, Ginobili turned a 50-50 halftime tie into a commanding 16-point advantage for the Spurs.
"He's a fearless guy going into the paint," Sonics coach Nate McMillan said.
Kind of like The Iceman.