Game Blog: Spurs @ Rockets - March. 12

[Warlord23]

Tim is relatively fresh ... Pop needs to consider throwing it into the block vs Chuck Hayes

[100%duncan]

neal is clutch but I can't believe he missed that

[Mal]

Neal is developing so quickly. Great footwork on that charge

[Spurs Brazil]

Good job Neal

[RuffnReadyOzStyle]

Since when have we played the D'Antoni offence!? RUN YOUR SETS.

[NASpurs]

Tony's becoming automatic with that corner three but those long twos are the one he's having problems with. Weird.

[RuffnReadyOzStyle]

terrible shot

There's been a lot of that tonight - shooting with 18 on the clock out of the secondary break.

When we run our sets we destroy teams. Why don't we do a bit more of that tonight?

[ffadicted]

Jefferson grows balls lol

[benefactor]

RJ can get that whenever he wants right now.

[timtonymanu]

RJ showed up today. Great to see.

[Warlord23]

Manu's taking a beating out there

[100%duncan]

forced it. DAMN

[gasolina]

don't worry. manu will get his groove back.

[100%duncan]

TP is fuckin clutch fellas

[Supergirl]

1 more pt and the Spurs will match what the scored in the third quarter, and there's still 5 more min to go.

[Juggity]

Here we go, 4th quarter spurs coming out of the woodwork

[100%duncan]

martin is shooting like an ass

[100%duncan]

unlucky role

[ducks]

another w tonight book it

[ffadicted]

Sup spurs, learn to make passes, kthnx

[timtonymanu]

Haha your flop didn't work you motherfucker.

[Spurologist]

If the ref says no foul then that should've been a carry. :lol

[Libri]

Why is Martin complaining? He got hit by his own man. :rolleyes

[100%duncan]

Spurs is clutch no way we will lose this shit

[Juggity]

Haha your flop didn't work you motherfucker.

Weren't these announcers just criticizing the spurs a few minutes ago for being floppers? :lol

[Supergirl]

currently 42 points off the Spurs bench...awesome to see.

[Spurs Brazil]

It'd be nice to go inside for TD. He didn't touch the ball since he came back

[roycrikside]

I don't understand these refs. That's either a walk or a foul. You can't just let a guy fall down on the court, take a bunch of steps, and let him call a time out without a call.

[ManuBalboa]

refs on our nuts tonight

Good for Stern and the WWENBA coming back to the dark side.

[Cessation]

spurs coasting against scrub teams and turning it up in the fourth to win by 10, nothing new here

[Ice009]

It fucking shits you every time the SPurs don't play perfectly and win by 35! :lmao

Well if you put it that way then it'd be 15 that I'd be happy with.

[ffadicted]

Why isn't Jefferson driving that shit in

... oh nvm, he does just as I'm typing this lol

[Juggity]

David Robinson was a "pretty good player"?

[ffadicted]

lol you know what's funny.... how EVERYBODY says the regular season doesn't matter, but nobody hesitates to put a * in the 99' chip

[Supergirl]

Damn it Spurs are letting the Rockets hang around too long...

[RuffnReadyOzStyle]

Great boxout and board by George on Chuckwagon.

[timtonymanu]

Need to get some damn stops

[Warlord23]

They're making 3s from every fucking distance

[moisaenz]

Pound the rock!!

[ManuBalboa]

bitches be bringing up the 99 asterisk

[Spurologist]

How the fuck are these chuckers making these long bombs????

[Horse]

They should change their name to "chuck city".

[Supergirl]

Both teams over the foul limit thanks to these dumbass refs...it's gonna be a long endgame.

[ducks]

KOBE limbed to the sideline and called a timeout to get out of game
walking to lockerroom

[timtonymanu]

lol you know what's funny.... how EVERYBODY says the regular season doesn't matter, but nobody hesitates to put a * in the 99' chip

Coming from Drexler, who bolted when times got tough in Portland. What does he know about earning a ring?

[ducks]

manu wtf

[ManuBalboa]

lol these commentators

he mad

[RuffnReadyOzStyle]

Well if you put it that way then it'd be 15 that I'd be happy with.

Rockets aren't an easy beat. They are a young, energetic, tenacious team. This is good seasoning for the playoffs.

And fucking Kyle Lowry can't miss.

[CFH]

Rebound GOTDAMMIT

[ffadicted]

rebounds

[Supergirl]

bail out foul called on Parker. god these refs suck.

[Thomas82]

The Spurs are making this harder than it had to be.

[benefactor]

It's about damn time.

[moisaenz]

CLutch TD

[ffadicted]

lol when the game's on the line.... give it to the big fella and he'll deliver

[Spur_Fanatic]

Td!

[ShoogarBear]

What the f was Hill doing?

[Warlord23]

That was a lucky call

[itzsoweezee]

Should have given the ball to Duncan five minutes ago. Fucking stupid.

[ffadicted]

LMAO how is that NOT a foul fucking homers hahahah

edit: oh nvm

[timtonymanu]

Hill got bailed out again by the refs. Terrible pass Hill.

[CFH]

Stupid pass by Hill, definitely got bailed out on that one

[benefactor]

Foul to bail out Hill. He almost got TD injured with his shitty passing.

[moisaenz]

GOod CALL

[Cessation]

these announcers are retarded, lee clearly jumped on and pushed duncan

[Spurologist]

clutch FTs from timmmay

[Thomas82]

TD coming through in the clutch!!

[Supergirl]

2 point lead with 30 seconds to go...if the Spurs make both FTs (that's a big if) and play defense they SHOULD be good to go.

[itzsoweezee]

Clearly a foul.

[Juggity]

Timmy knockin down the clutch free throws

[Spurs Brazil]

Ref save Hill there, AWFUL pass

[Thomas82]

should have given the ball to duncan five minutes ago. Fucking stupid.

+10000

[Supergirl]

whew

[Ice009]

George Hill fucking sucks.

Lucky there was a foul call there. FUCKING STUPID PLAY FROM HILL.

[ManuBalboa]

lol this joke of a league

[RuffnReadyOzStyle]

Lucky the foul was called because we had two guys on the floor.

Terrible decision by Hill.

[Marcus Bryant]

I fuckign hate the Rockets.

[Pauleta14]

wow the refs are nice with us ON THAT PLAY ...

[ManuBalboa]

the nba is a joke, fans pay hundreds of dollars for tickets to this rigged game?

[moisaenz]

Hill should shoot not try to make a play

[Warlord23]

With George it's always like 2 steps forward, 1 step back. He's scored efficiently himself, but the offense looks like shit when he runs it.

[Supergirl]

CIA Pop - Hardly any plays run for Duncan for most of the game, then post him up in the final minute of the fourth like our secret weapon.

[Libri]

What the f was Hill doing?

passing, apparently

[RuffnReadyOzStyle]

The Spurs are making this harder than it had to be.

No, actually, the Rockets have played tough and Lowry has hit 2 extreme 3s. Not much we can do about either of those factors.

[SpursRulez4eVeR]

lol hill tried to make a play...

[ffadicted]

McDyess, what a man

[CFH]

Dice with the man's rebound

[moisaenz]

Dice clutch rebound

[Spurologist]

Brad Miller always comes through :tu

[timtonymanu]

That's right, Dice. Use your strength against "My dog died expression face" Brad Miller.

[benefactor]

Game over.

[Pauleta14]

8 players in double figure again tonight...

[BoricuaCJA]

I'm so happy they don't have fucking Tracy Mcgrady.

[Spurologist]

:lmao

Announcer: "They're good but they get all the calls"

:lmao

[InRareForm]

Dice

[RuffnReadyOzStyle]

Lee can't lay it up when it matters. We know that from the 09 Finals.

[ffadicted]

Everytime I think it's a sure win against the rockets late game, memories come flooding back of that night.....

[Juggity]

Eight players in double digits tonight!

[Supergirl]

6 pt lead with 25 seconds to go should be insurmountable...

[Holden_Caulfield]

dubious calls!!!

[Horse]

Spurs get all the call rahhahahahha, can someone tell me how I can go punch this fuck in the face.

[Warlord23]

Houston announcers extremely asshurt

[Spur_Fanatic]

8 Spurs in double figures? :O

[timtonymanu]

:lmao

Announcer: "They're good but they get all the calls"

:lmao

It felt good seeing these guys whine like the true bitches they are when Duncan was fouled on his back.

[BoricuaCJA]

the nba is a joke, fans pay hundreds of dollars for tickets to this rigged game?
Then people shouldn't go then or watch.

[Spurs Brazil]

Fuck Drexler and his partner

[RuffnReadyOzStyle]

:lmao

Announcer: "They're good but they get all the calls"

:lmao

Yeah, they continue their complete lack of class or touch with reality right to the end... :lmao

[Supergirl]

LOL Lowry turns over the ball. That should do it...

[Horse]

Glad this ended up close so Pop can break balls and get them ready for miami.

[RuffnReadyOzStyle]

Dubious calls my arse. Rockets wouldn't even be in it if Lowry hadn't banked it in at the end of the 3rd from 40ft.

How about dubious 3s?!

[Libri]

8 players in double figure again tonight...

And two of them on my fantasy team. :hat

[Warlord23]

Jefferson inbounding the ball is going to cost us sometime in the playoffs. He pisses in his pants when the game is close in the 4th quarter

[Cessation]

announcers with some serious butthurt
lol rockets thought they might win this game

[spurastic]

Lots of Spurs fans at arena.

[ffadicted]

Boston, LA, SA, Drexler finally gets something right tonight

[RuffnReadyOzStyle]

Bullshit. Miami can't win it. 5 teams can win it: Spurs, Fakers, Mavs, Celts, Bulls.

[Cessation]

Jefferson inbounding the ball is going to cost us sometime in the playoffs. He pisses in his pants when the game is close in the 4th quarter

uh no he doesn't son, he's been clutch all season in the fourth

[moisaenz]

Coasting.......................................... .

[Mal]

solid win

[itzsoweezee]

ONions

[CFH]

Glad it's finally over

[Thomas82]

Now I can breathe!!!

[RuffnReadyOzStyle]

This game is exemplary of what we've done all year - if the game is tight with 4mins to go, I back us against any team in the league.

Pound that rock, baby. :ihit

[boutons_deux]

balance

[Horse]

Fuck the rockets, fuck the refs, fuck the announcers!

[Spurs Brazil]

Spurs win!!!!!!!!!!

Fuck the Rockets and the announcers

[Warlord23]

uh no he doesn't son, he's been clutch all season in the fourth

I'm talking about inbounding the ball. He's had to use timeouts on several occasions. As you just saw, Pop went with TD as the inbounder after the timeout.

[RuffnReadyOzStyle]

Well played, Rockets. You've got some fine youth there and Adelman has them all trying their guts out.

Better played, Spurs. Our team knows how to win. :toast

[Cessation]

i nominate drexler as second worse announcer in the nba, behind the super homer geezer announcer from boston

[moisaenz]

Good game.. hard played..........

[Reck]

Extremenly happy with the W.

Spurs could have easily let this one slip through their fingers but instead fought and kept them at bay despite having no rest in the past 48 hours.

Mavs are getting their ass handed to them so they will gain a full gain tonight if things keep like they are now.

[RuffnReadyOzStyle]

Boston, LA, SA, Drexler finally gets something right tonight

Agreed, with Bulls and Mavs as dark horses.

[RuffnReadyOzStyle]

i nominate drexler as second worse announcer in the nba, behind the super homer geezer announcer from boston

Tommy Heinsohn.

Motion seconded. :tu

[wildbill2u]

Spurs know how to play the clock. Of course it helps to have Manu around to handle the ball and shoot FTs if they foul.

[tdunk21]

good game....defense needs to improve though

[Capt Bringdown]

Feels like we escaped with a win. Regarding Pop's tinkering, it seem strange that he would give a late-season pickup like Novak some burn while ignoring Splitter. And Bonner wasn't doing anything tonight, so it would've been nice to see what the kid can do...

[FilSpursFan]

Nice win, Spurs!!!!:tu

[Reck]

This game is exemplary of what we've done all year - if the game is tight with 4mins to go, I back us against any team in the league.

Pound that rock, baby. :ihit

Playing close games will pay off in the Playoffs too.

Spurs have become experts this year in shellacking teams in the closing minutes when the game is on the line.

[Spurologist]

This game is exemplary of what we've done all year - if the game is tight with 4mins to go, I back us against any team in the league.

Pound that rock, baby. :ihit

:tu

we've won a lot of close games this year + we seem to have overcome our back2back lulls from last season

[Cessation]

This game was never in question, spurs all season long have coasted against bottom feeding teams, then turn up the d in the fourth, to close it out.

[Spurs Brazil]

Dice 12pts 12rebs in 21 minutes

[timtonymanu]

Dice 12pts 12rebs in 21 minutes

:tu Can't wait to see his performance in the playoffs

[dougp]

Was a great game to be at - Rockets fans are terrible!

[DieHardSpursFan1537]

Another great win and fuck the Rockets!

[duncan228]

Dice 12pts 12rebs in 21 minutes

He was great tonight. Fun to watch. Really hope they can get him a ring.

[moisaenz]

Ring for DICE

[ajballer4]

Dice 12pts 12rebs in 21 minutes

5 offensive boards. Loved his effort. Funny he was actually at -8 on the game though

[duncan228]

Post-Game from the other side.

Rick Adelman

http://www.nba.com/rockets/video/2011/03/12/AdelmanRecapspurs031211MOV-1590040/index.html?ls=iref:nbahpt2

Kyle Lowry

http://www.nba.com/rockets/video/2011/03/12/lowryLKRoomspurs031211MOV-1590037/index.html?ls=iref:nbahpt2

Courtney Lee

http://www.nba.com/rockets/video/2011/03/12/leeLKRoomspurs031211MOV-1590038/index.html?ls=iref:nbahpt2

Kevin Martin

http://www.nba.com/rockets/video/2011/03/12/martinLKRoomspurs031211MOV-1590041/index.html?ls=iref:nbahpt2

Craig Ackerman Recap

http://www.nba.com/rockets/video/2011/03/12/AckermanRecapspurs031211MOV-1590039/index.html?ls=iref:nbahpt2

[timtonymanu]

5 offensive boards. Loved his effort. Funny he was actually at -8 on the game though

And Hill, who was getting killed on defense the whole time, was +7.

[Ditty]

Just got back to hotel from the game...spurs fan took over that arena...I was on tv a couple times with the silver and black pack wearing the missions hat it was so fun...go spurs go all over the arena

[duncan228]

Some post-game quotes.


Parker leads Spurs past Rockets (http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/recap?gid=2011031210)

The San Antonio Spurs knew the Houston Rockets would provide a test, and they were ready for it.

Tony Parker scored 21 points and helped the Spurs beat back a second-half comeback bid by the Rockets for a 115-107 victory Saturday night.

The Spurs led by 13 points in the second quarter and were up by 10 at the half before Houston took its first lead at 67-66 on a dunk by Jordan Hill with 6:06 left in the third quarter.

“Houston is a very hard team to guard,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. “We made a lot of big stops when we needed to. I felt fortunate to get out of here with a win as Houston always gives us problems.”

Houston’s final lead was 89-87 with 9:52 to play on a three-point play by Kyle Lowry. The Rockets tied it at 97 with 6:39 to play, but a 3-pointer by Parker with 6:24 to go put San Antonio in the lead for good.

“It was a great win and a very physical game,” Parker said. “We made the big stops and shots at the end. We did a good job as a team in slowing down Lowry and the Houston offense. I thought we did a great job defensively and to get a win on the road.”

Manu Ginobili added 19 points and Antonio McDyess had 12 points and 12 rebounds for the Spurs.

“All the stops we couldn’t get early we were able to get at the end,” Ginobili said. “We made some free throws and the game went our way. Houston is a tough team and they are fighting for a playoff spot.”

Kevin Martin had 12 points in the Rockets’ big third quarter and finished with 28. Courtney Lee had 16 points off the bench.

The Rockets trailed 59-49 at the half before staging a third-quarter comeback that ended with Lowry’s running 3-point jump shot at the buzzer for an 82-81 lead going into the final period.

Luis Scola, the Rockets’ second-leading scorer, missed his second straight game with a sore left knee.

“I’m very disappointed for our team,” Rockets coach Rick Adelman said. “They played really hard after the first quarter. We picked it up defensively and played better, but they made plays down the stretch where we were trying to play with a team that hasn’t been on the court very much.”

San Antonio took advantage of Houston’s cold shooting and porous defense at the start for a 35-25 lead after one quarter. Martin had 10 points in the period.

The Spurs built a 50-37 lead with 7:11 to go in the second quarter. The Rockets made a 10-2 run and pulled within 52-47 before Ginobili hit a 3-point basket and Parker made two baskets in a row to put San Antonio up 59-49 at the half.

“They play well,” Rockets center Chuck Hayes said. “They’ve got a nice core group. They might not be the most exciting above the rim but who cares? If you find a way to win, you can win.”

Notes: The Spurs are 10-3 in the first game of back-to-backs this season and 9-4 in second games. They beat Sacramento 108-103 Friday night Scola had played 311 consecutive games before sitting out Tuesday’s game against Phoenix with a sore left knee. The Rockets started the longest homestand of the season, six games, and play 10 of their final 15 games at home Spurs forward Richard Jefferson returned after missing his first start in 64 games this season Friday because of personal business. Rookie James Anderson replaced him for his first career start.

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/recap?gid=2011031210

[GSH]

Are the Rockets too poor to afford one of those giant swiffer mops? They had kids out on the floor on their hands and knees, wiping up sweat with a towel. That's right up there with having a pin-boy setting up racks in a bowling alley.

Have things gotten that tough in Houston?

[TampaDude]

Way to hang tough and get that road win, guys!

GO SPURS GO!!!!!

[duncan228]

Players definitely noticed large contingent of Spurs fans at Toyota Center. George Hill: "It made it feel like it was half home, half away.”

At different times, you could hear "GSG" chants, "MVP" chants for Manu and the "Ole, ole" chant. "We love it," Ginobili said.

[Bruno]

Good win.

Rockets are now 33-34 while the 8 seed record is 36-31. They are heading towards the lottery for the second straight season. Last off-season some medias and some of their fans thought they were the 2nd best team in the west...

[NickiRasgo]

http://www.nba.com/spurs/photos/110312_gameday.jpg

lol RJ

[duncan228]

San Antonio Spurs 115, Houston Rockets 107: The defense came around, eventually (http://www.48minutesofhell.com/)
by Jesse Blanchard
48 Minutes of Hell

Following their victory over the Sacramento Kings, before boarding a flight for Houston, a noticeably frustrated Gregg Popovich and several members of the San Antonio Spurs remarked that if their play of the past week continued they would find little success on the road.

“There are some opponents that are going to let you do this, but Houston desperately needing wins to get to the eighth seed, and then Miami and Dallas, it’s not going to happen,” Manu Ginobili said. “We’re going to have to play way better from minute one to 48 and go back to where we were 10 days ago defensively.”

Consider the Spurs 0-1 on their bold prediction.

Playing without Luis Scola, the Houston Rockets managed to put together an offensively dominant third quarter, taking the Spurs deep into the fourth quarter with the game in doubt. For the game, the Spurs surrendered 48 percent shooting (40 percent from three). The defense did not improve, yet the victory remained the same.

And if the performance did not spark much confidence heading into games at Miami and Dallas, remember that these Houston Rockets are not Miami or Dallas. In an 82-game season that has gone as successful as this one has so far, sometimes the opponent is merely boredom.

Keep reading → (http://www.48minutesofhell.com/san-antonio-spurs-115-houston-rockets-107-the-defense-came-around-eventually#more-13218)