Dex
02-03-2012, 01:39 PM
New Orleans Hornets succumb late to Spurs, lose 93-81 in San Antonio
Published: Thursday, February 02, 2012, 11:00 PM Updated: Friday, February 03, 2012, 4:55 AM
By Jimmy Smith, The Times-Picayune The Times-Picayune
San Antonio, Texas — As the San Antonio Spurs opened the fourth quarter Thursday night with four quick points to take a seven-point lead, the biggest of the game at the time, Hornets forward Jason Smith called his team together after a timeout and implored them to hold it together.
“Defense!” Smith yelled. “Defense!”
It wasn’t enough, as the Spurs blew open what had been a back-and-forth game for three quarters, winning 93-81 over New Orleans, sending the Hornets to their 19th defeat in the past 21 games.
Thursday’s loss was a snapshot of what has transpired this season for the youthful, rebuilding Hornets: streaks of solid play and strong defense followed by an inability to maintain either down the stretch.
Just 24 hours earlier, in the wake of a crushing blowout at home to the Phoenix Suns, Smith had correctly assessed the Hornets’ problems.
“We’re a young team,” Smith said. “We have a lot of new guys. I hate making that excuse. But we’ve been together for a month and a half, two months. It’s tough for any team to win. But that’s no excuse for us. We have to continue to go out there and play hard and really be smart: know the things that kill us in games, know that third quarters and fourth quarters are what we’ve been giving teams. We have to stop it. We have to correct it. And we have to come out and play better.”
The Hornets played without starting point guard Jarrett Jack, who sat out with a sore left knee, capably replaced in the lineup by Greivis Vasquez.
And the aging Spurs were shifting lineups all night to keep players fresh.
Spurs Coach Gregg Popovich had sworn before the start of this lockout-shortened season that he would not play 35-year-old Tim Duncan in all four games of a four-games-in-five-nights stretch, one of which San Antonio happened to be ending Thursday night.
Nonetheless, Duncan was in the starting lineup, although it was evident Popovich was closely monitorying Duncan’s minutes, hoping to manage them wisely.
“When you say play, it depends how much people are going to play, how much he’s played in the past, how many minutes he’s played in previous games,” Popovich said. “It’s more a minutes thing than whether he’s played or not. There are bad minutes; you’ve got figure out how people are feeling and that sort of thing.”
Duncan sat five minutes into the first quarter, and played a total of 12 in the first half, getting 11 points and seven reobunds. He finished with 19 points on 6-of-8 shooting and nine rebounds.
But with the Hornets coming off a drubbing Wednesday night at home against the Suns, Coach Monty Williams was hoping his team would have a youthful advantage over the Spurs.
“We’re still fighting the same thing they’re fighting,” said Williams, whose team was also in a four-game-in-five-night swing. “They played (Wednesday) night, as well. Having an older team should benefit us if we do the right things and play our style of basketball for 48 minutes.
“There’s nothing we can do about the schedule. I know there’s all sorts of reports out about how bad basketball is right now. All of that stuff goes out the window when you’re preparing and getting ready to go up against a team that has won championships. We have a number of things that we could deem as excuses, and rightfully so. We just don’t have time for it right now.”
Thursday night’s pace was much more advantageous to the Hornets, who got into a basket-trading tempo in the loss to Phoenix.
Things were more deliberate against the Spurs.
Vasquez, starting in place of Jack, had 12 first-half points on 5-of-6 shooting, and Carl Landry had 11 off the bench on 5-of-7 shooting. Vasquez finished with 16, Landry 17.
Still, beating the Spurs here is a difficult task. San Antonio had just one home loss coming into Thursday night’s game, and Williams put his finger precisely on the reason for San Antonio’s historic home success.
“Tim Duncan,” said Williams, who played with Duncan when futre Hall of Famer had just joined the Spurs. “He’s one of the best of all time. Even with his legs not being what they used to be, he’s still effective.
“And Tony Parker, he can take over a game with his penetration. They’ve been there, done that. You almost have to play a perfect game here in this place to beat them. We’ve done it. We did it last year. They have role guys who are really giving them a lot of energy and production. So they’re comfortable here. They’ve won championships, and nothing fazes them.”
Duncan had 28 points in the first win over the Hornets on Jan. 23, and the game-winning baby-hook shot in the waning seconds, and Parker handed out a career-high 17 assists in that 104-102 San Antonio win.
“We looked at that positively,” said Williams. “Tim scored 28 points and Tony (Parker) had a career-high in assists (17), and that’s what it took to beat us down the stretch. Our guys just continue to fight. That’s what I’m proud of and what I’m excited about. I can come out after a game and say those guys are fighting. The losses hurt. But when you have a group of guys who fight like that, it makes it a lot more fun to come to work.”
On Thursday, the sentiment was nice. But once again, it wasn’t enough.
Published: Thursday, February 02, 2012, 11:00 PM Updated: Friday, February 03, 2012, 4:55 AM
By Jimmy Smith, The Times-Picayune The Times-Picayune
San Antonio, Texas — As the San Antonio Spurs opened the fourth quarter Thursday night with four quick points to take a seven-point lead, the biggest of the game at the time, Hornets forward Jason Smith called his team together after a timeout and implored them to hold it together.
“Defense!” Smith yelled. “Defense!”
It wasn’t enough, as the Spurs blew open what had been a back-and-forth game for three quarters, winning 93-81 over New Orleans, sending the Hornets to their 19th defeat in the past 21 games.
Thursday’s loss was a snapshot of what has transpired this season for the youthful, rebuilding Hornets: streaks of solid play and strong defense followed by an inability to maintain either down the stretch.
Just 24 hours earlier, in the wake of a crushing blowout at home to the Phoenix Suns, Smith had correctly assessed the Hornets’ problems.
“We’re a young team,” Smith said. “We have a lot of new guys. I hate making that excuse. But we’ve been together for a month and a half, two months. It’s tough for any team to win. But that’s no excuse for us. We have to continue to go out there and play hard and really be smart: know the things that kill us in games, know that third quarters and fourth quarters are what we’ve been giving teams. We have to stop it. We have to correct it. And we have to come out and play better.”
The Hornets played without starting point guard Jarrett Jack, who sat out with a sore left knee, capably replaced in the lineup by Greivis Vasquez.
And the aging Spurs were shifting lineups all night to keep players fresh.
Spurs Coach Gregg Popovich had sworn before the start of this lockout-shortened season that he would not play 35-year-old Tim Duncan in all four games of a four-games-in-five-nights stretch, one of which San Antonio happened to be ending Thursday night.
Nonetheless, Duncan was in the starting lineup, although it was evident Popovich was closely monitorying Duncan’s minutes, hoping to manage them wisely.
“When you say play, it depends how much people are going to play, how much he’s played in the past, how many minutes he’s played in previous games,” Popovich said. “It’s more a minutes thing than whether he’s played or not. There are bad minutes; you’ve got figure out how people are feeling and that sort of thing.”
Duncan sat five minutes into the first quarter, and played a total of 12 in the first half, getting 11 points and seven reobunds. He finished with 19 points on 6-of-8 shooting and nine rebounds.
But with the Hornets coming off a drubbing Wednesday night at home against the Suns, Coach Monty Williams was hoping his team would have a youthful advantage over the Spurs.
“We’re still fighting the same thing they’re fighting,” said Williams, whose team was also in a four-game-in-five-night swing. “They played (Wednesday) night, as well. Having an older team should benefit us if we do the right things and play our style of basketball for 48 minutes.
“There’s nothing we can do about the schedule. I know there’s all sorts of reports out about how bad basketball is right now. All of that stuff goes out the window when you’re preparing and getting ready to go up against a team that has won championships. We have a number of things that we could deem as excuses, and rightfully so. We just don’t have time for it right now.”
Thursday night’s pace was much more advantageous to the Hornets, who got into a basket-trading tempo in the loss to Phoenix.
Things were more deliberate against the Spurs.
Vasquez, starting in place of Jack, had 12 first-half points on 5-of-6 shooting, and Carl Landry had 11 off the bench on 5-of-7 shooting. Vasquez finished with 16, Landry 17.
Still, beating the Spurs here is a difficult task. San Antonio had just one home loss coming into Thursday night’s game, and Williams put his finger precisely on the reason for San Antonio’s historic home success.
“Tim Duncan,” said Williams, who played with Duncan when futre Hall of Famer had just joined the Spurs. “He’s one of the best of all time. Even with his legs not being what they used to be, he’s still effective.
“And Tony Parker, he can take over a game with his penetration. They’ve been there, done that. You almost have to play a perfect game here in this place to beat them. We’ve done it. We did it last year. They have role guys who are really giving them a lot of energy and production. So they’re comfortable here. They’ve won championships, and nothing fazes them.”
Duncan had 28 points in the first win over the Hornets on Jan. 23, and the game-winning baby-hook shot in the waning seconds, and Parker handed out a career-high 17 assists in that 104-102 San Antonio win.
“We looked at that positively,” said Williams. “Tim scored 28 points and Tony (Parker) had a career-high in assists (17), and that’s what it took to beat us down the stretch. Our guys just continue to fight. That’s what I’m proud of and what I’m excited about. I can come out after a game and say those guys are fighting. The losses hurt. But when you have a group of guys who fight like that, it makes it a lot more fun to come to work.”
On Thursday, the sentiment was nice. But once again, it wasn’t enough.