Throwback Thursday: 2003 NBA Finals - Game 1

[Thomas82]

The Spurs won this game 101-89 to take a 1-0 series lead. They 5 players score in double figures, but Tim Duncan was a MONSTER that night. He had 32 points, 20 rebounds, 7 blocks, 6 assists, and 3 steals. It's unbelievable that he was just 2 steals away from having a 5x5.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Njh4r4MOpf0


Here are some highlights for the people with time constraints:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fwWqsbANx6g

[phxspurfan]

least favorite championship tbh. besides winning (another) one for DRob, all I remember from this is Speedy bailing out TP, SJax/Kerr bailing everyone out against the Mavs, and not getting JKidd the following year. ALong with bitch as Turkoglu sucking it up the next year

[Keepin' it real]

How was Kawhi's tendinopathy back then?

[phxspurfan]

How was Kawhi's tendinopathy back then?

It was clear but he sat out anyway :downspin:

[Thomas82]

least favorite championship tbh. besides winning (another) one for DRob, all I remember from this is Speedy bailing out TP, SJax/Kerr bailing everyone out against the Mavs, and not getting JKidd the following year. ALong with bitch as Turkoglu sucking it up the next year

It was actually my favorite championship, followed by 1999.

[phxspurfan]

In order:

'99 (first, with Twin Towers in their prime)
'14 (revenge)
'05 (most competitive)
'07 (sweeping LeBroom)
'03 (Jax left the following year, Parker/Manu not in their prime yet, Robinson looking washed up, offense stale af 4 down every time, inferior Nets as competition)

[UNT Eagles 2016]

least favorite championship tbh. besides winning (another) one for DRob, all I remember from this is Speedy bailing out TP, SJax/Kerr bailing everyone out against the Mavs, and not getting JKidd the following year. ALong with bitch as Turkoglu sucking it up the next year

I thought it was amazing, especially the part about finally getting over the Laker hump, taking 8 out of 10 games against them combined regular season and playoffs. Also beating the trash talking Marbury Suns was pretty satisfying in its own right.

The least favorite by far is 2007 and it isn't even close

[UNT Eagles 2016]

In order:

'99 (first, with Twin Towers in their prime)
'14 (revenge)
'05 (most competitive)
'07 (sweeping LeBroom)
'03 (Jax left the following year, Parker/Manu not in their prime yet, Robinson looking washed up, offense stale af 4 down every time, inferior Nets as competition)
Part of the allure with '03 was that we were underdogs all season long, got off to a pedestrian 19-13 start to the regular season before catching fire on the RRT and afterward. The team just wasn't that great around Timmy, the team was very inconsistent (especially on offense) and that's part of what made that title so great. Everyone not named TD was either too young or too old or too unspectacular, the Lakers were the kings until beaten in the playoffs, the Mavs were run-n-gun and started 14-0 and looked as invincible as the Warriors a couple years ago, the Kings were uber-talented and out for revenge, Portland had finally grown up, the T-Wolves seemed finally ready to take the next big step, the Jazz still had one last run in them with Stockton & Malone, Amare Stoudemire was the league's next great phenom. Nobody really thought anything of those Spurs and yet we caught fire in the back half of the season and won the whole darn thing. I thought it was incredible.

'07 was too expected and we got help from the league, we got VERY lucky and dodged the dominant Mavs, overall bad competition outside of the one team we got help from Stern & Jackson against... that Cavs team was awful and only won the east because Lebron had a couple fluke games and Rasheed Wallace & the Pisstons imploded at the worst time.

'05 was the most competitive, agreed

'99 was the first, yes, but competition was terrible throughout, it was the league's biggest down year statistically and the entire NBA had a post-MJ hangover

'14 was awesome because of the revenge, both against OKC for the refball debacle in '12 and Miami for 6

[YGWHI]

Thanks! We need threads like this...With the Spurs and Tim being dominant. :flag:

[Thomas82]

Thanks! We need threads like this...With the Spurs and Tim being dominant. :flag:

Plenty more where that came from.

[YGWHI]

Plenty more where that came from.

:tu

[TE]

I miss Tim Duncan.

[SASdynasty!]

least favorite championship tbh. besides winning (another) one for DRob, all I remember from this is Speedy bailing out TP, SJax/Kerr bailing everyone out against the Mavs, and not getting JKidd the following year. ALong with bitch as Turkoglu sucking it up the next year
I remember Speedy bailing out Parker in that series also:

Finals:

Parker: 14.0 / 4.2 / 3.2
Speedy: 6.2 / 1.5 / 1.0

[BillMc]

I miss Tim Duncan.

[tbdog]

I remember Speedy bailing out Parker in that series also:

Finals:

Parker: 14.0 / 4.2 / 3.2
Speedy: 6.2 / 1.5 / 1.0

Parker was sick the last two games and was really sick in game 6.

[baseline bum]

Parker was sick the last two games and was really sick in game 6.

That was in the WCF, not the Finals.

[baseline bum]

least favorite championship tbh. besides winning (another) one for DRob, all I remember from this is Speedy bailing out TP, SJax/Kerr bailing everyone out against the Mavs, and not getting JKidd the following year. ALong with bitch as Turkoglu sucking it up the next year

You're crazy. The Spurs going into Staples and making Bryant and Fisher cry after a 28 point beatdown in an elimination game was amazing to see. That game was probably my favorite Tim Duncan performance ever. LA could not do shit to guard him. And watching Parker shred them all game in his second year in the league was pretty amazing too.

[phxspurfan]

You're crazy. The Spurs going into Staples and making Bryant and Fisher cry after a 28 point beatdown in an elimination game was amazing to see. That game was probably my favorite Tim Duncan performance ever. LA could not do shit to guard him. And watching Parker shred them all game in his second year in the league was pretty amazing too.

Yes the crying was great. But that was not in the Finals. I'm talking Finals performances here. Spurs have had plenty of other awesome playoff series wins:


Over the Lakers in 03 (All the crying)
Beating the Suns in 07 (Donaghy)
Beating Dallas in 03 (Jax/Kerr raining 3s in game 6)
Beating the Suns in 03 (Stephon Marbury's shot)
Sweeping the Lakers in 99
Beating Seattle in 02 (Jerome James "I don't give them no respect. None")
Beating the CP3 Hornets in 7 in 08
Sweeping the Lakers in 2013 (Baynes punking Dwight Howard)
Dallas 1st round 2014 (Blair going off against us until he kicked Splitter and got suspended)

and worst non-finals series:
2004 vs Lakers (reverse sweep after Parker went supernova in games 1-2 and then disappeared, 0.4)
2001 vs Lakers (getting swept)
2006 vs Mavs (crushed by Devin Harris, Josh Howard etc)
2008 vs Lakers (Fisher's foul on Barry that wasn't called)
2012 vs OKC (refKC, reverse sweep again. I went to game 1)
2011 vs Memphis (Manu getting hurt right before the series began)
2017 vs GSW
2010 vs Phx (getting swept, seeing Dragic shake Duncan out of his shoes)

[Thomas82]

I miss Tim Duncan.

You are definitely not alone.

[baseline bum]

Yes the crying was great. But that was not in the Finals. I'm talking Finals performances here. Spurs have had plenty of other awesome playoff series wins:


Over the Lakers in 03 (All the crying)
Beating the Suns in 07 (Donaghy)


Those two series were the Finals though and pretty much everyone knew it at the time. Everything else those seasons was a victory lap.

[spurraider21]

crofl, K-Mart kept trying to go baseline and got his shit stuffed every single time :lol

[Clipper Nation]

I remember Speedy bailing out Parker in that series also:

Finals:

Parker: 14.0 / 4.2 / 3.2
Speedy: 6.2 / 1.5 / 1.0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bEJA1X1_Lp4

[phxspurfan]

Those two series were the Finals though and pretty much everyone knew it at the time. Everything else those seasons was a victory lap.

Yeah, that's probably why I remember the '03 finals being a dud. I was not at all excited about the matchup after the Lakers series. Everything else seemed like a joke, including watching JKidd try to post up Duncan for 6 games (and people talk up KMart and Kerry Kittles like they were special). The only thing I remember from the '03 Finals was Manu's breakaway dunk and the victory parade (Malik saying how Duncan almost got a quad double). But Duncan's stats were so quietly obtained I didn't even notice (besides putting up a double double every time he walked onto the court).

9Qtb3IDifQ0

[TDomination]

Every championship was absolutely amazing for me. To know that your team is on top of the NBA pedestal for that year is awesome. I always looked forward to the sports illustrated championship edition magazine and the championship DVD.

But with that said, there is only one that stands above others and that's 14. What a special run after the heartbreak the year before. That team was on a mission from the moment they entered training camp. Truly special.

[TDomination]

Thanks for the video, I wish I had gone to this game instead I went to game 2. My only finals experience. Really sucks that they lost that game but still had fun.

[boutons_deux]

That was in the WCF, not the Finals.

IIRC, a bad creme brulee was blamed

[baseline bum]

Thanks for the video, I wish I had gone to this game instead I went to game 2. My only finals experience. Really sucks that they lost that game but still had fun.

That was a hell of a game though. I was in shock when Jack's 3 rimmed out, I thought that game was won the second he released it based on how clutch he had been all year. God damn I wish Pop would have given Jack that long term deal. No way Dallas beats the Spurs in 06 with Jack on the team and he couldn't possibly have been as cold as Turkoglu was in that 04 series with LA.

[Russ]

You're crazy. The Spurs going into Staples and making Bryant and Fisher cry after a 28 point beatdown in an elimination game was amazing to see. That game was probably my favorite Tim Duncan performance ever. LA could not do shit to guard him. And watching Parker shred them all game in his second year in the league was pretty amazing too.

I remember it well. I attended "The Crying Game" at Staples.

It denied the Lakers a "Fourpeat."

It was the first series the Lakers ever lost at Staples.

It broke a 13 series playoff winning streak for the Lakers.

It broke a 25 series playoff winning streak for Phil Jackson.

It ended any trace of PJ's "asterisk."

And I was there to personally retire the asterisk (see my avatar or whatever the fuck it's called).

[baseline bum]

I remember it well. I attended "The Crying Game" at Staples.

It denied the Lakers a "Fourpeat."

It was the first series the Lakers ever lost at Staples.

It broke a 13 series playoff winning streak for the Lakers.

It broke a 25 series playoff winning streak for Phil Jackson.

It ended any trace of PJ's "asterisk."

And I was there to personally retire the asterisk (see my avatar or whatever the fuck it's called).

I still can't believe you got a ticket to that game just walking up to the ticket booth before it. I was dying laughing when Tod Tango posted that video of you crumpling up the asterisks behind Walton and company. :lmao

That's still gotta be my second favorite Spurs game ever, only behind Kawhi going nuts in Game 3 in Miami.

[Russ]

I still can't believe you got a ticket to that game just walking up to the ticket booth before it. I was dying laughing when Tod Tango posted that video of you crumpling up the asterisks behind Walton and company. :lmao

That's still gotta be my second favorite Spurs game ever, only behind Kawhi going nuts in Game 3 in Miami.

:toast

[baseline bum]

:toast

There you go, at the 1:55:30 mark :lol


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BJe5glWCU8s

[Arcadian]

I remember this series for the Duncan quad double (minus 2 blocks that actually happened but weren't recorded)

Reporter: "Did you know you were 2 blocks away from a quadruple double?"

Tim: "Oh really? That's cool."

[spurraider21]

i remember Jax BARELY missing a game winning 3 pointer at the buzzer of game 2

[HarlemHeat37]

God, that's some hideous basketball:lol