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10-16-2004, 06:34 PM
http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/...me.5687ae0.html
Spurs lose to Knicks in preseason opener
Web Posted: 10/16/2004 04:30 PM CDT
Mike Monroe
Express-News Staff Writer
NEW YORK — Here is all you really need to know about the Spurs’ 98-84 preseason loss to the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden on Saturday:
With 5:42 remaining in the second quarter, Spurs rookie guard Valter Monteiro was whistled by referee Rodney Mott for a questionable offensive foul. Spurs coach Gregg Popovich rose from the bench to let Mott have it when he got within earshot.
“Come on, Rodney,” Popovich screamed. “He’s from Portugal, give him a break. He’s going home after the game.”
In fact, Monteiro is from Angola, a former Portuguese territory on the west coast of Africa. He played for the Angolan Olympic team in Athens, Greece, where he caught Popovich’s eye and earned an invitation to training camp.
And, officially, Monteiro wasn’t cut from the squad after the game, but he did head to Portugal after the game, New York being a much more convenient jumping off point than San Antonio for a trip that eventually will take Monteiro back to Angola.
But the fact Monteiro played the final six minutes of the first half — he scored on a nifty lob pass from Tony Parker, elevating to re-direct the pass into the basket with his right hand — typified the nature of the exhibition season.
Results matter little.
Experiences count.
“This was sort of the Valter Monteiro memorial game,” Popovich said afterward. “He’s going back to Portugal tonight. But he did a great job while he was with us. Number-wise, it just wasn’t going to work for him.”
Monteiro’s experience Saturday was being recorded for posterity on the player’s camcorder by Spurs media relations director Tom James, who diligently videographed Monteiro’s pregame routine and every second of his second-period stint. But by the time Monteiro got back in the game for the final 4:42, during which he nailed a 3-point basket and added two free throws, the battery on the camcorder had run out of juice.
“We’ll make sure he gets a copy of the game tape,” Spurs general manager R.C. Buford promised.
And Monteiro promised Buford that he would keep in close contact through the season and send him videotapes of other African players he thinks have NBA potential.
That might make him one of the Spurs’ most valuable exhibition game players ever.
Monteiro said he was too emotional to comment about his one game of NBA experience.
“I’m sorry,” he said. “I just don’t want to say too much right now.”
Other than Monteiro’s memorable experience, the game was eminently forgettable for the Spurs. Tim Duncan logged 20 minutes and looked like Tim Duncan, scoring 16 points, grabbing eight rebounds and blocking two shots. When Duncan left the game for the final time, with six minutes left in the third period, the Knicks led only by one point.
Notebook: Duncan, so frustrated by being in foul trouble throughout his stint with the U.S. Olympic team in Athens, said he was thrilled to play again under the scrutiny of NBA refs.
“I love the NBA’s refs,” Duncan declared. “I will never talk bad about them, ever again.”
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Spurs lose to Knicks in preseason opener
Web Posted: 10/16/2004 04:30 PM CDT
Mike Monroe
Express-News Staff Writer
NEW YORK — Here is all you really need to know about the Spurs’ 98-84 preseason loss to the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden on Saturday:
With 5:42 remaining in the second quarter, Spurs rookie guard Valter Monteiro was whistled by referee Rodney Mott for a questionable offensive foul. Spurs coach Gregg Popovich rose from the bench to let Mott have it when he got within earshot.
“Come on, Rodney,” Popovich screamed. “He’s from Portugal, give him a break. He’s going home after the game.”
In fact, Monteiro is from Angola, a former Portuguese territory on the west coast of Africa. He played for the Angolan Olympic team in Athens, Greece, where he caught Popovich’s eye and earned an invitation to training camp.
And, officially, Monteiro wasn’t cut from the squad after the game, but he did head to Portugal after the game, New York being a much more convenient jumping off point than San Antonio for a trip that eventually will take Monteiro back to Angola.
But the fact Monteiro played the final six minutes of the first half — he scored on a nifty lob pass from Tony Parker, elevating to re-direct the pass into the basket with his right hand — typified the nature of the exhibition season.
Results matter little.
Experiences count.
“This was sort of the Valter Monteiro memorial game,” Popovich said afterward. “He’s going back to Portugal tonight. But he did a great job while he was with us. Number-wise, it just wasn’t going to work for him.”
Monteiro’s experience Saturday was being recorded for posterity on the player’s camcorder by Spurs media relations director Tom James, who diligently videographed Monteiro’s pregame routine and every second of his second-period stint. But by the time Monteiro got back in the game for the final 4:42, during which he nailed a 3-point basket and added two free throws, the battery on the camcorder had run out of juice.
“We’ll make sure he gets a copy of the game tape,” Spurs general manager R.C. Buford promised.
And Monteiro promised Buford that he would keep in close contact through the season and send him videotapes of other African players he thinks have NBA potential.
That might make him one of the Spurs’ most valuable exhibition game players ever.
Monteiro said he was too emotional to comment about his one game of NBA experience.
“I’m sorry,” he said. “I just don’t want to say too much right now.”
Other than Monteiro’s memorable experience, the game was eminently forgettable for the Spurs. Tim Duncan logged 20 minutes and looked like Tim Duncan, scoring 16 points, grabbing eight rebounds and blocking two shots. When Duncan left the game for the final time, with six minutes left in the third period, the Knicks led only by one point.
Notebook: Duncan, so frustrated by being in foul trouble throughout his stint with the U.S. Olympic team in Athens, said he was thrilled to play again under the scrutiny of NBA refs.
“I love the NBA’s refs,” Duncan declared. “I will never talk bad about them, ever again.”
[email protected]