Kori Ellis
11-16-2006, 03:33 AM
Bobcats take advantage of sloppy Spurs
Web Posted: 11/16/2006 12:19 AM CST
Johnny Ludden
Express-News Staff Writer
http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/basketball/nba/spurs/stories/MYSA111606.01D.BKNspurs.bobcats.gamer.3095fd5.html
Another night, another pressure-packed moment. Game on the line, crowd on its feet, ball in his hands, Manu Ginobili set his shoes behind the 3-point line and took aim.
Without a single Charlotte Bobcat within a yard of him, Ginobili also had enough time to survey the floor, check his feet again, look at the clock, calculate distance and wind speed and order a $7 beer.
And on this night, it didn't matter.
Ginobili's 3-pointer went the way of so many others for the Spurs on Wednesday, clanging harmlessly off the side of the rim. Having brushed aside the Spurs' latest comeback, Charlotte walked out of the AT&T Center with a 95-92 overtime victory.
"I was so open, it was hard to take it," Ginobili said of his potential game-tying attempt with 25.9 seconds left. "I felt confident and optimistic that it was going to go in. It just didn't."
The Spurs could say that about a lot of their shots. With Bobcats center Emeka Okafor throwing back five of them and altering at least a half-dozen others, they shot a season-low 37.5 percent. That included making just 2 of 17 3-pointers.
Throw in 18 turnovers, which Charlotte turned into 24 points, and a career-best 27-point performance from rookie Adam Morrison and the Spurs couldn't follow Tuesday's spirited victory in Houston with another.
"We got outplayed in the long run," said Tim Duncan, who led the Spurs with 24 points and 13 rebounds. "No ups, no downs, we just lost the game."
After rallying from a 19-point deficit one night earlier, the Spurs seemed primed to pull off another improbable comeback when they climbed out of an 83-75 hole in the final 2 minutes, 10 seconds of regulation.
They even had a chance to win after Brevin Knight's head-on bank shot somehow popped out of the rim. With seven seconds left, the Spurs elected to not call a timeout, instead letting Ginobili take the ball downcourt to try to beat Charlotte in transition.
Ginobili started to dribble into the lane, then found Michael Finley on the right wing. Finley had scored 17 points to break out of his season-long slump, but his 3-pointer skipped off the rim just before the buzzer sounded.
"He was shooting very good," Ginobili said, "but he wasn't probably as open as I thought. I don't think it was a bad decision."
It certainly wasn't nearly as bad as some of the others the Spurs made. For much of the game, they alternated between throwing the ball to the Bobcats and the fans seated courtside.
In addition to scoring 25 points, Tony Parker committed six turnovers, half of which came in the final 3:07 of regulation. They proved more costly than any missed shot.
"We had opportunities," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said.
The Bobcats, Popovich said, also deserved a lot of credit for taking them away. Charlotte entered Wednesday having held its opponents to a league-low 41.5 percent shooting, yet had won just once.
Okafor, who is quickly becoming one of the league's premier defenders, repeatedly shooed the Spurs out of the lane. He also had five steals to go along with his five blocks, 19 points and nine rebounds.
"He's a big kid. He can jump, he's athletic," said Ginobili, who still provided 12 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists despite making only 3 of 14 shots. "He's always there to contest, to bother the shots.
"I don't know if all the misses I had in the layups was because of him, but he's a good presence down there."
Though both teams played the previous night, Charlotte clearly proved to be the aggressor. The Bobcats' No. 3 overall pick in last summer's draft deserved much of that credit: Morrison scored 13 points in the first quarter.
"He's a basketball junkie," Popovich said. "He understands how to play the game and every game he gets smarter and smarter figuring out what he has to do at this level against these kinds of players in the NBA. He's a fantastic young talent."
Even still, the Spurs had a chance to possibly force a second overtime. With his defender having left to follow Duncan, Ginobili found himself "wide, wide, wide open" behind the 3-point line.
"It was like many of the rest of my shots," Ginobili said. "I had an off night with the rim."
Web Posted: 11/16/2006 12:19 AM CST
Johnny Ludden
Express-News Staff Writer
http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/basketball/nba/spurs/stories/MYSA111606.01D.BKNspurs.bobcats.gamer.3095fd5.html
Another night, another pressure-packed moment. Game on the line, crowd on its feet, ball in his hands, Manu Ginobili set his shoes behind the 3-point line and took aim.
Without a single Charlotte Bobcat within a yard of him, Ginobili also had enough time to survey the floor, check his feet again, look at the clock, calculate distance and wind speed and order a $7 beer.
And on this night, it didn't matter.
Ginobili's 3-pointer went the way of so many others for the Spurs on Wednesday, clanging harmlessly off the side of the rim. Having brushed aside the Spurs' latest comeback, Charlotte walked out of the AT&T Center with a 95-92 overtime victory.
"I was so open, it was hard to take it," Ginobili said of his potential game-tying attempt with 25.9 seconds left. "I felt confident and optimistic that it was going to go in. It just didn't."
The Spurs could say that about a lot of their shots. With Bobcats center Emeka Okafor throwing back five of them and altering at least a half-dozen others, they shot a season-low 37.5 percent. That included making just 2 of 17 3-pointers.
Throw in 18 turnovers, which Charlotte turned into 24 points, and a career-best 27-point performance from rookie Adam Morrison and the Spurs couldn't follow Tuesday's spirited victory in Houston with another.
"We got outplayed in the long run," said Tim Duncan, who led the Spurs with 24 points and 13 rebounds. "No ups, no downs, we just lost the game."
After rallying from a 19-point deficit one night earlier, the Spurs seemed primed to pull off another improbable comeback when they climbed out of an 83-75 hole in the final 2 minutes, 10 seconds of regulation.
They even had a chance to win after Brevin Knight's head-on bank shot somehow popped out of the rim. With seven seconds left, the Spurs elected to not call a timeout, instead letting Ginobili take the ball downcourt to try to beat Charlotte in transition.
Ginobili started to dribble into the lane, then found Michael Finley on the right wing. Finley had scored 17 points to break out of his season-long slump, but his 3-pointer skipped off the rim just before the buzzer sounded.
"He was shooting very good," Ginobili said, "but he wasn't probably as open as I thought. I don't think it was a bad decision."
It certainly wasn't nearly as bad as some of the others the Spurs made. For much of the game, they alternated between throwing the ball to the Bobcats and the fans seated courtside.
In addition to scoring 25 points, Tony Parker committed six turnovers, half of which came in the final 3:07 of regulation. They proved more costly than any missed shot.
"We had opportunities," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said.
The Bobcats, Popovich said, also deserved a lot of credit for taking them away. Charlotte entered Wednesday having held its opponents to a league-low 41.5 percent shooting, yet had won just once.
Okafor, who is quickly becoming one of the league's premier defenders, repeatedly shooed the Spurs out of the lane. He also had five steals to go along with his five blocks, 19 points and nine rebounds.
"He's a big kid. He can jump, he's athletic," said Ginobili, who still provided 12 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists despite making only 3 of 14 shots. "He's always there to contest, to bother the shots.
"I don't know if all the misses I had in the layups was because of him, but he's a good presence down there."
Though both teams played the previous night, Charlotte clearly proved to be the aggressor. The Bobcats' No. 3 overall pick in last summer's draft deserved much of that credit: Morrison scored 13 points in the first quarter.
"He's a basketball junkie," Popovich said. "He understands how to play the game and every game he gets smarter and smarter figuring out what he has to do at this level against these kinds of players in the NBA. He's a fantastic young talent."
Even still, the Spurs had a chance to possibly force a second overtime. With his defender having left to follow Duncan, Ginobili found himself "wide, wide, wide open" behind the 3-point line.
"It was like many of the rest of my shots," Ginobili said. "I had an off night with the rim."