Kori Ellis
03-03-2007, 02:14 AM
Ginobili leads rout: Spurs' super sub scores 25 of 31 points in second half against Magic
Web Posted: 03/03/2007 12:26 AM CST
Johnny Ludden
Express-News
http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/basketball/nba/spurs/stories/MYSA030307.01C.BKNspurs.magic.gamer.36d2e3d.html
Manu Ginobili short-armed a layup, clanged a runner, misfired on a 12-foot pull-up and watched a 3-pointer drop into the rim then bounce out. As the Spurs guard walked to the bench at the end of Friday's first quarter, no one would have blamed him for being frustrated.
Ginobili, however, wasn't worried.
"I just thought it wasn't going to be a great night for me," he said.
As it turned out, Ginobili's evening wasn't half bad. Scoring 25 of his 31 points in the final two quarters, he led the Spurs to a 98-74 rout of the Orlando Magic while treating the AT&T Center's sellout crowd to another memorable show.
Ginobili matched one franchise record with five 3-pointers in the third quarter and another with six total in the second half. He missed only two of the 10 shots he took in the half and scored his 25 points in a span of just 10 minutes, 45 seconds.
Ginobili's performance, which helped extend the Spurs' season-best winning streak to seven games, was nearly as thrilling as the 40-point effort he produced in Atlanta last week.
"Manu obviously held a hell of a run," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said.
Tim Duncan added 19 points and 10 rebounds to help give the Spurs a nice sendoff for a four-game trip that begins in Houston tonight. For the third time in their past four home games, the Spurs also held their opponent to a season-low point total.
"The offense goes up and down as it does with most teams," Popovich said, "but the defense was pretty consistent."
That was a contrast from three weeks ago in Orlando. Then, the Spurs surrendered an 18-point lead and suffered one of their most frustrating losses of the season on Dwight Howard's vicious alley-oop dunk with less than a second left.
The Spurs led by as many as 15 in Friday's first half and were still up 43-33 at halftime. But after watching Jameer Nelson — who scored 24 of his season-high 31 points in the second half of the Feb. 9 game — bury a pull-up jumper to pull the Magic within six less than four minutes into the third quarter, Popovich had seen enough similarities to angrily signal for a timeout.
"We couldn't allow them to do it again," Ginobili said. "So we had to play tougher 'D' and everybody had to go to the boards and get loose balls. And then offensively, something was going to come up."
That something was Ginobili. After missing 6 of 9 shots in the first half, he buried three 3-pointers in less than two minutes after the timeout.
Ginobili added another late in the quarter after Orlando again cut the Spurs' lead to six. When Darko Milicic made a pair of free throws to bring the Magic within 62-57, Ginobili pumped in one more 3-pointer at the buzzer after taking a dribble handoff above the key from Robert Horry.
"Those kind of shots are sometimes easier because you have no pressure," Ginobili said. "You know you have to shoot it and nobody's going to say anything. Nobody's going to get upset at you with one second to go."
Ginobili wasn't done. He drove for a layup and a foul early in the fourth quarter, made another 3-pointer then completed another three-point play after Duncan dove to the floor to force a steal. The flurry broke open the game.
"When you face a player like Ginobili you have to decide if you want him driving to the basket or pulling up and shooting behind screens," Magic coach Brian Hill said. "Tonight we wanted Ginobili shooting behind screens."
Spurs point guard Jacque Vaughn understood Hill's dilemma.
"I've been on the other side before," Vaughn said. "You think you have him corralled and he pulls out the one-two step and he slices by you for the and-one. It can get a little frustrating."
While the Spurs were led by their super sub, Ginobili wasn't the only member of the team's bench to play well. In addition to Vaughn, who offset Tony Parker's shaky performance (eight points, four assists and four turnovers) with six points and four assists, Michael Finley scored 12 points and Fabricio Oberto grabbed seven rebounds.
Oberto teamed with Duncan and Francisco Elson to help limit Howard, who scored 30 points in the teams' previous meeting, to nine points and nine boards. The Spurs also outrebounded the Magic, who were missing guard Grant Hill, 29-16 in the first half.
"We know how good (Howard) is on the boards," Popovich said. "I thought the guys, one through five, really went to the board hard to try to limit that."
Ginobili, meanwhile, took over from there. Unlike in Atlanta, where he often burned the Hawks with his penetration, Ginobili leaned more heavily on his 3-point shot.
"I was feeling so comfortable with the shot and so confident," Ginobili said, "that probably I took a couple I shouldn't have."
No one was complaining.
Web Posted: 03/03/2007 12:26 AM CST
Johnny Ludden
Express-News
http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/basketball/nba/spurs/stories/MYSA030307.01C.BKNspurs.magic.gamer.36d2e3d.html
Manu Ginobili short-armed a layup, clanged a runner, misfired on a 12-foot pull-up and watched a 3-pointer drop into the rim then bounce out. As the Spurs guard walked to the bench at the end of Friday's first quarter, no one would have blamed him for being frustrated.
Ginobili, however, wasn't worried.
"I just thought it wasn't going to be a great night for me," he said.
As it turned out, Ginobili's evening wasn't half bad. Scoring 25 of his 31 points in the final two quarters, he led the Spurs to a 98-74 rout of the Orlando Magic while treating the AT&T Center's sellout crowd to another memorable show.
Ginobili matched one franchise record with five 3-pointers in the third quarter and another with six total in the second half. He missed only two of the 10 shots he took in the half and scored his 25 points in a span of just 10 minutes, 45 seconds.
Ginobili's performance, which helped extend the Spurs' season-best winning streak to seven games, was nearly as thrilling as the 40-point effort he produced in Atlanta last week.
"Manu obviously held a hell of a run," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said.
Tim Duncan added 19 points and 10 rebounds to help give the Spurs a nice sendoff for a four-game trip that begins in Houston tonight. For the third time in their past four home games, the Spurs also held their opponent to a season-low point total.
"The offense goes up and down as it does with most teams," Popovich said, "but the defense was pretty consistent."
That was a contrast from three weeks ago in Orlando. Then, the Spurs surrendered an 18-point lead and suffered one of their most frustrating losses of the season on Dwight Howard's vicious alley-oop dunk with less than a second left.
The Spurs led by as many as 15 in Friday's first half and were still up 43-33 at halftime. But after watching Jameer Nelson — who scored 24 of his season-high 31 points in the second half of the Feb. 9 game — bury a pull-up jumper to pull the Magic within six less than four minutes into the third quarter, Popovich had seen enough similarities to angrily signal for a timeout.
"We couldn't allow them to do it again," Ginobili said. "So we had to play tougher 'D' and everybody had to go to the boards and get loose balls. And then offensively, something was going to come up."
That something was Ginobili. After missing 6 of 9 shots in the first half, he buried three 3-pointers in less than two minutes after the timeout.
Ginobili added another late in the quarter after Orlando again cut the Spurs' lead to six. When Darko Milicic made a pair of free throws to bring the Magic within 62-57, Ginobili pumped in one more 3-pointer at the buzzer after taking a dribble handoff above the key from Robert Horry.
"Those kind of shots are sometimes easier because you have no pressure," Ginobili said. "You know you have to shoot it and nobody's going to say anything. Nobody's going to get upset at you with one second to go."
Ginobili wasn't done. He drove for a layup and a foul early in the fourth quarter, made another 3-pointer then completed another three-point play after Duncan dove to the floor to force a steal. The flurry broke open the game.
"When you face a player like Ginobili you have to decide if you want him driving to the basket or pulling up and shooting behind screens," Magic coach Brian Hill said. "Tonight we wanted Ginobili shooting behind screens."
Spurs point guard Jacque Vaughn understood Hill's dilemma.
"I've been on the other side before," Vaughn said. "You think you have him corralled and he pulls out the one-two step and he slices by you for the and-one. It can get a little frustrating."
While the Spurs were led by their super sub, Ginobili wasn't the only member of the team's bench to play well. In addition to Vaughn, who offset Tony Parker's shaky performance (eight points, four assists and four turnovers) with six points and four assists, Michael Finley scored 12 points and Fabricio Oberto grabbed seven rebounds.
Oberto teamed with Duncan and Francisco Elson to help limit Howard, who scored 30 points in the teams' previous meeting, to nine points and nine boards. The Spurs also outrebounded the Magic, who were missing guard Grant Hill, 29-16 in the first half.
"We know how good (Howard) is on the boards," Popovich said. "I thought the guys, one through five, really went to the board hard to try to limit that."
Ginobili, meanwhile, took over from there. Unlike in Atlanta, where he often burned the Hawks with his penetration, Ginobili leaned more heavily on his 3-point shot.
"I was feeling so comfortable with the shot and so confident," Ginobili said, "that probably I took a couple I shouldn't have."
No one was complaining.