THE SIXTH MAN
04-02-2007, 01:39 AM
Link (http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/basketball/nba/spurs/stories/MYSA040207.01D.BKNspurs.pacers.gamer.372b257.html)
Victory slides away from Spurs: Popovich calls effort 'pathetic'
Web Posted: 04/01/2007 10:47 PM CDT
Johnny Ludden
Express-News
INDIANAPOLIS — After Jamaal Tinsley banked in the winning shot with a little more than a second to spare, and the Spurs trudged off the floor at Conseco Fieldhouse having quite possibly squandered any chance of catching the Phoenix Suns, coach Gregg Popovich tried his best to put Sunday evening in perspective.
All it took was two "pathetics," two "disappointings" and one "embarrassing."
After watching the Spurs surrender a seven-point lead in the final 2:47 to the Indiana Pacers — who had lost 17 of their previous 19 games and were missing their top player — Popovich didn't need long to express his feelings about his team's 100-99 loss.
"I thought it was a pathetic performance for a team that's trying to get prepared to go into the playoffs and get focused for that," Popovich said. "That was very disappointing. We played the last quarter competitively, but before that I thought we played embarrassing basketball.
"A lot of it had to do with the energy, the toughness and the defense of the Pacers. A very disappointing loss for us. A pathetic performance."
The Spurs began the day with an opportunity to move within one game of the Western Conference's No. 2 playoff seed. Instead, with Phoenix beating Dallas and the Pacers beating them, the Spurs now trail the Suns by three games with nine to play.
"Every loss hurts," said Manu Ginobili, who uncharacteristically missed three free throws, including a costly one with 6.3 seconds left. "Especially down the stretch."
The Spurs' three losses in the past eight weeks have come against two Eastern Conference teams (Milwaukee and Boston) headed for the lottery and another (Indiana) whose playoff hopes seemed to be on life support. Riding a six-game winning streak that began on March 21 with a 90-72 victory over the same Pacers, the Spurs didn't expect to lose Sunday.
Indiana played without starting forward Jermaine O'Neal, who has been in and out of the lineup the past few weeks with left knee and ankle problems, then lost starting center Jeff Foster to back spasms after he collected eight rebounds in the first quarter.
The absence of O'Neal and Foster might have been the worst thing to happen to the Spurs. Ike Diogu, an athletic, 6-foot-8, second-year forward who hadn't played in the Pacers' previous game, more than made up for his missing teammates with 18 points and a career-best 13 rebounds, eight on offense.
"He wanted the ball more than anyone on our team wanted it," Popovich said. "He went after it consistently and did a great job."
Popovich muted Diogu's impact by going to a small lineup in the second half. That allowed the Spurs to overtake Indiana and open a 96-88 lead on Tim Duncan's dunk with 3:50 left. The Spurs were still up by seven points more than a minute later after Tony Parker's free throw.
Tinsley, however, took over from there. Ejected in the second quarter on March 21 at the AT&T Center for chucking the ball into the stands, he put it to better use Sunday, banking in a shot as Parker fouled him.
Tinsley followed the three-point play with another pull-up bank shot. After Bruce Bowen missed two of three free throws, Troy Murphy tied the game with a 3-pointer with 1:26 left.
An 86.4 percent foul shooter, Ginobili stepped to the free-throw line with just 6.3 seconds remaining. But his first attempt clanged hard off the rim.
The Spurs made just 22 of their 33 foul shots for the game and missed 4 of 7 in the final 2:47. In addition to going 4 of 7 from the foul line, Ginobili also missed 5 of 6 attempts from 3-point range.
"Today wasn't my day, from the 3-point line and the free-throw line," Ginobili said. "That was one of the other reasons why we lost."
Duncan provided a few others. On Indiana's final possession, he switched onto Tinsley on a pick-and-roll, but the point guard bolted by him and made a tough layup.
While Parker totaled 22 points, seven assists and seven rebounds, Duncan struggled against Indiana's swarming defense. He committed seven turnovers and spent more than a little time griping to the officials, one of whom gave him a technical in the third quarter.
"They were allowed to be very physical tonight," Duncan said. "They were able to get away with stuff and they used it to their advantage."
The Spurs had a final opportunity to win, but Tinsley deflected Brent Barry's inbounds pass into the seats, leaving just 0.3 seconds on the clock. Barry then got the ball to Duncan, but his catch-and-shoot attempt fell short.
"I don't know if it was Jermaine being out of the game and we got a little confident, but we just didn't play good," Ginobili said. "We didn't play with the same emotion as the last couple of games, so we really have to be aware of that."
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Victory slides away from Spurs: Popovich calls effort 'pathetic'
Web Posted: 04/01/2007 10:47 PM CDT
Johnny Ludden
Express-News
INDIANAPOLIS — After Jamaal Tinsley banked in the winning shot with a little more than a second to spare, and the Spurs trudged off the floor at Conseco Fieldhouse having quite possibly squandered any chance of catching the Phoenix Suns, coach Gregg Popovich tried his best to put Sunday evening in perspective.
All it took was two "pathetics," two "disappointings" and one "embarrassing."
After watching the Spurs surrender a seven-point lead in the final 2:47 to the Indiana Pacers — who had lost 17 of their previous 19 games and were missing their top player — Popovich didn't need long to express his feelings about his team's 100-99 loss.
"I thought it was a pathetic performance for a team that's trying to get prepared to go into the playoffs and get focused for that," Popovich said. "That was very disappointing. We played the last quarter competitively, but before that I thought we played embarrassing basketball.
"A lot of it had to do with the energy, the toughness and the defense of the Pacers. A very disappointing loss for us. A pathetic performance."
The Spurs began the day with an opportunity to move within one game of the Western Conference's No. 2 playoff seed. Instead, with Phoenix beating Dallas and the Pacers beating them, the Spurs now trail the Suns by three games with nine to play.
"Every loss hurts," said Manu Ginobili, who uncharacteristically missed three free throws, including a costly one with 6.3 seconds left. "Especially down the stretch."
The Spurs' three losses in the past eight weeks have come against two Eastern Conference teams (Milwaukee and Boston) headed for the lottery and another (Indiana) whose playoff hopes seemed to be on life support. Riding a six-game winning streak that began on March 21 with a 90-72 victory over the same Pacers, the Spurs didn't expect to lose Sunday.
Indiana played without starting forward Jermaine O'Neal, who has been in and out of the lineup the past few weeks with left knee and ankle problems, then lost starting center Jeff Foster to back spasms after he collected eight rebounds in the first quarter.
The absence of O'Neal and Foster might have been the worst thing to happen to the Spurs. Ike Diogu, an athletic, 6-foot-8, second-year forward who hadn't played in the Pacers' previous game, more than made up for his missing teammates with 18 points and a career-best 13 rebounds, eight on offense.
"He wanted the ball more than anyone on our team wanted it," Popovich said. "He went after it consistently and did a great job."
Popovich muted Diogu's impact by going to a small lineup in the second half. That allowed the Spurs to overtake Indiana and open a 96-88 lead on Tim Duncan's dunk with 3:50 left. The Spurs were still up by seven points more than a minute later after Tony Parker's free throw.
Tinsley, however, took over from there. Ejected in the second quarter on March 21 at the AT&T Center for chucking the ball into the stands, he put it to better use Sunday, banking in a shot as Parker fouled him.
Tinsley followed the three-point play with another pull-up bank shot. After Bruce Bowen missed two of three free throws, Troy Murphy tied the game with a 3-pointer with 1:26 left.
An 86.4 percent foul shooter, Ginobili stepped to the free-throw line with just 6.3 seconds remaining. But his first attempt clanged hard off the rim.
The Spurs made just 22 of their 33 foul shots for the game and missed 4 of 7 in the final 2:47. In addition to going 4 of 7 from the foul line, Ginobili also missed 5 of 6 attempts from 3-point range.
"Today wasn't my day, from the 3-point line and the free-throw line," Ginobili said. "That was one of the other reasons why we lost."
Duncan provided a few others. On Indiana's final possession, he switched onto Tinsley on a pick-and-roll, but the point guard bolted by him and made a tough layup.
While Parker totaled 22 points, seven assists and seven rebounds, Duncan struggled against Indiana's swarming defense. He committed seven turnovers and spent more than a little time griping to the officials, one of whom gave him a technical in the third quarter.
"They were allowed to be very physical tonight," Duncan said. "They were able to get away with stuff and they used it to their advantage."
The Spurs had a final opportunity to win, but Tinsley deflected Brent Barry's inbounds pass into the seats, leaving just 0.3 seconds on the clock. Barry then got the ball to Duncan, but his catch-and-shoot attempt fell short.
"I don't know if it was Jermaine being out of the game and we got a little confident, but we just didn't play good," Ginobili said. "We didn't play with the same emotion as the last couple of games, so we really have to be aware of that."
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