duncan228
05-27-2007, 07:00 PM
NY Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/27/sports/basketball/27spurs.html?_r=2&ref=sports&oref=slogin&oref=slogin
Jazz Proves That the Spurs Are Only Human
By HOWARD BECK
Published: May 27, 2007
SALT LAKE CITY, May 26 — Tim Duncan is not prone to wild emotional swings, only minute degrees of change ranging from stoic and modestly pleased to stoic and mildly annoyed. His brisk walk to the bench late Saturday night provided the only visual clue to the state of his psyche.
Moving swiftly from the far side of the court, Duncan appeared as if he could not reach the sideline soon enough. His night was over, the San Antonio Spurs were uncharacteristically deflated and Duncan was, well, as close to perturbed as he gets.
The Utah Jazz stayed undefeated at home in the playoffs and handed the Spurs their worst loss of the postseason, a 109-83 rout that quickly changed the tone of these Western Conference finals. The Jazz got their first victory of the best-of-seven series, which the Spurs lead, 2-1.
“We just needed one game,” Utah point guard Deron Williams said. “One game to get our confidence back.”
The Jazz was powered by the inside-outside tandem of Williams (31 points) and Carlos Boozer (27 points), who finally received some help in the scoring department as Derek Fisher and Gordan Giricek added 11 points each.
And after a three-day lecture from Coach Jerry Sloan about the virtues of defense, the Jazz made its biggest stand of the series, outscoring the Spurs by 66-36 in the second half. So the Jazz is humming again and the Spurs have hit their first serious road bump in May.
“We played well for a quarter,” Spurs Coach Gregg Popovich said. “I thought we matched their energy and physicality for a quarter. And at that point, they upped the stakes in that area, and we folded, both mentally and physically. The consequence was getting our butts kicked.”
Duncan was handcuffed by foul trouble and bothered by the aggressive defense of Mehmet Okur. He scored 16 points before leaving for good with 4 minutes 11 seconds remaining, the Jazz leading by 18 points.
Popovich insisted that the defense on Duncan was no different than what Utah did in the first two games, and Sloan was also quick to dismiss the notion.
“I think Duncan didn’t have one of his better games, in all fairness to him,” Sloan said. “He’s a great player. We had to try to take advantage of it when we got an opportunity, and fortunately we were able to win the ball game.”
Tony Parker scored 25 points for the Spurs, although he did not enjoy the same freedom driving the lane as he did in the first two games. When he drove and kicked, teammates misfired. The only other Spurs player to score in double figures was Manu Ginóbili, who had 14 points.
Utah is now 7-0 at home in these playoffs, which continue here Monday night with Game 4.
The Jazz’s series-saving run began with a Fisher 3-pointer that gave them a 62-60 lead with 5:58 left in the third quarter. Seconds later, Duncan picked up his fourth foul and went to the bench for the rest of the period. Utah closed the period on a 16-7 run, taking a 75-67 lead into the fourth.
The Jazz grabbed its first double-digit lead, 79-69, on a 22-foot jumper by Fisher early in the fourth quarter. Paul Millsap scored consecutive baskets, on a dunk and a layup, to answer 3 points from Duncan, and Fisher followed with a 3-point play that pushed the margin to 14 points.
What followed was a rare look at the Spurs’ vulnerable side. Brent Barry and Ginóbili missed 3-pointers, and Duncan missed an easy jumper and then picked up his fifth foul. With 5:17 left, Bruce Bowen was charged with a technical foul.
It was about as disjointed as the Spurs — winners of three N.B.A. championships since 1999 — will ever look. Utah set the tone for the night early on, when Okur went to work on Duncan. In a short span of the second quarter, Duncan had three scoring chances snuffed by an Okur block, a Williams strip in the lane and another steal by Okur.
Asked if Utah simply did a better job defensively than it had in the first two games, Popovich said, “Seemingly so.”
There is little doubt that the Spurs can just as easily reverse the tone in the next game. It is, after all, what they do best — absorb the best their opponent has to offer, ride it out and prevail in the end.
“Teams are going to make runs,” Popovich said before the game. “But the ability to not dwell on the opponent’s run or a mistake by a teammate or oneself is really the key. And focusing on the next play, whether it is defense or offense, is the most important thing in the game, especially on the road.”
Yet Popovich also mocked the popular notion that the Spurs are never rattled, saying: “We’re unflappable at times, and other times we’re flappable. We are human. We’re not automatons.”
So he claimed. But the Spurs showed their usual machinelike precision early on, seizing a 9-point lead and answering every Jazz run before settling for a 47-43 halftime lead. At one point, Parker’s fiancée, the actress Eva Longoria, was shown on the video scoreboard. Naturally, the Utah fans booed. Like the Spurs, Longoria appeared unfazed.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/27/sports/basketball/27spurs.html?_r=2&ref=sports&oref=slogin&oref=slogin
Jazz Proves That the Spurs Are Only Human
By HOWARD BECK
Published: May 27, 2007
SALT LAKE CITY, May 26 — Tim Duncan is not prone to wild emotional swings, only minute degrees of change ranging from stoic and modestly pleased to stoic and mildly annoyed. His brisk walk to the bench late Saturday night provided the only visual clue to the state of his psyche.
Moving swiftly from the far side of the court, Duncan appeared as if he could not reach the sideline soon enough. His night was over, the San Antonio Spurs were uncharacteristically deflated and Duncan was, well, as close to perturbed as he gets.
The Utah Jazz stayed undefeated at home in the playoffs and handed the Spurs their worst loss of the postseason, a 109-83 rout that quickly changed the tone of these Western Conference finals. The Jazz got their first victory of the best-of-seven series, which the Spurs lead, 2-1.
“We just needed one game,” Utah point guard Deron Williams said. “One game to get our confidence back.”
The Jazz was powered by the inside-outside tandem of Williams (31 points) and Carlos Boozer (27 points), who finally received some help in the scoring department as Derek Fisher and Gordan Giricek added 11 points each.
And after a three-day lecture from Coach Jerry Sloan about the virtues of defense, the Jazz made its biggest stand of the series, outscoring the Spurs by 66-36 in the second half. So the Jazz is humming again and the Spurs have hit their first serious road bump in May.
“We played well for a quarter,” Spurs Coach Gregg Popovich said. “I thought we matched their energy and physicality for a quarter. And at that point, they upped the stakes in that area, and we folded, both mentally and physically. The consequence was getting our butts kicked.”
Duncan was handcuffed by foul trouble and bothered by the aggressive defense of Mehmet Okur. He scored 16 points before leaving for good with 4 minutes 11 seconds remaining, the Jazz leading by 18 points.
Popovich insisted that the defense on Duncan was no different than what Utah did in the first two games, and Sloan was also quick to dismiss the notion.
“I think Duncan didn’t have one of his better games, in all fairness to him,” Sloan said. “He’s a great player. We had to try to take advantage of it when we got an opportunity, and fortunately we were able to win the ball game.”
Tony Parker scored 25 points for the Spurs, although he did not enjoy the same freedom driving the lane as he did in the first two games. When he drove and kicked, teammates misfired. The only other Spurs player to score in double figures was Manu Ginóbili, who had 14 points.
Utah is now 7-0 at home in these playoffs, which continue here Monday night with Game 4.
The Jazz’s series-saving run began with a Fisher 3-pointer that gave them a 62-60 lead with 5:58 left in the third quarter. Seconds later, Duncan picked up his fourth foul and went to the bench for the rest of the period. Utah closed the period on a 16-7 run, taking a 75-67 lead into the fourth.
The Jazz grabbed its first double-digit lead, 79-69, on a 22-foot jumper by Fisher early in the fourth quarter. Paul Millsap scored consecutive baskets, on a dunk and a layup, to answer 3 points from Duncan, and Fisher followed with a 3-point play that pushed the margin to 14 points.
What followed was a rare look at the Spurs’ vulnerable side. Brent Barry and Ginóbili missed 3-pointers, and Duncan missed an easy jumper and then picked up his fifth foul. With 5:17 left, Bruce Bowen was charged with a technical foul.
It was about as disjointed as the Spurs — winners of three N.B.A. championships since 1999 — will ever look. Utah set the tone for the night early on, when Okur went to work on Duncan. In a short span of the second quarter, Duncan had three scoring chances snuffed by an Okur block, a Williams strip in the lane and another steal by Okur.
Asked if Utah simply did a better job defensively than it had in the first two games, Popovich said, “Seemingly so.”
There is little doubt that the Spurs can just as easily reverse the tone in the next game. It is, after all, what they do best — absorb the best their opponent has to offer, ride it out and prevail in the end.
“Teams are going to make runs,” Popovich said before the game. “But the ability to not dwell on the opponent’s run or a mistake by a teammate or oneself is really the key. And focusing on the next play, whether it is defense or offense, is the most important thing in the game, especially on the road.”
Yet Popovich also mocked the popular notion that the Spurs are never rattled, saying: “We’re unflappable at times, and other times we’re flappable. We are human. We’re not automatons.”
So he claimed. But the Spurs showed their usual machinelike precision early on, seizing a 9-point lead and answering every Jazz run before settling for a 47-43 halftime lead. At one point, Parker’s fiancée, the actress Eva Longoria, was shown on the video scoreboard. Naturally, the Utah fans booed. Like the Spurs, Longoria appeared unfazed.