Kori Ellis
12-11-2004, 01:10 AM
Spurs try to shake off shock of Houston's miraculous comeback and regroup at home against Cleveland
Web Posted: 12/11/2004 12:00 AM CST
http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/basketball/nba/spurs/stories/MYSA121104.1D.BKNspurs.adv.714a1ec.html
Mike Monroe
Express-News Staff Writer
The Spurs' players weren't alone when they thought their 10-point lead over the Houston Rockets on Thursday in Houston was safe, which clearly was not the case in what turned out to be their toughest loss of the season.
Spurs coach Gregg Popovich admitted Friday that with a minute left and his team ahead by 10 points, he already was thinking about how good it was going to feel to tell his players how well they had bounced back from a tough loss the previous night.
That was about the time Houston's Tracy McGrady started raining 3-point shots from everywhere in the Toyota Center.
After McGrady scored 13 points in the final 35 seconds — the Rockets scored 17 in the final minute — the certain victory had turned into a numbing, 81-80 defeat.
So, instead of a warm-and-fuzzy postgame speech from Popovich, the Spurs got a film session and light workout on Friday afternoon at their practice facility.
The video session had less to do with preparing for tonight's game against LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers at the SBC Center than it did about healing. Popovich understood that what McGrady did was close to being the miracle Rockets coach Jeff Van Gundy insisted it was. He wanted to make sure his players understood it, too, and moved past the disappointment.
"You could play that game 1,000 times and it could never come out the way it did," Popovich said. "In one minute they scored 17 points. Tracy McGrady was unbelievable. It was one of those one-in-a-million things, what he did.
"At the same time, there were a couple of plays where we turned it over and our mental focus wasn't real good. And the beginning was when we acted like the game was over when we were up 10, with a minute (left). You should still be able to come out of that, but what McGrady did was impossible."
Popovich's goal Friday was to make certain the Spurs remembered as much about their defense in the first 47 minutes as they did about the final minute, when defense didn't seem to matter.
"I thought we played a great game," Popovich said. "Houston had 64 points with a minute to go in the game. A coach couldn't ask for more.
"It was a strange night, because you really wanted to compliment them for playing a heck of a game after a tough loss, and in a back-too-back and when our schedule has been so difficult. We just lost a little bit of mental concentration on one or two plays, and McGrady just ran with it. That's what happened."
His players, even those who were on the floor when McGrady hit the game-winner with 1.7 seconds remaining, seemed to get Popovich's message.
"They (Rockets) did a good job of playing basketball in the final minute," said Spurs guard Devin Brown, whose turnover with 7.9 seconds left led directly to McGrady's game-winning 3-pointer. "We didn't execute, and we've got to move on and get better."
Brown's version of moving on will involve defending James tonight. Spurs defensive standout Bruce Bowen will open against James, the 20-year-old who is the NBA's No. 5 scorer (24.9 points per game), but Brown is certain to get a long turn checking the Cavaliers' star.
"You want him to take tough shots," Brown said. "You know he's going to take a lot of shots and he's even going to make some unbelievable shots. But we just want to get him off his rhythm and make him take a lot of tough shots."
And after Thursday night, the Spurs know a thing or two about what can happen when an opponent starts making unbelievable shots.
Web Posted: 12/11/2004 12:00 AM CST
http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/basketball/nba/spurs/stories/MYSA121104.1D.BKNspurs.adv.714a1ec.html
Mike Monroe
Express-News Staff Writer
The Spurs' players weren't alone when they thought their 10-point lead over the Houston Rockets on Thursday in Houston was safe, which clearly was not the case in what turned out to be their toughest loss of the season.
Spurs coach Gregg Popovich admitted Friday that with a minute left and his team ahead by 10 points, he already was thinking about how good it was going to feel to tell his players how well they had bounced back from a tough loss the previous night.
That was about the time Houston's Tracy McGrady started raining 3-point shots from everywhere in the Toyota Center.
After McGrady scored 13 points in the final 35 seconds — the Rockets scored 17 in the final minute — the certain victory had turned into a numbing, 81-80 defeat.
So, instead of a warm-and-fuzzy postgame speech from Popovich, the Spurs got a film session and light workout on Friday afternoon at their practice facility.
The video session had less to do with preparing for tonight's game against LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers at the SBC Center than it did about healing. Popovich understood that what McGrady did was close to being the miracle Rockets coach Jeff Van Gundy insisted it was. He wanted to make sure his players understood it, too, and moved past the disappointment.
"You could play that game 1,000 times and it could never come out the way it did," Popovich said. "In one minute they scored 17 points. Tracy McGrady was unbelievable. It was one of those one-in-a-million things, what he did.
"At the same time, there were a couple of plays where we turned it over and our mental focus wasn't real good. And the beginning was when we acted like the game was over when we were up 10, with a minute (left). You should still be able to come out of that, but what McGrady did was impossible."
Popovich's goal Friday was to make certain the Spurs remembered as much about their defense in the first 47 minutes as they did about the final minute, when defense didn't seem to matter.
"I thought we played a great game," Popovich said. "Houston had 64 points with a minute to go in the game. A coach couldn't ask for more.
"It was a strange night, because you really wanted to compliment them for playing a heck of a game after a tough loss, and in a back-too-back and when our schedule has been so difficult. We just lost a little bit of mental concentration on one or two plays, and McGrady just ran with it. That's what happened."
His players, even those who were on the floor when McGrady hit the game-winner with 1.7 seconds remaining, seemed to get Popovich's message.
"They (Rockets) did a good job of playing basketball in the final minute," said Spurs guard Devin Brown, whose turnover with 7.9 seconds left led directly to McGrady's game-winning 3-pointer. "We didn't execute, and we've got to move on and get better."
Brown's version of moving on will involve defending James tonight. Spurs defensive standout Bruce Bowen will open against James, the 20-year-old who is the NBA's No. 5 scorer (24.9 points per game), but Brown is certain to get a long turn checking the Cavaliers' star.
"You want him to take tough shots," Brown said. "You know he's going to take a lot of shots and he's even going to make some unbelievable shots. But we just want to get him off his rhythm and make him take a lot of tough shots."
And after Thursday night, the Spurs know a thing or two about what can happen when an opponent starts making unbelievable shots.