Bruno
04-12-2008, 05:30 AM
http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/basketball/nba/spurs/stories/MYSA041208.01C.BKNspurs.sonics.gamer.386c57c.html
Web Posted: 04/12/2008 12:19 AM CDT
Jeff McDonald
Express-News
A familiar face wandered through the Spurs locker room Friday night, not long after they had finished off a 95-74 victory over Seattle.
Tony Parker didn't technically lay eyes on P.J. Carlesimo during his glad-handing tour of his old stomping grounds, but he knew the former Spurs assistant was somewhere in the building.
"I heard him," Parker said. "You can't help but hear him."
Carlesimo, the first-year Sonics coach, was here to guide his new team in a losing battle against his old one, but before the game he took care of some unfinished business. He picked up his NBA championship ring from last season.
For Carlesimo, who spent five seasons as Gregg Popovich's lead assistant, there is no question which part of his homecoming was most enjoyable.
Thanks to Parker and a bench that thrived even without ringleader Manu Ginobili, who was nursing a groin strain, the Spurs overcame a messy start to ruin Carlesimo's return.
Parker had 20 points and seven assists, while Ime Udoka accounted for 13 of the reserves' 35 points as the Spurs (54-25) won to remain mathematically in the hunt for titles in the Southwest Division and Western Conference.
"The fact that Manu wasn't playing tonight, I knew I was going to have to be a little more aggressive," said Parker, who made 10 of 18 attempts.
Friday's victory sets up a made-for-TV showdown Sunday afternoon against the Lakers at Staples Center, with second place in the West on the line.
Michael Finley added 14 points while Fabricio Oberto, carrying the flag for his injured fellow Argentine, had 10 points and 10 rebounds for the Spurs, who topped 80 points for the first time in four games.
Kevin Durant, the standout rookie from the Texas, netted 20 points to lead the Sonics.
Even with Ginobili unavailable, it was a game the Spurs were supposed to win, given Seattle's state as the worst team in the West. For a while, the Sonics (18-62) made the Spurs work for it.
The Spurs started the game in much the same fashion they ended Wednesday's 96-79 loss to Phoenix — by peppering the rim at the AT&T Center with missed jumpers.
They misfired on 6 of 23 shots in the first quarter, falling behind by as many as nine early in the second.
"We had a lot of good shots in the first quarter and none of them dropped," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. "It's important to not hang your head because that worm is going to turn. You don't miss shots all night very often."
Two scenes right before half illustrated the Spurs' frustration.
Tim Duncan, who finished with 12 points on 4 of 12 shooting, missed the front end of two free throws and immediately marched to midcourt in disgust. Minutes later, he followed another miss by walking directly to the rim and yanking on the net.
Had Duncan clanged yet another, he might have sauntered right out of the building.
Then, the worm turned for the Spurs.
With time winding down in the half, Parker jetted out on a break, shuttling the ball ahead to Jacque Vaughn, who found Michael Finley in the corner.
Finley swished a 3-pointer with 0.7 seconds left, sending the Spurs into half with a 45-37 lead.
That seemed to open the floodgates for the Spurs, who made 13 of 20 shots in the third quarter to break the game open.
"It took them a while to get on track," Carlesimo said. "But when they got on track they executed a lot better than they did for the first, like, 21 minutes."
After the Spurs finally found their stroke, the night ended more or less as expected.
In the home locker room afterward, there was Carlesimo once again, patting backs and shaking hands, heard even when he wasn't seen. For a moment, it seemed as if this were last season.
Carlesimo, stuck in the midst of the kind of season he never had to endure with the Spurs, knew better.
"That feels like so long ago," he said.
Web Posted: 04/12/2008 12:19 AM CDT
Jeff McDonald
Express-News
A familiar face wandered through the Spurs locker room Friday night, not long after they had finished off a 95-74 victory over Seattle.
Tony Parker didn't technically lay eyes on P.J. Carlesimo during his glad-handing tour of his old stomping grounds, but he knew the former Spurs assistant was somewhere in the building.
"I heard him," Parker said. "You can't help but hear him."
Carlesimo, the first-year Sonics coach, was here to guide his new team in a losing battle against his old one, but before the game he took care of some unfinished business. He picked up his NBA championship ring from last season.
For Carlesimo, who spent five seasons as Gregg Popovich's lead assistant, there is no question which part of his homecoming was most enjoyable.
Thanks to Parker and a bench that thrived even without ringleader Manu Ginobili, who was nursing a groin strain, the Spurs overcame a messy start to ruin Carlesimo's return.
Parker had 20 points and seven assists, while Ime Udoka accounted for 13 of the reserves' 35 points as the Spurs (54-25) won to remain mathematically in the hunt for titles in the Southwest Division and Western Conference.
"The fact that Manu wasn't playing tonight, I knew I was going to have to be a little more aggressive," said Parker, who made 10 of 18 attempts.
Friday's victory sets up a made-for-TV showdown Sunday afternoon against the Lakers at Staples Center, with second place in the West on the line.
Michael Finley added 14 points while Fabricio Oberto, carrying the flag for his injured fellow Argentine, had 10 points and 10 rebounds for the Spurs, who topped 80 points for the first time in four games.
Kevin Durant, the standout rookie from the Texas, netted 20 points to lead the Sonics.
Even with Ginobili unavailable, it was a game the Spurs were supposed to win, given Seattle's state as the worst team in the West. For a while, the Sonics (18-62) made the Spurs work for it.
The Spurs started the game in much the same fashion they ended Wednesday's 96-79 loss to Phoenix — by peppering the rim at the AT&T Center with missed jumpers.
They misfired on 6 of 23 shots in the first quarter, falling behind by as many as nine early in the second.
"We had a lot of good shots in the first quarter and none of them dropped," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. "It's important to not hang your head because that worm is going to turn. You don't miss shots all night very often."
Two scenes right before half illustrated the Spurs' frustration.
Tim Duncan, who finished with 12 points on 4 of 12 shooting, missed the front end of two free throws and immediately marched to midcourt in disgust. Minutes later, he followed another miss by walking directly to the rim and yanking on the net.
Had Duncan clanged yet another, he might have sauntered right out of the building.
Then, the worm turned for the Spurs.
With time winding down in the half, Parker jetted out on a break, shuttling the ball ahead to Jacque Vaughn, who found Michael Finley in the corner.
Finley swished a 3-pointer with 0.7 seconds left, sending the Spurs into half with a 45-37 lead.
That seemed to open the floodgates for the Spurs, who made 13 of 20 shots in the third quarter to break the game open.
"It took them a while to get on track," Carlesimo said. "But when they got on track they executed a lot better than they did for the first, like, 21 minutes."
After the Spurs finally found their stroke, the night ended more or less as expected.
In the home locker room afterward, there was Carlesimo once again, patting backs and shaking hands, heard even when he wasn't seen. For a moment, it seemed as if this were last season.
Carlesimo, stuck in the midst of the kind of season he never had to endure with the Spurs, knew better.
"That feels like so long ago," he said.