duncan228
04-20-2008, 11:56 PM
http://www.statesman.com/sports/content/sports/stories/other/04/20/0420golden.html
Duncan's clutch shot was a power statement
By Cedric Golden
SAN ANTONIO — You surely remember Michael Jordan hanging in midair for what seemed like an eternity before he ruined Craig Ehlo's day with a buzzer-beater in the first round of the 1989 NBA playoffs.
And we can't go more than a couple of weeks without seeing video of Reggie Miller knocking down two three-pointers in five seconds against the Knicks that same postseason.
What about Garfield Heard's "Shot heard 'round the world" that pushed Phoenix into a third overtime against John Havlicek's Celtics in the 1976 finals?
Of those three players, Tim Duncan is more likely to look at Heard, a fellow power forward, and say, "You truly understand what I just did."
Jordan and Miller were guards who made careers of draining perimeter shots that broke opponents' backs and ended their seasons. To his credit, Duncan has made a few game-winning shots in his 11 seasons, but none come close to the big three he hit Saturday.
Manu Ginobili's drive in the second overtime provided the difference in San Antonio's 117-115 playoff win over Phoenix, but that final blow would not have been struck had Duncan not made his first playoff triple since 2005.
I know, Suns fans. No way was that supposed to go in. Not from way out there, so far away from the rim. It's Tim Duncan, for goodness' sake, a career 19 percent three-point shooter taking only his fifth three-point attempt of the season after missing the previous four. Even if he was on his way to 40 points, spotting up behind the three-point arc is far from fundamental for the Big Fundamental.
Doesn't matter. Greatness can overcome percentages, and Duncan, who entered the game having made only 13 percent of his three-point attempts in the playoffs (3 of 23), is the greatest power forward this game has ever seen. So it's really no shock he made one of the biggest plays in a thriller that gave us more twists than karaoke night at Chubby Checker's house.
It started innocently enough in the first overtime, with the relentless Ginobili driving past Raja Bell and drawing Shaquille O'Neal, who correctly left Duncan to lend The Big Assist in the final seconds. They taught us in Little Dribblers to throw it to the open man if there are two players guarding you, and if there is such a thing as Pequeños Dribblers in Argentina, Manu must have received the same lesson.
Except that it wasn't Michael Finley, Tony Parker or Brent Barry on the receiving end of his pass.
"I'm not sure he knew he was kicking it out to Timmy, but it was one heck of a shot,'' Barry said. "I'm going to go home and watch it on instant classics."
Duncan, who had buried a 19-footer in the fourth quarter, set his feet, let it fly and bathed in the fans' eruption as the Suns attempted to figure out how a 16-point first-half lead somehow became a double-overtime battle of attrition.
"I didn't know it was going to happen,'' Duncan said. "Manu turned the corner, and Shaq totally leaves me. I had a wide-open shot."
So the real question is: Was it the perfect play, the perfect result or both?
"He was exactly where he was supposed to be,'' said Spurs coach Gregg Popovich. "You could imagine my horror when it went his direction. That's not what we expected to happen."
Nor did the Suns, who suffered a crushing blow, not only because victory eluded them in a double-overtime game, but because they were a Duncan three-point miss away from a 1-0 lead in a series that's a virtual lock to go the full seven games.
Let's be fair to Duncan. He's hit big shots before. His 18-foot fadeaway jumper over Shaq and the Lakers in Game 5 of the 2004 Western Conference semifinals would probably be a bigger part of Spurs lore had Derek Fisher not answered with that blind, turnaround jumper with less than a second remaining.
Give Duncan credit for doing what great players have always done: he got it done. Not in conventional fashion but in clutch fashion. Of that, he is accustomed.
It may be years before he makes another three-pointer, let alone attempts one.
He will predictably return to the paint, his office on a basketball court.
When he's finished, Spurs fans will remember how Duncan used to dominate the lane with baby hooks and bank shots.
And Barry will pop in his favorite DVD, the one in which Timmy's three ties the Suns. :lol
Duncan's clutch shot was a power statement
By Cedric Golden
SAN ANTONIO — You surely remember Michael Jordan hanging in midair for what seemed like an eternity before he ruined Craig Ehlo's day with a buzzer-beater in the first round of the 1989 NBA playoffs.
And we can't go more than a couple of weeks without seeing video of Reggie Miller knocking down two three-pointers in five seconds against the Knicks that same postseason.
What about Garfield Heard's "Shot heard 'round the world" that pushed Phoenix into a third overtime against John Havlicek's Celtics in the 1976 finals?
Of those three players, Tim Duncan is more likely to look at Heard, a fellow power forward, and say, "You truly understand what I just did."
Jordan and Miller were guards who made careers of draining perimeter shots that broke opponents' backs and ended their seasons. To his credit, Duncan has made a few game-winning shots in his 11 seasons, but none come close to the big three he hit Saturday.
Manu Ginobili's drive in the second overtime provided the difference in San Antonio's 117-115 playoff win over Phoenix, but that final blow would not have been struck had Duncan not made his first playoff triple since 2005.
I know, Suns fans. No way was that supposed to go in. Not from way out there, so far away from the rim. It's Tim Duncan, for goodness' sake, a career 19 percent three-point shooter taking only his fifth three-point attempt of the season after missing the previous four. Even if he was on his way to 40 points, spotting up behind the three-point arc is far from fundamental for the Big Fundamental.
Doesn't matter. Greatness can overcome percentages, and Duncan, who entered the game having made only 13 percent of his three-point attempts in the playoffs (3 of 23), is the greatest power forward this game has ever seen. So it's really no shock he made one of the biggest plays in a thriller that gave us more twists than karaoke night at Chubby Checker's house.
It started innocently enough in the first overtime, with the relentless Ginobili driving past Raja Bell and drawing Shaquille O'Neal, who correctly left Duncan to lend The Big Assist in the final seconds. They taught us in Little Dribblers to throw it to the open man if there are two players guarding you, and if there is such a thing as Pequeños Dribblers in Argentina, Manu must have received the same lesson.
Except that it wasn't Michael Finley, Tony Parker or Brent Barry on the receiving end of his pass.
"I'm not sure he knew he was kicking it out to Timmy, but it was one heck of a shot,'' Barry said. "I'm going to go home and watch it on instant classics."
Duncan, who had buried a 19-footer in the fourth quarter, set his feet, let it fly and bathed in the fans' eruption as the Suns attempted to figure out how a 16-point first-half lead somehow became a double-overtime battle of attrition.
"I didn't know it was going to happen,'' Duncan said. "Manu turned the corner, and Shaq totally leaves me. I had a wide-open shot."
So the real question is: Was it the perfect play, the perfect result or both?
"He was exactly where he was supposed to be,'' said Spurs coach Gregg Popovich. "You could imagine my horror when it went his direction. That's not what we expected to happen."
Nor did the Suns, who suffered a crushing blow, not only because victory eluded them in a double-overtime game, but because they were a Duncan three-point miss away from a 1-0 lead in a series that's a virtual lock to go the full seven games.
Let's be fair to Duncan. He's hit big shots before. His 18-foot fadeaway jumper over Shaq and the Lakers in Game 5 of the 2004 Western Conference semifinals would probably be a bigger part of Spurs lore had Derek Fisher not answered with that blind, turnaround jumper with less than a second remaining.
Give Duncan credit for doing what great players have always done: he got it done. Not in conventional fashion but in clutch fashion. Of that, he is accustomed.
It may be years before he makes another three-pointer, let alone attempts one.
He will predictably return to the paint, his office on a basketball court.
When he's finished, Spurs fans will remember how Duncan used to dominate the lane with baby hooks and bank shots.
And Barry will pop in his favorite DVD, the one in which Timmy's three ties the Suns. :lol