wijayas
05-11-2008, 11:53 PM
http://blog.nola.com/hornetsbeat/2008/05/spurs_blast_hornets_to_tie_ser.html
Spurs blast Hornets to tie series
Posted by John Reid, The Times-Picayune May 11, 2008 11:00PM
Categories: Hornets
SAN ANTONIO -- The only objective Peja Stojakovic had since last Tuesday was to win just one game on the Spurs' home court. It did not appear to be an insurmountable task after the Hornets routed the Spurs in the first two games of the second-round playoff series.
But Stojakovic found out -- just like the Phoenix Suns did in the first round and the Cleveland Cavaliers in last season's NBA Finals -- that defeating the Spurs at the AT&T Center may one of the most difficult challenges in the postseason.
Instead of returning home with a commanding 3-1 series lead, the series is now tied at 2 after the Spurs blasted the Hornets 100-80 on Sunday night.
Although the series resumes Tuesday night in New Orleans, no matter what happens the Hornets will have to return to San Antonio for Game 6. Sunday's game was the Spurs' 11th consecutive postseason victory at home.
"We definitely came with that mentality, to steal one game, but we also know the Spurs are the defending champions," said Stojakovic, who entered Game 4 with an 18.3 scoring average but was held to six points, his second consecutive game in single digits.
"They respond and play good basketball at home. We haven't played close to the defense we played in New Orleans that we played here. We all know our offense comes from a good defense."
The Spurs perfected just about everything the Hornets spent the past two days preparing to stop after losing 110-99 on Thursday.
Coach Byron Scott urged his players to push the tempo, keep Spurs stars Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili from driving to the basket and limit Tim Duncan as best as possible.
None of those three objectives were accomplished. Parker got through first and second lines of defenses. Ginobili made difficult shots, and Duncan had no problems shooting over Tyson Chandler.
Duncan led the Spurs with 22 points, Parker scored 21 and Ginobili had 15. The Spurs made 51 percent of their shots, and they made eight 3-pointers. The Spurs were unable to score more than 84 points in each of the first two games against the Hornets in New Orleans. By the end of the third quarter Sunday night, they had 85 points and a 24-point lead after outscoring the Hornets 30-19 in the quarter.
Hornets point guard Chris Paul constantly faced traps, but he finished with a team-high 23 points. However, he had only five assists and committed four turnovers.
"Defensively, I thought we were all over the place," said forward David West, who scored 10 points on 4-of-15 shooting. "We were not able to contain Parker, Ginobili or Duncan. We didn't play with any fire."
Before the game, Scott did not change his starting lineup, but he assigned Stojakovic instead of Morris Peterson to defend Ginobili. Peterson guarded Bruce Bowen. In Game 3, Ginobili and Parker combined for 62 points and 17 assists. The Hornets' goal was to force Ginobili and Parker to take perimeter shots instead of driving to the basket. The Spurs' stars, however, did both.
The Hornets were unable to avoid execution problems as soon as the game started. They quickly trailed after missing nine of their first 11 shots. Another bad sign came on the defensive end, when they could not keep Parker from scoring on drives or Duncan from making close-range jumpers.
It went downhill quickly for the Hornets in the second quarter when the Spurs went on a 15-4 run and never looked back. They took away nearly all of the Hornets' scoring options with a scrambling coverage that converged with double teams on West. Chandler did not score his first points until 15 seconds remained before halftime when he made two free throws.
Duncan had his way from within 10 feet with jumpers and drives. Parker still was able to penetrate through the middle of the lane to score. The Spurs closed out the half making 57.5 percent of their shots with Parker leading with 18 points and Duncan with 15 on 7-of-10 shooting.
After trailing 55-42 at halftime, the Hornets opened the third quarter with West losing the ball out of bounds. A few minutes later, Peterson beat his defenders twice but missed two layups.
Chandler picked up two quick fouls trying to defend Duncan. Then, he stayed in the game with four fouls and quickly picked up his fifth after fouling Ginobili. The Spurs took a 66-47 lead after outscoring the Hornets 11-6 at the start of the third quarter.
"Again, we're playing against the defending champions," Scott said. "I've been through this a bunch of times. As long
Spurs blast Hornets to tie series
Posted by John Reid, The Times-Picayune May 11, 2008 11:00PM
Categories: Hornets
SAN ANTONIO -- The only objective Peja Stojakovic had since last Tuesday was to win just one game on the Spurs' home court. It did not appear to be an insurmountable task after the Hornets routed the Spurs in the first two games of the second-round playoff series.
But Stojakovic found out -- just like the Phoenix Suns did in the first round and the Cleveland Cavaliers in last season's NBA Finals -- that defeating the Spurs at the AT&T Center may one of the most difficult challenges in the postseason.
Instead of returning home with a commanding 3-1 series lead, the series is now tied at 2 after the Spurs blasted the Hornets 100-80 on Sunday night.
Although the series resumes Tuesday night in New Orleans, no matter what happens the Hornets will have to return to San Antonio for Game 6. Sunday's game was the Spurs' 11th consecutive postseason victory at home.
"We definitely came with that mentality, to steal one game, but we also know the Spurs are the defending champions," said Stojakovic, who entered Game 4 with an 18.3 scoring average but was held to six points, his second consecutive game in single digits.
"They respond and play good basketball at home. We haven't played close to the defense we played in New Orleans that we played here. We all know our offense comes from a good defense."
The Spurs perfected just about everything the Hornets spent the past two days preparing to stop after losing 110-99 on Thursday.
Coach Byron Scott urged his players to push the tempo, keep Spurs stars Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili from driving to the basket and limit Tim Duncan as best as possible.
None of those three objectives were accomplished. Parker got through first and second lines of defenses. Ginobili made difficult shots, and Duncan had no problems shooting over Tyson Chandler.
Duncan led the Spurs with 22 points, Parker scored 21 and Ginobili had 15. The Spurs made 51 percent of their shots, and they made eight 3-pointers. The Spurs were unable to score more than 84 points in each of the first two games against the Hornets in New Orleans. By the end of the third quarter Sunday night, they had 85 points and a 24-point lead after outscoring the Hornets 30-19 in the quarter.
Hornets point guard Chris Paul constantly faced traps, but he finished with a team-high 23 points. However, he had only five assists and committed four turnovers.
"Defensively, I thought we were all over the place," said forward David West, who scored 10 points on 4-of-15 shooting. "We were not able to contain Parker, Ginobili or Duncan. We didn't play with any fire."
Before the game, Scott did not change his starting lineup, but he assigned Stojakovic instead of Morris Peterson to defend Ginobili. Peterson guarded Bruce Bowen. In Game 3, Ginobili and Parker combined for 62 points and 17 assists. The Hornets' goal was to force Ginobili and Parker to take perimeter shots instead of driving to the basket. The Spurs' stars, however, did both.
The Hornets were unable to avoid execution problems as soon as the game started. They quickly trailed after missing nine of their first 11 shots. Another bad sign came on the defensive end, when they could not keep Parker from scoring on drives or Duncan from making close-range jumpers.
It went downhill quickly for the Hornets in the second quarter when the Spurs went on a 15-4 run and never looked back. They took away nearly all of the Hornets' scoring options with a scrambling coverage that converged with double teams on West. Chandler did not score his first points until 15 seconds remained before halftime when he made two free throws.
Duncan had his way from within 10 feet with jumpers and drives. Parker still was able to penetrate through the middle of the lane to score. The Spurs closed out the half making 57.5 percent of their shots with Parker leading with 18 points and Duncan with 15 on 7-of-10 shooting.
After trailing 55-42 at halftime, the Hornets opened the third quarter with West losing the ball out of bounds. A few minutes later, Peterson beat his defenders twice but missed two layups.
Chandler picked up two quick fouls trying to defend Duncan. Then, he stayed in the game with four fouls and quickly picked up his fifth after fouling Ginobili. The Spurs took a 66-47 lead after outscoring the Hornets 11-6 at the start of the third quarter.
"Again, we're playing against the defending champions," Scott said. "I've been through this a bunch of times. As long