duncan228
05-12-2008, 01:31 AM
http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/basketball/nba/spurs/stories/MYSA051208.spursnotes.en.f0a10672.html
Spurs Notebook: Horry matches playoff games mark
By Mike Monroe
Robert Horry got his wish, along with his share of a meaningful NBA milestone.
When Spurs coach Gregg Popovich put Horry in Sunday’s Western Conference semifinal playoff Game 4 with 1:49 remaining in the first half, it marked the 237th playoff game of Horry’s 16-year career. It tied him with Hall of Famer Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for most playoff games in NBA history.
Horry wanted to make certain his record-tying appearance was no token performance just to break the record, and he did that in the first half of the Spurs’ 100-80 victory.
In his short stint at the end of the quarter, he made three significant contributions, making a fall-away jumper, forcing a bad shot by Hornets All-Star forward David West and grabbing an offensive rebound.
What made the milestone best, though, was the outcome of the game.
“The win is the most important thing,” Horry said. “I’ve been very fortunate to be on some great teams. I’m just happy to be on this great team. I’ve got to thank ‘Pop’ and the entire Spurs organization for allowing me to come here.”
Popovich and team captain Tim Duncan cited Horry’s knack for picking great teams to sign with during his free-agent summers, but the best move of his career may have been a disagreement with Danny Ainge that prompted him to throw a towel at the then-Suns coach during a game. Ainge made sure the Suns traded Horry soon thereafter, and he went to the Lakers, where he won three titles.
“A lot of people have said that,” Horry said, laughing. “It was a bad career move, but it did get me on a great team, and I had fun with those guys over there, winning some championships.”
Horry appeared in 87 playoff games with the Lakers, 74 with the Houston Rockets and has now been in 72 since joining the Spurs before the 2004-05 season.
The 16-year veteran from Alabama has a keen memory about his postseason experiences. When a producer from the TNT network asked him on Saturday to videotape a brief message to his mother for Sunday’s Mother’s Day telecast, he declined, citing a bad Mother’s Day experience in 1995, while he was with the Rockets.
“I did that once before,” he said, “and we lost the game, so I’m not doing it again. It was an afternoon game on Mother’s Day, and there were about 12 people there, and we lost the game.”
Holt lauds Wolff: Spurs chairman Peter Holt said County Judge Nelson Wolff deserves the lion’s share of the credit for convincing voters Saturday to approve four proposals to use visitor taxes to fund $415 million in civic improvement projects.
Among the projects Bexar County voters overwhelmingly approved were upgrades to rodeo grounds and arenas, including the AT&T Center.
Stressing work on the Spurs’ home won’t begin until after 2012, Holt said the election’s outcome means “long-term, we will be playing in a continually updated building,” and the franchise has Wolff to thank.
“He was the key to the whole thing,” Holt said before Sunday’s game. “He really does have a great vision, and it’s really nice that he and the mayor (Phil Hardberger) work so closely together. What I like about this election was that the city and county didn’t get into whose money is going to do what. It was all about what is best for the citizens of the city and Bexar County.”
Holt said Wolff campaigned tirelessly.
“He took the lead,” Holt said. “He showed up at every Lion’s Club meeting, worked really hard. (Wolff’s wife) Tracy said she hadn’t seen him for six months. He really worked it.”
Holt said the AT&T Center can now stay competitive with other sports venues in the league and the state.
“Some of these technological advances we are starting to see put in these new stadiums, like the one the Cowboys are building, (cost) big money,” Holt said. “We needed this proposal to pass to stay competitive, to keep the fans excited.”
Mousecapade: As reporters waited to interview Spurs guard Manu Ginobili at his locker after the game, a mouse jumped out of his laundry bag as a clubhouse attendant picked it up.
"I guess I’ve got to do laundry more often," Ginobili joked.
Staff writer Tom Orsborn contributed to this report.
Spurs Notebook: Horry matches playoff games mark
By Mike Monroe
Robert Horry got his wish, along with his share of a meaningful NBA milestone.
When Spurs coach Gregg Popovich put Horry in Sunday’s Western Conference semifinal playoff Game 4 with 1:49 remaining in the first half, it marked the 237th playoff game of Horry’s 16-year career. It tied him with Hall of Famer Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for most playoff games in NBA history.
Horry wanted to make certain his record-tying appearance was no token performance just to break the record, and he did that in the first half of the Spurs’ 100-80 victory.
In his short stint at the end of the quarter, he made three significant contributions, making a fall-away jumper, forcing a bad shot by Hornets All-Star forward David West and grabbing an offensive rebound.
What made the milestone best, though, was the outcome of the game.
“The win is the most important thing,” Horry said. “I’ve been very fortunate to be on some great teams. I’m just happy to be on this great team. I’ve got to thank ‘Pop’ and the entire Spurs organization for allowing me to come here.”
Popovich and team captain Tim Duncan cited Horry’s knack for picking great teams to sign with during his free-agent summers, but the best move of his career may have been a disagreement with Danny Ainge that prompted him to throw a towel at the then-Suns coach during a game. Ainge made sure the Suns traded Horry soon thereafter, and he went to the Lakers, where he won three titles.
“A lot of people have said that,” Horry said, laughing. “It was a bad career move, but it did get me on a great team, and I had fun with those guys over there, winning some championships.”
Horry appeared in 87 playoff games with the Lakers, 74 with the Houston Rockets and has now been in 72 since joining the Spurs before the 2004-05 season.
The 16-year veteran from Alabama has a keen memory about his postseason experiences. When a producer from the TNT network asked him on Saturday to videotape a brief message to his mother for Sunday’s Mother’s Day telecast, he declined, citing a bad Mother’s Day experience in 1995, while he was with the Rockets.
“I did that once before,” he said, “and we lost the game, so I’m not doing it again. It was an afternoon game on Mother’s Day, and there were about 12 people there, and we lost the game.”
Holt lauds Wolff: Spurs chairman Peter Holt said County Judge Nelson Wolff deserves the lion’s share of the credit for convincing voters Saturday to approve four proposals to use visitor taxes to fund $415 million in civic improvement projects.
Among the projects Bexar County voters overwhelmingly approved were upgrades to rodeo grounds and arenas, including the AT&T Center.
Stressing work on the Spurs’ home won’t begin until after 2012, Holt said the election’s outcome means “long-term, we will be playing in a continually updated building,” and the franchise has Wolff to thank.
“He was the key to the whole thing,” Holt said before Sunday’s game. “He really does have a great vision, and it’s really nice that he and the mayor (Phil Hardberger) work so closely together. What I like about this election was that the city and county didn’t get into whose money is going to do what. It was all about what is best for the citizens of the city and Bexar County.”
Holt said Wolff campaigned tirelessly.
“He took the lead,” Holt said. “He showed up at every Lion’s Club meeting, worked really hard. (Wolff’s wife) Tracy said she hadn’t seen him for six months. He really worked it.”
Holt said the AT&T Center can now stay competitive with other sports venues in the league and the state.
“Some of these technological advances we are starting to see put in these new stadiums, like the one the Cowboys are building, (cost) big money,” Holt said. “We needed this proposal to pass to stay competitive, to keep the fans excited.”
Mousecapade: As reporters waited to interview Spurs guard Manu Ginobili at his locker after the game, a mouse jumped out of his laundry bag as a clubhouse attendant picked it up.
"I guess I’ve got to do laundry more often," Ginobili joked.
Staff writer Tom Orsborn contributed to this report.