duncan228
05-14-2008, 11:37 PM
http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/basketball/nba/spurs/stories/MYSA.051508..ffd1f777.html
NBA: Spurs need victory to stay alive
By Jeff McDonald
The Spurs left New Orleans late Tuesday night lost in a fog of varying emotions, none of them particularly positive, all of them easily translatable from Spanish to English.
“You are mad, frustrated, sad,” said Manu Ginobili, the Spurs’ Argentine guard. “Because you let a big one get away.”
Game 5, pivotal Game 5, of the Western Conference semifinal was not particularly kind to the Spurs. Overwhelmed again in the third quarter, they lost 101-79, falling into a 3-2 series deficit and within a loss of elimination.
But if they squinted hard enough as they departed the Big Not-So-Easy, the Spurs could also find a silver lining in the cloud that seems to follow them every time they step into New Orleans Arena these days.
At least they were headed home.
Game 6, crucial Game 6, is tonight at the AT&T Center, where the Spurs have beaten the Hornets twice in this series by a combined 31 points.
The home team, in fact, has handily won every game so far, and for the Spurs this is a theme. Dating to last season, they own a 10-game home winning streak in the postseason.
“We know our fans are going to be behind us,” forward Kurt Thomas said. “We’ve been down before in this series. We have to do what we have to do at home to force a Game 7.”
This is the rub for the Spurs.
Their very best-case scenario involves winning at home tonight just to set up a Game 7 in New Orleans, where they have lost three games by an average of 19.7 points in this series.
Of course, the alternative is not nearly as good. It results in the end of the season.
This represents somewhat unfamiliar terrain for the Spurs, who have faced 10 elimination games since Tim Duncan arrived in 1997. They are 4-6 in those games.
Last year, on the way to a fourth NBA title, the Spurs never flirted with elimination. The last time the Spurs played a game that could have knocked them from the postseason was Game 7 of the 2006 Western Conference semifinals against Dallas, a game the Mavericks won in overtime.
“The bottom line is the better team wins in a seven-game series,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. “I’ve always said that. Whoever wins this series, it will be because they are the better team.”
The Spurs’ semifinal slugfest with New Orleans has been a series marked by wild momentum swings, with each team squandering chances to knock the other into the ropes.
The Hornets rolled in Games 1 and 2, but couldn’t land a punch in San Antonio. The Spurs romped in Games 3 and 4, but given a chance to step on the Hornets’ throats, flopped in Game 5.
New Orleans forward David West says the wacky home-road splits have been about comfort.
“I think they were a little bit too comfortable (at home),” West said. “We’re dealing with a rhythm team, a team that has been together for a lot of years. We can’t let them get comfortable. In the games here (in New Orleans), they were completely uncomfortable.”
West was a major reason for the Spurs’ discomfort in Game 5, totaling 38 points, 14 rebounds, five blocks and five assists — all playoff career highs.
The Hornets were particularly rude to Spurs point guard Tony Parker, who had twice torched them in San Antonio.
Blitzing hard off the pick-and-rolls, the Hornets tried to get the ball out of Parker’s hands in Game 5 and largely succeeded. That threw a monkey wrench into the Spurs’ ball movement, which had been so good in their two victories in San Antonio.
“It was like a double-team, a hard hedge,” said Parker, who still finished with 18 points. “I’ve got to do a better job of moving the ball, and at the same time stay aggressive.”
That’s just one of the adjustments the Spurs will need to make with Game 6 looming.
It is work they are happy to face head on. Down three games to two, they are left with no other choice.
The Spurs departed New Orleans amid a mix of emotions, none of them good. By the time they landed in San Antonio, they felt something else.
Hope.
“It’s a weird feeling, but we still have a shot,” Ginobili said. “It’s not over, and we’ve got to live up to the challenge.”
NBA: Spurs need victory to stay alive
By Jeff McDonald
The Spurs left New Orleans late Tuesday night lost in a fog of varying emotions, none of them particularly positive, all of them easily translatable from Spanish to English.
“You are mad, frustrated, sad,” said Manu Ginobili, the Spurs’ Argentine guard. “Because you let a big one get away.”
Game 5, pivotal Game 5, of the Western Conference semifinal was not particularly kind to the Spurs. Overwhelmed again in the third quarter, they lost 101-79, falling into a 3-2 series deficit and within a loss of elimination.
But if they squinted hard enough as they departed the Big Not-So-Easy, the Spurs could also find a silver lining in the cloud that seems to follow them every time they step into New Orleans Arena these days.
At least they were headed home.
Game 6, crucial Game 6, is tonight at the AT&T Center, where the Spurs have beaten the Hornets twice in this series by a combined 31 points.
The home team, in fact, has handily won every game so far, and for the Spurs this is a theme. Dating to last season, they own a 10-game home winning streak in the postseason.
“We know our fans are going to be behind us,” forward Kurt Thomas said. “We’ve been down before in this series. We have to do what we have to do at home to force a Game 7.”
This is the rub for the Spurs.
Their very best-case scenario involves winning at home tonight just to set up a Game 7 in New Orleans, where they have lost three games by an average of 19.7 points in this series.
Of course, the alternative is not nearly as good. It results in the end of the season.
This represents somewhat unfamiliar terrain for the Spurs, who have faced 10 elimination games since Tim Duncan arrived in 1997. They are 4-6 in those games.
Last year, on the way to a fourth NBA title, the Spurs never flirted with elimination. The last time the Spurs played a game that could have knocked them from the postseason was Game 7 of the 2006 Western Conference semifinals against Dallas, a game the Mavericks won in overtime.
“The bottom line is the better team wins in a seven-game series,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. “I’ve always said that. Whoever wins this series, it will be because they are the better team.”
The Spurs’ semifinal slugfest with New Orleans has been a series marked by wild momentum swings, with each team squandering chances to knock the other into the ropes.
The Hornets rolled in Games 1 and 2, but couldn’t land a punch in San Antonio. The Spurs romped in Games 3 and 4, but given a chance to step on the Hornets’ throats, flopped in Game 5.
New Orleans forward David West says the wacky home-road splits have been about comfort.
“I think they were a little bit too comfortable (at home),” West said. “We’re dealing with a rhythm team, a team that has been together for a lot of years. We can’t let them get comfortable. In the games here (in New Orleans), they were completely uncomfortable.”
West was a major reason for the Spurs’ discomfort in Game 5, totaling 38 points, 14 rebounds, five blocks and five assists — all playoff career highs.
The Hornets were particularly rude to Spurs point guard Tony Parker, who had twice torched them in San Antonio.
Blitzing hard off the pick-and-rolls, the Hornets tried to get the ball out of Parker’s hands in Game 5 and largely succeeded. That threw a monkey wrench into the Spurs’ ball movement, which had been so good in their two victories in San Antonio.
“It was like a double-team, a hard hedge,” said Parker, who still finished with 18 points. “I’ve got to do a better job of moving the ball, and at the same time stay aggressive.”
That’s just one of the adjustments the Spurs will need to make with Game 6 looming.
It is work they are happy to face head on. Down three games to two, they are left with no other choice.
The Spurs departed New Orleans amid a mix of emotions, none of them good. By the time they landed in San Antonio, they felt something else.
Hope.
“It’s a weird feeling, but we still have a shot,” Ginobili said. “It’s not over, and we’ve got to live up to the challenge.”