duncan228
05-17-2008, 10:24 PM
http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/basketball/nba/spurs/stories/MYSA051808.11C.BKNspurs.thomas.3371295.html
Spurs' Thomas has won on road in seventh
By Mike Monroe
Express-News
No player in NBA history has been in more playoff games than Spurs forward Robert Horry. Naturally, he also has been in more Game 7s than any active player. If he plays in Monday's Game 7 of the Spurs-Hornets Western Conference semifinal, it will be the ninth Game 7 in his 16 seasons, all of which have continued through at least two playoff rounds.
But not even Horry can claim the historic distinction his fellow Spurs big man, Kurt Thomas, has: Victory in a Game 7, on the road.
Game 7 road victories are scarce, of course. Monday's will be the 100th in NBA playoff history. According to the Web site, nbagame7.com, the home team has won 79 of those. There have been 20 Game 7s in the Western Conference semifinals. The road team has won only four times.
Thomas participated in one of the exceptions to the home team's rule: the New York Knicks' 83-82 Game 7 victory over the Miami Heat in the 2000 Eastern Conference semifinals at Miami Arena.
In his third season in the league, and his second with the Knicks, Thomas was a backup big man on a front line that included Patrick Ewing, Larry Johnson, Marcus Camby and Latrell Sprewell. He played only 10 minutes in New York's series-clinching victory but made the most of his time. He attempted two shots and made both of them. He also grabbed three rebounds, two on the offensive glass.
Thomas understands, better than most, how difficult things are going to be for the Spurs on Monday night.
“It's intense,” he said. “One game. One of the teams gets to play (on). Loser goes home. It's going to be very intense, a hostile environment down there in New Orleans, but it's going to be a lot of fun.”
Fun?
Game 7, with all that pressure?
The Knicks, Thomas recalled, stressed having fun before they rollicked on Miami's court after beating the Heat on May 22, 2000.
“That was the message before the game,” Thomas recalled of then-Knicks coach Jeff Van Gundy's pre-game talk. “Just have fun. Leave it all out there. Don't come back in this locker room after the game thinking you could have done something else, something more. Just leave it all out there on the line.”
His history of defying the odds, Thomas said, does not give him a podium from which to preach to Spurs teammates who have won multiple championships.
“I'm just going to sit back and listen to what they have to say,” he said, “and go out there and do whatever is asked.”
Thomas has been in the NBA for 13 seasons, but that Game 7 victory in 2000 remains his lone Game 7 experience. Horry is 6-2 in career Game 7s. Michael Finley is 3-1 in Game 7s.
Reserve guard Mike James is the only Hornets player with a Game 7 victory.
Bruce Bowen is the only Spurs player with a losing record, 1-2, in Game 7s. Ironically, one of his Game 7 losses was in that same Eastern Conference semifinal game that sent Thomas, and the Knicks, on to the conference final.
Spurs guard Manu Ginobili also stressed the importance of approaching Monday's Game 7 with the notion of having fun.
“It's going to be a really tense game with a lot of adrenaline,” he said. “The crowd is going to be going nuts. It's going to be a very fun game to play.”
Ginobili has had his share of fun in Game 7s. He scored 15 of his 26 points in the fourth quarter of Game 7 of the 2005 NBA Finals, when the Spurs won their third title with a home-court victory over Detroit.
He also has had his share of nightmare moments. Moments after his 3-point basket gave the Spurs a three-point lead over the Dallas Mavericks in the 2006 Western Conference semifinal Game 7, he committed an ill-advised foul on Dirk Nowitzki, permitting a three-point play conversion that sent that game to overtime. The Mavericks prevailed in the extra period.
“Game 7 is always a huge game,” he said, “and you've just got to be very focused, knowing that you can't blink, that you can't let the other team get confident and on a run — play every possession as if it is the last one.”
Spurs' Thomas has won on road in seventh
By Mike Monroe
Express-News
No player in NBA history has been in more playoff games than Spurs forward Robert Horry. Naturally, he also has been in more Game 7s than any active player. If he plays in Monday's Game 7 of the Spurs-Hornets Western Conference semifinal, it will be the ninth Game 7 in his 16 seasons, all of which have continued through at least two playoff rounds.
But not even Horry can claim the historic distinction his fellow Spurs big man, Kurt Thomas, has: Victory in a Game 7, on the road.
Game 7 road victories are scarce, of course. Monday's will be the 100th in NBA playoff history. According to the Web site, nbagame7.com, the home team has won 79 of those. There have been 20 Game 7s in the Western Conference semifinals. The road team has won only four times.
Thomas participated in one of the exceptions to the home team's rule: the New York Knicks' 83-82 Game 7 victory over the Miami Heat in the 2000 Eastern Conference semifinals at Miami Arena.
In his third season in the league, and his second with the Knicks, Thomas was a backup big man on a front line that included Patrick Ewing, Larry Johnson, Marcus Camby and Latrell Sprewell. He played only 10 minutes in New York's series-clinching victory but made the most of his time. He attempted two shots and made both of them. He also grabbed three rebounds, two on the offensive glass.
Thomas understands, better than most, how difficult things are going to be for the Spurs on Monday night.
“It's intense,” he said. “One game. One of the teams gets to play (on). Loser goes home. It's going to be very intense, a hostile environment down there in New Orleans, but it's going to be a lot of fun.”
Fun?
Game 7, with all that pressure?
The Knicks, Thomas recalled, stressed having fun before they rollicked on Miami's court after beating the Heat on May 22, 2000.
“That was the message before the game,” Thomas recalled of then-Knicks coach Jeff Van Gundy's pre-game talk. “Just have fun. Leave it all out there. Don't come back in this locker room after the game thinking you could have done something else, something more. Just leave it all out there on the line.”
His history of defying the odds, Thomas said, does not give him a podium from which to preach to Spurs teammates who have won multiple championships.
“I'm just going to sit back and listen to what they have to say,” he said, “and go out there and do whatever is asked.”
Thomas has been in the NBA for 13 seasons, but that Game 7 victory in 2000 remains his lone Game 7 experience. Horry is 6-2 in career Game 7s. Michael Finley is 3-1 in Game 7s.
Reserve guard Mike James is the only Hornets player with a Game 7 victory.
Bruce Bowen is the only Spurs player with a losing record, 1-2, in Game 7s. Ironically, one of his Game 7 losses was in that same Eastern Conference semifinal game that sent Thomas, and the Knicks, on to the conference final.
Spurs guard Manu Ginobili also stressed the importance of approaching Monday's Game 7 with the notion of having fun.
“It's going to be a really tense game with a lot of adrenaline,” he said. “The crowd is going to be going nuts. It's going to be a very fun game to play.”
Ginobili has had his share of fun in Game 7s. He scored 15 of his 26 points in the fourth quarter of Game 7 of the 2005 NBA Finals, when the Spurs won their third title with a home-court victory over Detroit.
He also has had his share of nightmare moments. Moments after his 3-point basket gave the Spurs a three-point lead over the Dallas Mavericks in the 2006 Western Conference semifinal Game 7, he committed an ill-advised foul on Dirk Nowitzki, permitting a three-point play conversion that sent that game to overtime. The Mavericks prevailed in the extra period.
“Game 7 is always a huge game,” he said, “and you've just got to be very focused, knowing that you can't blink, that you can't let the other team get confident and on a run — play every possession as if it is the last one.”