San Antonio (16-3) at Atlanta (2-16) Game Blog

San Antonio (16-3) at Atlanta (2-16)
San Antonio (16-3) at Atlanta (2-16)

Preview - Box Score - Recap

Game Info: 7:00 pm EST Sat Dec 10, 2005
TV: KRRT, WPXA Add to Calendar
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The San Antonio Spurs are enjoying their longest winning streak of the season. If previous history is any indicator, they shouldn't have much trouble extending it.
The defending NBA champions shoot for their seventh straight victory when they visit the hapless Atlanta Hawks, a team they've beaten 12 of the last 14 times.

San Antonio beat Boston 101-89 on Friday, marking the 17th consecutive time they've beaten the Celtics. The Spurs, who own the best record in the Western Conference, have not lost since falling 106-99 to the Chicago Bulls on Nov. 25.

Tim Duncan, who had 20 points and 10 rebounds, wasn't quite satisfied with his team's most recent performance. San Antonio led by as many as 16 in the third quarter, but gave up several double-digit leads.

"We played well for the majority of the time," said Duncan, who was averaging 21.2 points per game coming in, ranking eighth in the conference. "We had a little bit of ups and downs -- a little more than we wanted to."

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The Spurs were allowing just 89.7 points per game coming in, ranking fourth in the league. They had a season-high 11 blocked shots Friday -- six by Rasho Nesterovic and the other five by Duncan.

The Spurs also improved to 15-0 when leading after three quarters.

"The blocked shots are the consequence of our defensive system," said Manu Ginobili, who scored 14 points. "We were trying to make some of (the Celtics) penetrate and we always want the bigs to defend them."

The league-worst Hawks lost their seventh straight Wednesday, falling 95-83 to the Utah Jazz. Joe Johnson scored 19 points and Salim Stoudamire added 15 for Atlanta, which committed 21 turnovers.

The Hawks are off to the worst start in team history. They opened 3-15 last season. Their only wins this season came in consecutive games against Boston and Indiana, respectively, from Nov. 23-25.

Atlanta ranked second to last in the Eastern Conference with just 90.4 points per game and third-to-last with 99.6 allowed heading into Friday's games.

STANDINGS (through Dec. 9): Spurs - 1st place, Southwest Division. Hawks - 5th place, 7 GB, Southeast Division.

PROBABLE STARTERS: Spurs - F Bruce Bowen, F Duncan, C Nesterovic, G Tony Parker, G Ginobili. Hawks - F Al Harrington, F Esteban Batista, C Zaza Pachulia, G Royal Ivey, G Johnson.

TEAM LEADERS: Spurs - Duncan, 21.1 ppg and 12.1 rpg; Parker, 5.9 apg. Hawks - Johnson, 18.2 ppg and 5.1 apg; Pachulia, 9.3 rpg.

SEASON SERIES: Spurs, 1-0.

LAST MEETING: Nov. 15; Spurs, 103-79. At San Antonio, Duncan had 23 points and seven rebounds and Ginobili added 24 points.

ROAD/HOME RECORDS: Spurs - 7-2 on the road; Hawks - 1-6 at home.


Updated on Saturday

spurs 2 of the three losses have been on back to backs
what will spur fans do if they lose tongiht?

by the way tp did not play in the 4 quarter last night
pop might have been trying to keep him fresh for tonight
actually pop played alot of his bench last night night in fourth

losin to the hawks is not an excuse, even if its b2b game, this is a scrub team

Quote:

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Originally Posted by ducks

spurs 2 of the three losses have been on back to backs
what will spur fans do if they lose tongiht?

by the way tp did not play in the 4 quarter last night
pop might have been trying to keep him fresh for tonight
actually pop played alot of his bench last night night in fourth

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And the other loss was to a struggeling Chicago team. Also Horry did not play at all so he will be fresh for tonight as well.

I get yawn thinking about this game... :sleep

The first two b2b losses were against a good mavs team and an Arenas on fire.
Duncan played 37 min, Bruce 35 min against Boston. Other players play less than 27 min and Horry is fresh. We should win this one against one of the worst team in nba.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by ZStomp

I get yawn thinking about this game... :sleep

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Which we hope the Spurs dont get, a team that has lost 7 in a row is scary. They are hurting for a win. And Spurs tend to play to the level of the competition sometimes.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Bruno

The first two b2b losses were against a good mavs team and an Arenas on fire.
Duncan played 37 min, Bruce 35 min against Boston. Other players play less than 27 min and Horry is fresh. We should win this one against one of the worst team in nba.

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against washington pop had to go to duncan in 4 when he was shooting 25%
like a dumb ass :pctoss :pctoss :pctoss

I wonder if Joe Johnson is regretting his decision to leave the Suns and play for the Hawks...

I heard rumors that the whole team is fighting among themselves
but that happens when you lose

Quote:

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Originally Posted by 1Parker1

I wonder if Joe Johnson is regretting his decision to leave the Suns and play for the Hawks...

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It's not like he left for the chance a a 'ship. He knew what he was getting.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Trainwreck2100

It's not like he left for the chance a a 'ship. He knew what he was getting.

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I think he may have thought that he could turn them around. I don't think he realized that they'd be 2-16. It's one thing to know you're going to go play for a sucky team, I'm sure it's a different thing alltogether when you have to play for said losing team night in and night out. Especially after watching and experiencing the success of your former team without you. :lol

Another beat down.....

Quote:

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Originally Posted by 1Parker1

I wonder if Joe Johnson is regretting his decision to leave the Suns and play for the Hawks...

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Unfortunately, he left for the $$, he knew what he was getting into. I'm sure he's fine.

"struggeling Chicago team"

???? "struggling" is NOT what the Bulls were "suffering" from when they soundly beat the [email protected] in every category.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by boutons

"struggeling Chicago team"

???? "struggling" is NOT what the Bulls were "suffering" from when they soundly beat the [email protected] in every category.

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"Every category" check again.
Spurs beat them in FG%, rebounds, assists, blocks and 3pt%.
Bulls won the game in OT, but did not kill the Spurs by any means.
Other notable stats from the game

Fast break points
Spurs 8 Bulls 7

Pts in the paint
Spurs 46 Bulls 36

Quote:

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Originally Posted by ZStomp

Unfortunately, he left for the $$, he knew what he was getting into. I'm sure he's fine.

---

he left because he was not happy how he was being treated
I doubt the money was the only reason
I rember hearing quotes about that

Manu, TP, Horry should be pretty fresh for the Hawks game

I don't quite understand what Mike Woodson is doing right now. You'd think based on the position they are in, he would give Josh & Josh quality minutes to build on their experience and confidence.

Whether it's a back to back/away game, Spurs have no excuse to lose. Our bench can take on their starting 5.

Spurs are gonna kick some major ass tonight!:)
Yeah, it's the Hawks, but ah well, a win would be a win right?!

we better not have harrington go buck on us.

put bowen on him right away

Do any of you think will actually dunk tonight????....man he's been without a single dunk since like the last 4 games...that kinda sucks lol but oh well

:lol maybe we can show-case a Nazr for a swing trade :lol with the swingman-rich Hawks. Just had to get some sort of trade post in here.

Expect the Hawks to be blown out AGAIN! That's all I've gotta say!

ESPN.com
Dec 10, 2005
Link: ESPN
{If this story has been posted elsewhere, please disregard.}

San Antonio (16-3) at Atlanta (2-16) 7:00 pm EST
ATLANTA (Ticker) -- The Atlanta Hawks certainly are picking a bad time to run into the San Antonio Spurs.

The Spurs go for their seventh straight victory Saturday, while attempting to continue their recent domination of the league-worst Hawks.

San Antonio ran its season-best winning streak to six with Friday's 101-89 triumph vs. Boston. The Spurs, who never trailed, received 20 points and 11 rebounds from Tim Duncan and 14 points from fellow All-Star Manu Ginobili.

The Spurs, who have won 17 straight games against the Celtics, also are on an impressive run against the Hawks. San Antonio has won 12 of its last 14 games vs. Atlanta, including a pair of victories last season by a combined 31 points.

The Hawks are coming off their seventh straight loss, a 95-83 setback to Utah on Wednesday despite 19 points from Joe Johnson and 15 from rookie Salim Stoudamire.

Zaza Pachulia added 10 points and seven rebounds for Atlanta, which made just 20-of-31 free throws and committed 21 turnovers.

If Wednesday is any indication, the Hawks could be in for a long night against Duncan, as they were outscored, 52-16, in the paint against the Jazz.

CBS Sports Line
Dec 10, 2005
Link: SportsLine.com

GAME: San Antonio Spurs (16-3) at Atlanta Hawks (2-16).
TIME: Saturday, 7 p.m. EST.

The San Antonio Spurs are enjoying their longest winning streak of the season. If previous history is any indicator, they shouldn't have much trouble extending it.

The defending NBA champions shoot for their seventh straight victory when they visit the hapless Atlanta Hawks, a team they've beaten 12 of the last 14 times.

San Antonio beat Boston 101-89 on Friday, marking the 17th consecutive time they've beaten the Celtics. The Spurs, who own the best record in the Western Conference, have not lost since falling 106-99 to the Chicago Bulls on Nov. 25.

Tim Duncan, who had 20 points and 10 rebounds, wasn't quite satisfied with his team's most recent performance. San Antonio led by as many as 16 in the third quarter, but gave up several double-digit leads.

"We played well for the majority of the time," said Duncan, who was averaging 21.2 points per game coming in, ranking eighth in the conference. "We had a little bit of ups and downs - a little more than we wanted to."

The Spurs were allowing just 89.7 points per game coming in, ranking fourth in the league. They had a season-high 11 blocked shots Friday - six by Rasho Nesterovic and the other five by Duncan.

The Spurs also improved to 15-0 when leading after three quarters.

"The blocked shots are the consequence of our defensive system," said Manu Ginobili, who scored 14 points. "We were trying to make some of (the Celtics) penetrate and we always want the bigs to defend them."

The league-worst Hawks lost their seventh straight Wednesday, falling 95-83 to the Utah Jazz. Joe Johnson scored 19 points and Salim Stoudamire added 15 for Atlanta, which committed 21 turnovers.

The Hawks are off to the worst start in team history. They opened 3-15 last season. Their only wins this season came in consecutive games against Boston and Indiana, respectively, from Nov. 23-25.

Atlanta ranked second to last in the Eastern Conference with just 90.4 points per game and third-to-last with 99.6 allowed heading into Friday's games.
===========================================
GAME ODDS
Away Line Home Line
San Antonio -10.5 Atlanta 10.5
San Antonio are favorites.

Who does Bowen defend, to start out tonight? Joe Johnson or Al Harrington?

It may be Johnson.

The Phillips Arena in Atlanta has a very sparse crowd tonight. Wow.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Solid D

The Phillips Arena in Atlanta has a very sparse crowd tonight. Wow.

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Everynite, cept maybe when Lebron or Shaq comes to town.

That is sad if Atlanta is not sold out tonight. They have a chance to witness one of the greatest basketball teams ever asembled. Vegas would say you have to be about 15 to win a dollar if you want the Spurs. And we do not need to trade anyone on this team more at least 2 years. What is wrong with you? Can you not see how good this team can if if it stays healthy and survives a scary christmas? :rolleyes

Where is the play by play people at? beno is in the 1st quarter.

Finley is getting old. The young dog would have slammed that ball instead of passing out to Bruce.

I'll try but I'm slower than a snail. I can do this until the half.

6:31 ATL - Full timeout (Timeout #3)
6:41 SA - B. Bowen makes a 23-foot three-pointer from the left corner. Assist: M. Finley
6:48 SA - T. Duncan steals the ball from J. Smith
7:01 SA - Layup by T. Parker
7:22 ATL - Layup by J. Smith. Assist: J. Johnson
7:41 SA - B. Barry makes a 19-foot jumper along the right baseline. Assist: T. Duncan
7:58 ATL - J. Johnson makes a 16-foot jumper from the left wing
8:07 SA - B. Barry enters game for N. Mohammed
8:07 SA - T. Parker enters game for B. Udrih
8:07 SA - T. Duncan enters game for R. Horry

ok, or at least get the 3 pointer s, great passes and dunks but this could be garbage time by half.

5:01 ATL - R. Ivey steals the ball from M. Finley
5:20 ATL - J. Johnson makes a 19-foot jumper from the left wing. Assist: A. Harrington
5:37 SA - Layup by T. Duncan. Assist: M. Finley
5:54 ATL - J. Johnson makes a 19-foot jumper from the top of the key
6:16 SA - M. Finley makes a 12-foot jumper along the right baseline
6:26 ATL - Foul on J. Johnson
6:26 ATL - Offensive foul on J. Johnson
6:31 ATL - Z. Pachulia enters game for J. Childress
6:31 ATL - R. Ivey enters game for S. Stoudamire

4:56 ATL - J. Johnson drives to the hoop for a layup
5:01 ATL - R. Ivey steals the ball from M. Finley
5:20 ATL - J. Johnson makes a 19-foot jumper from the left wing. Assist: A. Harrington
5:37 SA - Layup by T. Duncan. Assist: M. Finley
5:54 ATL - J. Johnson makes a 19-foot jumper from the top of the key
6:16 SA - M. Finley makes a 12-foot jumper along the right baseline
6:26 ATL - Foul on J. Johnson
6:26 ATL - Offensive foul on J. Johnson
6:31 ATL - Z. Pachulia enters game for J. Childress
6:31 ATL - R. Ivey enters game for S. Stoudamire


Spurs lead 41-31

3:57 SA - T. Parker drives to the hoop for a layup. Assist: M. Finley
4:20 ATL - Z. Pachulia makes a 16-foot jumper along the left baseline. Assist: J. Johnson
4:41 SA - B. Barry makes a 24-foot three-pointer from the top of the arc. Assist: T. Duncan
4:56 ATL - J. Johnson drives to the hoop for a layup

5 assists for Finley already.

3:04 SA - Full timeout (Timeout #2)
3:12 ATL - A. Harrington hits a free throw
3:12 SA - Shooting foul on T. Duncan
3:12 ATL - A. Harrington drives to the hoop for a layup
3:15 SA - Jumpball violation on B. Bowen
3:18 ATL - Z. Pachulia defensive rebound
3:20 SA - B. Barry misses a 23-foot three-pointer from the right corner
3:35 ATL - J. Childress enters game for J. Smith
3:35 ATL - Personal foul on J. Smith
3:38 SA - B. Bowen steals the ball from J. Smith
3:46 SA - R. Nesterovic enters game for M. Finley
3:46 SA - Personal foul on T. Parker

3:12 SA - Shooting foul on T. Duncan
3:12 ATL - A. Harrington drives to the hoop for a layup
3:15 SA - Jumpball violation on B. Bowen
3:18 ATL - Z. Pachulia defensive rebound
3:20 SA - B. Barry misses a 23-foot three-pointer from the right corner
3:35 ATL - J. Childress enters game for J. Smith
3:35 ATL - Personal foul on J. Smith
3:38 SA - B. Bowen steals the ball from J. Smith
3:46 SA - R. Nesterovic enters game for M. Finley
3:46 SA - Personal foul on T. Parker

Spurs lead 46-35

Al makes 1st free throw 46-36 time out spurs.

Barry in for manu and the rest of the starters. manu probly get minutes with the bench in 2nd half

1:39 SA - 20 sec timeout
1:54 SA - T. Parker defensive rebound
1:55 ATL - J. Childress misses a layup
2:08 ATL - J. Childress defensive rebound
2:10 SA - M. Ginobili misses an 18-foot jumper along the left baseline
2:34 ATL - A. Harrington makes a 19-foot jumper from the top of the key
2:47 ATL - Z. Pachulia defensive rebound
2:49 SA - T. Duncan misses a 13-foot jumper along the left baseline
3:04 SA - M. Ginobili enters game for R. Nesterovic
3:04 SA - Full timeout (Timeout #2)

Spurs lead 46-38

:00.0 ATL - Z. Pachulia defensive rebound
:01.0 SA - T. Duncan offensive rebound
:00.4 SA - T. Duncan misses a tip in
:00.0 SA - T. Parker misses a layup
:23.6 ATL - J. Johnson makes shot
:32.7 ATL - J. Childress defensive rebound
:33.9 SA - T. Parker misses a 17-foot jumper from the right wing
:41.9 ATL - Personal foul on Z. Pachulia
:55.9 SA - T. Parker steals the ball from A. Harrington
:58.9 ATL - A. Harrington defensive rebound

:00.0 ATL - Z. Pachulia defensive rebound
:00.0 SA - T. Duncan offensive rebound
:00.0 SA - T. Duncan misses a tip in
:00.0 SA - T. Parker misses a layup
:23.6 ATL - J. Johnson makes shot
:32.7 ATL - J. Childress defensive rebound
:33.9 SA - T. Parker misses a 17-foot jumper from the right wing
:41.9 ATL - Personal foul on Z. Pachulia
:55.9 SA - T. Parker steals the ball from A. Harrington
:58.9 ATL - A. Harrington defensive rebound

Halftime Spurs lead 48-42.

Spurs up at half 48 42

Spurs playing down, boring.

Hawks shooting .475% at the half. :pctoss

Finley=5 assists :tu

Why would warriors be interested in this game? Scouting us already for the 1 n 8 matchup?

Boooorrrrrrrringgggggggggggggg.

Why do we play like the team we play sometimes? Seriously, it gets old.

8:18 ATL - Defensive goaltending on J. Smith
8:18 SA - Layup by M. Ginobili
8:27 ATL - T. Lue enters game for R. Ivey
8:27 ATL - Personal foul on Z. Pachulia
8:30 SA - R. Horry offensive rebound
8:33 SA - B. Udrih misses a 15-foot jumper in the lane
8:55 ATL - J. Smith hits the second free throw
8:55 SA - B. Udrih enters game for T. Parker
8:55 SA - R. Horry enters game for R. Nesterovic
8:55 ATL - J. Smith misses the first free throw

Spurs lead 53-49.

6:39 ATL - M. Williams enters game for Z. Pachulia
6:39 SA - Personal foul on M. Ginobili
7:00 SA - B. Bowen makes a 17-foot jumper from the top of the key. Assist: M. Ginobili
7:26 ATL - Z. Pachulia makes a 7-foot jumper along the right baseline
7:48 ATL - A. Harrington defensive rebound
7:50 SA - M. Ginobili misses a 7-foot jumper in the lane
8:03 ATL - Defensive rebound
8:03 ATL - Z. Pachulia misses a layup
8:03 ATL - Z. Pachulia offensive rebound
8:03 ATL - J. Smith misses a layup

Spurs lead 55-51.

WHAT! a two point game ?

Spurs suck

This is freaking sad! Getting outrebounded, double up on free throws, Timmy hasn't taken a shot in the 3Q. Sad.

SPURS down by one....

So when are they going to get serious?

5:39 ATL - M. Williams defensive rebound
5:41 SA - M. Finley misses a 17-foot jumper from the right wing
6:05 ATL - J. Johnson hits the second free throw
6:05 ATL - J. Childress enters game for J. Smith
6:05 ATL - J. Johnson hits the first free throw
6:05 SA - Shooting foul on B. Bowen
6:20 SA - T. Duncan hits the second free throw
6:20 SA - T. Duncan misses the first free throw
6:20 ATL - Shooting foul on A. Harrington
6:39 ATL - A. Harrington hits the second free throw

Spurs lead 56-55.

this is SPURS basketball.....

Spurs suck, how embarrassing.

Spurs down 56-57. :pctoss

Quote:

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Originally Posted by bendmz

this is SPURS basketball.....

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Careful saying things that can get you quoted later on!

FG% SAS - 46% ATL - 48%
FT% SAS - 43% ATL - 73%
FT SAS - 7 ATL - 15
REB SAS - 23 ATL - 31

What gives? Did they just not show up tonight?

Spurs out-shot, out-rebounded.

Why is Beno getting minutes? 10 minutes so far and 0-4.

For anyone watching the game why is Nick not playing? Night off?

So far in the 3Q alone ATL has 12 FT attempts. 12!!!

is manu playing good???????? WHO'S WINNING????????

Pop thought he could play with the lineup tonight, AANNNNTT WRONG.

Make it 14 now. WTF with all the Spurs fouls??

Spurs 6-13 from the free throw line:(

FT% down to 46% and getting seriously out-rebounded.

Definitely they decided to take the night off. Timmy is having a horrible game.

this is gonna be a dogfight the rest of the way :depressed

Shooting: Bowen > Finley

We cannot win them all but one would think it might come to LA Clippers, Minnesota or at Detroit. Hopefully not Atlanta, but it be a huge upset.

The absolutely most frustrating part of this is not that they are struggling. It is not that they are struggling with a 2-win team. But when you are at 45% for FT and getting out-rebounded by a big margin, it means that you didn't show up to play. THAT is the frustrating part.

bowen!!!!

Bowen 3-3 from three point land so far!

Bowens on fire. 3 for 3 on 3's

Go Spurs Go

Quote:

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Originally Posted by mikejones99

We cannot win them all but one would think it might come to LA Clippers, Minnesota or at Detroit. Hopefully not Atlanta, but it be a huge upset.

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Make all the excuses about being a B2B roadie and all, but there is NO WAY that they should look this bad against a team like ATL.
:cuss

duncan's FT is officially coming back to planet earth

Tim 1-7 from the free throw line. :(

wow. game 5 all over again for timmy.

Duncan fails to take a shot in the 3Q and goes 2-6 from the stripe. :cuss

Our defense sucks tonight, not getting many stops right now.

maybe one day the SPURS will learn to play above their opponents for the entire game

Rashzr Nesthammed have 4 points, 4 rebs, 2 turnovers and 5 fouls.

Definitely getting our money's worth from these guys tonight. :rolleyes

:00.0 ATL - Defensive rebound
:00.3 ATL - M. Williams misses a 19-foot jumper from the left corner
:01.0 ATL - 20 sec timeout
:01.0 SA - Bad pass by N. Mohammed
:02.0 ATL - T. Lue makes an 11-foot jumper in the lane
:11.0 SA - Layup by T. Parker
:30.0 SA - B. Bowen defensive rebound
:32.0 ATL - J. Johnson misses a 20-foot jumper from the left wing
:39.0 ATL - J. Childress defensive rebound
:41.0 SA - B. Bowen misses a 25-foot three-pointer from the left corner

Spurs lead 71-69.
4th quarter next!

Lucky for us the playoff teams are pretty good.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Tek_XX

Lucky for us the playoff teams are pretty good.

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:lol

Well.

If we do not have a 10 point lead with 5 mins left. I'll start to worry.

Lucky too that there are no back-to-backs in the playoffs

Barry hits a huge 3

Fouls, Fouls, Fouls!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Wow Tony's been stripped many times tonight.

SPURS gonna dick around and blow this one......

woah ifwe lose this one we will be the laugh at of the whole league for tonight...damn!!!

8:56 SA - Full timeout (Timeout #4)
9:06 ATL - J. Childress makes a 21-foot jumper from the left wing. Assist: Z. Pachulia
9:18 ATL - J. Childress defensive rebound
9:18 SA - M. Ginobili misses a 10-foot jumper in the lane
9:41 ATL - Slam dunk by J. Childress. Assist: A. Harrington
9:45 ATL - T. Lue steals the ball from T. Parker
9:57 ATL - Z. Pachulia hits the second free throw
9:57 ATL - Z. Pachulia hits the first free throw
9:57 SA - Shooting foul on N. Mohammed
10:15 SA - Bad pass by M. Ginobili

Hawks lead 77-74.

This is just sad.

Still enough time but enough with the turnovers and fouls.