Funny how Bowen and Finley combine for 11-for-15 shooting including 5-for-5 from the arc when they get moved to the bench.
Mason handled the ball well and made some shots, Finley finally woke up this season and woke up in 2000, Bowen arose in 2004, KT and Tolliver were a force defensively and on the boards. It might not work every game, or even very often, but for this night that lineup was money.
The difference between Bonner and Tolliver. Bonner hustles. Tolliver hustles and makes plays. If he can stop rushing his shots and get in a groove he'll become the true anti-Bonner.
Funny how Bowen and Finley combine for 11-for-15 shooting including 5-for-5 from the arc when they get moved to the bench.
Bonner comes in and the first thing the Knicks do is score on him![]()
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The Spurs also opened the 4th holding knicks with-out a FG for over 5mins.The Spurs opened the fourth quarter with a 8-0 run that included baskets from Kurt Thomas, Anthony Tolliver, Michael Finley and Roger Mason Jr. They have their biggest lead of the game at 75-64 with 9:20 left in the game. The Spurs made the run with Mason at point guard and Tim Duncan on the bench.
Spurs D showed up tonight. lets hope they keep it up. Gutsy Win!
I am not sure if we tried to use it on him, and if we didn't, I am a bit disappointed.......but, I was kind of hoping we would try and use the Beno exemption to get Chandler from the Knicks. He has a nice little jump shot and is a hustle player.
Of course, we don't really have room for him now, but he would have been yet another scrappy youngin to add to the roster.
except Finley it was the same line-up who made a run in the 4Q vs the Heat , cut the lead from 24 to 9, and almost made it but fell shortThe Spurs opened the fourth quarter with a 8-0 run that included baskets from Kurt Thomas, Anthony Tolliver, Michael Finley and Roger Mason Jr.
The Spurs played awesome D tonight. Other than a handful of open looks for Crawford, they did a great job of contesting shots, playing the passing lanes, help defense, and rebounding.
The Heat played horrible D on Friday. Almost all of the Spurs jumpers were wide open. They just couldn't get them to fall.
When you play defense, a late run will extend the lead from 1 to 10 instead of cutting the deficit from 20 to 11. It also keeps you in the game until those shots start falling. The Spurs didn't shoot any better in the first half of this game than they did against Miami.
actually they cut the lead down to 7.
so good to get home, check the scores and see that the Spurs won. sounds like Hill did a pretty nice job. good to hear that bowen, finley and thomas are showing signs of life (shaking off the rust?). duncan a monster once again.
and mason, well, what can you say except that he seems to be a gift from the basketball gods?
they did? maybe I missed that one. thanks!actually they cut the lead down to 7.
okay!When you play defense, a late run will extend the lead from 1 to 10 instead of cutting the deficit from 20 to 11. It also keeps you in the game until those shots start falling. The Spurs didn't shoot any better in the first half of this game than they did against Miami
Spurs break through at home
By Jeff McDonald
Mike D’Antoni walked into the AT&T Center for the first time as coach of the New York Knicks on Tuesday morning, and the memories came flooding back.
“Right there,” D’Antoni said, pointing to a spot on the arena floor. “That’s the scene of the disaster.”
Let the record show he was referring to Robert Horry’s infamous hip check of Steve Nash in the 2007 playoffs, back when D’Antoni was coaching the Phoenix Suns. He was not referring to the injury-plagued mess that had become of the Spurs’ November.
For one night, at least, the Spurs were able to remove the caution tape from around their home court. With injured stars Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili in street clothes — and with their team’s best hope for victory supposedly resting with them — the Spurs dug deep to beat the mercurial Knicks 92-80.
Tim Duncan scored 23 points while a pair of former starters — Michael Finley and Bruce Bowen — combined for 27 off the bench, as the Spurs won at home for the first time this season.
The Spurs (2-4) came in reeling from their worst five-game start in 12 seasons and facing up to four more weeks without their high-scoring guards.
They responded as they often have over the past several seasons, winding up their defense and setting it loose on the unsuspecting Knicks.
The Spurs held the Knicks — pinball wizards averaging 102.5 points per game — to their lowest scoring output of the season. New York (4-3) managed to shoot just 38 percent from the floor.
“It was out best defensive game of the year,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said, “and that’s the reason for the win.”
In some ways, Tuesday night was throwback night at the AT&T Center.
Without Parker and Ginobili, the Spurs’ offense looked straight out of 2001: Dump the ball to Duncan and get out the way.
He made 11 of 17 from the field, and dropped in 15 points in the first half.
Finley looked like he was back in Dallas again, finishing with 14 points.
Coming off the bench for the first time in a Spurs’ uniform, Bowen looked like he was back in Miami.
He responded with 13 points and three 3-pointers — including a back-breaker to put the Spurs up 87-75 with 2:50 to play.
Meanwhile, the Spurs’ once-vaunted defense — the foundation of four les in 11 seasons — made its season debut.
Ahead 67-64 entering the third quarter, the Spurs held New York to just 16 points in the fourth.
“We got stops, and that’s San Antonio basketball,” said Roger Mason Jr., whose team had been giving up more than 105 points per game.
Throwback night, however, only went so far.
With his team playing for the first time since Parker sprained his ankle, Popovich trotted out a lineup he couldn’t have just two seasons ago.
George Hill started in place of Parker, the first Spurs’ rookie to do that since Beno Udrih in 2004-05. Alongside him in the backcourt were a first-year Spur (Mason) and second-year Spur (Ime Udoka).
Hill accomplished his most pressing mission.
He looked like an NBA point guard, finishing with 12 points and infusing the Spurs with some much-needed youthful exuberance.
The Spurs didn’t always play better Tuesday than they had in five previous outings. But, often, they played harder.
Snapshots from the fourth quarter bear that out.
It was Anthony Tolliver skidding across the floor for a loose ball.
It was Bowen sliding in to draw a charge on little Nate Robinson.
It was Finley — never paid for his defense — bodying up Quentin Richardson and forcing him into a traveling violation.
By night’s end, even D’Antoni was having flashbacks.
Some of the Spurs’ faces had changed. But the results looked awfully familiar.
“These guys are just tough,” D’Antoni said. “Been tough. Are tough. Will be tough.”
Last edited by duncan228; 11-12-2008 at 02:13 AM.
He's the first Spurs rookie to start since Beno Udrih in 2004-05.![]()
He's the first Spurs draft pick to play more than one game since Beno Udrih in 2004-05.
Well, Mahinmi played 6 games last year, unless you were just counting the year immediately after they were drafted.
Oh yeah. He's been hurt so long I forgot about him again.![]()
No, when Matt Bonner was coming in Tim Duncan was leaving raising his hand to the crowd. So were we chearing for Timmy or for Bonner, you tell me.
It was a joke. I am fully aware that the crowd was cheering for another amazing performance by Tim Duncan. Hence the laughter at the end of my post.![]()
Some people just don't get the laughng face.
For a second there, I thought he could have also referred to the area where Duncan hit the game tying three in game one last season
One would think that one would be fresher in his memory. If he's going to be harping over Horry's foul, he should have pointed to the spot where Diaw and Amare ran onto the floor.
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