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The trick for the Spurs is not to get too high after such wins and not too low after losses... Just chug along and stay healthy.
Thanks to a Roger Mason, Jr.'s buzzer beating three-pointer, the Christmas cheer in San Antonio was just a little bit more palpable. In Phoenix, not so much.
Down by two points with 4.3 seconds remaining, Tony Parker drove down the lane and found Mason open in the corner. In one motion, Mason caught the ball, elevated, shot and broke the hearts of thousands of Phoenicians. When the ball dropped through the net, the two-point deficit had turned into a 91-90 victory for San Antonio.
As for the Suns, they must be getting tired of losing to the Spurs. They got good games from Shaquille O’Neal and Amare Stoudemire but that big dynamic duo wasn’t enough. Jason Richardson made his Suns debut against the Spurs and while he was decent enough offensively, it was his defensive faux pas that allowed Mason a look at the wide open three-pointer to win the game.
This was definitely a big win for San Antonio. The Suns had four days off to prepare for this showdown, while the Spurs were playing their sixth game in nine days. The Spurs also battled back from an 11-0 deficit to start the game and an eight-point fourth quarter hole. Now riding a four-game winning streak, the confidence of the team has to be at a new high.
Tim Duncan
41 minutes, 25 points, 17 rebounds, three assists, two steals
12-for-25 from the field, 1-for-4 at the line
Tim Duncan started off slowly. He missed his first four shots from the field and wasn’t much of a deterrent on the defensive end. But as the game wore on, Duncan became more and more effective. By the fourth quarter, he was an absolute monster – especially on the defensive end. He was almost single-handedly coming up with stops despite playing with foul trouble. On offense, he eventually found his rhythm and helped carry the load. Rebounding-wise, he fought O’Neal and Stoudemire and finished with a game-high 17 boards. It was simply a vintage performance by Duncan and even more evidence of the dominating force he can be in any given game.
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Manu Ginobili
27 minutes, 11 points, four rebounds, four assists, two steals
4-for-14 from the field, 1-for-6 on three-pointers, 3-for-4 at the line
Manu Ginobili had his moments but he doesn’t appear anywhere near his top form. He seems to be struggling physically and it is affecting him in various areas – even on standstill jumpers. The good news is that he only had one turnover and had a number of moments where he looked like the real Manu Ginobili. However, his stats over the last five games illustrate how he’s still trying to regain his old form. In that time span, Ginobili is averaging 10.4 points per game while shooting 36% from the floor, 33.3% from three-point land and 71.4% from the free throw line.
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Tony Parker
35 minutes, 27 points, eight assists, three rebounds, four steals
10-for-23 from the field, 1-for-2 on three-pointers, 6-for-7 at the line
Tony Parker had a few bonehead miscues, missed a few makeable shots and didn’t always make the best decision. That said, the Spurs would have been in a world of hurt without him. He did a great job of staying aggressive and keeping the opposing defense on their heels. When the offense dried up, Parker willed it to start producing again. Not only did he finish with 27 points and eight assists, he did so while only turning the ball over one time. On the defensive end, Parker had one of his best outings of the season. He limited Steve Nash and also swiped a season-high four steals.
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Michael Finley
36 minutes, 12 points, four rebounds
5-for-10 from the field, 2-for-3 on three-pointers
Michael Finley had a decent overall game. His shot selection was adequate, while his defense was average. Finley drove to the basket a few times and helped create shots for himself and others, which isn’t something Finley does too often these days. He also knocked down a couple shots in the fourth quarter – and that was good to see because he’s been struggling to hit shots in the final stanza as of late.
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Roger Mason, Jr.
27 minutes, seven points, four rebounds
3-for-7 from the field, 1-for-2 on three-pointers
The only thing that will be remembered about Roger Mason, Jr. on Christmas of 2008 is the game-winning three-pointer he sank as the buzzer was sounding. Not only was it obviously a clutch shot, it was made more difficult by the fact that he was sitting on the bench for the previous quarter and a half. The last shot he connected on prior to the game-winner was at the beginning of the second quarter. Outside of the last shot, Mason was quiet. He wasn’t getting many open looks, however he did a good job on the boards and gave good effort on defense.
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Matt Bonner
25 minutes, five points, four rebounds
2-for-5 from the field, 1-for-3 on three-pointers
I wasn’t too thrilled with how Matt Bonner played. Rebounding is currently his biggest problem. When he first got into the starting lineup, he was rebounding really well. Over the last few weeks, his rebounding numbers have plummeted. His lack of rebounding was made obvious against O’Neal and Stoudemire and it often left Duncan fighting two against one. Defensively, Bonner was decent but not nearly as good as we’ve seen out of him. Offensively he helped spread the floor but he wasn’t always running hard and he didn’t come up with a single offensive rebound. Basically, Bonner is playing as if he’s fatigued – which could be the case due to all the recent games.
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Kurt Thomas
27 minutes, two points, six rebound, two assists
1-for-3 from the field
Kurt Thomas was a lifesaver against the Suns. With Bonner getting pushed around, Thomas did a good job of playing physical post defense and holding his ground on the boards. He teamed with Duncan to solidify the front line and keep the Suns from dominating in the paint. He was quiet offensively but the threat of his outside jumper helped keep the opposing bigman out of the paint. Since he arrived in San Antonio, the Suns have been the team that Thomas is most helpful against.
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George Hill
13 minutes, two points, one assist
1-for-4 from the field
George Hill had another uneventful night. He had one nice penetration down the lane for a layup but other than that, he didn’t make much noise offensively. On defense, he played hard but he had a few defensive mistakes that had Pop fuming. All in all, Hill is trying to find his niche in limited minutes behind Parker. Recently, it’s been a struggle for him.
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Bruce Bowen
11 minutes, one rebound, one steal
Bruce Bowen didn’t play many minutes and didn’t even attempt a shot but he had a few key defensive plays in the fourth quarter. That said, throughout the game his defense wasn’t as crisp as usual. It’s interesting that Phoenix’s game plan against the Spurs is to keep a defender on Bowen at all times. They simply do not give him any open looks. In his last seven games against the Suns, he has only 13 shot attempts over a span of 141 minutes.
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Gregg Popovich
I like the job Pop did against the Suns. When the Spurs got down early, he made sure the Spurs didn’t panic. Instead, he kept the rotation and playcalling the same as if it were a close game. He made smart moves by giving Thomas more minutes and I’m glad he put the ball in Parker’s hands at the end of the game. Parker was having the most success creating shots and thankfully he did so one final time. Oh and yeah, putting Mason back into the game at the end turned out alright.
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Offense
The offense wasn’t exactly humming – especially in the 39-point first half. Missed open shots plagued the team earlier on, especially shots from beyond the arc. For the game, the Spurs finished at 41.8% from the field and made 6-of-17 from three-point territory despite missing their first six attempts from deep. To go along with 19 assists, San Antonio also turned the ball over only six times. The Spurs didn’t help themselves much by getting to the line just 14 times and hitting only nine of them.
Defense
Though the defensive stats don’t jump off the page, the defense for the Spurs was actually quite good – especially in the fourth quarter. Holding the Suns to 14 points in the fourth and 90 points for the game has to be deemed a success, especially considering that the Suns averaged 113.1 points per game in their previous seven contests. On the night, the Suns shot 45.3% from the field, outrebounded the Spurs 50-43 and got to the line 27 times (although a good chunk of those attempts were via Hack-a-Shaq). Perhaps the three most encouraging stats for the Spurs were their nine steals, the 3-for-11 Phoenix shot from three-point range and the fact that they were able to hold the Suns to only six fast break points.
Drive to Five
At 19-10 and with six of their next eight games at home, the Spurs are in a good position to make a move up the standings. The schedule will get much tougher after this stretch so it’s imperative that the Spurs take advantage of the upcoming games. That starts Saturday night in the AT&T Center against the Memphis Grizzlies.
Believe.
The trick for the Spurs is not to get too high after such wins and not too low after losses... Just chug along and stay healthy.
Thanks for the thoughts, that's great dedication to do this in the middle of the festivities.
This was a fun game like almost always against the Suns.
The difficulty against the good teams recently seems to be 4th quarter execution which is a bit odd considering that the Spurs are a veteran team. A big part of this is that Manu is really struggling lately with his shot and his playmaking ability. Sure hope that it is temporary.
On the other hand, K. Thomas is way better than at the beginning of the season which is a great sign since I am not sure the Spurs will be able to add any big men before the trade deadline.
Is it me of does Duncan look like hes in the best shape in years? Probably since 2003 or earlier.
He looks thinner, looks like he has more stamina and more limber.
I still am kinda sketchy on playing him 36+ minutes on games. I would feel more comfortable if he averaged around 33 minutes a game this season.
I know we have been banged up so far but i still would periodically rest Timmy.
i completely agree on Matt's rebounding. He's useful if he shoot the 3's AND rebound. take away one of those two things, and it really hurts his contribution to the team. and Shaq and Stoudemire were a good test for him. and he failed.
we'll see if he can keep his past good level.......
When TP has a 27/8 game despite "a few bonehead miscues, missed a few makeable shots and didn’t always make the best decision." you know he has reached the next level
He has glimpses of the old Manu so I'm hopeful. However, it's not the greatest sign that his health seems to be going backwards over the last week
He does look to be in very good shape. He can play 40 minutes and be strongest at the end of the game. When everyone else is fatigued, Duncan is usually the one looking the freshest.
Pretty amazing ..... and hopefully it remains the same into the playoffs.
Yeah with Bonner I think rebounding is the most important aspect of his game. He can even miss three-pointers but as long as he's rebounding, he's useful.
Pretty true. He's playing at a high level if we can find mistakes in a 27, 8 and 4 game with one turnover.
Any idea why Tim's FTs have been so atrocious lately?
We got the win but there's still some concerns coming out of the game...
1. Manu's continued health struggles
2. Tony's loss of composure down the stretch (the technical was boneheaded and stupid).
he made some mistakes. but he scored the last 7 points of the team before the last play where he had a key role with being allowed by pop to make the decision and ended with an assist, that in a season where he has never been so clutch (cf buzzer beater against minnesota, .....) and you're worried of tony's loss of composure down the stretch ?? he's a killer and cold blooded right now down the stretch, like it or not.
I can't believe most members here slammed me for bringing that up after the game
Well, I'm giving him a pass on the two lousy misses that bracketed the technical.
Look, I'm thankful for the points he scored preceding that. I would have been for any Spur. But in that situation there is no excuse for any of the Spurs vets to get a technical in such a close game.
I'd be calling out Tim, Manu, Finley, Bowen, etc. just the same. It was stupid and he's lucky it didn't cost us the game.
What is often said is that it takes as much time to be truly at 100% than the time you were out.
For Manu, it means we can expect he will be back at 100% just after the ASG. I will wait a couple of months before being really worry about Manu's recovery.
I'm thrilled with the win. Duncan was incredible down the stretch, Mason's shot was a leap-off-the-chair-screaming moment. Mason fits this team perfectly, I'm so glad we have him.
I saw us as the underdog going into this game. The fatigue of our schedule vs. the Suns rested, it was an early, national TV game, a combination that can spell loss for us, Shaq and Amare beating up Duncan all day...And in those first long minutes it looked like it was going to be ugly.
But we had a couple of things going for us. It was the Suns after all, and no one has their number, or is in their heads, quite like the Spurs. And they may have Shaq and Amare, but we have a healthy Duncan. We have a team that doesn't give up, that keeps grinding away. The Championship blood shows in tight moments, and the trust in each other pays off.
There are always things that could have been done better or differently, hindsight is 20/20. But I'm really thrilled with this win. It was a big game, Duncan and Pop's reactions at the end said as much. There's plenty of positives to ride going forward, and plently of negatives for Pop to use as he continues to shape this team for the Playoff run.
I'm always glad I'm a Spurs fan, I love this team win or lose. But some days the glow they bring me is bigger than others. This game was one of those.
Yeah ignore the fact stoudamire hit him in the head on one of those misses.
if you're only talking about the technical, it wasn't a smart thing from him at this moment. no doubt about it. even if we'd have to know what he said to the refs to know if it was deserved
and i think tony agrees:
http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/s...Suns_play.htmlNo appeal: It was a good day and a bad day for Parker on the technical-foul front.
First, he heard from league officials that the technical foul he had been assessed in Monday's victory over Toronto, and the $1,000 fine that went with it, had been rescinded.
Then, he was called for a technical foul with 1:01 remaining, and the score tied, in Thursday's game.
Parker was angry that Steve Nash wasn't called for fouling him as he launched a “teardrop” floater near the basket.
“Steve was riding me,” he said. “I don't shoot air-ball teardrops, so I was kind of ticked off. But that's emotions, and I should know better. Even if it's a foul like that, at the end of the game the referees rarely are going to call the foul, so you have to play physical.
“It's a tough game. I've been here eight years, and I know I should not do something that could cost my team.”
This time, it didn't cost the Spurs, but it will cost Parker $1,000, and he won't appeal.
Agree 100%
When the game was over I thought TP played fine, nothing great but a good game.
Kori then wrote in the game blog he finished with 27pts and 8asts and I thought no way and went to see the box score
And there was 27 and 8. TP is the 2nd best PG in the league only behind Paul
27 and 8
eh, I'll give him a pass.
Its starting to become more apparent.
Stupid game ....only good hing about it was Mason's three.
Stupid fan..and nothing about those are good.
You have your pinion of the game I have mine... I didn't like it.... now, if calling me stupid makes you feel better...
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