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manu gets the headline
even though mason 3 was the game winner
Steal seals Spurs’ biggest win
Jeff McDonald
BOSTON – For nearly 48 minutes, the previous two NBA champions played to a near-draw Sunday afternoon, a back-and-forth game of punch-and-counterpunch, big shots and big stands.
When it came time for the Spurs to lock down their biggest victory of the season, a trilling 105-99 triumph over the reigning Celtics at TD Banknorth Garden, they did so by virtue of some sleight of hand.
Or, a slippery hand.
The Spurs had just pulled ahead by two on a pull-up 3-pointer from Roger Mason Jr. with 20.4 seconds to go. Ray Allen was inbounding for the Celtics at midcourt.
The ball slipped from Allen’s hand into Manu Ginobili’s, and Paul Pierce grabbed Ginobili, resulting in a break-away foul.
Ginobili wound up with four foul shots on the possession to ice the victory, which improved the Spurs to 34-15.
“We took the challenge,” said Tim Duncan, who paced the Spurs with 23 points and 13 rebounds. “It was a great win for us. Something to build on.”
The Spurs, who beat the Celtics for the first time since acquiring Allen and Kevin Garnett during the summer of 2007, also got a big day out of Matt Bonner.
Playing an hour from his hometown of Concord, N.H., and with quite a personal cheering section in the stands, Bonner pumped in a season-high 23, including 14 in the second quarter.
Garnett had 26 points and 12 rebounds to lead the Celtics, who have now dropped two of their last three, both of them at home. Paul Pierce added 19 points for Boston and Rajon Rando had 16 assists.
The Celtics, 42-11 overall, dropped to 24-4 at home this season, with all four defeats coming against the Western Conference.
Garnett appeared to have pulled Boston into a position to win with back-to-back jumpers late in the fourth quarter, the second of which gave his team a 93-90 lead with 1:36 to play.
Bonner made a pull-up jumper to get the Spurs within one, and after an Allen miss on the other end, Mason hit a leaning 3-pointer to put them on top for good.
It was the fourth game-winner Mason has buried for the Spurs the season, joining a clutch-shooting master tape that included daggers against Phoenix, the L.A. Lakers and the L.A. Clippers.
“It’s like the playoffs,” Pierce said. “One play can kill you.”
Mason’s latest winner was the biggest offensive play of the day for the Spurs. Moments after it, Ginobili made the biggest defensive play.
Allen pumped. The ball came lose, and appeared in Ginobili’s arms.
“We were waiting to see where the ball was going,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. “Then you look back, and realize he stole it.”
At about the time the ball slipped away from the Celtics, so did the game.
manu gets the headline
even though mason 3 was the game winner
Mason and Manu contributed great plays--but the honors for the game have to go to Bonner. When you can effectively play one of the best players ever to almost even (26-23) that makes a of a difference in the final score.
whoever was guarding Pierce on that inbounds was the real star. Who was it?
Bowen.
manu often seems to find a way to make a thing happen in the last minutes. sometimes a bad thing, very often a good thing.
but this steal was mainly due to a stupid mistake from Allen.
lol @ the haters hahahaha this is so funny haha
and great defense by bruce and manu
Grow a pair, nobody gives a what McDonald has to say anyway.
Last edited by DAF86; 02-08-2009 at 09:03 PM.
Yeah, that's when Ray Allen melted is when Bowen checked in on that play for defensive purposes.
the team won, but props to:
1. Bonner, I did not recognize that man.
2. Mason, this guy has ice instead of blood.
4. Manu's steal was sweet.
5. TD, well a usual game, right.
6. Hill, great corageous boy.
Honorable mention to everyone else.
Bowen, great job!
Bowen will be very important when we go up against Kobe in the Western Finals and Lebron in the NBA Finals.
Mason=clutch. He wanted that shot, as in he wasn't going to pass once he got the ball in his hands. Also, he was ice cold all afternoon...until the waning seconds of the game.
Mason's clutch three-pointer does in Celtics in final minute
By Robert Lee
BOSTON -- The NBA caught some criticism for putting Roger Mason Jr. in the 3-point contest during the All-Star Weekend festivities, but Mason showed just how good he is at hitting clutch 3-pointers yesterday afternoon in front of a sellout crowd at the TD Banknorth Garden.
With the San Antonio Spurs (34-15) trailing the Celtics, 93-92, Mason buried a 3-pointer from the top of the circle with 20.4 seconds left, putting the Spurs on top, 95-93.
The Celtics (42-11) did not recover from Mason’s huge shot. They lost, 105-99, in what could be a preview of this year's NBA Finals.
“I hope so. I hope that’s the case. That’s what you’re playing for,” said San Antonio All-Star forward Tim Duncan, who finished with 23 points and 10 rebounds. “There are a lot of games until then, but to come in here, knowing how good they are at home, it was a great win for us.”
The loss was just Boston’s fourth of the season at the Garden (24-4).
“It was a beautiful win for us against the NBA champion, and on the road makes it sweeter, so obviously we are thrilled with it,” San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich said.
The Spurs used the game as a measuring stick.
“It is always big when you are on the road, playing against a great team, it’s always a huge test for yourself…,” San Antonio guard Manu Ginobili said. “So far the Celtics, Lakers, and Cavaliers have been the best teams by far this season, so coming here on the road…this is really going to help us.”
Mason’s 3-pointer was the turning point of the fourth quarter. Boston had overcome a 90-87 deficit with 3:52 remaining after a Duncan three-point play with a 6-2 surge before Mason’s 3-pointer took the life out of the Celtics.
“Roger Mason’s three in transition was huge for them,” said Boston captain Paul Pierce, who recorded 19 points and eight rebounds.
“That was more troubling to me than anything,” Boston coach Doc Rivers said of Mason’s 3-pointer.
As big as Mason’s 3-pointer was, Ginobili (19 points) came up with an even bigger steal on a Ray Allen (18 points) in-bounds pass on the Celtics ensuing possession.
“I probably should have pump-faked him,” Allen said. “I was so anxious to get Paul the ball that I turned it over.”
Pierce was forced to foul Ginobili to prevent a breakaway layup, but a clear-path-to-the-basket foul was called, giving Ginobili two free throws and then the Spurs the ball afterwards.
“I think Ray kind of hesitated and the ball slipped out of his hands and it just put us in a position where we had to foul, and I thought I fouled [Ginobili] when I was in front of him,” Pierce said. “That was a crucial play. My foul really hurt us. It gave them two shots and the ball and those are the breaks of the game.”
“Give Ginobili credit, he made a nice play on the ball,” Rivers said.
Ginobili sank both free throws, and the Celtics fouled Ginobili on the ensuing in-bounds pass with 19.0 seconds left. Ginobili knocked down those free throws as well, giving the Spurs a 99-93 lead. The Celtics called a timeout and drew up a play for Pierce to shoot a three, but his shot missed its mark, and the Celtics fouled Mason (11 points), who iced the game with two free throws with 14.9 seconds left.
The Celtics had two big lapses in the game, which probably cost them, Rivers said. The first came in the second quarter, when they allowed San Antonio to score 38 points on 66.8 percent shooting.
Much of that was because the Spurs ran an excellent two-man game with Tony Parker (7 points, 7 assists) and Concord, N.H., native Matt Bonner running the pick-and-roll to perfection. Garnett helped Rajon Rondo (6 points, 16 assists) guard Parker after Bonner’s picks, leaving Bonner open at the perimeter. He knocked down numerous outside shots, scored 14 points in the second quarter, and finished with 23 points and eight rebounds.
“He played exceptionally well,” Garnett said of Bonner. “He shot the ball really well tonight. Knowing this is on all of us as a team, individually I gotta step up a little better and play better defense.”
“It means a lot,” Bonner said of playing well in the Garden. “At the end of the game when we had kind of wrapped it up and I was on the bench and they were fouling, I was starting to get goosebumps. It’s just such a great feeling. I didn’t get to play the last two times we were here, so just to be able to go out and play minutes, knock down shots and help our team with a big win, that means the world to me.”
After outscoring the Spurs, 24-14, in the third quarter to take a 76-64 lead into the fourth, the Celtics began the final session with four bench players and Pierce. Rivers said that was the other crucial point of the game because the Spurs began the quarter with a 9-2 surge to regain the lead against a stagnant Celtics offense.
“I just thought where we lost the game, there was a stretch offensively, not defensively, there was a stretch of six minutes where the ball never moved,” Rivers said, referring to the start of the fourth quarter. “Whoever had it, shot it.”
The shots didn’t fall, the Spurs went on a run, and the Celtics eventually lost the game in the final minute.
“It was a good win for us,” Duncan said. “Really good win for us, so I think it was great, the way we reacted to their run in the third quarter. We kind of kept our composure and kind of fought back into it and made it a game the whole way through, and in that respect it was great for us.”
The Celtics said that they will need to refocus with a six-game road trip coming up, and even though they lost two of their last three games, their goal are still the same – to win their second consecutive NBA le.
You get a 10 for consistancy . . .
. . . at hating Manu
I was at the game and...
1. I had no faith in that Mason 3-pointer until it went in -- just couldn't believe it.
2. The Manu steal happened so fast, I didn't even realize what happened. Everyone around me had a WTF?!? expression on their face.
Great game.
Someone already uploaded the game highlights on youtube:
Little things hurt Celtics
By Marc J. Spears
Paul Pierce believes the difference between winning and losing against elite teams is "the little things." Such was the case during the last two home games as the little things caught up to the Celtics against the Lakers Thursday and today against the Spurs.
Despite holding a 3-point lead with 1:02 left, the Celtics ended up losing, 105-99, to San Antonio at TD Banknorth Garden. Following 12 straight wins, defending champion Boston (42-11) has dropped two straight home games against the teams that reached last season's Western Conference finals. All four of the Celtics' home losses this season have come against the West.
"When you play the top teams in the league it comes down to the little things," said Pierce, who had 19 points and eight rebounds. "I just thought the last couple of games at home it was 1- or 2-point games. Defensive transition late in the game, covering for one another [defensively], one possession [situations], it's like the playoffs ...
"One play can kill you. Every possession counts, and we've got to understand that when we play against the top-tier teams like the Spurs and the Lakers."
The little things really began affecting the Celtics after the game was tied at 87 in the fourth quarter.
Spurs forward Tim Duncan (23 points, 13 rebounds) had a 3-point play off an offensive rebound with 3:52 left that pushed Boston behind, 90-87. The Celtics responded with a 6-0 run capped by a pair of Kevin Garnett jumpers to take a 93-90 lead with 1:36 remaining.
"The big play was Tim Duncan's big offensive rebound and a foul for [a 3-point play]," said Celtics guard Rajon Rondo, who had 6 points on 3-of-11 shooting, 16 assists, and 1 turnover in 38 minutes.
Following a Garnett missed jumper, Matt Bonner nailed a jumper to trim San Antonio's deficit to 93-92 with 45.1 seconds remaining. Garnett missed another jumper with 28 seconds left on the following possession that was rebounded by San Antonio.
Spurs coach Gregg Popovich elected not to call a timeout. After Duncan set a solid screen on Ray Allen, Spurs guard Roger Mason Jr., nailed a wide-open 3-pointer with 20.4 seconds left to push San Antonio ahead, 95-93.
"I was more concerned really about giving up the 3-point shot," Celtics coach Doc Rivers said. "That was more troubling to me than anything."
Popovich credited the Celtics as the reason he didn't call time.
"That's why we didn't call a timeout at the end because they are such a great defensive team," he said. "To have them set their halfcourt defense is probably not the best thing for an offense. We thought if we had everybody in movement we might have a better chance to make a shot and Roger did it."
The Celtics called timeout after Mason's trey and tried to inbound in front of San Antonio's bench. Allen said he had complained to referee Ron Garretson before the play about Manu Ginobili potentially reaching over the in line. With Pierce double-teamed, Allen appeared to lose the ball instead of making a strong pass to Pierce and Ginobili snatched it.
Allen claimed Ginobili illegally reached over on the play. Ginobili begged to differ. Rivers also mentioned that they had a timeout to use as well and he didn't think Ginobili reached over.
"When Paul came up, [Ginobili] kind of came close," said Allen (18 points). "I probably should have pump-faked. I was so anxious to give Paul the ball and I turned it over."
The Celtics were outscored, 13-6, during the final 45.1 seconds. In fact, Boston was scoreless during that stretch until the final 9.8 seconds when Eddie House and Kevin Garnett nailed desperation treys.
"We just didn't execute well down the stretch," Rondo said. "It seemed like the last minute of the game we got away from moving the ball and a lot of ball movement."
Popovich was ecstatic with the victory.
"It was a beautiful win for us against the NBA champion, and on the road makes it sweeter so obviously we are thrilled with it," he said.
The game had 12 lead changes and 11 ties. The Spurs led, 60-52, at halftime after scoring 38 points in the second quarter. Boston outscored the visitors, 24-14, in the third quarter to take a 76-74 lead. But San Antonio was hottest when it meant the most, dominating the fourth quarter, 31-23.
"Really good win for us," Duncan said. "It was great the way we reacted to their run in the third quarter, kind of kept our composure and kind of fought back into it and made it a game the whole way through, and in that respect it was great for us."
After a 19-game winning streak ended Christmas Day against the Lakers, the Celtics lost seven of nine through Jan. 9. Despite the recent home skid, Boston is confident that a losing streak isn't on the horizon.
"I don't think as a team we've hit a panic button or nothing like that, but it just shows that we definitely have some room for improvement," said Garnett, who had 26 points and 12 rebounds.
Rivers wasn't completely upset.
"We had the right mind-set," said the coach. "We wanted to play [today]. We just didn't play well."
you just can't help yourself, can you?
mason made the clutch shot
manu made a steal late
typical spurs media they just think manu is the only player that should make headlines
Roger hit the go-ahead BIG $HOT backbreaker, but Manu's hustle, steal, and FTs were the dagger.
Both were needed.
Props to Bonner for keeping the Spurs alive in the first half.
Mason is still clutch and that will be a huge confidence builder.
Manu was awesome in getting attention and played great defense.
Great win by the Spurs!
Updated.
Mason’s three, Ginobili’s steal seal lightning rally in Boston
Jeff McDonald
BOSTON — Gregg Popovich said he didn’t see the play that ultimately sealed the Spurs’ biggest victory of the season Sunday afternoon.
Nor did Tim Duncan or Roger Mason Jr. Nor, really, did Manu Ginobili — and he was the man that made it.
In the aftermath of the Spurs’ 105-99 sucker punch of the Boston Celtics at TD Banknorth Garden, all anyone seemed to know about the game’s most critical moment was this: One second the ball was in Ray Allen’s hands. The next moment, it was in Ginobili’s.
And the defending champions were toast.
“I guess when they saw me running with the ball,” Ginobili said, “everybody was surprised.”
Surprised? Allen couldn’t have been more surprised than if someone had just told him he’d been traded to Sacramento.
With the Spurs up two and 19 seconds to go, Allen was trying to inbound the ball near midcourt. Somehow — nobody knows for sure — Ginobili ended up with it.
Paul Pierce then instinctively grabbed Ginobili, drawing a clear-path foul that resulted in four free throws for Ginobili, and an inextinguishable six-point lead for the Spurs.
It was, perhaps, the greatest play nobody ever saw.
“We were all shocked,” Popovich said. “You’re looking to see where the ball’s going, and then you realize he stole it.”
The Spurs, who have won nine of the last 11, weren’t about to apologize for the way they swiped Sunday’s game.
The victory snapped the Spurs’ three-game losing streak against the Celtics, and was their first over Boston since Allen and Kevin Garnett arrived in the summer of 2007.
“We took the challenge,” said Duncan, who had 23 points and 13 rebounds. “It was a great win for us, and gives us something to build on.”
For almost 48 minutes, the last two NBA champions played to a near-draw in a matinee thriller, producing a back-and-forth game full of big shots, big stands, and stars — both expected and rare.
Among the rare: Matt Bonner.
Playing an hour from his hometown of Concord, N.H., he dumped in a season-high 23 points for the Spurs (34-15), notching 14 of them during a torrid second quarter.
Among the expected: Mason.
He had just 11 points, but none bigger than his leaning 3-pointer with 20.4 seconds to go that put the Spurs on top by two. It was his fourth game-winner of the season.
Until then, the Spurs did good work just to be able to have the game come down to that.
Behind by eight at half, the Celtics (42-11) flexed their championship credentials and scored the first 12 points of the third quarter. In the middle of that run, Popovich called a timeout.
“They had the crowd and their team rejuvenated,” Popovich said. “It was a matter of either being persistent and sticking with what we do, or fold.”
The Spurs chose the former.
Garnett, who had 26 points and 12 rebounds, pulled the Celtics into prime position with back-to-back jumpers late in the fourth. The second gave Boston a 93-90 edge with 1:39 left.
Bonner answered with a basket to bring the Spurs within one. After Allen missed, Mason pulled up for an off-balance 3-pointer that put the Spurs ahead again.
“It was like the playoffs,” Pierce said. “One play kills you.”
When it came time for one more Celtics-killing play, they did so by sleight of hand. Or, perhaps, a slippery hand.
Here is what Ginobili thinks he saw on the fateful inbounds play: Allen was trying to get the ball to Pierce. Ginobili moved quickly to block the pass, causing Allen to halt his throwing motion and lose his grip on the ball.
Later, Allen would dispute this version, saying he thought Ginobili had crossed the out-of-bounds line to make the steal.
“When you are in the play, everything happens so fast,” Ginobili said. “So I’m not sure what happened.”
Nobody really was.
All that’s for certain is this: As the ball slipped from Allen’s hands, and into Ginobili’s, so did any chance the Celtics had of winning. The Spurs had toppled the champs, even if nobody quite saw how.
manu!
Gay Allen crying againLater, Allen would dispute this version, saying he thought Ginobili had crossed the out-of-bounds line to make the steal.
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