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Denver won tonight; clinched the northwest division-where are they seeded how does that impact the Spurs?
Now Spurs' drama begins
Jeff McDonald
OAKLAND, Calif. — They've checked the standings. They've seen the scenarios. They've attempted to do the sort of math that might make an MIT graduate student reach for the Advil.
The Spurs still don't know where they might fall in a Western Conference race still convoluted heading into its final days. All they know is what they can control.
“There are so many what-ifs,” guard Roger Mason Jr. said. “The biggest thing we can do is get wins, and let the chips fall where they may.”
The Spurs accomplished that goal Monday, routing the perpetually short-handed and oft-hapless Warriors 101-72 at Oracle Arena. All it did was serve to keep the middle of the conference standings as log-jammed as ever.
Drew Gooden had 20 points and 15 rebounds off the bench, Tim Duncan had 16 points and 13 rebounds in a 22-minute cameo appearance and Tony Parker added 17 points for the Spurs.
With the victory, the Spurs (53-28) remained in a three-way tie with Portland and Houston — both of whom also won Monday — for the third-through-fifth slots.
In order to claim third place — and the accompanying home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs — the Spurs need a victory in their season finale Wednesday against New Orleans, and a Houston loss at Dallas the same night.
Anything else, and the Spurs could finish as low as fifth.
The Spurs are aware of all this, at least on some level. They came out Monday like a team with something to play for.
If Michael Finley wasn't sliding across the floor for a loose ball, Duncan was out-hustling a thicket of Warriors for an offensive rebound. Couple that with a collection of Golden State players who seemed like they'd rather be across the parking lot watching the A's and Red Sox, and the result was the Spurs' most decisive victory of the season.
Spurs coach Gregg Popovich saved Duncan for this game, choosing to rest his sore-kneed superstar a night earlier in a controversial 95-92 win at Sacramento.
“It's a day-to-day kind of thing,” Popovich said of Duncan's health. “He definitely needs to stay away from back-to-backs. He often times says he's fine, but he's not whole yet.”
In retrospect, Duncan might as well have taken Monday off as well. He just wasn't that necessary.
Mason, Parker, Duncan and Gooden all had scored in double figures by halftime, lifting the Spurs to a 57-38 lead. Gooden had already posted his double-double, piling 10 rebounds next to his 11 points.
In large part, the Spurs blew open the game in the second quarter — a stretch that had been their Achilles' heel at times this season. They outscored Golden State 28-14 in the frame to start the rout.
Mason closed the first quarter with a shot that had to make the Kings chuckle all the way from Denver. He launched a 29-foot prayer at the buzzer, banking it in just as time expired.
Steve Javie and his crew of officials gathered around a review monitor for the duration of the quarter break to ensure Mason got the shot off.
A night earlier at Sacramento, officials could not review Finley's game-winning 3-pointer with 1.3 seconds to go to see if it had beaten the shot clock. The NBA admitted, a day later, that it had not.
The Spurs' second victory of their final regular-season road trip did not come with nearly as much controversy or drama.
Still tied for third in the conference, but maybe destined for fifth, they return to San Antonio today to sort out the mess.
Denver won tonight; clinched the northwest division-where are they seeded how does that impact the Spurs?
i think dallas will be more motivated against the rockets. no way in they want to face the lakers first for a guaranteed first round exit. spurs just need to focus on their game against NO.
Dallas wants that win as . And there are possibility they can get Portland 3-0 for Dallas this season. Houston would best for us in the first round.
MIT student reaching for Advil...
CIA POP
When I saw this headline in the morning I thought TP or TD were injuryNow Spurs' drama begins
Is it just me or this article is a rehash of a bunch of previous articles?
How long it's been since Pop said Duncan was day to day?
Thanks for nothing Jeff!!!
It ensured that the Spurs could not be the second seed. Other than that, it means that we will be facing Portland potentially instead of the Nuggets in the first round.
Yeah, Dallas has a good shot against Houston and they do have a lot riding on it. Unfortunately, the Hornets might have a great deal riding on their game as well, if the Jazz win. LA just might rest their starters against the Jazz since they have nothing to play for.
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