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Well, at least I get bonus points for reading this one right...
Spurs hit another flat note
Mike Monroe
SALT LAKE CITY — After making 10 of his first 13 shots, scoring a career-high 28 points and dragging the Spurs out of a deep, fourth-quarter hole to within one shot of victory, Matt Bonner had the Spurs poised for a dream ending to their Monday night game against the Utah Jazz at EnergySolutions Arena.
Instead, the Spurs will have a few nightmares about their 104-101 loss, their third straight after Bonner's 14th shot, a running hook from 13 feet out on the right side, went around the rim and back out with just over a second remaining in the Jazz victory.
Bonner was supposed to be a decoy on the play Spurs coach Gregg Popovich drew up during a timeout with 22 seconds left, his team trailing 102-101 following Deron Williams' 18-foot pull-up jumper.
Utah's aggression defending Richard Jefferson's in-bounds pass took away the Spurs' first two options — a pass to Manu Ginobili in the corner or a pass to Tim Duncan at the elbow.
Instead, Jefferson got the ball to Duncan, who got it to Bonner outside the 3-point arc on the left side, 25 feet from the basket.
On this night, that seemed like a good thing for the Spurs, given Bonner's hot hand.
“It wasn't drawn up for him,” Popovich said. “Sometimes, what you draw doesn't happen, and someone else ends up doing something. It wasn't drawn for him, but he did the best job he could under the cir stances.”
Bonner looked momentarily for either Ginobili or Duncan, but neither could get free. Bonner started a drive across the lane and launched his shot as 17,565 in the arena gasped and erupted when the ball spun out and Jazz center Mehmet Okur grabbed it.
“I thought it was in,” Bonner said. “When it left my hand, it felt good. It looked like it was in, and down, and then it popped out.
“I don't know. It was just a tough miss.”
Ginobili said Bonner deserved better on the shot.
“It was a broken play,” Ginobili said. “We couldn't do what we wanted, but Matt made a good play. He just couldn't make that one shot. It would have been an unbelievable night.”
The Spurs came into one of the NBA's most hostile arenas with the requisite sense of urgency to end their two-game skid.
They got 13 points from Duncan in the first 10 minutes and built an early 15-point lead.
The Jazz changed the dynamic of a close game in the third period, outscoring the Spurs 37-19 and threatening to turn the game into a rout. They led by as many as 12 and went into the fourth with a 10-point edge.
“We really had a bad third quarter,” Popovich said, “and I was proud of the way we dug out of it, because we got creamed in the that quarter, badly, and I thought the guys did a good job of hanging in there and getting back in the game and giving themselves a chance to win.”
The Spurs actually erased all of Utah's lead and took one of their own, at 96-94, before Carlos Boozer scored on two wide-open jumpers for which Duncan took personal blame.
“Just too many mistakes, especially on my part, down towards the end there,” he said. “Carlos with two or three baskets down at the end there. And I kind of strung Matty out on that last play, too. A bad decision on my part.”
Monday's loss dropped the Spurs to 9-9.
The last time the Spurs were .500 this late in a season was 2003-04, when they were also 9-9. They dropped one game under-.500 when the Lakers beat them at the AT&T Center.
What followed was a 13-game win streak, the turning point in a 57-win season.
Well, at least I get bonus points for reading this one right...
Was this sentence necessary? I have never read so much Bull in the media like here...
grab your nuts...
its over.
Well, I don't understand why Tim passed it to Bonner. When I saw him set the screen, it seemed like Pop had called that as a last resort. Guess I was wrong.
I wish Tim would have just taken it and won the game.
I missed the game, but it sounds like the Bonner haters will be out in full force!
He actually had a great game other than rimming that final shot. Mixed it up quite a bit.
I agree that Tim should of taken it. Guess he felt like feeding the hot hand. It the Spurs' fault for even getting down to the wire. They should of kept their composure in the 3rd quarter.
I agree that it shouldn't have came down to the end..
We had a double-digit + point lead and looked like the momentum was building up..the 3rd quarter was just horrible..the turnovers piled up..Deron Williams stepped up when it mattered too..
I definitely give Timmy alot of respect for taking the blame a bit. Not necessarily just for dishing the ball of to Bonner last second (which he agrees probably wasn't a great idea), but for getting beat by Boozer a couple of times in a row on defense. It takes alot to own up to your mistakes, even as the captain and heart of the Spurs... I certainly think for this season in particular what doesn't kill us makes us stronger (it's cliche I know, but true), with so many new faces on the team and all.
Duncan didn't have a good game either, he obviously deserves some blame..this was his worst defensive game in over a month..
Obviously it was overshadowed by worse games than his though..
yup. duncan played pretty bad on the defensive end. on the bright side, blair played some great defense when he was given a chance.
I thought Tim was not quick enough tonight. In part, you have to give credit to Utah. They execute well, and Boozer is playing his mind out. But they scored almost half of their points in the paint. That just cannot happen, and it wasn't just on Duncan.
Wouldn't mind that
He seems to be a quick study. Good for him and good for us.
Missed the game. I was attending a birthday dinner on the road in a private residence. I chose to disturb neither my own peace of mind nor the general ambience by seeking to include in the mix a more or less meaningless Spurs/Jazz matchup in the first quarter of the season. Sounds like that turned out to be a good decision.
Spiritless third quarters and inexplicable fourth quarter collapses dogged the Spurs long before Tim Duncan and will for long after.
Rip on the Spurs, rip on the players, rip on Pop all you want, it's a free country and it's part of what sports are all about -- viz., living to -- but it's pretty early to be giving up on the season entirely.
Last edited by Winehole23; 12-08-2009 at 02:05 AM.
We will win the next game just because it is the Kings. The rest of the schedule in December looks like crap anyway, so we will be having a winning record, then we will look like "world beaters" again.Wouldn't mind that
It's kind of saddening. After reeling off 5 straight, I felt like we had developed enough cohesiveness to snare at least Denver and tonight. No such luck. We were right in all 3 games, yeah, but losing still sucks, especially when its against the better teams and due to silly, sloppy Spurs mistakes.
You know what? That was what I thought. Then the Spurs show their true colours by turning it over for a total of 53 times in 3 games against quality teams like a broken record and losing all 3 games due to sloppiness. The Spurs have not beaten any quality top 5 seed teams this season and it is really nerve wrecking.
manu shot would have been an airball
booners atleast went in and out
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