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I don't get the opening sentence.. Did Manu decide to stay awake till game time? Did he go clubbing? I thought vampires sleep during the day.
Spurs' veterans overcome adversity
Jeff McDonald
NEW YORK — Bleary-eyed and travel-weary, Manu Ginobili finally checked into his room at the Spurs' hotel in midtown Manhattan at 4 a.m. Sunday, determined to test the Big Apple's reputation as the city that never sleeps.
A wintry blast had delayed the team's flight from Milwaukee by an hour late Saturday night. An early 6 p.m. tipoff awaited them at Madison Square Garden.
“The game was too early, and we got here too late,” Ginobili said. “We knew we were going to have to play with our heads more than our legs.”
A late arrival at the Four Seasons beats a night spent on the tarmac. This the Spurs know firsthand.
Still, Saturday's travel issues threw just enough adversity into the equation to make the 95-88 victory that the Spurs ground out against the Knicks extra-gratifying.
Tony Parker had 22 points, including a game-sealing 3-point play with 1:06 left, and Ginobili scored 14 of his 17 in the second half as the Spurs swept their two-game, post-Christmas road trip.
It was the Spurs' eighth win in their past 10 games and allowed them to, perhaps, shrug off any foul feelings remaining from the lump of coal they laid against Portland in their last game before Christmas.
“We've been really inconsistent all year,” said Spurs coach Gregg Popovich, whose team had routed Milwaukee 112-97 less than 24 hours earlier. “It was the first time where we played two games in a row where I thought we played 48 minutes. It was the best two games of the season in that regard.”
In his pregame news conference, Popovich bemoaned the scheduling quirk that had his team tipping off in New York less than 15 hours after arriving here.
He made no such mention to his team. His only directive to his players was to “just shut up and play.”
The Spurs (17-11) appeared to have listened, besting a Knicks team that has made a run at respectability after a 3-14 start. Improbably given the cir stances, the Spurs kicked into another gear Sunday just when it appeared they might be out of gas.
David Lee, who led the Knicks (11-19) with 28 points and 14 rebounds, drove for a layup that tied the game with 3:45 to go. From that point on, the Spurs outscored New York 11-4 to earn the victory.
“Down the stretch, they know exactly where to go and how to execute,” Lee said. “They know that from years playing together.”
In what should be regarded as a welcome sign for the Spurs, Parker and Ginobili contributed all of the Spurs' points in the final 3:25, beginning with Ginobili's toe-on-the-line 2-pointer that broke an 84-all deadlock.
With the smaller Knicks swarming him with double-teams, Tim Duncan managed just 13 points, matching his lowest total since Halloween. That left Parker and Ginobili free to swap shots down the stretch.
Parker's most breathtaking moment came on a swooping drive, which he finished left-handed while drawing a foul on Jared Jeffries. The ensuing free throw gave the Spurs a 93-86 edge with 1:06 left.
Ginobili's night, meanwhile, was a lesson in perseverance. After missing six of his first seven attempts, he made 5 of 8 after the half.
His back-to-back 3-pointers to end the third quarter and start the fourth pulled the Spurs from one point down to five ahead. They would never trail again.
After the Knicks closed to 93-88 on an Al Harrington basket, Parker forced Chris Duhon into a miss, and Ginobili closed the game out with two free throws.
“It was just persistence,” Duncan said. “We did just enough to win.”
On a night when the schedule and the weather appeared to be conspiring against them, just enough was good enough for the Spurs.
“It's going to be a nice trip home,” Ginobili said.
I don't get the opening sentence.. Did Manu decide to stay awake till game time? Did he go clubbing? I thought vampires sleep during the day.
“We've been really inconsistent all year,” said Spurs coach Gregg Popovich, whose team had routed Milwaukee 112-97 less than 24 hours earlier. “It was the first time where we played two games in a row where I thought we played 48 minutes. It was the best two games of the season in that regard.”
I agree. Was the Blazer game our low point of the season? Felt that way at the time...
Probably just a reference to arriving at 4am..
I know it's New York but I thought it was a very encouraging game considering the circunstances, for once we can explain the TOs by the fact that everybody was tired by the trip and this is the first game we could see Manu and TP being clutch and close the game. The only real concern for me is this ty P&R Defense, Lee and Duhon killed us. Lee is a very very good player he has an incredible year so far nobody is mentionning him because of NY poor performances but he is right there with the best bigs of the league (he is shooting an awsome 57% since the beginning of the season, I'd love to see him as a spurs)
We are Masters of the below .500 teams.
u checked out the eastern conference lately?
What does he mean by "overcoming adversity"?
That they were able to move ?
Bucks are 12 and 16, and Knicks are 11 and 19 if you were wondering.
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