Spurs: Spurs fans, it could be worse.

[The Reckoning]

once parker went hero ball i knew it was over. you could see the gears on the offense grind to a halt when he started forcing and not letting the offense set. leonard and duncan were on fire. they should have ran the offense through them down the stretch imo.

[ezau]

Wondering if Phil Jackson would have sat TD & TP in crunch time...

Phil won't ever do that. Heck, he ran his best players to the ground all the ing time. That's difference between Pop and Phil, which is why I think PJ is slightly better than Pop.

[Durant82]

A woman could cut off your penis while you're sleeping and toss it out the window of a moving car.

[SpursBills]

I just hope Leonard isn't forever mentally ed. He can rest easy knowing he played a near perfect game and I doubt this fazes him since he's actually been through real tragedy with his father being murdered in cold blood, but you never know.

Chris Webber's many chokejobs, one of which was the biggest one for an individual player in basketball history, seem to roll off his back. But Webber always struck me as guy who cares more about money and fame than winning, so he probably doesn't give a .

At the same time, if the Spurs do end up pulling off a miracle and winning game 7, it'd go a long way toward accelerating the development of some of the younger guys in the future. Pretty much nothing's going to faze them ever again.

[Phillip]

"28 seconds."

I don't think they will since the Spurs don't really have a star-crossed history filled with near misses and chokes. We've had some heartbreak, with Rod Strickland, .4, and the Manu foul, but in the grand scheme of sports, those were rather tame compared to some of the more heartbreaking losses in sports history. We've been rather fortunate through the years and never had our hearts truly ripped out. And as I said in another thread, when you root for a team that constantly contends, something like this was bound to happen.

We grew up as fans last night.

Lakers fans (at least the older ones) dealt with this practically every year in the 60's and then again in '84. Most recently, they endured that 24 point choke. Pats fans, who root for the most successful NFL franchise of the past 15 years, had their hearts crushed in two straight Superbowls at the hands of a bitter rival, both losses defined by fluke plays (Tyree's catch; Welker dropping a gimmie). Yankees fans in '04. This would be an ordinary occurrence for a fan of Cleveland sports, the Boston Red Sox, or the Chicago Cubs.

Simply put, it was our turn.

This. San Antonio has been very spoiled by their Spurs.

[midnightpulp]

This. San Antonio has been very spoiled by their Spurs.

Indeed. The basketball gods simply took their pound of flesh from us last night as payment for all the heartbreak the Spurs have caused opposing fans over the years.

Just like 18-1 was "payment" for the in' Tuck Bowl

[Killakobe81]

TBH, the normal for Cleveland sports is non-contention, like the current Cavaliers/Browns/Indians. Stuff like the Drive, the Fumble, the '97 World Series- those were the good years.

Just be thankful the Spurs already had four les under their belt before last night. This was the kind of game where, if it happens to a young team that hasn't won anything yet, can kill their spirit and really change the course of franchise history for the worse. Like what Game One of the '95 Finals did to the Magic. If any team can withstand this kind of stomach-punch game it's the Spurs.

Great points Tait. Also the recent champ Lakers only had Fisher and Bean that knew how to both win after and before heart-ache. That team had a bunch of guys that never won ish and came back after that Game 6 trashing to win a le the next year. If anyone can overcome in ONE game's time it's the Spurs but ...

1. Lebron looms. Allen gave him a reprieve for his crappy 3 quarters and he had his stamp all over that game. How can I guy exeed 30 10 and 10 and people are still knocking him and tbh say it was a poor game from him? He can play even better that is why and that threat still lingers

2. Ultimate gut punch game. Very hard to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory THAT late in a NBA or any high level basketball game. Up 4 with less than a minute and Manu on the FT line that game should be over. And if the Spurs dont win tomorrow especially if they go on a extended e drought this will hurt for a long, long time. For fans and players. Bird has talked often how 1987 hurts more than winning in 86 felt good. And part of taht is because he never got back to the Finals. his near miss in teh Magic baby hook shot game haunts him almost as much as losing the NCAA le game. When you are THAT close. it sucks.

[whitemamba]

Great points Tait. Also the recent champ Lakers only had Fisher and Bean that knew how to both win after and before heart-ache. That team had a bunch of guys that never won ish and came back after that Game 6 trashing to win a le the next year. If anyone can overcome in ONE game's time it's the Spurs but ...

1. Lebron looms. Allen gave him a reprieve for his crappy 3 quarters and he had his stamp all over that game. How can I guy exeed 30 10 and 10 and people are still knocking him and tbh say it was a poor game from him? He can play even better that is why and that threat still lingers

2. Ultimate gut punch game. Very hard to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory THAT late in a NBA or any high level basketball game. Up 4 with less than a minute and Manu on the FT line that game should be over. And if the Spurs dont win tomorrow especially if they go on a extended e drought this will hurt for a long, long time. For fans and players. Bird has talked often how 1987 hurts more than winning in 86 felt good. And part of taht is because he never got back to the Finals. his near miss in teh Magic baby hook shot game haunts him almost as much as losing the NCAA le game. When you are THAT close. it sucks.

luke walton?