McDonald: Spurs, Hornets Ready To Renew Rivalry

[duncan228]

I wasn't sure where to put this. The previews? The game blog? Please move if it belongs somewhere else.

Spurs, Hornets ready to renew rivalry
By Jeff McDonald

NEW ORLEANS — There was Tim Duncan's 103-degree fever. Super Hugo's stupid human trick. That restless night on the airport tarmac aboard Motel Champion Air.

There was Chris Paul and Tony Parker, locked in a one-on-one contest for the ages. There was Jannero Pargo throwing up a few parting jumpers on his way to Russia, and Ime Udoka briefly emerging as the best reserve on either team.

Of all the things Michael Finley could choose to remember most about the Spurs' long, strange trips to New Orleans in last season's Western Conference semifinals, he chooses to recall what is most important.

“I remember that we won,” said Finley, the Spurs' veteran swingman. “Pretty much everything else is just a blur.”

Tonight, the Spurs return to the Big Not-So-Easy for the first time since they stole that Game 7 on the Hornets' home floor and sounded midnight on New Orleans' Cinderella season.

Though the Spurs won the decisive game, 91-82, the series did wonders for New Orleans' street cred. While the Spurs moved on to face the Lakers in the conference finals, the up-and-coming Hornets had proven they could compete on the NBA's biggest stage.

The stakes won't be nearly as high tonight as they were in May. All that is on the line is early control of the Southwest Division, and — for the defending division champion Hornets — a modi of revenge.

The Spurs are 15-8, after shaking off an injury-marred 1-4 start that was the worst in franchise history. The defending division champion Hornets are 14-7 after overcoming a sluggish stretch in mid-November in which they dropped five of seven games.

Those parallel recoveries have set the stage for one of the more anticipated regular-season games of the season.

“After what happened last year, we have a nice rivalry going on,” Spurs guard Manu Ginobili said. “They have a great team, and great role players, so it's a tough matchup for everybody.”

When the Spurs first walk into New Orleans Arena today, the past is sure to momentarily overpower the present.

Duncan, a veteran of scores of white-knuckle postseason affairs, calls last season's Western Conference semifinal one of toughest playoff series of his career.

“It was back and forth, very physical, a lot of great plays,” said Duncan, the Spurs' All-Star forward who battled the flu early in the series. “I guess you've got to expect more of the same going into this game.”

From bizarre start to sweat-soaked finish, last year's playoff showdown was as weird as it was wonderful.

It began with a 19-minute delay in the middle of Game 1, after New Orleans mascot Super Hugo nearly torched the place in a fire-related stunt gone wrong. Arena maintenance crews struggled to remove flame-re ant foam from the court.

It ended, in Game 7, with the seasoned Spurs imposing their will on the callow Hornets down the stretch, pulling away to claim a spot in the conference finals against the Lakers. It was an odd series, in that the only game decided by fewer than 10 points was the final one.

The strangeness did not end with the final horn.

Before the Spurs could get to Los Angeles after Game 7, they had to spend an extra night in their charter plane on the tarmac at the New Orleans airport, because of mechanical problems.

“I wasn't even playing,” Spurs center Matt Bonner said, “and I woke up with a stiff neck.”

After the series ended, New Orleans coach Byron Scott said he thought the Spurs' playoff experience — compared to the Hornets' lack thereof — was what ultimately carried the day.

“I can agree with that, but what does that mean?” Duncan said. “We were in a seven-game series, and we came into the seventh game and played a little better than they did. We played better for one game.”

Eight months later, that is the Spurs' goal once again. Play better for one game, then — charter flight willing — go on to Orlando for the second difficult game of a back-to-back road swing.

Win, and make the only memory that matters.

[z0sa]

“I wasn't even playing,” Spurs center Matt Bonner said, “and I woke up with a stiff neck.”

its funny now to think of how much of an advantage both rest and healthwise LA had over us last May.

And its too bad Matt wasn't playing - thing is, Horry's one bright spot of his final season was that Game 7.