Arizona Republic articles on the game

[Solid D]

Spurs opt to sit both All-Stars due to injuries

David Vest
The Arizona Republic
Mar. 10, 2005 12:00 AM

The news that San Antonio would play without injured Tim Duncan zapped some of Suns coach Mike D'Antoni's pregame enthusiasm Wednesday night.

Within about five minutes, D'Antoni's excitement took another big hit: Manu Ginobili was also a scratch due to injuries.

Although D'Antoni jokingly asked if the Spurs' bus had crashed on its to way to America West Arena, he clearly was disappointed the Suns would have to play the only team they hadn't beaten without San Antonio's two All-Stars on the floor.

"I'm very disappointed I didn't get to play, but I loved our effort and the game we put together," Duncan said after the Suns outlasted the undermanned Spurs 107-101 at America West Arena. "That made it a lot easier."

Duncan did not play because of a sprained right ankle; Ginobili rested because of various injuries.

"It's not great timing, obviously, because of who we're playing, but that's got to be secondary to the big picture," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said of his decision to rest the pair. "We don't play again until Saturday, so it's a good opportunity to give them some rest."

Curiously, Duncan tested the sprained ankle Tuesday against New Jersey and scored 19 points and grabbed eight rebounds in 30 minutes.

"He played on it, but I think we'd be pushing it to go back-to-back on it," Popovich said before the game. "We just wanted to see how he came out, and he came out pretty good. It's not like he (sprained) it again (Tuesday) night, but it's going to be a tired ankle.

"Eventually I've got to get it straight."

Popovich said his top forward didn't take his benching very well.

"I don't think he was super pleased," Popovich said. "Manu didn't fight me because he knows how bad his body is and how much it needs rest. But Timmy wasn't real pleased. He'll tell you he feels fine, but I think what he feels is responsibility, especially since Manu's not going to play."

Ginobili, who also played Tuesday, was not listed on the Spurs' pregame injury report.

Popovich insisted the guard had injuries all over his body.

"Manu is in even worse shape (than Duncan)," Popovich said. "He's got a hip (injury), he's got a groin, he's got a shoulder. With the way he plays, it has just caught up to him.

"Our priority at the beginning of the year was to give those two guys rest, and we've been trying to do it throughout the year. Their bodies have just caught up to them."

Ginobili, too, expressed regret that he didn't get to play and confirmed his injuries.

"I'm just banged up," Ginobili said. "I really wanted to play them. It's fun playing the good teams. I just wasn't in good enough shape to play this game."

The Suns had said publicly they wanted the Spurs to be at full strength Wednesday so they wouldn't have to deal with any "yeah, buts" from doubters had they won.

Phoenix didn't get its wish.

"A win is a win and we will take it," D'Antoni said.

[Solid D]

Amaré carries Suns
Stoudemire's 44 sink San Antonio

Paul Coro
The Arizona Republic
Mar. 10, 2005 12:00 AM

The news trickled into Mike D'Antoni's office before the game like drips from a faucet.

First, there was talk Tim Duncan might not play against the Suns on Wednesday.

"I'd hate it for the fans," D'Antoni said.

Then, confirmation came that Duncan was being held out a night after playing New Jersey.

"We don't have anything to win," D'Antoni said. "We only have something to lose."

Then, another messenger brought news that Manu Ginobili would not play because of groin, hip and shoulder injuries not even listed in the Spurs' injury report.

"What did they have a bus accident on the way over?" D'Antoni said.

Nope, but that must have felt like a bus hit them when San Antonio had to take on Phoenix without its two All-Stars. It was bus No. 32 that ran over San Antonio when Amaré Stoudemire scored 44 points while the rest of the Suns looked like stop-and-go traffic.

The Suns did not always play as inspired as they had in losses to San Antonio but were overwhelming enough in stretches of a 107-101 win to break an eight-game losing streak to San Antonio. The race for the best record in the NBA may not have been a priority to San Antonio on Wednesday, but Phoenix grabbed the chance to pull even with the Spurs at 47-14 apiece.

Phoenix wound up going without Quentin Richardson for most of the night after taking a hit from Brent Barry that gave him a mild concussion. The Suns still had enough firepower to overcome some defensive energy that was as uninspired at times as a crowd that arrived expecting to see a matchup of the NBA's best teams at full force.

At times, the Suns looked like ushers guiding the Spurs to the rim. Tony Parker assumed the role of top offensive threat, just as he had in this season's first meeting when he scored 29 on 14-of-20 shooting.

But Stoudemire was even more overwhelming after his compe ive fires were stoked on back-to-back, lane-filling dunks in the first quarter, the impetus of a stretch that saw Phoenix score on 11 straight trips against what was left of the league's top defense.

Other than a rough stretch of three misses and a turnover on four consecutive possessions in the second quarter, Stoudemire could not be defended on Wednesday. He shot jumpers like a shooting guard, followed his own shots and finished fast breaks. When he was doubled in the post early in the fourth quarter, he hit a shot as a foul knocked him backward to put Phoenix's lead back to nine. That was the fourth foul for Spurs center Rasho Nesterovic, who picked up his fifth immediately on the offensive end.

Stoudemire's foul troubles were the only thing slowing him again on his fourth 40-point game of the season, an NBA high. Stoudemire had to leave with 9:22 remaining in the game because of his fifth foul.

San Antonio had tied the game once in the third quarter before another torrid Suns run but could not do it again, even with Stoudemire out. The Spurs got as close as one twice but Shawn Marion answered each moment with big buckets - a slam follow and a sneaky move under the basket to get open for a layup. Stoudemire's late return helped put away the game, particularly when the Suns answered a Barry jumper in a couple blinks with Stoudemire finishing an alley-oop off Steve Nash's 14th assist that floated at least 2 feet above the rim.
View from Press Row
A San Antonio victory may ring hollow in the Alamo City, but Suns fans know that going without Quentin Richardson could have sucked the life out of Phoenix earlier in the season. Not now. Even without Jim Jackson or Walter McCarty locked in, the Suns had another go-to weapon in Leandro Barbosa. Barbosa was good for 15 points, his fifth double-figure scoring game in the past month.

- Paul Coro

[T Park]

oh good lord.

Loosing a guy who previously sucked ass in games against the Spurs, is a sign the Suns are ok???


okiedoke.