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Maybe this could be the turning point where they get their heads out of their asses and start playing with some intensity.
Spurs never look back, blast Bucks
Mike Monroe
MILWAUKEE — In the middle of an eventual 12-0 Spurs run that turned Saturday's game against the Bucks into a laugher, rookie power forward DeJuan Blair pump-faked Milwaukee's Hakim Warrick off his feet, then bounced a slick pass to Tim Duncan, wide open on the opposite side of the lane.
Duncan bobbled the ball, and it bounced off his chest before he snared it and laid it in the basket in one motion.
Blair chided his All-NBA teammate for almost blowing one of his three assists.
“I think I surprised him,” Blair said.
“I almost fumbled it,” Duncan said. “But nobody was there, so it worked out.”
On this night, everything worked out for the Spurs, who made a season-high 59.7 percent of their shots in rolling to a wire-to-wire, 112-97 victory over the Bucks at the Bradley Center.
Three days after the most disheartening loss of the season to a Trail Blazers team missing its leading scorer and more than half its regular player rotation, the Spurs played what may have been their most complete game of the season. They dominated a Milwaukee team that has lost four straight at home.
The Spurs' fourth road victory of the season pushed them back to five games above .500 at 16-11, with a game tonight at Madison Square Garden against the Knicks.
“We just had a different mind-set tonight,” said guard Manu Ginobili, who scored 13 and added eight assists. “We played very aggressively and moved the ball really well, so it's easier to make shots. We didn't walk the ball up every time.
“For me, getting a couple of easy transition baskets makes you feel better. That was the big difference tonight. We played faster and better with faster pace. It was more fun, definitely.”
It was the Spurs' second victory over the Bucks, a nemesis in the 13 seasons Duncan has worn silver and black. The Spurs were 12-23 all-time in Milwaukee and had been swept by the Bucks in last season's two games.
“They've always been a tough out for us, especially here,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. “I don't think we've won here very often, so we're really happy with the win.”
Duncan made 11 of 16 shots and led the Spurs in scoring for the sixth time in the past seven games with a game-high 26. But he was hardly the game's most efficient shooter.
Antonio McDyess, warming to his role off the Spurs' bench since ceding his starting spot to Blair, made his first seven shots, only one of them inside 18 feet. He missed his eighth but wasn't complaining about his 87.5 percent night.
“It's been a long time since I've shot the ball like that,” McDyess said. “I'm still trying to get my rhythm going, and I hope it continues. I had my confidence, and it felt great.”
Ginobili was nearly as hot as McDyess. He made 5 of 6 shots, crediting the fast pace with making the game fun for him after the frustration of Wednesday's home loss to Portland.
The two sizzling reserves keyed an astounding bench shooting performance. The Spurs' seven subs made 22 of 29 shots (75.9 percent).
“That's ridiculous, and it's not going to happen very often,” Popovich said. “It happened tonight, and it helped us keep a lead.”
Indeed, the Spurs never trailed. A lead that exceeded 20 points early in the third quarter and grew as large as 25 allowed Popovich to manage minutes and keep his starters fresh for today's game against the Knicks. No player logged more than Duncan's 32:06.
As happy as the Spurs were with their dominating performance, Duncan offered some perspective.
“We're far from where we want to be,” he said. “But starting with this game, we're on the right path. We had a really disappointing loss against Portland in a game we feel we should have had. We just didn't have the effort or the entire game that we wanted to put together.
“Tonight was better, and we go from here.”
Maybe this could be the turning point where they get their heads out of their asses and start playing with some intensity.
Yeah, let's hope..`
Wins against the dregs of the Eastern Conference are nice, but beating upper-level teams is more rewarding and provide a better gauge on who and what this team is.
You gotta start somewhere...I think most of us can agree that we don't really lack talent to beat the best teams in the league, we lack confidence, intensity and cohesiveness; all things we can gain by beating the "dregs of the East..."
Good with the bad teams,
bad with the good teams.
This is the Spurs pattern.
Nothing new.
OK, they were good or 48', for once,
but that could just be because the Bucks were bad for the entire game.
Which they were.
And the article did not mention that Jefferson played yet another horrible game.
And that Popovich kept him in for way too long.
I don't really know what he sees in this looser.
Where to start with this nonsense.
11pts, 5 reb, and 2 assists in 28 mins isn't great by any standard but its certainly a decent game. He's capable of better and hopefully will bring his "A" games when it counts.
the challenge for jefferson is to do more with less. Obv if you turn him loose, hes going to score and perform like he did those games with TD,TP out. THe point is how hes going to contribute without the offense focussing on him. Hes never going to be the 20 point scorer u want him to be.
We need him to throw the occasional dunk and get to the foul line when we have those 3rd quarter droughts. Not to mention hit corner threes and defend better.
I'm just glad we got to see this:
DeJuan Blair
3rd consecutive start... I wanted Dyess to start, but I like DB's youthful energy.
25:37 minutes... season high
12 rebounds... season high
6 offensive rebounds ... out of the Spurs 9
3 assists... matching season high
4-6 FG... should be a typical night for him
1 BLK / 1 STL... showing activity on defense
We should be giving this guy a great deal of minutes, regardless of foul trouble or rookie mistakes. I'm sort of proud of Pop's willingness to start him and generally tutor him as a player this early on in his career. It's win-win if you ask me.
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