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13 of 14 from the free throw line... clutch..lol
Buck Harvey: Starting point: As Duncan exits Denver again
Web Posted: 05/03/2005 01:00 AM CDT
http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/c...2386b9332.html
San Antonio Express-News
DENVER — Eight years ago, in front of a few thousand empty seats, Tim Duncan made his NBA debut.
It was in Denver.
Duncan walked out for the tip, and then the rookie leaned over to Avery Johnson. "I'm excited," Duncan said.
Duncan would rarely show such emotion again, even on his way to a couple of MVP awards and les. He learned to control himself as well as his opponents, and that trait was in play again Monday night.
Then, amid a high number of fouls and high anxiety, with overtime and others losing their composure, Duncan earned something before fouling out.
His next game in Denver should be awhile.
The Nuggets' slogan in Duncan's rookie year was "Every game, every quarter, every minute." As the season went on, the slogan changed to "We're usually not asleep every game, every quarter, every minute."
The Nuggets won 11 games that season.
But the Spurs shouldn't laugh too hard. The Nuggets had been in the 1997 lottery with odds similar to those of the Spurs. Had a pingpong ball dropped differently, Denver would have had Duncan, and the Spurs would have ushered in the Tony Battie era.
Duncan might have turned the Nuggets into something special, and he might have left for another franchise. He's never been a fan of snow, especially when there's some in May.
Still, Denver has to wonder how luck might have changed its franchise. Instead of going through a series of coaches and lotteries, the Nuggets might have been the ones who won championships. They might have been the ones, too, who took advantage of the inherent power Monday night.
George Karl said before the game that Duncan doesn't have his usual lift, and maybe he doesn't. Late in the first half, for example, Carmelo Anthony missed inside with Duncan challenging him; Anthony went back up with Duncan unable to.
Still, that makes Monday more remarkable. Duncan took on athletic big men, used his fundamentals and dominated.
He scored 18 points in the first half with an assortment of shots on his way to 39. But typical Duncan, he didn't force a thing. Once with the shot clock down, Duncan passed up a 15-footer to whip a pass to Beno Udrih in the corner.
Go over that again — a future Hall of Famer trusting a backup rookie.
Udrih felt the confidence. His 3-pointer gave the Spurs an early lead.
But Duncan did more than that. He kept his head when others lost theirs, and a sequence in the third quarter summed that up. Manu Ginobili missed a free throw, and Duncan reached to tie up Marcus Camby.
Camby felt he'd been fouled, and he raged at a ref. The resulting technical gave Brent Barry a free throw.
Kenyon Martin followed with a similar lack of composure. He batted a Duncan inside jumper far too late, for a goaltend, then fouled Duncan to pick up his fourth foul.
Duncan had reason to lose his cool, too, with a jump-ball that should have come with an amusement-park sign. With 5-foot-5 Earl Boykins jumping against Duncan, the lettering should have said, "You have to be This Tall to get on this ride."
But Boykins has heard all of this before. At his size, he shouldn't have made any NBA team, much less do what he's done in this series.
So he stood in against Duncan, giving up almost a foot and a half, and what followed defies all physics. Duncan batted the ball out to a Denver Nugget, meaning, technically, Boykins had won the jump.
The play began a Denver comeback. But Duncan showed no sign he was flustered or embarrassed. He threw in 13 of 14 free throws, and scored six points in the final minutes of regulation.
He started off overtime the same way, going inside for a score and then challenging Anthony on a drive. That led to a Tony Parker fast break; by the time Duncan fouled out, the Spurs were ahead by six points and on their way.
Afterward, Duncan joked about having to sit at the end. "I have a lot of practice sitting on the sideline," he said.
He has a lot of practice in these games, too. Eight years after he started.
13 of 14 from the free throw line... clutch..lol
I had almost forgotten about that jump ball. I went from laughing to throwing pretzels at my TV in record time.
you know that jump ball btw duncan and earl almost killed me.
i laughed so loud.
i was so sure duncan was going to lose the ball.
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