Ludden: Another Sun downer

[Kori Ellis]

Another Sun downer: Spurs pull off second comeback
Web Posted: 05/25/2005 12:00 AM CDT

http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/b...2a97e20e2.html

Johnny Ludden
Express-News Staff Writer

PHOENIX — Tony Parker grabbed his jersey and sucked in a deep breath. Tim Duncan stared, longingly, at the Spurs' bench. Manu Ginobili brushed aside his long, sweat-soaked hair and set his jaw. Robert Horry looked into the stands, his nerves having disappeared in one more pressure-packed moment.

The fourth quarter came and went Tuesday night, and when it did the Spurs stood in the same place they did two days earlier. Exhausted, yet victorious, having once again overtaken the Phoenix Suns in the closing minutes, winning a down-to-the-last-shot 111-108 thriller that gave them a commanding 2-0 advantage in the Western Conference finals.

"At some point, you have to say they deserved to win," said Suns point guard Steve Nash, his 25-foot desperation 3-pointer having glanced off the rim to preserve the Spurs' victory. "Experience gives them a lot of confidence."

The Spurs won, as they did Sunday afternoon, shooting better than 70 percent in the final quarter. They won with Duncan scoring 25 of his 30 points after halftime, surviving five fouls and two bad ankles.

They won with Ginobili going behind his back and through Amare Stoudemire, making one play after another. They won with Horry sticking one more heart-in-your-throat 3-pointer. They won with Parker chasing Nash until he could barely stand.

Afterward, the Spurs boarded their chartered jet and flew home, needing only two more victories to reach their second NBA Finals in three years. They will have three days to rest before the next two games of the best-of-seven series move to the SBC Center, where the Spurs are 43-4 this season.

As for the Suns, no team has rallied to win a conference finals after losing the first two games at home.

Phoenix shot 55.7 percent. Stoudemire scored 37 points. Nash had 29 and 15 assists. Quentin Richardson and Shawn Marion, who combined for 10 points in Game 1, totaled 29. Only one of the Suns' starters failed to make at least half his shots.

And Phoenix still lost.

"We're the same team," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said, "doing, you know, what we do."

What the Spurs did is run down Phoenix in the final quarter. Again. In the two fourth quarters, the Spurs have outscored the Suns 74-55 while shooting a combined 71.8 percent. On Tuesday, the Spurs scored on 12 of their final 13 possessions.

Duncan deserves as much credit as anyone for the team's clutch-time play. Twenty-five of his 58 points have come in the two fourth quarters.

"He's our guy," Popovich said. "The ball is going to go through him."

Considering the way Duncan was going through fouls, he was fortunate to be on the floor in the final quarter.

While Duncan had tormented the Suns on Sunday, he certainly didn't pick up Tuesday where he left off. He labored through much of the first half, making only 1 of 7 shots and taking just two rebounds. Even worse, he drew his third foul underneath the Spurs' basket with 1.2 seconds remaining in the half.

Duncan finally seemed to settle into a rhythm at the start of the third quarter, scoring seven quick points, until Stoudemire drew his fourth foul on a drive to the rim.

Forced to the bench with 8:41 left in the third quarter, Duncan returned about 41/2 minutes later to find his team trailing 79-70. He immediately went to work, posting up Stoudemire and Steven Hunter, making open jump shots. His 20-footer with 6:35 remaining pulled the Spurs within 93-92.

Duncan then drew his fifth foul with 4:15 remaining, but stayed on the floor. After Nash stepped behind a screen and drilled a 3-pointer to give the Suns the lead, Horry answered with one of his own.

The pivotal shot followed a timeout. As the Spurs walked onto the floor, Horry told Ginobili to find him.

Said Duncan: "I told him, 'Dude, I'm so glad you shot that ball.' I was so tired at that point."

Ginobili, who had gotten a longer-than-usual rest on the bench, had plenty of energy. He drove down the right side of the lane, went behind his back and powered in a bank shot over Stoudemire.

"That was tough," Stoudemire said. "I had my whole hand on the ball and he was strong enough to stay focused on it and get it to go in."

Ginobili followed with a 20-footer then found Duncan for a layup. The Suns had one final opportunity to send the game into overtime as Nash drove the length of the court while Parker and Bruce Bowen chased him. His 3-pointer bounced off the rim, leaving the Spurs to celebrate.

"They have just been phenomenal in the fourth quarter," Nash said. "I mean, what can you say?"

[Kori Ellis]

Series notebook: Johnson practices, may play Game 3
Web Posted: 05/25/2005 12:00 AM CDT


San Antonio Express-News


Suns swing man Joe Johnson finally got back on the court Tuesday, but it was just the Suns' practice court at America West Arena.

Johnson hasn't played since suffering a displaced fracture of the orbital bone around his left eye in Game 2 of the Suns' Western Conference semifinal series against the Dallas Mavericks.

He did some shooting drills wearing a protective mask that finally was fitted for him after the swelling subsided around his eye.

The Suns have targeted Saturday's Game 3 for Johnson's return, but coach Mike D'Antoni wants to see how Johnson responds after practice sessions the Suns have scheduled for Thursday and Friday in Phoenix.

"He's just not ready," D'Antoni said after his team's Tuesday morning practice. "He hasn't played in two (games) already. We can't have unknowns. We will have to adjust as a team to him also. We need a couple practices. It's only possible Thursday and Friday."

Johnson said the mask did not bother him during his drills, except for sticking to his face after it got sweaty.

"It doesn't really bother me, but I sweat a lot more," Johnson said. "I'll have to take more breaks. But I'm ready to go out there and start playing. I have to pull on it a little bit just to get some air under there because it sticks to my face."

D'Antoni would not speculate on whether he would start Johnson, who started all 82 regular-season games, if he is able to play Saturday.

Johnson defended Spurs point guard Tony Parker for extended stretches of the three regular season games between the two teams and figures to do so again if he returns.

"Probably so," Johnson said. "I did play him a lot in regular season. It depends on what Coach wants. I'm not picky. I just want to be able to play in the game."

Robinson update: Glenn Robinson might return for Game 3.

Robinson has missed the first two games after his mother died. The funeral is Thursday. General manager R.C. Buford will represent the Spurs at the service.

On the learning curve: Point guard Leandro Barbosa is one of several Phoenix players experiencing his first postseason, and the Suns consider him a work in progress. Although he's proven himself capable of running the offense and playing good defense, he still hasn't fully adjusted to the style of play in the playoffs.

"Those are tough spots (for Barbosa)," D'Antoni said. "You don't want to not be aggressive when you are a young kid and you don't want to be overaggressive. It's not my style to yell and scream. We point things out and show him on the film and just bring him along."

In Games 1 and 2, Steve Nash had no choice but to chase Parker around.

"Without Joe Johnson, we don't have anybody other than Leandro," D'Antoni said. "If Leandro would get into the game and play well, we can spell Steve, but it comes to Steve right now."

Been there, seen that: The Spurs weren't too surprised when Manu Ginobili banked in his 52-footer at the end of the first quarter in Game 1. It's a shot he has regularly practiced.

"Finally, he made one," Parker said. "It was about time."

The shot, however, wasn't as impressive as a halfcourt attempt he once booted through the rim in front of the team.

"I always kick the ball — I have some soccer blood in me," Ginobili said. "That's probably not going to happen again."

[PM5K]

I'm impressed that for the most part Phoenix hasn't used JJ's absence as an excuse. It's really hard to say how well he would play, certainly our defense has slowed down some of their guys, and at the same time we are also missing one of the guys that we might put on him in Devin Brown and of course Glenn Robinson is also not playing, but I think JJ is the most important to his team out of the three.

It's nice that R.C. will be there for the services, Glenn hasn't been a Spur very long and I doubt they even knew her so it really shows the class this organization has....