http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news?slu...v=ap&type=lgns
Heat 103, Spurs 101
By STEVEN WINE, AP Sports Writer
October 10, 2005
MIAMI (AP) -- The Miami Heat and hurricane relief charities came away winners Monday night.
Miami opened the preseason by beating the NBA champion San Antonio Spurs 103-101 in a game added to the schedule to benefit victims of Hurricane Katrina. A check for $1.1 million was presented at halftime to the American Red Cross, Habitat for Humanity, the Salvation Army and Feed the Poor.
``It's great to be able to do something for people,'' Heat coach Stan Van Gundy said.
The game drew a capacity crowd of 19,600, with many tickets donated, and the teams gave fans what they came to see: dunks by Shaquille O'Neal, breakneck drives by Dwyane Wade and plenty of firepower from the Spurs.
Following a timeout with 2.4 seconds left, Heat rookie Kevin Braswell hit a layup for the winning score.
``On the bench Shaq said, `The ball's coming to you,''' Braswell said. ``With all the people in the stands, it felt great.''
As officials reviewed a TV replay to make sure Braswell beat the buzzer, Spurs coach Gregg Popovich urged them to let the basket stand.
``It was a great night,'' Popovich said. ``It was a win-win for everybody. It was really great for the people who were so unfortunate during the hurricane.''
While San Antonio's lineup was unchanged from the end of last season, the game marked the debut of a revamped lineup by the Heat, who acquired three new starters after losing in the Eastern Conference finals last season.
``The champions, and those who would be champions,'' said one spectator, Hall of Famer Julius Erving.
Wade's daredevil acrobatics, Tim Duncan's shooting touch and Alonzo Mourning's scowl were all in midseason form. Perhaps the biggest surprise: O'Neal made his first three free throws, one a bank shot.
Despite only a week of practice and a steady stream of subs utions, both teams showed considerable offensive flair and shot better than 50 percent.
Duncan scored 16 points, all in the first half, and added 10 rebounds in 24 minutes. Manu Ginobili had 13 points in 16 minutes.
``It felt like yesterday we were playing in the Finals,'' Ginobili said. ``I didn't think it was so long ago. We had all the plays fresh in our minds.''
Michael Finley, who spurned the Heat for the Spurs this offseason, made three of four shots.
Wade took several hard spills to earn his 18 points. He sank a 40-foot runner that banked in as the buzzer sounded to end the first half.
O'Neal had 17 points and eight rebounds in 22 minutes. New teammate Antoine Walker drove almost the entire length of the court for one layup and finished with 20 points and five steals.
``It's going to take some time to get used to each other,'' O'Neal said. ``But I liked what I saw out there with the guys' intensity and moving the ball and playing together. That's what it takes to get it done.''
Pop didn't even care if we won or not, he got to see what he wanted out of the players and the players trying to make the roster.As officials reviewed a TV replay to make sure Braswell beat the buzzer, Spurs coach Gregg Popovich urged them to let the basket stand.
``It was a great night,'' Popovich said. ``It was a win-win for everybody. It was really great for the people who were so unfortunate during the hurricane.''
All that money in Miami and they only came up with 1 million dollars? *sigh*
Yeah, they donated 1.1 mil
Pops thinking you can have this game we'll take the next one.
Yeah, this one doesn't mean , just get in good playing time and a chance to check out the players.
Yeah, that place did not look remotely sold out.
But then again, the Heats owner did buy the remaining tickets so yes they sold out but I saw a ton of empty seats.
You mean between both teams??
Pop is a smart guy, he knows this game is for the fans
As officials reviewed a TV replay to make sure Braswell beat the buzzer, Spurs coach Gregg Popovich urged them to let the basket stand.
``It was a great night,'' Popovich said. ``It was a win-win for everybody. It was really great for the people who were so unfortunate during the hurricane.''
I just could not believe how badly Miami wanted to win that thing last night.Wade took several hard spills to earn his 18 points. He sank a 40-foot runner that banked in as the buzzer sounded to end the first half.
Wade was practicly asking for an injury 1/2 the time.. and then Van Pudgy kept in Walker, Mourning and Payton against our DL players.....
it was kinda sad.
Walker & Wade are both ballhog Both taking more than 14 attempts each.
On the Spurs side the most was Duncan and Barry each with 9 attempts. I don't think bones is going to become a ballhog just yet.
Walker has always been a ball hog, Wade well he took a lot of shots last year.
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