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Missed free-throws by two islanders from St Croix made the game interesting....
Spurs' Duncan atones for missed FTs
Web Posted: 11/09/2006 12:20 AM CST
Mike Monroe
Express-News Staff Writer
Tony Parker winced when Tim Duncan missed two free throws with 6.3 seconds left in regulation Wednesday night against the Suns, leaving the Spurs up by only one point.
His shoulders slumped when Suns guard Raja Bell, a 79 percent free-throw shooter last season, was fouled in the act of shooting with 1.5 seconds left.
Two makes by Bell, and the Spurs would have been in danger of losing a game that would have been secure before Duncan missed two foul shots.
But Bell let Duncan off the hook when his miss left the score tied at 101, headed to an overtime the Spurs controlled to secure a 111-106 victory.
"When Timmy missed those free throws," Parker said, "I was thinking, 'Well, it was a great comeback, but stuff happened.' But Raja missed one, too, and we won in overtime, and Timmy made big shot after big shot."
Indeed, Duncan's 26-point, 14-rebound performance was his best of the young season. Duncan had six assists, too, four of them to center Fabricio Oberto, who made all 11 of his shots in what turned out to be a historic performance.
Even Duncan's 6-of-9 free-throw shooting was acceptable, save for the bad timing of the two misses at the end of regulation. Duncan's three misses were the only foul-line failures for the Spurs, who made 22 of 25.
"We shot (free throws) great as a team," Duncan said. "I missed those two down the stretch that could have iced the game for us. But we showed a lot of character recovering from that and playing well in overtime and finishing the game."
Duncan was at his best in the fourth quarter. The Spurs recovered from a nine-point deficit with 5:25 remaining to take a 101-97 lead with 10.8 seconds left when Oberto hit Duncan with a slick bounce pass for a layup that became a three-point play. Duncan scored seven straight for the Spurs as they took their first lead since the opening minute of the second half.
On back-to-back possessions, Duncan scored on bank shots from tough angles over Phoenix's Kurt Thomas, one of the league's better low post defenders.
Duncan said the Spurs knew they could come back on the Suns as long as they toughened a bit defensively.
"With them, you have to understand there's a lot of possessions," he said. "They're going to not use the whole 24 (seconds). In that respect, we're going to have opportunities if we just get a stop."
The key "stop" turned out to be a gift from Bell.
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Missed free-throws by two islanders from St Croix made the game interesting....
Spurs hit 22-25 FTs, and guess who misses all 3 FTs?
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