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Yup - ball decided not to go in
Bobcats take advantage of sloppy Spurs
Web Posted: 11/16/2006 12:19 AM CST
Johnny Ludden
Express-News Staff Writer
http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/b...r.3095fd5.html
Another night, another pressure-packed moment. Game on the line, crowd on its feet, ball in his hands, Manu Ginobili set his shoes behind the 3-point line and took aim.
Without a single Charlotte Bobcat within a yard of him, Ginobili also had enough time to survey the floor, check his feet again, look at the clock, calculate distance and wind speed and order a $7 beer.
And on this night, it didn't matter.
Ginobili's 3-pointer went the way of so many others for the Spurs on Wednesday, clanging harmlessly off the side of the rim. Having brushed aside the Spurs' latest comeback, Charlotte walked out of the AT&T Center with a 95-92 overtime victory.
"I was so open, it was hard to take it," Ginobili said of his potential game-tying attempt with 25.9 seconds left. "I felt confident and optimistic that it was going to go in. It just didn't."
The Spurs could say that about a lot of their shots. With Bobcats center Emeka Okafor throwing back five of them and altering at least a half-dozen others, they shot a season-low 37.5 percent. That included making just 2 of 17 3-pointers.
Throw in 18 turnovers, which Charlotte turned into 24 points, and a career-best 27-point performance from rookie Adam Morrison and the Spurs couldn't follow Tuesday's spirited victory in Houston with another.
"We got outplayed in the long run," said Tim Duncan, who led the Spurs with 24 points and 13 rebounds. "No ups, no downs, we just lost the game."
After rallying from a 19-point deficit one night earlier, the Spurs seemed primed to pull off another improbable comeback when they climbed out of an 83-75 hole in the final 2 minutes, 10 seconds of regulation.
They even had a chance to win after Brevin Knight's head-on bank shot somehow popped out of the rim. With seven seconds left, the Spurs elected to not call a timeout, instead letting Ginobili take the ball downcourt to try to beat Charlotte in transition.
Ginobili started to dribble into the lane, then found Michael Finley on the right wing. Finley had scored 17 points to break out of his season-long slump, but his 3-pointer skipped off the rim just before the buzzer sounded.
"He was shooting very good," Ginobili said, "but he wasn't probably as open as I thought. I don't think it was a bad decision."
It certainly wasn't nearly as bad as some of the others the Spurs made. For much of the game, they alternated between throwing the ball to the Bobcats and the fans seated courtside.
In addition to scoring 25 points, Tony Parker committed six turnovers, half of which came in the final 3:07 of regulation. They proved more costly than any missed shot.
"We had opportunities," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said.
The Bobcats, Popovich said, also deserved a lot of credit for taking them away. Charlotte entered Wednesday having held its opponents to a league-low 41.5 percent shooting, yet had won just once.
Okafor, who is quickly becoming one of the league's premier defenders, repeatedly shooed the Spurs out of the lane. He also had five steals to go along with his five blocks, 19 points and nine rebounds.
"He's a big kid. He can jump, he's athletic," said Ginobili, who still provided 12 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists despite making only 3 of 14 shots. "He's always there to contest, to bother the shots.
"I don't know if all the misses I had in the layups was because of him, but he's a good presence down there."
Though both teams played the previous night, Charlotte clearly proved to be the aggressor. The Bobcats' No. 3 overall pick in last summer's draft deserved much of that credit: Morrison scored 13 points in the first quarter.
"He's a basketball junkie," Popovich said. "He understands how to play the game and every game he gets smarter and smarter figuring out what he has to do at this level against these kinds of players in the NBA. He's a fantastic young talent."
Even still, the Spurs had a chance to possibly force a second overtime. With his defender having left to follow Duncan, Ginobili found himself "wide, wide, wide open" behind the 3-point line.
"It was like many of the rest of my shots," Ginobili said. "I had an off night with the rim."
Yup - ball decided not to go in
I was impressed with Morrison.
I'm getting tired of the Spurs having to make comebacks. They need to jump on someone early and beat them bad. Quit screwing around for 3 quarters and then expecting to win.
Yeah, if they do this for the rest of the season where they have to make comebacks from behind....ERRRR
That's how it was last year. Why can't they go for the jugular and keep their foot firmly planted on their necks?
Damn back-to-back's kill the Spurs. It's got to be a mental thing, but they just didn't look like they could put the ball in the hole consistently all night. A loss to the 1-6 Bobcats is hard to stomach....
They aren't going to win every game, against every weaker opponent. Charlotte is improved from last year and will be pulling more upsets during the season.
Its only the regular season and not a big deal that they lost a game.
This game was a clear case of the Spurs not showing up until the 4th quarter and by the time they did show up they needed the Bobcats help to win, and unfortunately, the Bobcats weren't feeling helpful.
Bottom line is that they took the Bobcats lightly, coasted, and got burnt.
"I was so open, it was hard to take it," Ginobili said of his potential game-tying attempt with 25.9 seconds left. "I felt confident and optimistic that it was going to go in. It just didn't."
then move in as close as you can then shot it
NOT A HARD CONCEPT
3 turnovers in the final 3 minutes of regulation. I don't care if you scored 300 points, that is totally unnaceptable, childish and pathetic!
As usual, when the game gets tight, the little Frenchman gets even tighter. What a joke.
Again, the Mavericks should take note.... This time it is the Spurs who are being classy in defeat.
We get it.... you hate Parker's resurgence because the more he develops as a player the more foolish you look for all your hate....
Without Parker, the Spurs wouldn't even be in these close games.
Did the late TO's suck? yeah. They stung like a bee. But give credit to B. Knight's and Wallace's quick hands. Don't forget they led the league in steals last year.
take it easy,this is regular game,but manu was blind with the shot-3 of 14.he missed the money ball importantly
tp made 3 point in the last was very funny,hu
with spurs ,that old man in b2b can come to the overtime,to bad
with duncan,he get 24point,13reb was as better as other time
Charlotte desreved to win the game plain and simple. They played harder than we did for the whole 53 minutes. I was also impressed with Morrison because that boy can shoot.
I too got frustrated with Parker's play last night. He jump shot was off last night and kept taking them instead of passing or going inside with the teardrop. Missing layups is okay when its a few, but they missed more than a FEW layups. In my mind, the Spurs THOUGHT they could easily comeback against the Bobcats and it bit them in the rear.
spurs thought they could come back becasue they came back against the rockets when down by 19
it happens they are human and you and I would have thought that to
Which seems to be the norm when better teams play the cellar dwellers. It's mental. They get the idea that all they have to do to win is have 5 guys show up.Bottom line is that they took the Bobcats lightly, coasted, and got burnt.
This is the NBA and ALL the players are professionals. ANY team can beat ANY OTHER team on any given night.
Sure, the Spurs should have won going away. Taking a team lightly, way too many foolish turnovers, and lack of 3 pointers falling.........well sometimes fate just gets in the way.
On the brighter side, maybe it's a good thing that the Spurs take a beating early in the season from a weaker team. They are going to play a lot of weaker teams before the season is over. This might be the one to change their mentality when faced with this situation again.
It's early...Don't start counting the Spurs out based on one game.
Nobody is counting the Spurs out after one game. You just expect to beat a cellar dweller at home and get upset when the Spurs can seem to generate enough interest for these types of teams on a consistent basis. Add the continuation of last year's back-to-back theme and that is where the frustration is rooted.
Nobody (in there right mind anyway) is saying the sky is falling but nothing is wrong with venting.
I'd say it's a wash.
Spurs should have beat Charlotte and lost to Rockets.
The only difference was the second team didn't go on a ridiculous run against Charlotte. So count your blessings it wasn't two losses in a row.
We played horrible, face it.
we played poorly, especially considering all the turnovers, but there were a few positives.
1. we killed them on the glass, which rarely happened against any team other than phoenix last season.
2. finley finally managed to hit some outside jumpers, so maybe this will get him going a little bit.
3. tim and tony both managed to overcome poor shooting starts to end up at a respectable 50% with over 20 points a piece.
how 'bout Them Bobcats !!!??? Hahahahahah Rofl, You Should Be Ashamed Of Your Team. Wowowow, To Lose Against The Bobcats At Home, Wow, simply wow.
you have only 1 week to celebrate dirk, then you will lose and conclude mavs < bobcats
I think it's safe to say that most Spurs fans are ashamed of last night's performance.
How does it feel knowing that your team has the 2nd worst record in the division? From the Finals to the bottom of the barrel. You don't have much room to talk yet.
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