Ludden: Surviving a Shaq attack

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Surviving a Shaq attack
Johnny Ludden

On a night in which Shaquille O'Neal arrived without his newest sidekick, the Spurs were fortunate enough that Tim Duncan brought his.

Manu Ginobili scored 29 points, including six in a 32-second burst, to lift the Spurs to a 93-84 victory over Miami on Friday in front of a sellout crowd of 18,797 at the SBC Center.

"He was incredible," Duncan said. "As crazy as he is sometimes, it all makes sense when he's knocking down shots like that. If he continues to do that stuff, it just makes us a better and better team."

The Spurs certainly arrived in better shape than the Heat, who staggered into town about 2 a.m. after losing to Dallas on Thursday night in Miami. They also had to take the floor without Dwyane Wade, their talented second-year point guard.

"They gave us a break with Dwyane Wade not playing," said Spurs coach Gregg Popovich, who became the fifth-fastest coach in NBA history to reach 400 career victories, "but it was still a great win."

It also wasn't an easy one. O'Neal, despite having only six points at halftime, totaled 23 points and 21 rebounds. His put-back pulled Miami within 77-76 with 4:43 remaining.

Ginobili took that as his cue. He fouled out Eddie Jones, then made both of his free throws. He drew O'Neal's fifth foul the next time down the floor. After making his first foul shot, Ginobili clanged the second, swooped in for the rebound, then promptly drilled a 3-pointer. He ran down the floor punching the air with his fists.

"I saw the ball was going to hit the side of the rim and nobody was there," Ginobili said, "so I went and grabbed it. It wasn't a miracle shot. It was a read.

"Sometimes I'm going to miss, but luckily I didn't there or Pop might have killed me."

Ginobili, who also contributed seven rebounds, seven assists and six steals, has scored more than 20 points in four of the Spurs' five games. He topped 20 points 10 times all of last season.

Ginobili scored 13 of his points in the first half on just four shots. He picked up a rare four-point play when he was fouled while making a 25-footer from the left wing.

"I'm having a great moment now," Ginobili said. "I'm trying to enjoy it, but it doesn't mean I'm going to be like this the whole year."

The Heat might have been shorthanded with Wade confined to wearing a suit, but O'Neal did his best to even matters in the third quarter. Shortly after halftime, he forced Rasho Nesterovic to the bench with his third and fourth fouls.

Nesterovic's exit was relatively painless compared to those of Duncan and Ginobili. Midway through the third quarter, O'Neal hit Duncan in the face on a drive to the basket. As Duncan lay under the basket, holding his head, O'Neal went up for another shot and introduced his right elbow to Ginobili's face.

"If he (barely) touches you," Ginobili said, "he can hurt you."

Though neither blow appeared intentional, they hurt just the same. Duncan and Ginobili both went to the bench for a few minutes to shake the cobwebs from their heads.

After Duncan returned, O'Neal asked if he was OK and the two laughed.

The Spurs limited O'Neal to six points in the first half by having center Nesterovic frequently front him. When the Heat did get the ball into O'Neal, Duncan slid behind him. That presented its own hazards: O'Neal bowled over Duncan for an offensive foul.

http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/b....4f8b06c9.html

[ChumpDumper]

The Spurs limited O'Neal to six points in the first half by having center Nesterovic frequently front him.

They seemed to tweak Rasho's position to where he wasn't out and out fronting him -- more like high-siding him. Worked for a few minutes anyway. Duncan is still slow to rotate when Shaq goes baseline. Worked best when we were able to sag a guard or two closer to the paint.