Spurs Pull Away to Beat Shaq, Heat 93 - 84
November 13, 2004
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Filed at 8:04 a.m. ET
SAN ANTONIO (AP) -- Shaquille O'Neal's last basket cut San
Antonio's lead to one point with nearly five minutes left,
but the Spurs' defense held their longtime nemesis
scoreless down the stretch en route to a 93-84 victory over
the Miami Heat on Friday night. Manu Ginobili scored 29
points for San Antonio and hit a big shot to help the Spurs
pull away.
When he was with the Los Angeles Lakers, O'Neal said, games
against San Antonio always meant something.
``This is different now,'' he said. ``When I was in the
purple and gold, it was always two teams fighting for a
chance to play in the Finals and win a le.''
O'Neal, a high school star in San Antonio in the 1980s,
finished with 23 points and 21 rebounds. Twelve of his
points came in the third quarter before he sat down after
picking up his fourth foul.
His last hurrah was a putback with 4:44 remaining that
pulled Miami within 77-76.
The Spurs then took control with a 13-3 run. The highlight
came when Ginobili rebounded his missed free throw in the
corner and, unchallenged, calmly lined up and made a
3-pointer to extend San Antonio's lead to 83-76.
``I grabbed it, nobody was covering me, so I took a shot,''
Ginobili said. ``It wasn't a miracle shot. It was just a
read.''
Teammate Tony Parker said it was more than that.
``Manu is playing with unbelievable confidence,'' said
Parker, who finished with 18 points. ``Shooting with so
much confidence, you can do a lot of stuff.''
Miami coach Stan Van Gundy said Ginobili's rebound-shot
``was definitely a backbreaker for us.''
Tim Duncan added 17 points and 13 rebounds for the Spurs.
Rasual Butler and Udonis Haslem each scored 11 for Miami,
which played without star guard Dwyane Wade, who sprained
his left ankle in Thursday night's loss in Dallas.
The victory was the 400th for Spurs coach Gregg Popovich,
all with San Antonio.
The game was touted as Duncan vs. O'Neal, but neither did
much in the first half.
O'Neal, roundly booed by Spurs fans who remember the
All-Star center's years with the Lakers, dunked on his
first shot, but then his missed six of his last seven of
the half. He had six points at the break.
Duncan shot 3-for-7 in each half, and he missed five of six
free throws in the second half.
The Spurs had defensive success, led by Rasho Nesterovic
and Duncan, who covered O'Neal for most of the game.
Miami's biggest lead was 6-2 following O'Neal's first dunk.
The Spurs then went on a 19-4 run, which ended with Parker
driving past a flat-footed O'Neal for a layup, pushing the
advantage to 21-10.
A 12-footer by Haslem initiated a 16-4 outburst punctuated
by Wesley Person's short jumper, giving Miami a 28-27 lead
early in the second quarter.
San Antonio got the lead back on its next possession on a
jump hook by Duncan, and later Ginobili converted a
four-point play and made a 3-pointer to give San Antonio a
39-29 lead midway through
the period. Notes:@ Duncan is 25 points short of 12,000 for
his NBA career. ... The Spurs have won 16 straight
regular-season home games dating to last March. ... O'Neal
went 5-for-7 at the line, while Duncan was 5-for-14.
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/spor...ede7db9ad1cb20
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