Beck/NYT: Ginóbili Helps Breathe Life Into the Spurs

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May 26, 2008

Spurs 103, Lakers 84

Ginóbili Helps Breathe Life Into the Spurs
By HOWARD BECK

SAN ANTONIO — It is considered unbecoming of a San Antonio Spur to admit publicly to injuries, or at least to admit that crunched ankles sometimes make jump shots go sideways and make dribble drives go flat.
So after Manu Ginóbili scored 30 points on Sunday, quadrupling his output from his last game and restoring the Spurs’ luster, he talked about everything except his jammed left ankle — or how it suddenly seemed so un-jammed.

New treatment? More rest? A rejuvenating dip in the murky waters of the Riverwalk? Ginóbili would not say. But his offense was back to being spectacular, and it sparked a 103-84 rout of the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 3 of the Western Conference finals.

“I was too stagnant the first two games,” Ginóbili said. “I didn’t feel like I was being me.”

The ankle, which he injured early in the first round of the playoffs, was presumed to be the cause when Ginóbili scored 17 points in the first two games of the series, both Spurs defeats. He insisted otherwise.

“It’s not that I felt that much better than Game 2. I just played bad,” Ginóbili said. “I mean, I’m not that good — I can play bad for a game or two.”

Whatever the reason, Ginóbili’s turnaround was welcome and well timed. He did most of his work in the first half, when the Spurs took a lead that turned out to be permanent. The victory bumped the Spurs to 7-0 at home in the playoffs and cut the Lakers’ lead in the series to 2-1. Game 4 is here on Tuesday.

For the first time, the Lakers were the ones who left the arena with furrowed brows. Lamar Odom, their most versatile player, had a disastrous game, with 7 points, 5 turnovers and a 2-for-11 shooting line. Pau Gasol, their best big man, had 15 points and missed 11 of 18 shots. The Lakers scored just 33 points in the middle two quarters, when San Antonio pulled away.

The Spurs shot 51 percent, and got big performances from all three of their stars. Tim Duncan had 22 points and 21 rebounds. Tony Parker finished with 20 points.

Kobe Bryant led the Lakers with 30 points and sent a minor chill through the AT&T Center when he sank four 3-pointers in the final period. But the Lakers never found their defense, and all Bryant’s surge did was knock a 20-point deficit down to 12. The Spurs held off the charge with a Brent Barry 3-pointer, a Fabricio Oberto jumper and, finally, a 3-point play by Ginóbili that pushed the lead back to 19.

“It’s all the Argentina flags that were out there,” Bryant said with a chuckle, referring to Ginóbili’s breakout performance. “It felt like home.”

Ginóbili was so energized that even the occasional gaffe somehow looked encouraging: He committed a lane violation with a quick step and a leap to the rim. It negated a free throw by Oberto, but the crowd cheered anyway. Ginóbili was back.

“It shows a lot of heart,” Parker said. “He took some crazy shots, but they went in, and that’s the Manu we know. He was playing unbelievable tonight.”

Ginóbili had more points at halftime (22) than he did in the first two games of the series. He hit five 3-pointers, tying a franchise playoff record.

However Ginóbili got his mojo back — rest, injections, faith healing — it was evident from the start. He hit consecutive 3-pointers to help the Spurs rally from an early 7-point deficit. He hit back-to-back 3’s again in the second quarter as the Spurs took the lead. He closed the half with one more 3, a fadeaway with the shot clock expiring and Sasha Vujacic draped on him.

“That just made me laugh,” Bryant said. “It was just great defense.”
Ginóbili’s health and production had become an irritating issue for Spurs Coach Gregg Popovich, who loathes discussing injuries. “It’s irrelevant; you go play the game,” he said at the morning shootaround. A few minutes later, Popovich pulled Ginóbili from a scheduled taping with TNT.

The change of venue did not suit Odom, who had 20 points in Game 2. He forced several plays in the first half, particularly when Bryant was on the bench, and his struggles helped put the Lakers in a 49-39 hole at halftime. Odom had three turnovers in the half, while missing 6 of 7 field goals and 4 of 6 free throws.

“There’s no way I can play like that for us to be successful,” Odom said. “I’ll take the blame on that.”

The Spurs’ usual precision and poise had gone missing for the better part of two games. They had a 65-45 lead in Game 1, then were outscored, 145-91, over the next 65:31. Duncan, Parker and Ginóbili went a combined 14 for 37 in Game 2. They all looked a little old, a little slow and quite possibly ready to bow out.

With the comforts of home, they all looked a little younger again, and clearly more confident. The Spurs used an 8-0 spurt to take control late in the second quarter and led for the final 31:30 of the game.

Coach Phil Jackson had asserted earlier in the evening that a 2-0 lead was no source of comfort against the seasoned Spurs. A 3-0 lead would have been, but that was perhaps a bit much to ask from the still-young and developing Lakers.

“I think it was summed up by Tex Winter’s wife,” Jackson said, referring to his longtime assistant coach, “who said simply, ‘That certainly wasn’t much fun, was it?’ It wasn’t very much fun for us at that end of the floor tonight.”

[1Parker1]

Well, I'm not sure if Ginobili can continue shooting at 60% from 3 point land and giving the Spurs 30 points a night. I still contend that someone, anyone from the bench is going to have to step up...possibly even 2 bench players, for the Spurs to have a chance against the Lakers.

That was an unbelievable performance by Ginobili, especially if he is in fact still as injured and hurt as he's been. Spurs showed a lot of heart and aggressiveness tonight and that's really all we can ask for as fans.

Game 4 is going to be the real test. If the Spurs don't win that one, Game 3 would have been for nothing.

[boutons_]

Going to LA 1-3 would be almost impossible.

Even 2-2 and no HCA would be very difficult.

After 3 bad losses @NO and 2 bad losses @LA, Spurs' road work is at best unreliable.