San Antonio Spurs

[tackielarla]

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[Archer sensAtion]

hahahaha bitaw sakita ato nga game para suns oi...tsk tsk

[tackielarla]

[fish]

congrats on an excellent win...

[EvenStar]

mao nay apay sa mga hambugero nga SUNS...kaubo hinuon ni MASON JR.

Congrats SPURS!!!

[tackielarla]

Spurs fend off Grizzlies in 2 OTs

Spurs fend off Grizzlies in thriller
By Mike Monroe

In spite of themselves, the Spurs had managed to drag the Memphis Grizzlies into overtime at the AT&T Center on Saturday night, mostly because Tim Duncan had been Tim Duncan, scoring 29 points as the focus of the Spurs' offense.

So when Duncan committed his sixth foul of the game, with 1:13 remaining in overtime and the Spurs ahead by a single point, he trudged to the bench, stonefaced, and watched as Kurt Thomas checked in to replace him.

By the end of the Spurs' 106-103 double-overtime victory, Duncan insisted he was enjoying his view from the bench, especially the big defensive plays by his replacement. Thomas helped preserve a victory Duncan called huge for a team that had sucked all the sports emotion out of Arizona with a buzzer-beating 3-point shot on Christmas Day.

It was Thomas' block of a scoop shot by Grizzlies rookie O.J. Mayo with 4.9 seconds remaining in the second overtime session that preserved the Spurs' 105-103 lead. And when Memphis' Rudy Gay got his hands on the ball after Thomas had knocked it away from Mayo, Thomas and Michael Finley converged on Gay and made it impossible for his shot to even get near the basket.

Thomas finished off his star turn by making 1 of 2 free throws with half a second remaining.

Finley got credit for a block on Gay, but when Thomas contended that he may have gotten a finger or two on Gay's shot, Finley just smiled and nodded his head from the locker stall next to Thomas' in the Spurs' team room.

“Kurt was really special,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said, “not just when he went in for Tim, but with all his minutes.”

Cheering from the bench while Thomas played the role of defensive backstop was Duncan, relieved his teammate had made his absence relatively meaningless.

“To be honest with you, the guys were doing a great job and I wasn't even thinking about (not being in the game),” he said. “Obviously, I wanted to be out there helping, but Kurt did a great job with a couple of offensive rebounds and a couple of blocked shots and found a way to win.

“There was nothing to do but sit over there and cheer.”

The post-Christmas sellout crowd of 18,797 cheered its loudest when Tony Parker made a pair of clutch, 19-foot, double-overtime jumpers. The clutch shots gave the Spurs the edge they needed to fend off a pesky Grizzlies team that is one of the NBA's youngest, but hardly one of its least competitive.

With Duncan banished to the bench, Parker took advantage of 7-foot-1 Marc Gasol on pick-and-roll plays. He forced the big rookie to back away from him, fearing a drive to the basket, then launched uncontested jumpers over him.

“When Timmy got his sixth foul,” Parker said, “obviously, Pop said to play pick-and-roll. Marc Gasol was backing down, and I had a lot of confidence in my shot, so I just tried to knock it down.”

Popovich called Bruce Bowen the hidden hero of Saturday's victory. He used his defensive ace for 38:52, and it would have been longer had Bowen not taken a seat next to Duncan after fouling out with 3:48 remaining in the second overtime.

“Bruce did a great job guarding,” Popovich said, “which no one probably noticed, but he was super.”

Bowen limited Memphis' Gay, who had scorched the Spurs for 26 points the last time the Grizzlies visited the AT&T Center this season, to 5-for-18 shooting. He took a few turns on Mayo, too.

“Kurt and Bruce and Tony,” Popovich said. “Those three guys brought it home for us.”

Parker and Duncan agreed that pulling out a victory over a team that came into their building with a 10-19 record preserved the good feelings that remained from the Spurs' dramatic victory over the Suns on Christmas Day.

“It was huge for us to get this win,” Duncan said. “If we lose this one, it really makes that game in Phoenix less significant.”

The Spurs also extended their winning streak to five games and remained atop the Southwest Division.

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Yoohoo! Daug na sab!

[koontz_circle]

Spurs' holiday!

[tackielarla]

Spurs win again vs the Grizz 91-80.

[fish]

nindot nasad ug balik ang san antonio da... hehehe! congrats ninyo diri mga bro...

[tackielarla]

^ ^ Thanks meng.

Going up against the Memphis Grizzlies – yet again – the San Antonio Spurs were trying to bounce back from a bitter home defeat. Using a good defensive effort and enough offense, the Spurs beat the Grizzlies in Memphis by a final score of 91-80.

The Spurs blew the game open in the third quarter with a 16-4 run to extend their lead to 19 points. During the run, Matt Bonner had a pair of three-pointers and Tony Parker had five points. In the fourth period, the Grizzlies made a few pushes but the Spurs were able to keep a comfortable lead throughout.

It took four games, but the Spurs finally figured out how to defend the Grizzlies. OJ Mayo had torched San Antonio in his previous three matchups but the Spurs continuously doubled him to try to force him into passing. With Rudy Gay, the gameplan was to force him into as many jumpers as possible. Both strategies paid off as Memphis’ dynamic duo scored only 21 points on 10-of-27 shooting.

Overall, it was a solid win for the Spurs. Their defense was much better than we saw against the Milwaukee Bucks in the last outing. The offense wasn’t anything to get too excited about but when the Spurs defend, they should be able to win even with a below average offensive showing. And they did.

Tim Duncan

32 minutes, 20 points, ten rebounds, five assists, three blocks, three turnovers
8-for-11 from the field, 4-for-6 at the line

Tim Duncan looked much better than he did in the previous two contests. He was back to playing defense and rebounding the ball. Specifically, his pick-and-roll defense was much improved and he played with more physicality in the paint. Offensively, he worked hard and was able to finish at the rim. I was also impressed by how hard he ran the floor. All in all, it was a very good performance from Duncan – especially compared to how he played since the Christmas game against Phoenix.
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Manu Ginobili

24 minutes, 13 points, six rebounds, six assists, five steals, three turnovers
4-for-9 from the field, 0-for-4 on three-pointers, 5-for-6 at the line

Although he was cold from downtown, Manu Ginobili was very good in all other aspects of the game. On defense, Ginobili was causing havoc and playing extremely hard. As a result, he swiped a season-high five steals. Ginobili was also impressive on the boards as he skied for many of his six rebounds. On the offensive end, I liked how Ginobili attacked the rim. He had a few careless turnovers but he made up for those with his six assists. Health-wise, Ginobili looked good – especially when jumping off of two feet.
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Tony Parker

33 minutes, 19 points, five assists, four rebounds
7-for-15 from the field, 5-for-6 at the line

Tony Parker’s stats don’t look too special but he had a good showing. Defensively, he played with more zeal and did a very good job against both Kyle Lowry and Mike Conley. He directed traffic well on offense and made good decisions on when to shoot and when to pass. His assists total would have been a lot higher if the three-point shots were falling.
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Michael Finley

27 minutes, five points, five rebounds
2-for-7 from the field, 1-for-4 on three-pointers

Michael Finley had been playing really well recently but his game against the Grizzlies wasn’t too impressive. His individual defense was a step slow and he missed a few rotations. His defensive rebounding, however, was a bright spot on that end of the court. On offense, he missed a number of open shots and then became unsure of himself. Then again, with as well as he’s been offensively, Finley was due for a sub par shooting performance.
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Roger Mason, Jr.

29 minutes, three points, two rebounds, two assists
1-for-11 from the field, 0-for-6 on three-pointers

Speaking of sub par shooting performances, Roger Mason, Jr. was ice cold in Memphis. His 1-for-11 shooting included six misses on his attempts from beyond the three-point line. The good news is that he kept firing and he played well on the defensive end. Starting against Mayo, he set the defensive tone as Mayo didn’t put points on the board until the second quarter.
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Matt Bonner

30 minutes, 16 points, two rebounds
7-for-9 from the field, 2-for-2 on three-pointers

Matt Bonner had been slumping both offensively and in the rebounding department. On this night, Bonner broke out of the offensive half of that slump. His 16 points were the most points he scored since he scored 17 points on Dec. 14. In seven of his last eight games, he didn’t even break double figures. His defense against the Grizzlies was solid, although his rebounding woes continued. Two rebounds in 30 minutes isn’t anywhere near acceptable. He was stuck out on the perimeter guarding Gay and Hakim Warrick for a lot of his court time so he wasn’t going to have a dominant performance on the glass – but he also had a few bounce off of his hands.
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Bruce Bowen

17 minutes, six points
2-for-2 from the field, 2-for-2 on three-pointers

Bruce Bowen spent time on both Mayo and Gay and did fine work on both. He crowded Gay to try to take his dribble and used his length wisely against Mayo. On offense, Bowen connected on both of his shots from the field – both of which were three-pointers. He has now hit six of his previous seven three-point attempts and he’s shooting a career-high 47.7% from beyond the arc.
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Anthony Tolliver

15 minutes, three points, three rebounds, two assists
1-for-4 from the field, 1-for-3 on three-pointers

It’s beginning to be a shame that this guy can’t hit the broad side of a barn. Against Memphis, Anthony Tolliver played well defensively, especially in pick-and-roll situations. He also hit the boards with energy. On offense, his deceptively good passing skills were again on display. All that said, Tolliver will likely soon lose his role to the now healthy Fabricio Oberto due to his inability to shoot.
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George Hill

15 minutes, four points, four steals, two rebounds, one block
1-for-2 from the field, 2-for-2 from the line

George Hill played some of the best defense of his Spurs career. He pressured the ball well and then played extremely aggressive help defense. As a result, he had four steals and a blocked shot in only 15 minutes of action. On offense, Hill was a little bit better but he’s still not nearly as explosive as he was early in December. He is continuing to try to figure out how to fit into the offense when playing limited minutes.
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Kurt Thomas

14 minutes, two points
1-for-1 from the field

Kurt Thomas played good post defense but that was about all he provided on Friday night. He wasn’t crashing the boards, he wasn’t much of a help on the offensive end and his overall activity level was below his recent standard. With Oberto back in uniform, now is the time for Thomas to win more minutes than usual by continuing his good play of late.
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Gregg Popovich


The most notable aspect of Pop’s coaching was that he was able to limit the minutes of his stars even though the game wasn’t a total blowout. With the Spurs playing the first game of a back-to-back, that was particularly important. I like how Pop gave Tolliver another chance to stick in the rotation even though Oberto was back. I also like how he stuck with Mason even though he couldn’t buy a bucket.
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Offense

Usually when the Spurs shoot 6-for-22 on three-pointers, it’s going to be a long day on the offensive end of the court. Thankfully, the Spurs were doing well enough in other aspects and were able to overcome their frigid outside shooting. For the game, the Spurs shot 47.9% from the field, racked up 22 assists and hit 17-of-21 free throws. After turning the ball over ten times if the first half, they had only four second half turnovers.

Defense

The defense started off strong and remained steady for almost the entire night. On the game, the Grizzlies shot 39.7% from the field, missed 12-of-14 three-pointers and had just 11 assists to go along with 16 turnovers. While the Spurs were able to get 12 steals, they didn’t do a very good job on the boards. The Grizzlies were able to corral 13 offensive rebounds and out-boarded the Spurs on the whole by a final margin of 38-36.

Drive to Five

The Philadelphia 76ers come to town on Saturday night to face the Spurs. Playing without Elton Brand, the Sixers have lost five of their last six games. The Spurs need this win to get back on the winning track at home. A letdown here would be disappointing.

Believe.