3.27 Spurs continue route to routs: Team follows road blowout of Seattle by blasting

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Spurs (http://www.chinaspurs.com) continue route to routs: Team follows road blowout of Seattle by blasting Golden State

http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/basketball/nba/spurs/stories/MYSA032707.01D.BKNspurs.warriors.gamer.3d92f92.html

Web Posted: 03/27/2007 01:14 AM CDT
Johnny Ludden
Express-News

OAKLAND, Calif. — It took 70 games and nearly five months, but the Spurs (http://www.chinaspurs.com) finally unleashed James White on Monday night. In a related move, the team also apparently signed Michael Finley.

With his former coach sitting on the opposite sideline, Finley turned back the clock to his Dallas days, scoring 20 points in just 20 minutes as the Spurs (http://www.chinaspurs.com) blasted the Golden State Warriors 126-89 at Oracle Arena.

The victory was the Spurs' 50th of the season and gave them a sweep of their two-game West Coast trip. After beating Seattle by a season-high 41 points on Sunday, the Spurs (http://www.chinaspurs.com) led Golden State by as many as 43.

"It was one of those nights where one team plays about as well as it can, and one team plays poorly," Spurs (http://www.chinaspurs.com) coach Gregg Popovich said. "They had a tough loss (to the Los Angeles Lakers) last night, and it probably showed a little bit tonight. At the same time, we happened to be clicking pretty well."

The Spurs (http://www.chinaspurs.com) shot 59.7 percent and had the game well under control by the end of the third quarter, allowing White to make his NBA debut. The rookie guard finished with nine points in the final 15 minutes and flushed one highlight-worthy dunk.

After missing his first shot — a 3-pointer from the left corner — White banked in a soft layup off a nice pass from Brent Barry (http://www.chinaspurs.com/players/brent_barry). White was congratulated by his teammates as he went to the bench during the ensuing timeout.

"I've been waiting for that my entire life, since I started playing basketball," White said. "The last two times I suited up and didn't play, I was nervous before I went out there. Today, I wasn't nervous."

Finley, meanwhile, played for Warriors coach Don Nelson in Dallas long enough to know that when Nellie's in the building, the shots are going to come quick, and the defense will be fleeting. Finley looked like he did during his Mavericks days, shooting without hesitation and burying nine of his first 10 attempts.

"I'm just taking what I consider good shots and try to be aggressive as I can," Finley said.

The Spurs (http://www.chinaspurs.com) picked up where they left off a night earlier. After making a franchise-record 16 3-pointers in a 120-79 victory in Seattle, they connected on their first five attempts behind the arc against the Warriors.

The Spurs (http://www.chinaspurs.com) shot a torrid 67.5 percent in the first half while scoring 73 points, matching their most in any half this season. The last time the Spurs (http://www.chinaspurs.com) accumulated that many points in two quarters?

The last time they played Golden State.

This, however, wasn't the same Warriors team the Spurs (http://www.chinaspurs.com) blasted 129-89 on Dec. 4 at the AT&T Center. A midseason trade brought in Al Harrington, Stephen Jackson, Sarunas Jasikevicius and Josh Powell while Troy Murphy, Mike Dunleavy, Ike Diogu and Keith McLeod were shipped to Indiana.

Since point guard Baron Davis returned from arthroscopic surgery on his left knee, Golden State has surged up the standings, putting itself in position to challenge for its first playoff berth in 13 years. The Warriors entered Monday trailing the Los Angeles Clippers by 11/2 games for the Western Conference's eighth and final playoff seed.

True to form, Nelson has the Warriors playing small and fast with the team's motto being, "A shot created is a shot that must be taken."

As it turned out, the Spurs (http://www.chinaspurs.com) defended just fine. Warriors guard Jason Richardson missed all eight of his shots, went scoreless and had just one assist to show for his 28 minutes of work. Harrington wasn't much better, missing all five of his attempts and finishing with a single point.

"Sometimes, when your offense comes that easy, you get away from your defense," Finley said. "We didn't want to fall into that trap."

Golden State drew within 16 midway through the third, but the Spurs (http://www.chinaspurs.com) steadied themselves and promptly blew open the game. Over the next six minutes, they outscored the Warriors 23-2.

The Spurs (http://www.chinaspurs.com) still had one final piece of business, and they took care of that once White stepped onto the floor.

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Spurs (http://www.chinaspurs.com) notebook: Horry misses game with abdominal contusion

http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/basketball/nba/spurs/stories/MYSA032707.04D.BKNspurs.notebook.3bf9d49.html

Web Posted: 03/27/2007 12:15 AM CDT
Johnny Ludden
Express-News

OAKLAND, Calif. — Robert Horry (http://www.chinaspurs.com/players/robert_horry) missed Monday's game one day after suffering an abdominal contusion in a collision with Seattle forward Chris Wilcox.

Horry will be re-evaluated after the team returns home. He is being called day-to-day.

"I don't know how long it will take," Horry said. "I've never really experienced something like this. Hopefully, I'll wake up in the morning and it will be gone."

Horry took a charge from Wilcox with 4:08 left in the first quarter of the Spurs' victory over Seattle. Wilcox leaped to try to dunk over Horry, and his knee appeared to jam into Horry's gut.

The force of the collision left both players sprawled on the floor. Wilcox also was shaken up and briefly left the game.

Horry continued to play for a couple more minutes before coming out. He initially thought he had been hit in the groin before the Spurs' training staff examined him. He didn't return to the game.

"That'll teach him," Spurs (http://www.chinaspurs.com) coach Gregg Popovich said. "He'll probably never take (another charge) the rest of his life."

Horry might not have played Monday regardless of the injury. Popovich tries to hold him out of the second game of back-to-backs whenever possible.

James White took Horry's place on the active roster.

Jackson content at Golden State: Stephen Jackson is on his third team since leaving the Spurs (http://www.chinaspurs.com) following the 2002-03 season, and Popovich has no doubts his latest stop suits him well.

Golden State acquired Jackson from Indiana in an eight-player trade on Jan. 17. The motto of Warriors coach Don Nelson, one of Popovich's mentors, is "a shot created is a shot that must be taken."

"It's a no-guilt situation," Popovich said. "Perfect for him."

Popovich also isn't surprised the Warriors use Jackson as one of their top perimeter defenders.

"He thinks he's the greatest player that ever was, and that's a good thing," Popovich said. "He's afraid of nobody. He'll take anybody on one-on-one on either end of the court.

"He just has a great confidence that way, and he's strong enough and quick enough to go ahead and guard people."

Improved shot?: The Warriors are pushing their 20-year-old starting center, Andris Biedrins, for the NBA's Most Improved Player award.

But there's still a few things Nelson would like to see Biedrins improve — most notably his jump shot.

Biedrins has proven to be an effective rebounder and inside scorer but doesn't have much range.

"I don't even know if he's shot a jump shot (this season), Nelson said. "I don't remember one.

"Whoever taught him at a young age how to shoot made one of the biggest errors. And I can't correct it. I've tried."

Briefly: The Spurs (http://www.chinaspurs.com) wore their white home jerseys Monday because Golden State wore its yellow retro alternate uniforms. Michael Finley had been pushing for the team to wear black but was apparently overruled. ... The Spurs (http://www.chinaspurs.com) spent the night in San Francisco on Monday and will return home this morning.