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| 2008-01-04 15:56 | #1 |
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[工地]01.04 Cold Spurs fall in Denver Cold Spurs fall in Denver
http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/basketball/nba/spurs/stories/MYSA010408.01C.BKNspurs.nuggets.gamer.9554cc8.html Web Posted: 01/04/2008 12:49 AM CST Jeff McDonald Express-News DENVER — The Spurs arrived here just in time for a veritable Rocky Mountain heat wave. The mercury rose to the mid-50s on Thursday afternoon, causing streets to run slick with melting snow and residents to eschew their heavy coats. Inside the Pepsi Center, at least figuratively speaking, winter continued. The Spurs traded clanks and clunks and frigid cold spells with Denver before the Nuggets finally emerged with a hard-earned — if not very pretty — 80-77 victory. The Spurs shot just 37 percent from the field, and fumbled the game away down the stretch, to extend their road losing streak to four games. "We just didn't make jumpers," the Spurs' Robert Horry said. "It happens." Even after a misfire-filled 45 minutes, the Spurs still had a chance to win an away game for the first time since Nov. 30. They held a 77-73 lead after Tim Duncan's layup with 1:42 remaining, seeming to take control of a game they had once trailed by as many as 16. But it all came unraveled. Allen Iverson scored 29 points to pace the Nuggets, but it was Anthony Carter and Kenyon Martin who came up biggest for them late. Carter hit a 3-point attempt with 1:24 left to bring Denver within a point. It was the only shot behind the arc he had tried all night. "Anthony killed us with that three," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. "It was the biggest shot of the game." Martin stripped Duncan on the next possession, and then put the Nuggets ahead 78-77 on a layup moments later. Martin then blocked a Tony Parker drive attempt on the other end, and Bruce Bowen missed a follow-up jumper. On the ensuing possession, the Spurs allowed the Nuggets to run more than 20 seconds off the clock before fouling Iverson, Denver's best foul shooter. Iverson sunk both foul shots to put the Nuggets ahead by three with 6 seconds to go. "It's not ideal," Duncan said of that delayed-foul sequence. "But it was enough time that we were going to try to trap and maybe luck out and get a steal. It didn't happen, but we still had 6 seconds left on the clock, which was plenty of time." With a chance to tie at the horn, the Spurs got the ball to Michael Finley in the corner, but — who else — Martin jumped out to force the miss. The Nuggets won despite scoring a season-low 80 points and shooting just 40 percent from the field. A big reason for their victory, and for the Spurs' poor shooting percentage: 14 blocked shots, of which Martin had half. "We took a step in the right direction," Martin said. "That's what we're striving for on defense." For the Spurs, it marked an inauspicious beginning to what could be a brutal four-games-in-five-nights stretch, one that will take them to the West Coast for a back-to-back by week's end. They face the New York Knicks tonight at the AT&T Center. Thursday's loss carved the Spurs' lead over Dallas and New Orleans in the Southwest Division to a single game. Phoenix's 106-94 victory over Seattle late Thursday night gave the Suns a one-game lead over the Spurs atop the Western Conference standings. Duncan and Parker led the Spurs with 20 points apiece, but that came with a heavy toll of frustration. Beaten and battered by the Nuggets' physical front line, the two combined to make 15 of 39 shots. The Spurs say they were ready for such rough treatment. They just didn't respond well. "Every time we play against Denver, it's going to be physical," Parker said. "They like to bully people. We have to keep playing, keep playing." The Spurs at least did that. When it came down to it, however, they lost because they couldn't make shots. "That's the way they play," Horry said. "They're going to beat you up and hope you don't score on them. And we didn't score on them." __________________
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| 2008-01-05 17:08 | #2 |
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[工地]01.05 Fast start holds off Knicks Fast start holds off Knicks
http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/basketball/nba/spurs/stories/MYSA010508.01D.BKNspurs.knicks.gamer.29e48e7.html Web Posted: 01/05/2008 12:20 AM CST Mike Monroe Express-News His team in a tailspin that produced six losses in 10 games, Spurs coach Gregg Popovich tried to go inside the numbers to ascertain a reason for the malaise. His conclusion: More fire and brimstone, less X and O. "In seven of the last eight games we've been outscored in the first quarter, anywhere from one point to double digits," Popovich said before his players took the court against the New York Knicks at the AT&T Center on Friday night. "My motivational talks to start the games will have to get better." Whatever Popovich said to the Spurs had the desired result. They scored 27 points in the first quarter, their most productive start in nearly a month. By game's end, the Spurs needed every bit of their first-period edge. Their 97-93 victory over the Knicks was far more difficult to secure than anyone could have expected against a team with the NBA's third-worst record and its No. 2 scorer serving a one-game suspension handed down a few hours before tipoff. The Knicks have been the NBA's Team Turmoil this season, in disarray and depression that has left veteran forward and former Spur Malik Rose to mutter "What doesn't kill me makes me stronger" on a daily basis. On Friday, with Rose in the starting lineup, they looked like a team capable of frightening the best teams in the Eastern Conference. "I thought New York did a great job," Popovich said. "They were very energetic. They were trying to get something done. Going against the Spurs would have been a great win for them, and they showed that they wanted it." The Knicks made everything hard for the Spurs on Friday, even the free throws that gave them a three-point lead with 10.2 seconds remaining. Trailing by a single point, 94-93, New York's Nate Robinson fouled Spurs forward Bruce Bowen, a 63 percent free-throw shooter, a half-second before he was able to pass to teammate Michael Finley, one of the NBA's best foul shooters. Not to worry, Bowen said. "That's something I work on after every practice," he said. "You never know when you're going to be in that situation." Bowen is almost never in such situations, but he swished both. That gave the Spurs had a tiny slice of breathing room and put the Knicks in the sort of situation that has produced little but heartache this season. It was no surprise that Bowen made the game's clutch defensive play. With his team clinging to a one-point lead, he knocked the ball away from New York's Jamal Crawford, sending it rolling across the floor to Finley with 21.9 seconds left. The Spurs got some unexpected key contributions Friday. Robert Horry, making his third-straight start, nailed two 3-pointers in the first period. "It's great to see Rob feeling comfortable taking his shots," Popovich said. DerMarr Johnson, playing his third game since being called up from the Austin Toros, added two more 3-pointers and scored eight points in a two-minute stretch of the second quarter. "That's what he put me out there to do," Johnson said of his scoring burst. "That's what I've got to do." The Knicks played without forward Zach Randolph, their No. 2 scorer, after the NBA suspended him Friday. Randolph threw a headband at referee Tony Brothers in their Wednesday loss to Sacramento, and the timing of the suspension caught them off-guard. Knicks coach Isiah Thomas opted to give little-used Rose a start in the arena where he had enjoyed the best days of his career, and Popovich worried about the effect it could have on a team in dire need of a spark. "I don't think (Malik) has any secrets," Popovich said, "but I've often felt the same way: You bring a guy back into his old town against his old team and sometimes those guys have great nights." Rose had a season-high seven rebounds by the end of the third quarter and had energized his teammates. In the end, though, his old pal, Bowen, had the energy to give the Spurs a victory. __________________
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