Snoozing Spurs stir just in time to beat Heat

http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/basketball/nba/spurs/stories/MYSA012508.01C.BKNspurs.heat.gamer.299a64f.html

Web Posted: 01/25/2008 12:17 AM CST
Jeff McDonald
Express-News

MIAMI — The Spurs' charter jet touched down here just after 3 a.m. Thursday morning. Immediately, Manu Ginobili set out to what you'd expect a 30-year-old on too little sleep to do.

He went to bed, and didn't wake up for good until the middle of the afternoon.

"Usually, I'm not a good sleeper," the Spurs guard said. "But I was tired."

Good thing for the Spurs, Ginobili awakened just in time to beat Miami on Thursday night.

His running scoop shot with 36.5 seconds left gave the Spurs only their third lead of the game, and the last they would need, pushing them to a 90-89 victory over the hapless, Shaq-less Heat at AmericanAirlines Arena.

Tim Duncan had 30 points and 11 rebounds, and carried his bleary-eyed team through an otherwise listless first three quarters, as the Spurs coldly dispatched the Heat to their 15th consecutive loss.

Ginobili finished with 18 points, 11 rebounds, and the pride of kicking a team while it was down. The Heat (8-33) led for all but 75 seconds, just not when the final buzzer blared.

"It feels," Miami's Dorell Wright said, "like we got hit in the gut again."

Don't look now, but the Spurs (28-13) are suddenly streaking in an opposite direction. Thursday's victory was their third in a row, marking their longest stretch of consecutive triumphs since winning five straight from Nov. 28 to Dec. 7.

"I thought it showed a lot of character to come in here under the circumstances and play like we did," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. "I thought we might be out of gas, but we weren't."

Indeed, this was one of those games that was set up for the Spurs to fail: They were coming off a stirring home victory over the Lakers the night before, jet-lagged after a red-eye flight from San Antonio that didn't land until after the clubs on South Beach had quieted and facing a Miami team that, if nothing else, had to be due.

Throw in the fact that center Shaquille O'Neal was back on the shelf with a hip ailment, and there was none of the buzz that would typically accompany a meeting of the past two NBA champions.

By night's end, at least, the buzz was back.

Dwyane Wade shook off his first-half foul-shooting woes to lead Miami with 27 points. Afforded the chance to halt the Heat's losing skid, however, Wade couldn't quite pull it off.

After Ginobili's go-ahead drive, Wade missed a jumper, but the rebound bounced out of bounds with 14.8 seconds to go, last touched by the Spurs' Fabricio Oberto.

That set the stage for one last gasp for the Heat. Or, more specifically, for Wade.

Wade drove the lane, only to be stripped from behind by Bruce Bowen. He lost the ball in the ensuing scrum, and Tony Parker recovered for the Spurs with 0.9 ticks remaining.

As Parker wandered to the other end to attempt a set of foul shots that were cosmetic since the Heat had no more timeouts, Wade barked loudly at the officials, incensed he wasn't awarded foul shots of his own.

Heat coach Pat Riley explained Wade's frustration thusly:

"He was in that situation three or for times, and he was bumped three or four times," Riley said.

For much of the night, the Spurs played like a team that had spent most of the morning with one hand on the snooze button. Duncan appeared to be the only Spurs player not to arrive at the arena comatose.

Named a Western Conference All-Star starter before Thursday's game, Duncan took the opportunity to validate the voters' decision. He scored 18 of his points in the second half, on a smorgasbord of dunks, jump hooks and bank shots.

"We just kind of stuck with it," Duncan said. "We stuck around and stuck around and stuck around, until we could make a play to win it."

When that time came, the tired Spurs turned to a tired guard. Ginobili did not disappoint.