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Tim to Antonio: Hold down the fort, and I'll be back
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A Night of Pain
By Johnny Ludden
San Antonio Express-News
Web Posted : 05/02/2002 12:00 AM
SEATTLE ?Terry Porter surveyed the scene at KeyArena on Wednesday morning.
Tim Duncan was missing. So was David Robinson. Danny Ferry was on the court trying to shoot with a bandaged hand.
Our room for error," Porter said, "just left the building."
On a night when the
Spurs knew only a flawless performance would let them close out their first-round playoff series against Seattle, their execution failed to match their effort. With Duncan in the U.S. Virgin Islands following the death of his father, the Sonics took advantage of his absence to beat the
Spurs 91-79 and set up a fifth and deciding game Friday night at the Alamodome.
Though Duncan has yet to confirm when he will return, he is making an effort to get back in time to play Friday,
Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. Robinson, still troubled by his ailing back, remains doubtful.
"At this point, (Duncan) is doing his best to get here for the game," Popovich said. "But he'll take care of what he has to take care of with his family first. That's the most important thing."
With the
Spurs sorely undermanned ?the team had never played without both Duncan and Robinson since Duncan entered the league ?and the Sonics hoping to prevent their season from ending, Wednesday's game already figured to be emotional. When
Bruce Bowen elbowed
Brent Barry square in the chest less than two minutes into the game ?setting off a minor dust-up that ended with Bowen, Barry and Vin Baker each receiving technicals ?it only added to the tension.
As it turned out, things were only starting to heat up.
Mark Bryant, who started alongside
Malik Rose in place of Duncan and Robinson, was ejected with 9:00 left in the third quarter for scuffling with Desmond Mason. After the two players became tangled up on the floor, Bryant dove at Mason ?who had angered the
Spurs for punctuating Seattle's Game 2 victory with a 360-degree dunk ?and had to be restrained by teammates from doing further damage.
When Charles Smith had to be helped off the court in the middle of the fourth quarter after suffering a mild right shoulder separation when he crashed to the floor after soaring for a rebound, the
Spurs were left with eight players in uniform. And that included Ferry, who played two minutes in the second quarter.
Bryant's ejection seemed to spark the Spurs, who cut a 28-point first-half deficit in half in the middle of the third quarter. Porter missed a 3-pointer with 1:34 remaining in the game that would have brought the
Spurs within eight.
Rose delivered the most inspiring performance, totaling career highs with 28 points and 13 rebounds.
Without Duncan, however, the
Spurs couldn't muster nearly enough scoring to counter the Sonics. Vladimir Radmanovic, starting in place of the injured Rashard Lewis, made all seven of his shots in the first half for 19 of his 23 points. Gary Payton, who surrendered 23 points to Parker in Game 3, countered with a triple-double Wednesday (28 points, 11 assists and 12 rebounds).
The Spurs, meanwhile, made only 4 of 21 shots in the first quarter, missed their first nine attempts of the second quarter and trailed 57-31 at the half.
Not the
Spurs had any misgivings regarding the difficulty of their assignment Wednesday night.
"Timmy,"
Tony Parker said, "carried us all year."
During the regular season, Duncan scored 26.3 percent of the Spurs' points, the second-highest total in the league. In the first three games of the series, he had averaged 26.7 points, 11.7 rebounds and 6.3 assists. With neither of the 7-footers around to protect the rim, the
Spurs had to scramble more on defense, often leaving open jumpers for the Sonics.
"It's kind of difficult to build a team a certain way, and then try to change for one game," Antonio Daniels said before the game. "We don't need anybody to try to be Dave. We don't need people to try to be Tim."
The Spurs can only wait to see if the real No. 21 returns on Friday. Daniels called Duncan to see how he was doing, and wound up receiving a pep talk of his own.
"Hold down the fort," Duncan told Daniels, "and I'll be back."