Spurs: Off to a Rousing Start
October 31st 2007 07:05
A new championship banner is now up there in the rafters of the AT&T Center. The Spurs got their new championship rings. Up next was their new game and the start of a season in their bid for San Antonio's first ever back-to-back championship run.
The Spurs defeated the Blazers to the tune of 106-97 on opening night to kick off their season. Tim Duncan had 24 points, 13 rebounds, 3 assists and 1 block. He served as the Spurs pillar of strenght in the middle and led his team's domination in inside scoring 58-30. Meanwhile, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili outplayed their Portland counterparts in the backcourt primarily by forcing 16 turnovers which translated to a lot of easy baskets mostly in the early parts of the game. Parker scored 19 points to go with 5 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 steal. Ginobili, who came off the bench, had game highs 5 steals and 8 assists to go with his 16 points, 3 rebounds and 1 block. Brent Barry,also coming off the bench, added 12 points including 3 of 7 from the 3-line.
Despite the loss the Blazers made a good account of themselves. San Antonio dominated the first half which ended 59-49. But it was late in the 3rd quarter that Portland made their run trimming the Spurs lead to only two points 79-77 on a Martell Webster 3-pointer with 33 seconds to go. The Spurs lead once stood at 16 points 55-39 in the 2nd quarter.
San Antonio re-extended their lead early in the 4th quarter with Ginobili's 2 straight baskets 88-80. But the Blazers just kept on coming and threatened with 2:01 left in the game as LaMarcus Aldridge converted to cut the Spurs lead to three 98-95.
Portland was still within striking distance but crucial goaltending calls against Aldridge and center Joel Przybilla allowed Parker and Duncan points which secured the Spurs of the victory.
It was easy to predict a win for the defending champions but I never thought that the Blazers could step up the way they did against the Spurs. They showed that they can run and score. They were only down by two points in fastbreak points against the Spurs 12-14. Their frontline did well enough to stay with Duncan. Aldridge scored 27 points, 2 blocks, 3 rebounds and 1 steal. Przybilla got a double-double performance with 13 points, 10 rebounds, 1 block and 1 assist. Martell Webster also came out big time with 21 points, 3 rebounds, 1 block and 1 assit to his name including 3 of 6 from the 3-point area. Travis Outlaw was their best producer from the bench with 11 points, 5 rebounds and 2 assists.
The key factor for the Blazers loss is in the backcourt match-up. Parker and Ginobili, who combined for 35 points in the Spurs guard line outplayed the tandem of Brandon Roy and Jarrett Jack who scored only 5 and 7 points respectively. Roy had 6 assists to make up for his slow start but he also had a game high 4 turnovers, an erratic 2 of 10 from the field and 2 of 4 from the freethrow line. Steve Blake came off the bench for Portland and scored 9 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists to take over for the night-offish game of Jack but it still wasn't much help.
Blazers head coach Nate McMillan must be optimistic about the chances of his team despite missing Greg Oden all season. He just has to make sure that ALL of his players are going to bring their A-game. If their frontline showed that they can mix it up with Duncan, they can certainly bring it against anyone in the league. Their backcourt headed by Roy will be counted on to make up for this erratic showing.
Portland has to minimize their turnovers. Just imagine if only they have taken care of the ball better and an upset could be in the offing. I'm certainly looking forward for the next Blazers game.
San Antonio played in their usual game and won despite shooting worse than Portland but I'm sure that it wont be long before the Spurs picks up the pace in that department. The evident thing about how the Spurs won is the fact that they have such an impeccable end-game savvy. There is just no substitute for experince.
Other results fresh from the pines:
Shane Battier nailed a three with 2.5 seconds left to lift the Houston Rockets past the Los Angeles Lakers 95-93.
Tracy McGrady had 30 points and 6 rebounds. Yao Ming tallied 25 points and 12 boards.
Gotta give it to Kobe Bryant! He scored 45 points, 18 of them in the 4th quarter. That run he led sure was furious. Too bad they just came up short. Expect more of his "heavy production" in the games to come.
I knew that the Utah Jazz had the Golden State Warriors' number but I never knew that they can beat them this bad at the Oracle Arena. Carlos Boozer scored 32 points and 15 rebounds and Deron Williams had 24 points in a lopsided 117-96 win.
Looks like Don Nelson's "small ball" tactic just ain't gonna work against the Jazz.
Tim Duncan leads the Spurs to in opening night win.
The Spurs defeated the Blazers to the tune of 106-97 on opening night to kick off their season. Tim Duncan had 24 points, 13 rebounds, 3 assists and 1 block. He served as the Spurs pillar of strenght in the middle and led his team's domination in inside scoring 58-30. Meanwhile, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili outplayed their Portland counterparts in the backcourt primarily by forcing 16 turnovers which translated to a lot of easy baskets mostly in the early parts of the game. Parker scored 19 points to go with 5 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 steal. Ginobili, who came off the bench, had game highs 5 steals and 8 assists to go with his 16 points, 3 rebounds and 1 block. Brent Barry,also coming off the bench, added 12 points including 3 of 7 from the 3-line.
Despite the loss the Blazers made a good account of themselves. San Antonio dominated the first half which ended 59-49. But it was late in the 3rd quarter that Portland made their run trimming the Spurs lead to only two points 79-77 on a Martell Webster 3-pointer with 33 seconds to go. The Spurs lead once stood at 16 points 55-39 in the 2nd quarter.
San Antonio re-extended their lead early in the 4th quarter with Ginobili's 2 straight baskets 88-80. But the Blazers just kept on coming and threatened with 2:01 left in the game as LaMarcus Aldridge converted to cut the Spurs lead to three 98-95.
Portland was still within striking distance but crucial goaltending calls against Aldridge and center Joel Przybilla allowed Parker and Duncan points which secured the Spurs of the victory.
It was easy to predict a win for the defending champions but I never thought that the Blazers could step up the way they did against the Spurs. They showed that they can run and score. They were only down by two points in fastbreak points against the Spurs 12-14. Their frontline did well enough to stay with Duncan. Aldridge scored 27 points, 2 blocks, 3 rebounds and 1 steal. Przybilla got a double-double performance with 13 points, 10 rebounds, 1 block and 1 assist. Martell Webster also came out big time with 21 points, 3 rebounds, 1 block and 1 assit to his name including 3 of 6 from the 3-point area. Travis Outlaw was their best producer from the bench with 11 points, 5 rebounds and 2 assists.
The key factor for the Blazers loss is in the backcourt match-up. Parker and Ginobili, who combined for 35 points in the Spurs guard line outplayed the tandem of Brandon Roy and Jarrett Jack who scored only 5 and 7 points respectively. Roy had 6 assists to make up for his slow start but he also had a game high 4 turnovers, an erratic 2 of 10 from the field and 2 of 4 from the freethrow line. Steve Blake came off the bench for Portland and scored 9 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists to take over for the night-offish game of Jack but it still wasn't much help.
Blazers head coach Nate McMillan must be optimistic about the chances of his team despite missing Greg Oden all season. He just has to make sure that ALL of his players are going to bring their A-game. If their frontline showed that they can mix it up with Duncan, they can certainly bring it against anyone in the league. Their backcourt headed by Roy will be counted on to make up for this erratic showing.
Portland has to minimize their turnovers. Just imagine if only they have taken care of the ball better and an upset could be in the offing. I'm certainly looking forward for the next Blazers game.
San Antonio played in their usual game and won despite shooting worse than Portland but I'm sure that it wont be long before the Spurs picks up the pace in that department. The evident thing about how the Spurs won is the fact that they have such an impeccable end-game savvy. There is just no substitute for experince.
Other results fresh from the pines:
Shane Battier nailed a three with 2.5 seconds left to lift the Houston Rockets past the Los Angeles Lakers 95-93.
Shane is great at the clutch!
Tracy McGrady had 30 points and 6 rebounds. Yao Ming tallied 25 points and 12 boards.
Gotta give it to Kobe Bryant! He scored 45 points, 18 of them in the 4th quarter. That run he led sure was furious. Too bad they just came up short. Expect more of his "heavy production" in the games to come.
I knew that the Utah Jazz had the Golden State Warriors' number but I never knew that they can beat them this bad at the Oracle Arena. Carlos Boozer scored 32 points and 15 rebounds and Deron Williams had 24 points in a lopsided 117-96 win.
Boozer and the Jazz beats up Warriors in their own house
Looks like Don Nelson's "small ball" tactic just ain't gonna work against the Jazz.
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