# Game 56: San Antonio Spurs @ Cleveland Cavaliers



## KokoTheMonkey (Aug 4, 2003)

* February 28th 6:00 PM (Central Time)*


*San Antonio Spurs (42-13) * @ *Cleveland Cavaliers(31-23)* 




*Previus Matchups:*

Spurs 116, Cavs 97 





*Projected Starting Lineups: *

















































































*Reserves:*

































































We destroyed them in the first meeting of the season, but Cleveland is a much better team in Cleveland than on the road. They are 21-5 at home, so it's very possible that we drop a second straight game. LeBron is going to do his thing whether we like it or not, so the focus needs to be on containing Gooded, Mcinnis, and especially Ilgauskas. Mohammed is going to be tested right off the bat, because I'm sure he's going to get time defending him tonight. Our bench has to play better, and we can't have mental lapses. We need to push the ball up the floor and have sucess defending their half-court game. This is going to be a very tough game to win, and I'm in doubt as to whether we will win or not. Phoenix dropped a game yesterday so we've got the best record back for a little bit, but I think we're going down tonight.



Prediction: Cavs 96, Spurs 93


----------



## texan (Jul 10, 2003)

I don't think we lose this game. Given, we had a horrible game the other night against the Grizz, but at the end we came on strong and our starters were playing very well. Mohammed will be playing tonight so hopefully he gives us a boost. I think TD is going to have a monster game, and Pop will not let us have the mental lapses we had in the game against the Grizz. I'm sure he grillin the guys in practice for the 20+ TO's we had last game.

Prediction:
Spurs- 96
Cavs- 82


----------



## KokoTheMonkey (Aug 4, 2003)

Mohammed came in at the 6 minute mark of the 1st quarter and has two boards and two points in about 2 minutes. 



Duncan has picked up 2 fouls already, and Cleveland has gotten some easy baskets right off the bat.


----------



## KokoTheMonkey (Aug 4, 2003)

40-39 Cavs at the half. Parker is on a serious triple-double watch with 10 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists. Duncan has been pretty bad going 2/9 from the field with 3 TO's and 3 personal fouls. We've done a great job on LeBron, but Duncan's poor play has canceled that out. 



3 points and 5 boards for Mohammed in 10 minutes at the half, including an air-ball for his first FT attempt as a Spur.


----------



## el_Diablo (May 15, 2003)

is the spurs board always like this?

anyway, duncan heating up


----------



## el_Diablo (May 15, 2003)

how did they count that duncan "tip-in" as a three pointer? I don't get that...


----------



## LineOFire (Apr 20, 2004)

Wow, Duncan comes away with the clutch jumper. 

If he wouldn't have tipped in their stupid 3-pointer that wouldn't have even been necessary. :laugh:


----------



## FreeMason Jr. (Jul 12, 2004)

el_Diablo said:


> how did they count that duncan "tip-in" as a three pointer? I don't get that...


I think it was goal tending, but I'm not sure.

The spurs sucked the entire game untill that last play. First buzzer beater of the season. Bout time. Way to go Timmy! :biggrin:


----------



## KokoTheMonkey (Aug 4, 2003)

Duncan with the game winning basket as time expires!!! Wow, I was really crapping my pants in that last minute.


----------



## el_Diablo (May 15, 2003)

ezealen said:


> I think it was goal tending, but I'm not sure.


yeah, I'm pretty certain that's what the call was, I was just wondering, because the 3-pointer was way short.

well, no one will remember it now...


----------



## LineOFire (Apr 20, 2004)

I hate games like this. The Spurs always find away to completely blow their leads (as evidenced today by Duncan putting on a Cavs jersey for a possession and Manu completely choking and missing two free throws). We got lucky in this game.

Mohammed played pretty good recording 6 points and 6 rebounds in 16 minutes although I did see him picking up to many unnecessary fouls.

I wish Tony Parker would have gotten that elusive triple double! He has been close to that a few times this season but always seems to fall one or two rebounds short. :sad:


----------



## FreeMason Jr. (Jul 12, 2004)

el_Diablo said:


> yeah, I'm pretty certain that's what the call was, I was just wondering, because the 3-pointer was way short.
> 
> well, no one will remember it now...


The thing is, if that's what the call was, it was a bad call. That was going to be an airball. It was already under the basket. Still, I rather have an ending where Tim makes a buzzer beater not a point for the other team because, like you said, no one will remember it now. :biggrin:


----------



## KokoTheMonkey (Aug 4, 2003)

Parker played some great ball out there tonight. He dominated that game when he was in there, DOMINATED. He played that last play absolutely perfectly, and gave us a great shot at the end. Cleveland had to guard him at the end because of how much he punished them throughout the game, so that last play just signified how much of an impact he had. He was 2 rebounds away from a triple-double as well. Great freakin game out of him. I can't say enough about him. 


Duncan started off misreably, but he really came alive there at the end. He was banging down low and getting baskets in the paint, and nailed at least 3-4 bank shots. Ginobili finished with decent numbers again, but he almost cost us that game. He's really played like **** since the All-Star break. He missed 3 of 4 free throws at the end and got saved by Duncan at the buzzer. The bench was decent, but Barry played very well. Mohammed was tough inside and looked nervous, but I like what he provided for us. I hardly ever give Bowen credit, but I'll give him some tonight. He did a great job on James (6/22 from the field) and had a big bucket at the end. 


Good win for us. We had to grind it out in the end, and beating a team that's so good on their home floor is a very nice win. 




San Antonio Leaders:


Points:


Tim Duncan - 20
Tony Parker - 19
Manu Ginobili - 17


Rebounds:


Tim Duncan - 11
Tony Parker - 8
Bruce Bowen - 7


Assists:


Tony Parker - 10
Duncan, Ginobili, Udrih - 3
Rasho Nesterovic - 2


----------



## FreeMason Jr. (Jul 12, 2004)

KokoTheMonkey said:


> Mohammed was tough inside and looked nervous


Seriously! Did you look at his face when he was shooting those free throws, especially after he airballed his first one?


----------



## KokoTheMonkey (Aug 4, 2003)

LineOFire said:


> I hate games like this. The Spurs always find away to completely blow their leads (as evidenced today by Duncan putting on a Cavs jersey for a possession and Manu completely choking and missing two free throws). We got lucky in this game.
> 
> Mohammed played pretty good recording 6 points and 6 rebounds in 16 minutes although I did see him picking up to many unnecessary fouls.
> 
> I wish Tony Parker would have gotten that elusive triple double! He has been close to that a few times this season but always seems to fall one or two rebounds short. :sad:






I agree with basically everything you said, especially the TP/triple double thing. I wish he could have got one because he played so great, but that doesn't make his contributions any less. 


And yeah, I hate games like this too. We had the game wrapped up, and Manu missed 3 out of 4 free throws and we had 2-3 defensive breakdowns. I would have been as mad as I've been all season long if we didn't win this one. 


It was good to see Duncan doing his thing though. Boy he really stepped up in the 2nd half.


----------



## XxMia_9xX (Oct 5, 2002)

i didn't get to see the game yet again... i hate it when i miss games when parker plays so well in... ughh! i want more nationally televise spurs games....


----------



## FreeMason Jr. (Jul 12, 2004)

XxMia_9xX said:


> i didn't get to see the game yet again... i hate it when i miss games when parker plays so well in... ughh! i want more nationally televise spurs games....


Parker did alrite, but it was the Tim Duncan show tonight :biggrin:


----------



## KokoTheMonkey (Aug 4, 2003)

Duncan did hit the game winning shot, but I still thought it was the Tony Parker Show tonight. Like I said in a previous post, the Cavs had to respect him coming off that screen and that (Combined with Mcinnis falling on the ground) gave TD the open shot.


----------



## FreeMason Jr. (Jul 12, 2004)

My Favorite :biggrin:


----------



## texan (Jul 10, 2003)

I didn't get to see the game, and it sounds like I missed a real thriller. God I hate it when I miss the good games. From the sounds of it, Manu had another bad game, but TD and TP played well. How was Mohammed? Did he play some good D? And how was his offense?


----------



## KokoTheMonkey (Aug 4, 2003)

texan said:


> I didn't get to see the game, and it sounds like I missed a real thriller. God I hate it when I miss the good games. From the sounds of it, Manu had another bad game, but TD and TP played well. How was Mohammed? Did he play some good D? And how was his offense?


 Well, his defense was pretty good, only because he was a force on the boards in limited minutes. Offensively he looked out of sync, but I was encouraged that guys were looking for him on the block. He was in good position several times on offense, and got to the line 4 times because of it. Overall, I was very pleased with him. He looked a little bit nervous, but that's expected.


----------



## Nephets (Jul 15, 2004)

KokoTheMonkey said:


> Well, his defense was pretty good, only because he was a force on the boards in limited minutes. Offensively he looked out of sync, but I was encouraged that guys were looking for him on the block. He was in good position several times on offense, and got to the line 4 times because of it. Overall, I was very pleased with him. He looked a little bit nervous, but that's expected.


Yeah, he'll be a lot better around this time next month, gives him plenty of time to work into the system.

Did anybody else just feel a tingle of success in the middle of the Duncan shot? I KNEW that shot was going in before it even made it to the basket...


----------



## Moe The Bartender (May 7, 2004)

Parker pretty much saved our arse again last night. When Duncan decided to play, he was outstanding, but Parker was consistent ALL night. Mohammed was shaky offensively, but he looks to be a banger inside...he is really going to help us down the stretch. Props to Bowen...played a steady game on both ends. Manu did not play particularly well, but still had 17...he must be trying too hard instead of getting into the flow...still having too many mental mistakes lately. Missing 3 of 4 FTs down the stretch won't cut it. Horry has been playing "matador" defense lately...if the leg fracture is still bothering him, ok, but holy crap! Overall, we are out of sync right now, and it started before Malik was traded. However, great teams win in spite of themselves and this season is looking a lot like the 03 team...I was mad one minute and elated the next. If these guys get on a good run to close the season, they might not lose again.


----------



## KokoTheMonkey (Aug 4, 2003)

Popovich was impressed with Nazr's play last night:




> "I thought Nazr did a fine job, for not knowing anything about what we do," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. "Six points and six rebounds in that time were real good for a new guy."




Mohammed on his first Spurs game:




> "Awkward," Mohammed said, describing how he felt on the court. "At the same time it felt good. In the second half, I felt a lot looser. My rhythm was a little bit off, but I was just excited about the game."



http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/...MYSA030105.5D.BKNspurs.notebook.f3d3d75b.html 



Just as expected, he even admitted he was a little nervous. The Pop comment is encouraging. I think I could see him getting 20-25 minutes once he gets things going.


----------



## TheRoc5 (Mar 1, 2005)

td looked determined and he got itdone. it shouldnt be that close though


----------



## mr_french_basketball (Jul 3, 2003)

*my ratings*

I felt nazr tried to do to much, what I can understand.

I didn't agree with some of you saying he was better in the defensive end. We took several baskets because he was late... Offensively, he quickly understood the systems even if he often wasn't able to finish his plays. But overall, he was decent for his first game (6 rebonds in 16mn was great).

Parker : 9/10
Bowen : 9/10
Duncan : 8/10
Barry : 8/10
Nesterovic : 8/10
Ginobili : 6/10
Mohammed : 5/10
Brown : 5/10
Udrih : 4/10
Horry : 4/10


----------



## FreeMason Jr. (Jul 12, 2004)

*Re: my ratings*



mr_french_basketball said:


> I felt nazr tried to do to much, what I can understand.
> 
> I didn't agree with some of you saying he was better in the defensive end. We took several baskets because he was late... Offensively, he quickly understood the systems even if he often wasn't able to finish his plays. But overall, he was decent for his first game (6 rebonds in 16mn was great).
> 
> ...


I don't agree with Gino being 6/10 there. Maybe 5/10 at most. He was really off that game, but not as much as the last game


----------



## KokoTheMonkey (Aug 4, 2003)

*Re: my ratings*

That was one of Parker's best games of the season. I think he had a 10/10 performance, because he was absolutely killing Cleveland's defense.


----------

