I'm back to doing the live blogging. As before, keep tapping that refresh button. It's been too long since I've done this, so without further ado:
3 and a half minutes left in the 1st half. The score is a woeful 38-30. Kawhi Leonard just hit a 3 to make it 41-30 in the Spurs favor. One of these teams might actually reach 80 points tonight. I'll let you guess which one.
Zach Randolph is 1-6 so far, making him 2-14 for the series.
Make that 2-15. Duncan is everywhere on defense right now. Meanwhile, Jerryd Bayless is trying to put the Grizzlies on his back. Not a great sign for Memphis. Neither is the fact that they just missed 7 shots in 1 possession before pointlessly fouling Tim Duncan underneath their own hoop. Watching him now, I can't believe Tim Duncan is 37. Randolph is now 1-9 for the night, and 2-17 this series.
As the buzzer sounds for the half, the Spurs prove that the Grizzlies don't have a monopoly on stupid mistakes. Splitter fouls Bayless on a runner that would've never gone down with .5 seconds left. Bayless hits 1 of 2 from the line.
Did Popovich just call time to draw up a play with half a second left? Of course he did. Jeff Van Gundy says he, "prolongs this agonizing half". The time-out play is poorly executed, but the Spurs lead by 15, so Pop will probably only chew them out for the first 10 minutes of halftime.
Halfway through the 3rd quarter, Memphis has 10 assists and Tony Parker has 13. No wonder the Spurs are still up by 15 as Z-Bo steps to the line. He misses his first free throw. He misses his 2nd as well.
Tony Parker and his mid-range jumper are giving me flashbacks to all those times they knocked the Suns out of the playoffs. If I half close my eyes, I can almost picture the Big Cactus standing out there dejectedly.
Boris Diaw may not be able to one hand a rebound, but he can use that hand to smack Mike Conley in the face and delay the game. If Conley hits both free throws, the Griz are actually within a dozen. The Griz are within a dozen. It feels like it should be 30.
Bayless does it again, getting fouled with 2 tenths of a second left in the quarter. Popovich bites off a small piece of his tongue, momentarily refraining from assaulting Gary Neal. The Spurs lead by a dirty dozen going into the 4th.
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| The camera is fascinated by T-Mac in the 3rd Round |
Memphis got within 10 points, then Tony Parker hit a three on an assist from Tim Duncan. Remember when Parker didn't have range on his shot? I'm guessing Lionel Hollins is pretty nostalgic for those days.
Randolph is 2-7 from the line, almost making his 4-13 from the field look good. Mike Conley brings the team to within 10 on a nifty steal and assist. Pondexter just threw down a "thunderous jam" on Diaw to bring the game within double digits. Pondexter hits a three (also from a Conley assist) making it a 5 point game with 5 minutes remaining.
It's amazing how quickly momentum shifts. Just when it seemed the Grizzlies were going to storm their way back into the Western Conference Finals, they go cold, missing on several trips. A little vintage Ginobili later, the Spurs look comfortably in control of the series.
Somebody should be keeping track of how many of these Z-Bo misses just barely roll off the rim. I know that feeling, and it's incredibly frustrating. The and-1 he just got against Matt Bonner should make him feel better. At least until the Griz lose this game. The Spurs lead by 4.
Ginobili just sent Tony Allen crashing to the floor hard. Maybe he was a bit upset after getting the ball picked by Zach Randolph. Allen steps up for some big free throws and...
Knocks em both down. A 13-2 run for Memphis gives them a chance to tie or take the lead after a flagrant is called. Conley hits a floater. Tie game. So much for the Spurs looking comfortably in control of the series.
After a deep, off-balance turnaround from Duncan misses, this game is headed to overtime. It looks like I'm not going to catch the end of Speed on HBO.
A penitent Duncan draws first blood in overtime.
Tony Allen has a block and a field goal so far in overtime, so he can probably be forgiven for being a foot short on a three point attempt. Duncan scores San Antonio's 2nd overtime basket with a putback, maintaining a lead for the home team. He follows it up with a block on Gasol and a floater. San Antonio leads by 4 with a minute left. So this is what greatness looks like. Thanks Big Fundamental. Like Stockton said in the comments section, I'm torn between wanting to see the Spurs go down and respecting the shit out of them.
The Spurs win Game 2. I'm kicking myself for not predicting that the Griz would almost steal home court, but then Jerryd Bayless would badly brick a 3 pointer with 10 seconds remaining. It seems so obvious in retrospect.
4 Comments:
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Previous Posts
Death of the 2nd round: Enter the BoneyardNBA Playoffs: Notes, Tidbits, and Rapid Reactions
Worst of the... Bulls take a beating
Worst of the 2nd round, so far...
Worst of the rest of the 1st round
Kahn Out. I'm Sad Now.
Playoff Predictions
Jason Collins Makes History: Sells his first jersey
Rest in Pieces Lakers
Faaaaaaaaaaaaawwwwk
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1) Jeff Van Gundy ranting about McGrady being a half of famer. Really? JVG forgot to mention McGrady showing up for training camp fat and out of shape, or that if the dude had a work ethic for conditioning he probably would have avoided those injuries. But hey, he made it out of the first round. He's in the WCF! Hooray Tracy!
2) You know you are getting your ass kicked in Game 1 of the WCF when Tracy McGrady steps onto the court for anything but shagging balls during warmup. An additional layer of shameful poop spread on the shit sandwich the Grizz ate in Game 1.
{that's right, two McGrady Bawful moments. And you know he watched youtube clips of Van Gundy ranting on and muttered to himself, "Shut UP, Jeff. Shut UP.}
3) The Spurs disappearing in the 4th quarter. That's right, they had a 9 pt 4t quarter. Spurs, I have you picked to go all the way. You do that against the Heat and it WILL cost you a game. Did Pop actually mess up here when Duncan sat?
4) An OT Game 2 in the WCF and Manu plays 29 minutes total? Anybody else's Spidey senses tingling? There's something wrong here.
-1) Tim Duncan having a +22 for the game at age 37. It gave me a basketball woody.
Basketball woody (n): sports action so good you get your fat ass off the couch and do some pushups. yes, I actually did this.
Let's face it, the Spurs are the only ones with the cojones to beat the Heat. There are a bunch of hombres in that squad, and we can not demise the power of the Duncan face, although it might not function full time in South Beach.
Oh, and if the mighty spurs win, I DEMAND a piggyback post... you know who am I talking about.
Now, in the first game of the ECF, coach Vogel makes a coaching mistake (shoulda kept Hibbert in) and George made a defensive mistake (shoulda fouled LeBron and made him earn the win at the line).
Yet it still came down to the last shot of an OT. Pacers should be pretty pleased.