He took itThe Spurs apologists are quick to make excuses for their beloved defending champions blowing a 65-45 lead with less than six minutes to play in the third quarter. They say that Tony Parker disappeared during the second half, that Ime Udoka needs to write “I will not airball three’s” on a chalkboard 100 times, or even that Manu’s jumpshot takes too long to get off, thus costing San Antonio at a chance to win in the final seconds.
“He was able to set, and he was able to release,” writes Buck Harvey. “That’s enough time for a shooter. But enough time, for him, requires a weekend with a hot tub, as well as some serious down time in a non-smoking king with the shades closed.
But even beyond the excuses, the Spurs blamed themselves for giving the game away, not giving any credit to the Lakers D, or to Kobe for massacring Bruce Bowen & Co.
“Kobe got a little hot, but that’s kind of normal,” said Ginobili. We just stopped moving the ball offensively, we got stagnant, stopped making shots and [it was] over.”
Sure San Antonio blew the lead. During the Lakers’ 40-18 run, the Spurs shot 5-26 from the field and committed 7 turnovers. But it wasn’t like the Spurs were just bricking open looks. Sasha Vujacic was phenomenal defensively against Ginobili, forcing him into 3-13 shooting for 10 points.
“Sasha had an assignment out there tonight and he played Ginobili very well,” Phil Jackson said. “Offensively, Sasha had a lot better games, but defensively, that was one of his best.”
And just as Sasha held Manu down, Kobe took the game into his own hands. Just read who he refers to as making the game-winning push.
“I know I can make that push,” he said. “And I knew once I did, I could get the game back under control, get it under 10 where we knew we could be in striking distance.”
Once it was within striking distance, Kobe hit the tie-breaking bucket to put them up 87-85. The Spurs only got one try thereafter, and Manu hit front rim. So did the Spurs give the game away, or did the Lakers take it?
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May 22nd, 2008 at 8:45 am
JFIZZLE says:
THE LAKERS TOOK IT..you cant come back by twenty against the world champions without a greaaaaat effort..and thats what kobe gave em…the lakers are gonna win the championship this year..no doubt
May 22nd, 2008 at 8:47 am
fallinup says:
I think the Lakers came out rusty during the first half. And San Antonio was on point up into the 20 point lead. After Kobe turned on the jets and the Lakers began to step it up, San Antonio ran out of juice trying to hold Kobe and Co. off. The Lakers pounced after that. And San Antonio was left as the losers.
Stellar Lakers defense and aggression won the game for L.A. And San Antonio sucking it up in the end gave it to em….
So a little bit of both.
May 22nd, 2008 at 9:01 am
Chuck...Haters come in all fashions and forms so bear arms says:
The Lakers took that booty like big Johny on Cell block 10. The spurs tried to fight, but after the insertion, they felt the pain and just closed their eyes. LOLOLOL!!!!
May 22nd, 2008 at 9:04 am
Kobeef says:
Game 2 in this series will be huge (I’ll say that about game three also) becaus it was pretty easy to see that the lakers were rusty after they lay-off/Spurs were tired after the long series. Lots of excuses all around.
Phil was doing some weird stuff though…I started watching in the second quarter and freaked out ’cause I assumed kobe was injured because he wasn’t on the court for what seemed like most of the quarter. Not sure what that was about.
May 22nd, 2008 at 9:06 am
Kobeef says:
@Chuck
Dude, you need to go to a differnent Blog for the kind of conversation you are looking for. That is weird man.
May 22nd, 2008 at 9:10 am
Big V says:
San Antonio didn’t know what to do defensively on Kobe in the second half. They couldn’t defend that Duncan on Kobe switch when he kept alleying it to Gasol, nor did the wing double on Kobe work either when he decided to take it himself. Offensively I didn’t think they were that bad, but that was all about great LA interior defense. One thing’s for sure though, I haven’t seen a team in recent times that’s better at making adjustments both on the offensive and defensive end from game to game better than the Spurs. Should be a great series.
May 22nd, 2008 at 9:13 am
Chuck...Haters come in all fashions and forms so bear arms says:
@Kobeef
Don’t do me like that. LOLOL!!!
Let me keep in PG, I been watching too much locked up on MSN.
The spurs Got spanked!
May 22nd, 2008 at 9:14 am
GEE...I'll take a muscle-bound man and put his face in the sand. says:
Spurs def. gave that game away with crucial turnovers, horrible shots, bad D and poor decision making on both ends.
With a team like The Spurs (who are not scrubs) up by 20 and losing, please don’t think it was all cause LA did so much, because with Lamar and Fishers point total and other things, it was certainly cause the Spurs failed to keep it and gave it away.
I promise if they get up 20 again, they will not lose I assure you.
May 22nd, 2008 at 9:21 am
PALakerFan says:
I think the Lakers were nervous in the first 30 minutes like “are we really good enough to beat the champs?” and then Kobe started attacking. Manu did not play well against them all season and seemed to really struggle defending Radmonovic. Genius move by Phil to attack that way. No way was Pop expecting that.
If Ray Allen is shooting 400 j’s a day trying to get out of his slump, LO needs to shoot 400 layups. How can a 6′10″ guy with so much talent miss so many damn layups?
Lakers in 6.
May 22nd, 2008 at 9:23 am
Smitty313 says:
Kobe needs to be aggressive the whole game. Sometime Kobe needs to be a volume shooter to make the team better. Some poeple were saying the Spurs were playing good D on Kobe in the first half. I could have lock Kobe up in the first half, he only took three shots.
May 22nd, 2008 at 9:41 am
Celts Fan says:
Obviously the Spurs crapped the bed and should have won that game, but it wasn’t that they lost it, it was that Kobe just took it from them.
May 22nd, 2008 at 9:47 am
control says:
Spurs will probably lose this series because Manu is a pussy.
May 22nd, 2008 at 9:53 am
fiyaman says:
Spurs gave that game away plain and simple.. Anytime u have a 20pt lead in the 3rd and lose, u gave the game away. I dont care who’s playin who.
May 22nd, 2008 at 9:56 am
dukesman2000 says:
Throughout the first half of the Lakers Spurs game last night; I was wondering to myself if Kobe and Phil Jackson were toying with the Spurs. Knowing they can beat the Spurs but just let them go up by 20 only to snatch their hearts out of their chests. That’s how crazy the game seemed to me.
On one play “9 Squared” embarrassed the hell outta Manu. I don’t know how to explain it, other than he put him in the vice grip.
May 22nd, 2008 at 9:59 am
MrParker says:
Does everyone on this board have a shrine to Kobe in their room or what? Feel like I walked into a Miley Cirus concert with all these screaming girls.
May 22nd, 2008 at 10:29 am
Sam I Am says:
LAKERS TOOK IT FROM THEM…snatched out from the CRY BABY SPURS…
Yo did ya’ll see how BAD THE FLOPPING and exagerative falls the spurs (Bowen and Ginobili and Parker) were doing when they would cut to commercials and had them replay it on slow motion…
like the one where Kobe make the tie breaker and Bowen flew back like if it was a 10th round haymaker
FREAKIN HATE THE SPURS
May 22nd, 2008 at 10:35 am
DaPro says:
Chuck that’s nasty fam but funny lmao
It was a little of both. I read something that made sense on espn I think
The Spurs came out with great energy in the first 3 quarters like a team that just came off a game 7 and the Lakers looked like a team that had a few days off and no rhthym.
Game 2 will show how the series will go Spurs with precise execution and the Lakers with ball movement
May 22nd, 2008 at 11:06 am
rangerjohn says:
a lot of people say the lakers took it from, i have to say it was a combo of both really. the lakers did what they could and the spurs didnt. spurs gave it to them, manu and finley gave it to them, and kobe took what the spurs gave. both give and take!
manu was the key, he was off regardless of who was guarding him. he just flat out was off! dont expect that again.
May 22nd, 2008 at 11:18 am
Big Freeze says:
The Lakers showed no emotion or effort until they were down twenty, and they cut it to seven in in a matter of minutes. The Lakers showed what they’re made of. Being down 20 against the defending champs, most teams would fold, but the mamba and co demonstrated that they are younger, faster, and more energetic. However, people were using the same adjectives to describe the Hornets after the first two games last series, so i wouldn’t count the spurs out just yet. it’s gonna go 6, but the spurs can’t f w the mvp.
May 22nd, 2008 at 11:22 am
chris says:
spurs up by 20, i went to bed, woke up to…WTF? floppomatic spurs lost it? refs weren’t giving spurs the flop calls, and that,plus 3-13 from manu, was all kobe et al needed. i think kobe is too fast and too smart to let horry lay him out with an elbow to the back this series; he’ll be watching for it. unless the zebras start giving the spurs the flop calls (and that is a big if), lakers in 5, maybe 6 if manu goes off once.
May 22nd, 2008 at 11:49 am
rangerjohn says:
speaking of elbows, did anyone see farmar throw one up in duncans face when he ran into him on a screen? what was that BS and HOW THE HELL did it not get called? farmar on DUNCAN and dancan cant get the call? really? wow?
May 22nd, 2008 at 12:52 pm
GEE...I'll take a muscle-bound man and put his face in the sand. says:
Spurs gave it away like a ho with no ho standards.
ranger I missed that elbow.
I think the game was called pretty cool. Compared to some of these other playoff games.
May 22nd, 2008 at 2:02 pm
K Dizzle -Take the quarter out your as* cuz you played yourself says:
LOL at “givin it away like a ho with no standards”
I din’t see that elbow either, but I did see Tony go down like a soccer player gettin sniped holdin his face, then when they show the replay, you see he got brushed on the shoulder lol
I feel like the spurs gave away the game then the Lakers took it. I’m not gonna go crazy and start callin for a sweep or nuthin, but NOBODY gets down 20 to the spurs or a Pop coached team in the 3rd quarter and comes back to win. That was exactly what the Spurs did to Phoenix. I know the spurs were tired but i’m happy with the lakeshow bench. Turiaf did a great job on duncan til they started callin fouls on jumpshots(no homecourt adv last night - refs actually called it mostly even), a way better job than Pau cuz Tim owned him, Sasha harrassed Manu best he could and even down 20, u kinda were just waitin for Kobe to turn it on. Great game by Kobe, 9 assists, efficient shootin, guarded Tony a little and just generally was the best player on the floor. As we know, the series don’t get warm til the home team loses…
May 22nd, 2008 at 2:16 pm
Raynman says:
Took it
May 22nd, 2008 at 2:35 pm
djkianoosh says:
manu was practically asleep the whole game.
spurs will be fine. they start slow most of the time anyway.
rangerjohn i saw that.. also duncan got hacked by Pau under the basket late in the game and they called it out of bounds on him. that’s when he lost his mind the most.
it ended up being a close game so it’s not like it was a blowout. and the spurs have lost many 20 point leads before and stuff like that normally just doesn’t affect them for subsequent games.
dont let bandwagon laker fans convince you it was such an epic win or anything. just game 1 folks. enjoy the ride.
May 22nd, 2008 at 2:50 pm
Common Sense says:
LOL
only spurs fans can make a loss a good thing
this ain’t new orlean. this team can win in san antonio
i’m not even watching the east playoffs.
my suns are out and I’m cheerin for whoever takes out the spurs. I hope it doesn’t come down to boston or detroit
May 22nd, 2008 at 3:19 pm
dh says:
When the game is up for grabs the players, coaches, and teams who want it the most take it.
May 22nd, 2008 at 4:42 pm
tjack says:
the spurs suck. they arealways faking and flopping. tim duncan is washed up, bowen is not that great of a defender. tony parker needs to stop flopping and whining. I fucking hate the spurs.
kobe is the man. why wouldn’t he come out there strike with vengeance against the old worn down spurs. he is the best player on the planet. hands down.
I say the lakers in 5.
May 22nd, 2008 at 5:32 pm
rangerjohn says:
HOLY CRAP!!!!!!!!! did tjack just actually write DUNCAN IS WASHED UP? really? cause he looked pretty damn NOT WASHED UP when he out played BOTH ODOM AND GASOL COMBINED! holy shit the lakers love is way worse then the spurs love every day of the week.
and did he also say bowen is not that great a defender? really? hmmm so then how would you explain bowen being on the all nba defense tem 8 YRS IN A ROW! parker is french man he is gonna whine no mater what happens and again he is french, they will laydown (flop) at the 1st sign of trouble (as the germans) but at least the belgian in him makes him get back up and keep attacking the basket.
has any player in the playoffs taken as much of a beating as parker in all of the playoffs? really? NOBODY!
May 22nd, 2008 at 6:36 pm
tealish says:
THEY TOOK IT. NO! THEY GAVE IT AWAY!
This article is meaningless. It’s obviously a combo of both. 20-point leads aren’t solely squandered by a team like the Spurs, nor can they be taken away if they’re playing legit ball. It’s both. End of discussion.
May 22nd, 2008 at 8:02 pm
BunDaSpurs says:
Phil Jackson took Popovich to the side, pulled a chrome .45 and said ” Bitch, so you leavin LA on a plane or in bodybag?”
Pop called a time out, and fearing the wrath of the mighty zen master, asked the whole team what he should do. Bowen, being the lil bitch that he is, said ” Fighting is never the solution… I’ll stop putting my feet under his shot, he’ll hit some shots, and then maybe we can work out some sort of Pass to get you out of LA…”
And that children, is how the Lakers stole game 1.
May 23rd, 2008 at 3:21 am
karan says:
cosign tealish
this is just an article created to start arguments in the the response section between fans with different theories, when clearly, both sides are right. the lakers began to take it, the spurs got nervous and starting giving it away, then the lakers took some more and the spurs gave up some more, and so on
May 23rd, 2008 at 4:05 am
kowtz says:
The SPURS offered…
The Lakers obliged…
If neither one did not do any of the two? it would have been Spurs…
May 23rd, 2008 at 4:05 am
kowtz says:
The SPURS offered…
The Lakers obliged…
If neither one did not do any of the two? it would have been Spurs…
May 23rd, 2008 at 1:31 pm
Desrat says:
Le Français a lutté feircly contre les Allemands, et ils ont lutté feircly contre l’anglais pendant des siècles. Ce n’est pas un manqu à être français. Mais ” ; chaque vrai Américain aime un bon fight.” ; ce n’est pas vrai au sujet de notre amour faisant des cusins à travers l’étang.