The best college game of the decade, and the Spurs Can’t Handle Kobe
We’re not even gonna lie, though, none of us really watched much of the second NBA game last night (Cavs/Suns) — those who weren’t at MSG for the UConn/Syracuse Big East tourney game were glued to the TV watching it. If you missed it, you missed the college basketball equivalent of 300. After the refs waved off an Eric Devendorf three that appeared to give ‘Cuse the win in regulation, the game went to SIX OVERTIMES. Every time Syracuse had a chance to take the lead in the first five OT’s, it seemed they missed the easiest shot possible. One time Paul Harris (29 pts, 22 rebs) had a clear path for a dunk and the ball slipped out of his hands, then another time he had two chances to score right under the basket (with no Hasheem Thabeet around, who’d fouled out) and couldn’t convert. Syracuse finally took the lead in the sixth OT, and knocked down its free throws down the stretch to pull out a 127-117 win … Jonny Flynn was a BEAST for the Orange. He went for 34 points, 11 assists and six steals, hitting all 16 of his free throws and playing something like 67 minutes … And if UConn’s A.J. Price didn’t prove he’s a pro last night, he’ll never be able to do it. Also playing 60-plus minutes, Price (33 pts, 10 asts) looked as fresh in the later overtimes as he did in the first half of regulation, splitting the D and hitting huge buckets all night before fouling out in the last overtime … By the end, the coaches were using walk-ons as guys were fouling out left and right. UConn’s Scottie Haralson had barely played before coming in during the fifth overtime and hitting a big shot — but we couldn’t stop looking at the dude’s hair. Imagine somebody with a perfectly lined-up low Caesar cut, but on top of that is a thick layer that belongs to a 42-year-old with male-pattern baldness. It was hard to describe, but if you saw the game you know what we’re talking about. Just ridiculous … For a good while, it looked like everyone (not just Spurs fans) who promised the Lakers’ road to the NBA Finals would stall in San Antonio were dead wrong. Building a 15-point lead by halftime, which included a near-perfect first quarter — 64 percent from the field, zero turnovers — L.A. was dominating the Spurs on their own court: Kobe had an easy 14 at the break that could have been 20 had he really gone hard, Trevor Ariza was wetting jumpers like Scotty Thurman on ‘roids, and Lamar Odom and Pau Gasol were playing like a pair of 7-2 giants, volleyballing rebounds to themselves and scoring with zero resistance. In the first half L.A. was just bigger, faster, shot the ball better, played better defense, and executed almost flawlessly on the offensive end … But you knew the Spurs’ second-half rally was coming, when Tony Parker (25 pts, 9 asts) got hot and Mike Finley stayed hot (Finley dropped 14 of San Antonio’s first 22 points in the first half, and finished with 25) … The Spurs cut the lead down to two in the fourth quarter, but Kobe (23 pts, 9-21 FG) responded with a HUGE three while wearing George Hill for a shirt, and on the most important play of the game — Lakers up five, little more than a minute to go — Odom tied up Tim Duncan as TD was going in for a sure bucket. After the Lakers won the ensuing jump-ball, that was pretty much it … As much as Doug Collins and Kenny Smith love Kobe, Kevin Harlan’s man-crush makes for more entertaining TV. (As opposed to Rick Kamla’s thing for LeBron, which may have been the inspiration for a recent “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” episode.) Harlan calling one of Kobe’s jumpers “A double-cheese WHOPPER!” was the funniest line of the night … On the low, how good was Sasha Vujacic? He only had six points, but they were all scored in big spots, and he helped contain Finley during some key stretches. Plus the two shots Sasha hit from the field were tough pull-up fadeaways with a hand in his face … The most surprising thing was how the Lakers dominated the paint. Gasol put up 23 points and 11 boards, Odom had 12 and 10, and although the Spurs weren’t short-handed up front, they seemed to be at a significant size advantage throughout. Gregg Popovich only really played Duncan (16 pts, 11 rebs) and Kurt Thomas a lot, rolling out lineups with Ime Udoka at power forward and George Hill at small forward. Meanwhile, Drew Gooden only saw three minutes. He’s probably still learning the system and is also coming off an injury, but Gooden really could have helped San Antonio yesterday. And on that note, how long before we just go ahead and declare Ian Mahinmi the Spurs’ version of Fran Vasquez? … 
The only other game on Thursday’s schedule was Suns/Cavs. LeBron had his third straight triple-double (34 pts, 10 rebs, 13 asts, 3 blks, 3 stls) and Mo Williams scored 30 to send Phoenix to its sixth straight loss. In the first quarter LBJ smacked a Leandro Barbosa layup off the glass, but the play of the night came later in the fourth, when ‘Bron tracked down Jason Richardson and swatted his 360 dunk attempt. J-Rich was silly for trying a contest dunk in crunch time of a close game, but the replay showed LeBron did actually foul him and the refs missed it … We’re out like Syracuse’s legs against West Virginia today …
(Syracuse-UConn photo courtesy: Charlotte Observer)
March 13th, 2009 at 3:23 am
Biglang Liko says:
3rd Triple Double in a row for LBJ. He’s also answering the MVP doubters.
March 13th, 2009 at 3:31 am
bill says:
whys it seem like every time uconn had a chance to win last night it was price going for a contested three instead of taking it to the hole
March 13th, 2009 at 4:03 am
Ian says:
dime u r making more out of this than what it really is. that spurs team is missing a key player and is working a new guy into the rotation hell even barkley mentioned it the spurs have zero % chance of winning the west without manu hell the spurs made it a game in the 4th what more can you ask for you after that 1st. the spurs have no answer for kobe then again who do the lakers have an answer for parker who destroyed fish. gg by the lakers btw, hey dizzle still rather have fishers D over parkers O hehehehe told ya i would be messing with that forever. collins is kinda annoyin i got the feelin he wanted kobes nuts on his face.
March 13th, 2009 at 4:04 am
Ian says:
lol used hell twice kinda close together my bad didnt notice
March 13th, 2009 at 4:08 am
GoEasy says:
dont care if it was a foul… that LBJ block on JRich was ill
March 13th, 2009 at 4:12 am
Ian says:
shit another crap i said
“the spurs have no answer for kobe then again who do” its who does
March 13th, 2009 at 4:27 am
the cynic says:
Road to the Championship runs through LA
March 13th, 2009 at 5:14 am
rafa23 says:
well, the lakers are also missing a key player(and NOO, bynum does not equal ginobili). and the spurs beat other quality opponents at home without ginobili. so its not like they had no business winning the game from the start.
March 13th, 2009 at 5:43 am
pitball says:
Syracuse is going to beat WVU tonight. It’s going to happen. I don’t care that they played 2 games tonight, they’re going to win. This was the best game I have watched in a VERY long time.
March 13th, 2009 at 5:48 am
K Dizzle says:
@ Ian
all I’m gonna say is if Kobe keeps closin close games out like Kobe been doin, then Derek Fisher could be Stephon Marbury and we’d still find a way. Tony got his numbers but Derek made him work a lil bit for em
Props to Sasha for earnin that paycheck this week
Who’s next?
March 13th, 2009 at 6:12 am
alf (from melmak) says:
is it safe to say goodbye phoenix? sure was fun while it lasted.
hope utah gets to trade booz for amare in the offseason.
imagine pick-and-rolls over and over with d-will and amare. one highlight after another.
March 13th, 2009 at 7:02 am
Luigi says:
oh my goodness…i saw this game at the halfway pt of the 2nd half n i was glued throughout….damn this is so intense.
Cuse n Uconn put on a show of heart n intensity…that dude Flynn is a beast..n Davis could of had like 40-50 pts if he woulda made his layups but whatevs.
i gotta see who is their strength n conditioning coaches are too….n i feel for those benchwarmers who didnt play kuz i saw DNP-Coaches Decision on some of the players…
Then the reason why Kobe is better than LeBron is because Kobe has the Killer instinct…like if he hits a shot..u kno ur done..
March 13th, 2009 at 7:59 am
Ross says:
The last time Kobe “man-crushed” someone, it got him arrested, and forced him to spend millions to buy his wife back.
March 13th, 2009 at 8:18 am
that's whats up says:
^^^ it was a good investment. She is fine
March 13th, 2009 at 8:21 am
the_don_mega says:
@alf …
i really don’t think Amare would be a good fit for utah… him and Coach Sloan might go at it in an instant…
March 13th, 2009 at 8:23 am
that's whats up says:
Spurs got rocked. I thought they could take it but in the end the Lakers were better. Walton killed with his hustle and shots. Even Lamar O-Dumb did well.
Pop, why double Kobe late? He just passed to either one of his 7 footers for Layups. The Spurs defense is gone; they’ll be LUCKY as hell to make the conference finals this year. …unless we face the Suns twice in the first two rounds
March 13th, 2009 at 8:25 am
creamio says:
I am so sick of hearing about Kobe and his “killer instinct”…
March 13th, 2009 at 8:33 am
Suka Free says:
kobe destroyed, but how many assists he have>? didnt lebron have 13 or something? OH YEA! a triple double
March 13th, 2009 at 8:59 am
rangerjohn says:
ok 1st IM BAACK!
2nd, that was 3 quarters of good ball between the spurs and lakers. the 1st was TERRIBLE on the spurs side.
3rd, i dont know where everyone is getting this whole “kobe closed that game out” type BS, kobe went 2 of 7 and had 1 assist, and was 1 of 5 in the last 5 minutes with no free throws and 2 fouls. everyone else on the lakers team closed the game out not kobe. he was just there.
this was a defiante game where we could use manu for sure, he is our best closer (well he was, tony is taking that role pretty well). the lakers do need to worry though, they have NO answer for tony (not many do these days), he played good defense, and his O was not stopable in the 2nd half. ultimately it was free throws that killed the spurs, had they hit them they would have won (missed 8 lost by 7) and while the lakers controled the paint, they might want to worry a little about the 3 point line as well. how about tony out scoring AND out assisting fisher,farmar,and “the machine” COMBINED. no answer i tell ya
all in all it was a good game (well except the 1st) and the lakers held on to a big lead, something the spurs could not do last year in the playoffs.
i like the 3:39 gooden played, 4 rebounds and 2 points, and the bad T/O but that could have happened to anyone the way it happened.
March 13th, 2009 at 9:41 am
Yog friend of Jurg says:
Finding it funny I do to see Dimemag.com writer talking about “man love/crush”. It is to be seeming that dimemag.com writer is give attention to entire Laker NBA teams “male member”… and loving it kindly.
March 13th, 2009 at 9:41 am
MoxWestCoastRep says:
all I can say is….I’m glad I was on the west coast watching that Cuse game! It was insane!!
March 13th, 2009 at 9:43 am
Yog friend of Jurg says:
This site commentors is turning into suck. Everyday “Kobe” … “Lebron”… etc. over and again. No one gets tired of same sht differnt day?
March 13th, 2009 at 10:47 am
Sanpitch says:
as a jazz fan i agree with post 15.
ian your excuse for the spurs is kind of weak cuz ain’t the lake show missing bynum? i know it seems like the lakers are better without bynum, but he’s still a big piece. and the way the spurs have been rolling lately, that manu excuse is falling on deaf ears.
every team is dealing with injuries. i am probably one of the biggest anti-laker fans, but that excuse you gave for the spurs was weak. just take the “l” (not kobe’s nuts) on the chin like a man.
i’ve kind of been rooting for d-wade for mvp, but i saw that j-rich block last night and now i am on the lebron for mvp band wagon. that was just sick. also 3 straight triple doubles! that’s insane. someone look up the last time that has happened.
March 13th, 2009 at 10:56 am
Az says:
LAKERS OVER the spurs…..4-2 in the 09 playoffs….just a predicting
March 13th, 2009 at 10:59 am
doug says:
yall stop making excuses for your team you guys were getting all kinds of calls just like that last game they handed to you guys in San Antonio and we still won and stop saying you guys were missing a key player we’re missing Bynum he’s our key player and we beat you guys with a healthy ginobli in L.A. and we beat yall without him. You guys we’re just a better team it’s hard to admit as a fan we went through it when phoenix was handing it to us every year in the playoffs it’s your turn.
March 13th, 2009 at 11:00 am
Az says:
I agree wit Sanpitch… ian it is weak sauce.
March 13th, 2009 at 11:03 am
QQ says:
The funniest line of the night is when Harlan almost ripped his larynx off screaming ‘ODOM FOR A ONE HANDED TOMAHAWK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!’, only to realize that the shot didn’t count because a foul was committed earlier. I seriously laughed out loud at that one.
March 13th, 2009 at 11:10 am
doug says:
Sanpitch and everybody else what are yall on with this D.Wade stuff he’s not an MVP candidate, you can’t be an MVP candidate when your 5 games over .500 in the EASTERN CONFERENCE. They keep showing a buzzer beater to win the game and this cat standing on the scorers table like he won a ship, they beat the BULLS!LOL.The BULLS.LOL.It’s just more proof to me that the league and people who don’t like Kobe are eagerly awaiting someone to take his place as top player in the L. Kobe has been doing what that dude did against the bulls for years he does it every game and it’s looked over because he does it so often. D-Wade does it against the crap bulls in a regular season game and yall make a gatorade commercial out of it, something is seriously wrong with that.And finally for yall saying this cat should be mentioned in MVP consideration…ridiculous…yall got on Kobe so hard the two years Nash won the MVPS and Dirk,saying he shouldn’t have won MVP his team had a mediocer record and Kobe was breaking records every night making D.Wades season this year look far less superior in a tougher western conference and with a weaker supporting cast averaging 35 ppg,81 pts, 62 pts in 3 quarters, 5 games of 50 points or more all wins, Kobe still finished no higher than 3rd in the balloting every year because there record which by the way was better than the heats record the Lakers finished the season 15 games over .500 the year he averaged 35ppg. And yall are saying D.WADE should be MVP this year…very hypocritical.
March 13th, 2009 at 11:16 am
doug says:
I think Steven A.Smith put it best when a crazy D.WADE fan sent an e-mail saying D.wade is like Kobe and Lebron wrapped in 1 and if he had they put him on the Cavs or the Lakers there teams would only have 5 losses. Steven A. Smith dismissed as ignorance and said he wouldn’t even respond to dudes e-mail because it was such a ridiculous statement…yall for real he’s good but he’s still not on Kobes level and he’s not even on Lebron’s level. Stop making it seem like this cat has a weak supporting cast last I check he has a potential rookie of the year candidate(Beasley)the three-point contest champion(Cook)a former all-star(Jermain O’neal) which is far more than Kobe had when he was getting slighted for MVP votes because of his record and weak supporting cast that consisted of a far worse team than D.Wades position by postionPG-Smush Parker ,SF-Luke Walton, C-Kwame Brown, PF-Lamar Odom, please name one all-star on that team-thank you.
March 13th, 2009 at 11:19 am
doug says:
Question y is that everytime someone cheers for the Lakers or an announcer like Harlan goes hard for the Lakers yall call dude a rider but when people are gassing Bron and D.Wade yall don’t say nothing…another hypocrisy..also hate motivated.
March 13th, 2009 at 11:19 am
LakeShow84 says:
Ian my man!!!!!!!
Good game.. but the Spurs time is over.. we are too big and have too much too handle.. you guys saw it last night.. you can insert Finley in Manu’s spot for last night and with big three 1.0 we still led damn near the whole game.. And Manu is a perimiter player.. you guys have problems with us in the paint with just Gasol, Odom and Powell.. so i think getting Bynum back would be the nail in the coffin for you guys.. If Manu comes back and Bynum doesnt it could be a series (we win in 6-7) but if Bynum comes back you guys will be manhandled in the paint and Manu wont matter..
when we put our game faces on its MURDA..
March 13th, 2009 at 11:21 am
LakeShow84 says:
Yo Yog..
there were only 2 games on last night.. and it happened to be Lebron & Kobe.. get mad at the NBA..
March 13th, 2009 at 11:23 am
caloy says:
kobe may have had only 6 assist last night but he orchestrated the laker’s offense to perfection against the spurs. just goes to show that stats aren’t everything
March 13th, 2009 at 11:24 am
LakeShow84 says:
Get ‘em Doug lol
March 13th, 2009 at 11:27 am
caloy says:
@rangerjohn
I think the lakers stopped tony pretty damn well in the first half. he’s just lucky his j was falling in the 2nd half. that opened things up for him. i’ll live with that. its not everyday that they’ll be falling, i’m spretty sure of that.
March 13th, 2009 at 12:01 pm
dip says:
tha devendorf guy for syracuse has the thinnest weakest beard i have ever seen. shave it off douchebag
March 13th, 2009 at 12:04 pm
snook says:
why does “Mahinmi” have a link to an article he’s not even mentioned on.. seriously Dime we’re already here, no need do that ish
March 13th, 2009 at 12:13 pm
QQ says:
@ 16:
People were saying the exact same thing at the beginning of the year, when they were 2-5 or something. That they were weak, that their defense isn’t as strong as it used to be, that they will struggle to reach the playoffs. Well, look at them now: The freaking top 2 team in the West.
One thing I learned about these guys is that you NEVER, NEVER doubt them.
March 13th, 2009 at 12:43 pm
Sonny says:
Lol, Did anyone notice that when Lebron got his 10th rebound, he yelled yesss?? Then immediately after the interview with Craig Sager and he asks him if he knew that he got a triple double and Lebron’s response was “no.” That was followed by a awkward pause between the two because they both knew that was not accurate lol. Lebron is the CLEAR CUT winner of the MVP this year no contest.
March 13th, 2009 at 1:05 pm
Sanpitch says:
doug if you are going to quote stephen a. smith, then you just lost all credibility. that dude knows nothing about the game, just has a loud mouth. if you are going to quote him to prove a point, you just lost any argument.
get off kobe’s nuts! look at what d-wade is doing. open your eyes and watch a game. the guy controls both ends of the game.
let’s compare this season stats:
kobe:
28.0 ppg 4.9 apg 5.4 rpg 0.5 blk 1.3 stl 47.4% fg
wade:
29.7 ppg 7.7 apg 5.1 rpg 1.4 blk 2.3 stl 48.5% fg
kobe brings more drama to a clubhouse (see trade demands from ‘07 summer, shaq and phil leaving l.a., and trying to get coach k to leave duke and come to l.a.), has a history of quitting on his team (see ‘06 and ‘07 playoffs), and has a temper (see 07-08 season leader in technical fouls).
so sorry if i ain’t the biggest kobe fan out there. the guy is a lot of drama that i wouldn’t want to deal with, and i am sure that a lot of mvp voters took some of his off the court antics into consideration when voting.
and just because you can score a lot of points doesn’t mean you are an mvp candidate. there are more things than points that people take into consideration.
March 13th, 2009 at 1:23 pm
BROGDEN says:
told ya, SPURS needed another Timmy…another low post defender with polished offensive skills.
They got GOODEN.
And he plays for only a handful of minutes.
Those two teams meet up again, Drew’s gonna get more tic. I promise.
Well, if he aint hurt. And that’s a big IF.
I saw Pitt get manhandled. They blew up my one bracket.
Then, LA/SAS over/under was 195, spread SAS minus 2. By a flip of the coin, I get LA under. The score : 102-95, LA…another bracket obliterated.
Last Night was ‘B.ULL S.ugar H.oney I.ced T.ea’
March 13th, 2009 at 2:32 pm
MIA33 says:
What’s up people? Nothing against LB or KB they are having great seasons, but DWade is out of this world. The guy is playing like he’s trying to earn a spot on the team!
March 13th, 2009 at 2:40 pm
JH says:
After watching a well fought SAS-LAL game, a game that was decided in the last 1:30 of the 4th quarter, I laced up my kicks and went to a nearby gym.
Some of the people I play with are Laker fans…and while I’m not surprised about their stupid on-the-court decisions (trying to be KOBE)…I was surprised by how ignorant/blind they were about respecting other teams.
I couldn’t stop hearing about how they “dominate” the Spurs and how they “own” the Celtics (2 regular season wins will do that). Last time I checked…the last two NBA champs were the Spurs and Celtics…Lakers??? You have to travel back in time to 2001 when Kidd and KMART were hooking up for alley oops.
Soooo, long story short…Laker fans…keep it real & humble until you get that coveted title.
March 13th, 2009 at 2:50 pm
that's whats up says:
Scottie Haralson’s hair looked like “The Roommate” Cut, which later becomes “The Girlfriend” Cut and one day evolves into the “I Can Afford A Barber Every Week Now” Cut.
March 13th, 2009 at 2:52 pm
that's whats up says:
…and Jonny Flynn HAS to be related to Stephen Jackson.
Dude looks just like Captain Jack.
March 13th, 2009 at 3:10 pm
doc says:
Doug-u on point about the MVP thing concerning Wade.His team aint shit,he shouldnt get it.Who the fuck is he to be the first dude from a noncontending team to get it.If they was gonna start that Kobe shoulda been had one from the years most Wade people were saying he shouldnt get it for doing the same shit THEN Wade doing NOW.But Kobe still 2nd in MVP as long as THE KING is running around with his average team making them look like gangbusters while putting triple dubs up at a serious clip.Somebody asked who had 3 straight before.I dont know but I heard the 3 active players with that stat are G-Hill,J-Kidd,and The King.
March 13th, 2009 at 3:28 pm
Ian says:
sanpitch and Az
love how u 2 like to imply shit
didnt i say gg by the lakers i just mentioned that this isnt the spurs team they are getting in the playoffs fuck even the guys of tnt said the same shit. losing by that much and making it a game ill take it with the probs the spurs are having.
k dizzle
sorry nice win but fish didnt make him work.
caloy
u havent seen parker play i think
March 13th, 2009 at 3:30 pm
Ian says:
lakeshow
good win for your team last night
we need manu asap but yall can win without bynum.
i only watched the 4th quarter of the game hehehe just got resident evil 5 had to try that shit out
March 13th, 2009 at 3:46 pm
MIA33 says:
I’m a Heat and Wade fan but I’m not on his jock, truth is Wade is having the best year of anyone in the NBA, truth is that setting aside team records Wade would be MVP this year, truth is the process is flawed because Dirk the Choker won the MVP solely on team record and they didn’t even get out of the first round of the playoffs, truth is Nash shouldn’t have won 2 MVP awards, truth is Kobe should have won an MVP before last year, truth is LeBron is going to win the MVP this year because it was decided that it’s his turn. I have nothing against Lebron, I’m not saying he doesn’t deserve to be MVP, it’s just that not even half way through the season people were already giving it to him and saying “it’s his time”.
March 13th, 2009 at 5:59 pm
K Dizzle says:
@ Ian - I said made him work a little lol
@ dude who posted this = “kobe brings more drama to a clubhouse (see trade demands from ‘07 summer, shaq and phil leaving l.a., and trying to get coach k to leave duke and come to l.a.), has a history of quitting on his team (see ‘06 and ‘07 playoffs), and has a temper (see 07-08 season leader in technical fouls).”
Kobe tried to get coach k to leave duke and come coach the lakers……please expand on how this has anything to do with anything…and please get out of the past. It’s 2009.
March 15th, 2009 at 3:54 pm
Jason says:
“Trevor Ariza was wetting jumpers like Scotty Thurman on ‘roids”
That quote just made my day!!!!
Thanks Dime.