MVN - Most Valuable Network

Denver ends Spurs win streak

The Spurs did not start a tough five-game stretch well, losing to the Denver Nuggets 109-96.

San Antonio actually held an eight point lead at halftime and were playing okay basketball, but was outscored 34-19 in the third quarter and 29-23 in the fourth quarter. Things started to fall apart in the third quarter when Pop couldn’t find a lineup that worked well together. He tried shuffling different players around, but nobody could score. Denver pushed the lead to 15 early in the fourth quarter and San Antonio never could fight its way back into the game.

My biggest concern with the Spurs showing was their lack of effort in the second half. One play sticks out in my mind that displays this. In the fourth quarter, a Denver guard took a three, which bounced high off the rim. Four Spurs players passively went for the rebound, while Eduardo Najera came running in from outside the 3-point line to tap the ball away for an offensive rebound. Four Spurs and not one boxed out or went high for the rebound. At this point in the fourth quarter, San Antonio was not completely out of the game, but afterwards I knew that there was no way they would win.

Two Spurs showed up to play: Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili. Duncan had 23 points on 8-of-11 shooting, nine rebounds and four blocks. Ginobili had 24 points on 9-of-17 shooting. However, neither did much in the second half. Duncan had 14 points at halftime and Ginobili had 17.

The Nuggets deserve credit for their defense. Outside of Marcus Camby, the Nuggets are not known for their defense, but they defended well. In the third quarter they used a zone defense to frustrate the Spurs. It didn’t help that Michael Finley was 2-of-8, but I digress. Denver played aggressive defense, not allowing Tony Parker (4 points, 2-of-7) easy penetration. I don’t think Denver can play this kind of defense consistently, but they did a good job on Friday. San Antonio also hurt themselves with senseless turnovers. They had 16 on the night, five from Parker. There were too many telegraphed passes picked off and too many dumb mistakes.

Joey: Many different players struggled throughout the game, but Tony Parker was maybe the worst. He seemed afraid to attack the basket knowing that Marcus Camby was inside. He finished with four points, six assists and five turnovers.

This entry was posted on Saturday, March 8th, 2008 at 11:14 pm and is filed under San Antonio Spurs. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.