Denver at San Antonio: Game 2 Recap
The Spurs tie it up after nearly giving it up.
By Cub Buenning
Both of the first two games of the Denver v. San Antonio series were not the easiest ones for me to watch. With game 1, I was rushing home from a last-minute trip to Houston and missed the live telecast, instead settling for a local replay a day later. Game 2 was quite different, as an April snowstorm blew through the area, rendering my mountain abode (8500 feet above sea level) useless. No power, no water. We were able to dig out from underneath the 26 inches of the white stuff (five hours later), and make out way to my parents’ home just to the north. Their house was also under a foot and a half of snow, but equipped with the electricity necessary for television viewing. Keep in mind that Denver actually got no snow accumulations, but just 15 miles and 25 minutes to the west, Jack Frost was still on the job.
Instead of the usual report that I have produced over the years in this space, I will give more of a quarter by quarter blow by blow. Not unlike the infamous “Appleson,” there will be two voices emanating from this report. My dad, a Denver sports fan diehard and former collegiate baller from back in the day, added his unknowing opinion, that I feverishly scribbled as he prepared a brilliant Prime Rib dinner for us vagabonds.
The Spurs were able to bounce back and procure a 97-88 victory in Game 2 despite a furious late run by the Nuggets. The series heads back to the Mile High City for two more games; Game 3 tipping Saturday night.
(My father’s quotes will be separated in italics.)
1st Quarter:
Both teams are having success penetrating and making interior passes. The Nuggets are simply struggling to finish their easy opportunities. The Spurs, on the other hand, are cashing in.
The Nuggets’ dynamic duo of Carmelo Anthony and Allen Iverson are struggling to get going, as both are having trouble getting baskets to fall.
Nugget’s Head Coach George Karl had planned to tag-team defend Tim Duncan, as apposed to doubling on a regular basis. Nene would start on the three-time NBA Finals MVP, but the minute he got his first foul, Marcus Camby would switch over. Game 1 saw neither get into early foul trouble, but last night was different as both were saddled with early “ticky-tacky” calls defending Duncan. While neither Camby nor Nene was ever truly in foul trouble, the early calls were a sign of things to come.
My dad was surprisingly quiet early on (don’t worry he warms up,) making brief comments about Manu and his propensity for the dramatic.
“There he goes again, with that flopping!”
Both teams struggled a bit from the field, with the home team holding a slight advantage shooting 33% from the field as apposed to the Nuggets’ paltry 29%, many of which were around the cup. Spurs finished the quarter with a 24-18 lead.
The Spurs can make lay-ups, the Nuggets can’t.
2nd Quarter:
“We can’t hit crap!”
The first three minutes of the second quarter continued the feeble shooting for the Nuggets.
Nene re-enters the game around the 8 minute mark and gave the Nuggets a much needed lift inside. His progress over the last half of the year has been largely overshadowed by the teams’ overall great play.
Eerily similar to Melo’s first couple of years in the league, the 4th-year forward got no calls in this game. Despite going hard to the hole, instead of settling for the long-jumper, Melo could not get a nod from the referees. With just over six minutes left in the first half, the league’s second leading scorer was still just 1-9 from the field.
“These refs are gonna make sure the Spurs win this game!”
At this point, the two teams were still shooting the same percentage as they had in the first quarter; 33% and 29% respectively.
Duncan is starting his bitching. Immediately, it pays off. First a phantom call is made against Camby, and on the other end an obvious “over the back” is ignored keeping the possession with the Spurs.
The action culminates with the Spurs putting together a 14-6 run stretching their lead to 15 points.
As became the norm in the game (and potentially for the series), the Nuggets were great at the end of quarters. With just over a minute left and the Nuggets still down 15, Camby and Anthony combined for seven quick points to cut the Nuggets’ halftime deficit to just eight, at 49-41.
3rd Quarter:
Duncan is dominating off the bat, despite great instances of one-on-one defense by Nene and Camby. When the Nuggets made a move to double him, Duncan fires a great cross-court pass to Bruce Bowen for a three-pointer moving the lead back to 14.
Nene again, is keeping the Nuggets’ offense on track seemingly scoring at will. As the Czar astutely pointed out during the Brazilian Beast’s fine play, “Nene is just not afraid of Duncan.”
Iverson is getting into the lane with no problem, but is still having trouble getting his shots to fall.
The Nuggets again make a nice run to end the quarter before the Spurs hit a late-3 making the difference 14 at 74-60.
4th Quarter:
“I’m surprised that Ginobili didn’t fall over with that one!”
Midway through the final quarter, as the 6’6” Argentine swingman makes a circus shot in the lane; my dad’s irritation begins to obviously boil over. Not the most popular man in Denver, Ginobili puts together a brilliant run, scoring 14 of 15 points as the Spurs keep their lead in double-digits.
“You just knew there was no way Denver was going to win the second game. The NBA would never let them win both games!”
The topic of conversation turned to the salary cap issues that the Nuggets will face in the off-season. The general thought, is that one of the two big men (Nene or Camby) will have to be let go in order to avoid a serious luxury cap hit. The question would have been a no-brainer earlier in the year, but with Nene’s progress, the elder Camby now seems to be the one “left out.” My dad made his thoughts formal, after Nene goes baseline and finishes with a thunderous reverse bang.
“We don’t need Camby! He wouldn’t have made that! (FORESHADOWING) He is just a strange hybrid between a center and a forward. He just wants to block shots and shoot that set-shot from the top of the key. He has no place in the NBA!”
With just under six minutes left in the game, and the San Antonio lead at 11 points, the Nuggets start slowly making a move to get back into the game. After a Melo 3 and a jumper by guard Steve Blake, the Nuggets find themselves down just eight with still four minutes left on the clock.
After an Iverson 3 and a defensive stop, the Nuggets are down just six. With about two minutes remaining, a great “penetrate and dish” by Iverson is ruined when Camby blows a wide-open dunk.
“HOW CAN YOU MISS A DUNK LIKE THAT?!?!?”
With just over a minute left, Iverson hits his patented floater in the lane, to cut the Spurs’ lead to 89-85. My dad notes that it should be just two if Camby hadn’t blown that dunk.
Duncan comes up big down the stretch hitting a bug bucket, despite solid defense from Nene.
To his credit, Iverson was HUGE down the stretch. He was also mysteriously absent from the free-throw line the entire night, hoisting 25 shots, but earning nary one trip to the charity stripe.
The Spurs, in the words of their Coach Gregg Popovich, “hang on for the win.” Like the proceeding ones, the Nuggets won the battle at the end of the quarter, possibly reflecting San Antonio’s geriatric tendencies. Despite having a far superior bench to the Nuggets (any day fellas! Najera, JR, Linas) the Spurs look considerably worn down towards the end of the game, thus their coach’s response.
Will this become a factor with the series moving to elevation for the next two games? Can the Nuggets hold court in Games 3 and 4, despite having one of their worst home records in years? Will my power/water/internet be back up for Game 3?
Luckily for me, the latter inquiry should be irrelevant as I will have a seat front and center for that one.
19 Responses to “Denver at San Antonio: Game 2 Recap”
Apr.26 at 12:59 pm
allenp says:
good post. those two fouls called early on Nene and Camby were shady, but the refs did all right. Melo causes so much contact that sometimes it’s hard for me to determine whether he actually got fouled or just bulled somebody over. Tim Duncan is really, really good.
Apr.26 at 1:26 pm
Boyd says:
Nuggets in 7
Apr.26 at 1:35 pm
tike says:
SPURS IN 6 NUFF SAID!!
Apr.26 at 2:30 pm
Sparker says:
when they did a recap from the mavs-gs game, barkley went on about how the refs weren’t calling anything on duncan, and i thought he meant this was retaliation for the joey c thing. your take suggests otherwise. and by the way, with nene and barbosa coming out (no amaechi), brazil is starting to look pretty dangerous for the worlds
Apr.26 at 3:35 pm
galo says:
didnt see the game, but if IA and Melo didnt get at least 5 free-throws, something isnt right. Spurs do get helped out by refs. dont know if the game looked fixed, but y’now, conspiracy….
Apr.26 at 3:39 pm
galo says:
Sparker, one would think so, but somehow brazilian basketball is all about shooting threes and no penetration what-so-ever. Three pointers are the worst shot to take, and somehow its all they take.
Apr.26 at 3:41 pm
solly what says:
I’m feeling a bit of deja vu….. sorry nuggets
Apr.26 at 3:47 pm
Logan Light says:
2 points to make about last nights game… 1) Denver could have probably afforded to blow just a couple more layups. 2) Nene could probably hug Timmy a little tighter next time.
Apr.26 at 5:00 pm
Marques says:
It’s a shame that in the NBA playoffs, EVERYONE who watches thinks the refs want the series to go back and forth. It’s like Game 1 will be called straight up and then in Game 2 it’s like the refs feel sympathy for the losers and reward them with questionable calls. Especially when that loser is the series favorite (ie. Spurs & Mavericks). Cub’s father’s commentary is not new to the average fans as we ALL think that part about the NBA or the refs want that other team to win even when we’re not rooting for either. They should have add one more ref to the games and use the same crew for the series. It’s like they label the different refs and say “The good refs will do Game 1, the ticky-tack refs Game 2, the no call refs in Game 3…” and so on. I cannot stand the NBA refs. They ruin the game because they are so inconsistent.
Apr.26 at 6:58 pm
Billy Blanks says:
Nuggets clinch in 6, AI sets new playoff scoring record ala 2001
Apr.26 at 7:03 pm
G says:
How does AI not go to the line! He was top 3 in the regular season and simply, you cannot guard him without fouling.
Apr.26 at 10:28 pm
Decs says:
spurs in 7, as much as i would like to see the nugs win, it just aint gonna happen.
Apr.27 at 3:07 am
Air Up There says:
Series heads back to Denver tied at one win a piece… is it even possible that this series doesn’t end up tied at 2-2? Denver can’t lose two home games in a row, and San Antonio has to steal a home game from the Nuggets, who clearly don’t have the same home court advantage they have had in years past. Simply put, this is going to be a long series, especially if Carmelo and Iverson continue with their hot and cold performances
Apr.27 at 12:05 pm
Humble Spurs Fan says:
Hey, as a Spurs fan, let me say your Nuggets are looking great. If this goes 6 or 7, which I expect it will, then regardless of who advances, for Denver you have to figure the past couple months have been a huge turning point for the franchise. Of course, my Spurs must win all 4 rounds, or else it is a failure. And maybe that’s why you can get away with calling them old because the Nuggets are currently presenting them with a sizeable challenge. Anyway, either of these 2 teams would have their hands full with a projected path (for example) of Suns, Mavs, Pistons. So, looking at it that way, I wonder about these Nuggets: how far can they go, what are they missing, what will they look like next year? If they can push the Spurs to 7 or better yet win the series, then I think that’s something to be proud of and build on. But you know (and this is the real point I want to make) as a fan you shouldn’t have to be an a–hole about the other team to feel good about yours. Tim Duncan protests bad calls, that’s true; but so does everyone else: that’s the unfortunate culture of the NBA these days, and that’s what comissioner Stern had in mind at the beginning of the season with all the T’s being called. As for Duncan, he’s a mild-mannered guy, so people expect him to be so humble; but he’s a competitor too, and we shouldn’t hold him to a different standard like Joey Crawford did. I think you run a serious risk if you permit vociferous complaints from the stereotypically hip-hop guys just because that’s the kind of culture you have come to expect from them, and then you turn around and fault the so-called good citizens because you expect better. That’s a double standard and a little bit racist if you ask me. Speaking of which, I’ve also been thinking about how racist it is when we tend to hate opposing players who are white and take charges and flop. I can look at myself and acknowledge occasions of this prejudice, such as in the 80s I used to hate the Celtics and root for the Lakers. It wasn’t so much that I loved the Lakers (I sure don’t now): it was that I hated the Celtics because they were white and I childishly interpreted their hard work as coniving for some reason–when the predominantly black Lakers were working just as hard within the rules of the game, and I was applauding them for it. Nowadays, with all the inernational players, it’s not just a race issue but one of xenophobia. That’s why some Denver fans can hate an opponent like Manu Ginobili, who is a white foreigner who works as hard as anyone in this league, and who by the way has NEVER made a dispariging remark about ANYONE in his career. George Karl’s recent public praise of Ginobili may just be more mind games, but his personal appology to him after the ‘05 series was genuine in my opinion and should be an example for others to follow.
Apr.27 at 1:43 pm
Cub Buenning says:
99% of the hatred for opposing players is a form of respect for the way they have performed against that team. Manu being a flopper is not a regional gripe, but he has killed the Nuggets in many games, hence the negative feelings. Race is a non-factor, in my opinion.
Apr.27 at 1:46 pm
Right on! says:
Bit long winded, but may valuable comments “Humble Spurs Fan”. I think every team has their dramatic player that loves to flop (Devin Harris in Dallas, Raja Bell in PHX to name two). My gosh, if someone even gets close to AI he extends a forearm into them or drops his shoulder and then acts like his defender walked up and shoved him. If Carmelo wants more calls, he needs to stop creating so much contact while posting up and asking for the ball. With all his flailing around before he gets the ball, it makes it tough for the official to know who is instigating what. love the comments from you dad -he is a true fan. I think most of those exact same things about players on the other team!!
Apr.27 at 4:44 pm
Humble Spurs Fan says:
Hey, Cub, thanks for your reponse to my comments above. Looking back over them, I see I might have gotten a little carried away in places. I certainly don’t think that Denver and its fans are any more prejudiced in these ways than everyone else is; and with all the recent flash-fire reations to pulic commentary on race issues, I wouldn’t want to turn my Spurs apologetics into any sort of P.C. finger pointing. I just think that NBA fans in general need to do some soul searching on these issues, especially with regard to the reffing complaints and the emotionalism of the game. If the brawl in Detroit showed us anything, it’s that this problem extends beyond the players; and we must all be held accountable not only for our actions but also for how we cope internally with our emotions as fans of the game. Thanks again.
Apr.27 at 9:24 pm
dave says:
), and everyone’s doing it here, i’m pretty sure that’s human nature. regarding flopping, does anyone complain when kobe swings his arms to try and get a call (apart from the nba)? it’s called competitive advantage, sometimes you get the call, sometimes you don’t, don’t knock a guy for trying.
i guess if you look at the players that everyone complains about, there’s one common factor (usually), they’re winners.
dave
so are these game recaps meant to be unbiased? i can’t believe all these people complaining about flops and players disputing calls. don’t tell me (if you’ve played the game), that you’ve never complained to the ref (if you thought it was a bad call, and most of the ones against you, are
Apr.30 at 4:41 pm
Daniel says:
Something interesting to ponder… the Spurs lead the league in lowest FT% allowed in the regular season. This means that they foul bad FT shooters and NOT jumpshooters, and only foul good FT shooters to prevent easy baskets. The Spurs aren’t fouling AI and Carmelo outside because they don’t want them to win shooting free throws. Nuf’ said.