Hornets vs. Spurs, Game 2
Where twice isn’t a fluke happens.
By Toney Blare
-Pre-game
-Spurs take the lead at the end of the half, though, with TP finishing a beautiful reverse and CP3 hitting his FT’s.
Halftime
-So Aggrey’s gonna say that the “Quick Change” act is not what I hyped it to be, but I’m telling you, they just had an off night. I saw the woman who changes her clothes in a flash back in the tunnel, and I think she had a limp, mighta sprained her ankle, but played thru it. Whatever. “Quick Change” is real.
-When the teams come back out to shoot, Bonzi makes his way down to rap with Mighty Mouse, perhaps about all the times they “smoked it all up.”
Q3
-Peja buries a 3. Stephen Jackson of the St. Louis Rams, a Saints division rival, is introduced and mildly booed.
-CP3 wants Bowen bad. Every time they face off, Chris bucks and bumps, flails his arms, and then when he scores this time, to make it 54-47, he sticks his tongue out at Bowen quickly, avoiding a tech but really taunting ol’ boy. I mean, he really hates him.
-Duncan’s temper is flaring as he tries to reason with Dick Bavetta. I tell Aggrey that you rarely see an old man bitched out in public. In most real life situations, people would call you out about it, but here, the old dude just touches the giant’s wrist and goes on his way.
-I feel like Bowen is getting ready to pull some ish.
-Another Peja 3, 70-56. Ely spins Duncan for 2 and shouts at Pop, “Now who shoulda been starting last season?! What!” Well, he should have.
-Deuuuuuuuuuce!
-Chris ends the quarter with a lay-up and a 17pt lead. He really shifted gears in the 3rd, has 24 & 11, and no MVP trophy.
Q4
-West picks up a stupid tech by shoving Horry after a beautiful move. Then Barry misses the FT, and stupid turns into statement. We both agree that West was an unlikely choice for attitude-guy this post-season, but that’s what he’s becoming.
-Just as we’re sayin we haven’t seen much of the TCP3 4 ft alley-oop in the playoffs, they hit one, emphatically.
-Peja makes a great save. If that dude is going to play like this—hitting his shots (5/7 from 3 tonight) but also scrapping and rebounding—I don’t see why the Hornets can’t win the West.
-The crowd stands for most of the last 5 minutes. This place gets louder and louder and is flat out not the same arena as it was in November. Hard to overestimate
-With 3:00 to go, Pop pulls his starters, and Byron follows suit. Another 48 Hrs takes the court with Mike James, Pargo, and Hilton. For some reason, Bones Barry has 14 pts. Mike James hits a long jumper, then a 3, then jacks up an airball. Mental note: ask Jacque Vaughn: how does he feel when he plays against Mike James?
-Game ends, 102-84. Aggrey thinks this thing might only go 5. Seems too easy, but there’s really nothing the Hornets aren’t getting. The Spurs look a lot like the Mavs right now—a little old, pretty thin bench, not enough energy. We’ll see
Post-game
-Pop responds to a reporter’s question about the big blowouts these two teams exchanged thru the regular season and these 2 games: “Yes, you’re right. You’re a very accurate young man.” That’s why I came into the media room.
-In the locker room, Bonzi is clowning Mike James for his belt buckle, which reads “Fighter.” “What’s that say, Mike? ‘Tighter?’” Which is a good name for a belt buckle, really.
-I ask Julian Wright about the difference between the reg season and the playoffs. He says there’s a lot more focus on each play, on maintaining the intensity. What are the vets telling you? “To keep it simple, do what I do.” There’s nothing simple about dude’s game, but he definitely is doing what he does and the intensity level is right in tune with the situation. It’s hard to imagine what he’s gonna be like in 3 or 4 years, but games like this are pretty invaluable.
-In the street next to the arena, a brass band blares amidst a crowd of fans who keep whooping the Ric Flair-CP3 call. It’s getting crazy in the streets of New Orleans, and in a good way.
27 Responses to “Hornets vs. Spurs, Game 2”
May.6 at 10:14 am
BETCATS says:
this series is crazy! good stuff Toney Blare. I feel happy for the Hornets but i am still pi$$ed they left CHA. Death to George Shinn!!!
May.6 at 10:15 am
Eboy says:
Great notes, Toney. I’m sure the Lakers are hoping for the Hornets, but they may rethink that if these boys keep playing with their swagger. BTW, Ghostface’s cameo from Iron Man will be on the DVD. Just read that.
May.6 at 10:19 am
Fredo says:
Toney, it pains me not to be in New Orleans. To have lived through 18-64 and then 2 years of the team away in OKC and then not be there when it all begins to pay off….c’est la vie, I guess.
May.6 at 10:41 am
Ben Osborne says:
Good stuff, Toney. New Orleans sounds awful fun right now. I’m gonna’ have more on Tyson and Julian up later today…
May.6 at 10:51 am
riggs says:
Is sam jackson in the movie? (as previously reported?) btw hornets hopefully sweep the spurs, but i doubt the spurs are gonna lose any home games.
May.6 at 11:02 am
Fredo says:
riggs…stay till after the credits roll. then you see sam jackson as nick fury and a mention of something called “the avengers initiative”.
May.6 at 11:10 am
Toney Blare says:
Come back home, Fredo!
May.6 at 11:40 am
TADOne says:
I have nothing else to say about the young CP3 that hasn’t already been said, so I will say this: David West had only 10 points tonight, and the Hornets still blew out the Spurs. I don’t think he only gets 10 again. I’m not saying the Spurs are ‘done’, but they are ‘medium-well’.
May.6 at 11:51 am
Khalid Salaam says:
This series is going 7. if the Hornest want it they are gonna have to take it from the Spurs. That being said, Chris Paul is really really good.
May.6 at 11:58 am
Permaculture says:
to think this is just the second round. Shoulda known it was gonna be good given the West conf all season. This is definitely a series of old guard/ new guard possibly switching positions. Is “chippy”ness in the cards?–shure looking like it to me. Parker looked tentative on his outside shooting: 11pts yeesh. Ginobili didn’t shoot much either. I wonder if the Hornets will have any mental lapse like the Pistons did in the last round.
May.6 at 12:13 pm
Nick says:
Spurs + San Antonio + even more exasperated than normal Duncan = Spurs blowout in game 3.
May.6 at 12:17 pm
maio says:
The Hornets’ wheels are falling off! They might win a championship first, but those wheels are falling off!
May.6 at 12:25 pm
5mooth says:
back2back this year for Ely !
May.6 at 12:32 pm
Geoff11 says:
As a huge SAS fan, I actually hope that they lose cuz then hopefully Horry (even though I am a fan and he’s a legend), Finley, Barry, Vaughn, Thomas, etc retire so that SAS can begin a youth movement. I have seen these last 2 games and Reggie Miller is right they have no drive, no will to do anything. Hopefully bringing in youth will bring more conistant hunger.
May.6 at 12:35 pm
Krishan says:
IRON MAN WAS AWESOME
May.6 at 1:01 pm
tike says:
The Spurs looked so old lastnight it was quite entertaining….P.S Kurt Thomas couldnt hurt a moth let alone a natural born killer like steph….oh and is this a new guy yall got writing SLAM hes Whack!
May.6 at 1:22 pm
FLUXLAND says:
CP3 to West after the Horry flop: “I know.. I know.. F**K HIM!!” That kid is on a mission and the Spurs are not getting out of this one alive. They are old and worn out!
Manu flipping out on towel boy was great too! Pop looked like he had no answers and I love watching the Spurs lose.
May.6 at 1:36 pm
Vanilla Thunder says:
Better pick ups than Gasol?
May.6 at 1:41 pm
namik says:
Julian Wright has to surprising everyone, including himself. And yes, Iron man was the sh*t.
May.6 at 1:48 pm
Fredo says:
If the Hornets make it beyond…I’ll find a way home.
May.6 at 4:51 pm
TADOne says:
How fun would an NBA Finals be in New Orleans? I guess kind of like All Star weekend but with meaning.
May.6 at 7:14 pm
David says:
It must be really frustrating for Suns fans to watch the Hornets play their style, only much better and with more youth, and overwhelm the Spurs in these two games. I wonder if the Hornets can keep it up in San Antonio. And Ghostface was in Iron Man. In the scene on the plane when Downey and Howard are talking, the airline hostesses are dancing (you think I’m kidding). GFK is on the video screen behind them all.
May.6 at 8:08 pm
albie1kenobi says:
the ghostface you guys mentioned here is przybilla right?
spurs look pretty toasted. i mean if spurs can’t contain CP3 and the rest of the hornets, who can stop them?
and David, hornet may play like the suns on offense, but the main difference is the hornets ALSO play D. Parker and Ginobili couldn’t get to the paint at will and that’s really the biggest problem the spurs have (scoring).
May.6 at 8:19 pm
John E. Sanford says:
The Spurs are in trouble…trouble…Or maybe not. There are some minor tweaks they can make to change the outcome. 1. Stop shooting so many threes, cut to the basket when TD is getting doubled. 2. Take Bowen off of Paul. Paul is going to get his anyway, so put Bowen on Peja. 3. Move Duncan around. Use more cross-screens and use P&R’s. Planting him on the block is making him easier to defend. 4. Most importantly - play smarter. That goes most for Parker and Ginobili. They made some really stupid passes last night. This thing is going at least 6 one way or the other.
May.7 at 3:03 am
derrick douglas-dozier says:
the hornets are straight dominating the spurs, thus far, and honestly i don’t see much changing. of course, i’m not (nor will i ever) counting the spurs out. that would be ludicrous. still, i see the hornets stealing one in san antone, the spurs winning in n.o. and then the hornets wrapping it up in six. also, is this the year peja actually matters in the post-season?
May.7 at 3:04 am
derrick douglas-dozier says:
also, iron man is the best comic book movie so far. and, i LOVED the new batman.
May.8 at 3:47 pm
JoeGym says:
the Hornets look like a younger Spurs team w/more athletes. Horry, Finley, Barry & co. have to hit their shots like Peja is doing or the Hornets will continue to sag off them to stop Duncan & Parker’s penetration.