Spurs@Lakers Game Thread - mandelyn78753 wins!

That was a classic example of a team playing down to the competition. The Spurs played like absolute crap. Oh, and the Fakers got their typical ridiculous hometown calls.

Finley looks like garbage. I think every single Spur that played made at least one boneheaded mistake (including Duncan, Parker, Barry, and ahem of course Manu).

Surging Lakers take down Spurs 106-99

By JOHN NADEL, Associated Press
Last updated: 12:11 a.m., Monday, December 11, 2006

LOS ANGELES -- Kobe Bryant had 34 points and eight rebounds, Lamar Odom just missed a triple-double, and the Lakers beat the San Antonio Spurs 106-99 on Sunday night for their fifth win in six games.

Odom had 18 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists, and Luke Walton added 17 points for the Lakers (14-6), who snapped San Antonio's four-game winning streak and handed the Spurs just their third loss in 11 road games this season.

Bryant showed no ill effects of a sprained right ankle that caused him to sit out the Lakers' 106-95 victory over Atlanta on Friday night.

Kwame Brown scored all 11 of his points in the second half and Smush Parker added 10 for the Lakers.

Manu Ginobili came off the bench to lead the Spurs (15-6) with 23 points. Tony Parker added 21 points and nine assists, Tim Duncan had 16 points and 13 rebounds, and Bruce Bowen scored 16 before fouling out with 21 seconds left.

Duncan scored four points during a 10-3 San Antonio run that trimmed the Lakers' lead to three points midway through the fourth quarter. But that's as close as the Spurs would get.

A basket by Brown gave the Lakers a six-point advantage, and Brown blocked a shot by Parker, leading to a three-point play by Walton that made it 99-92 with 2:46 left.

Then, Duncan was called for a technical foul after being tied up by Bryant, whose free throw with 2:21 to play put the Lakers up by eight.

The Lakers turned the ball over twice in the next minute, but the Spurs couldn't take full advantage as Duncan missed two free throws and Parker missed another pair down the stretch.

The Lakers trailed by five points before outscoring the Spurs 24-6 in the last five minutes of the third quarter for an 83-70 lead, and they were on top the rest of the way. Odom scored nine points and Bryant and Walton added five each during the spurt.

The Spurs were outscored 37-22 in the third period despite making 9-of-14 shots including 2-of-3 from 3-point range. That's because they committed nine turnovers, leading to Los Angeles 19 points. San Antonio committed only one turnover in the final period.

The Lakers shot 48.9 percent to San Antonio's 51.4 percent and outrebounded the Spurs 42-33.

Bowen, averaging 7.1 points, scored 14 of his team's first 20, making three 3-pointers without a miss. The Spurs led 28-17 before Andrew Bynum made three baskets during a 13-2 run that tied the game 30-all, and Bryant scored his team's next 10 for a 40-38 Los Angeles lead.

Ginobili scored eight points in the final 2 1/2 minutes of the second quarter, helping the Spurs take a 48-46 halftime lead.

Notes:@ The Lakers have played the most home games (15), won the most home games (12) and played the fewest road games (five) in the NBA. Starting with a game Tuesday night in Houston, they play eight of their next 10 and 22 of their next 34 on the road. ... The Spurs have an 8-3 record against the Lakers in the last 11 games between the teams. ... Lakers F Vladimir Radmanovic, who sprained his right ankle Saturday in practice, sat out his first game of the season. ... The Spurs had their five-game winning streak against the Lakers at Staples Center snapped. ... When the Spurs beat the Clippers 111-82 on Friday night, it marked the first time in franchise history that they've won three straight games by 20 or more points. ... The Lakers are 3-0 without Bryant this season after going 6-12 without him during the past two years.

The key stat to me was points in the paint - the Lakers outscores the Spurs 62 to 36 in a category Spurs typically dominate.

The Spurs were giving up layups. The defense was not there.

I guess... good thing I didn't have to watch then.

The Spurs droped a game last night, in L.A. but manily becuase of all the turnovers. It was just a bad game for them, but I know they will do better on the Clippers.

Blondie wrote:The winner is Mande - pm me with your contact info so I can mail you your prize....

Thanks.

Mike Finger: Bryant stands tall against Spurs
San Antonio Express-News
Web Posted: 12/11/2006 12:37 AM CST

LOS ANGELES — The news had just begun to spread inside Staples Center, and by the time it reached Bruce Bowen, he looked neither daunted nor surprised. Kobe Bryant — sprained right ankle and all — would be playing in Sunday night's game against the Spurs, which meant Bowen's night was about to get a lot more interesting.

Not that he had any interest in talking about it.
"I don't want to say something," Bowen said, "and then have to put my foot in my mouth later."

Bowen's foot has been accused of going in worse places, most notably under the legs of opposing shooters. That's one of the reasons Phil Jackson said he was worried about letting his star play and also why Bryant was so adamant about getting back on the floor.

In a season in which he's been all about proving himself again, wasn't a 34-point effort in a victory over Bowen and the Spurs as big a statement as any?

His quick return from offseason knee surgery showed his commitment. His newfound willingness to share the ball and trust in his teammates showed his maturity. And his 52-point outburst against Utah two weeks ago showed he still is as dangerous a scorer as the league has.

But much in the way the Spurs of the early part of this century measured themselves against Los Angeles, the Lakers now do the same against the Spurs. Jackson says he still views the Spurs as a benchmark — one, now, without asterisks — and in another example of the newfound harmony between Lakers coach and Lakers player, Bryant no doubt agrees.

After spraining his ankle last week, Bryant had little problems with sitting out a game against the Atlanta Hawks on Friday. But with the Spurs in town, and Bowen and his wayward feet awaiting him, and all kinds of excuses for another night of rest?

There was no way he was going to sit it out.

In the end, the only thing surprising about Bryant's performance wasn't that he took the game over — it was the way in which he did it.

Sure, there were the same acrobatic moves, cold-blooded 3-pointers and fierce dunks. But when the Lakers pulled away with a 22-3 third-quarter run, he wasn't carrying them. He was enabling them.

Bryant's energy was infectious, and seemingly everyone in a Lakers uniform benefited from it. Lamar Odom found his shooting stroke. Luke Walton forced turnovers and ran the floor. Kwame Brown crashed the boards.

And when it was over, you could tell why people in Los Angeles are saying this is a different Bryant and a different Lakers team than the one that flamed out in the second round of the playoffs last season against Phoenix.

Bryant's scoring average is down almost 10 points from last year's career high of 35.4 per game, but his team's chances of making a deep playoff run look infinitely better.

Yes, it was just a regular-season game in December. But it meant something more to the Lakers, and not even the Zen master would deny it.

"In big games, this team does rally and play animated games they're called on to play," Jackson said. "I'm not surprised by their performance at all."

It was as though the swagger of the old Lakers was slowly building again, and as he left Staples Center, Bowen undoubtedly realized it.

His foot wasn't in his mouth. What was on his mind, though, was another story.



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mfinger@express-news.net

Kobe stomps out Spurs' streak
Johnny Ludden
Express-News
Web Posted: 12/11/2006 12:33 AM CST



LOS ANGELES — So much for that sprained right ankle.
Kobe Bryant hobbled onto the Staples Center floor Sunday evening, then stomped on the Spurs with his ailing foot, scoring 34 points to lead the Los Angeles Lakers to a 106-99 victory.


Bryant had missed the Lakers' previous game because his ankle was too swollen after he sprained it earlier in the week. The Lakers weren't sure he would be able to play Sunday until about an hour before tipoff.

Bryant, however, didn't appear too limited after he stepped onto the court. He attacked when needed, once shedding Bruce Bowen with a bump, then spinning between Bowen and Tim Duncan to bank in a layup. He also settled into a rhythm from the perimeter, making all but one of his five 3-point attempts, the last of which helped turn back a Spurs' rally midway through the final quarter.

Manu Ginobili scored 23 points off the bench and Tony Parker contributed 21 points and nine assists. The Spurs shot 51.4 percent overall and 52.2 percent from the 3-point line, but gave up 27 points off 19 turnovers.

"The Lakers' pressure was great in the second half and I thought we folded under that pressure," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. "Absolutely folded. End of story."

As much trouble as Bryant gave the Spurs, Lamar Odom created his own matchup problems while just missing a triple-double with 18 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists.

The Lakers' 6-foot-10 forward was too quick for the Spurs' big men — Francisco Elson had the speed to match, but collected four fouls in 15 minutes — and too big for their guards. When the Spurs tried to go small, Duncan often had to help on Odom, leaving Lakers center Kwame Brown free to roam.

The Lakers used their athleticism to outrebound the Spurs 42-33, 14-5 on the offensive boards. Twenty of Los Angeles' points came on second-chance opportunities.

The Spurs carried a four-game winning streak into Sunday and had beaten each of their previous three opponents by at least 20 points. When Popovich was asked before the game to explain the surge, he had no trouble singling out a reason.

"We're making shots," Popovich said. "I know that sounds simplistic, but we've always been a good defensive team and we'll always be a good defensive team. That's our focus.

"But in our losses we've had bad shooting nights. Once in a while we'll combine that with a turnover game. That's our second little weakness that shows up once in a while."

That "second little weakness" became the Spurs' primary undoing against the Lakers.

Their nine turnovers in the third quarter led to 19 Lakers points.


The Lakers took control by scoring 12 unanswered points — all of which came on four consecutive three-point possessions during a 21/2-minute stretch in the third quarter. When the Spurs put a stop to the run, Los Angeles simply started another.

"They ran us out of the gym in the third quarter," Popovich said.

Duncan had 16 points, 13 rebounds and five assists, but was limited to nine shots by Brown's defense and Los Angeles' double teams.

After trailing by 13 to start the fourth quarter, the Spurs closed within 90-87 on Duncan's jump hook with about six minutes left.

Parker had a chance to make it a two-point game three minutes later, but Brown blocked his layup attempt. Brent Barry then tried to wrap up Luke Walton on the ensuing break, but Walton scored through the foul, hiking the Lakers' lead to 99-92.

Duncan picked up a technical on the next possession when he complained about a non-call, tacking another point onto the Spurs' deficit. He also had a chance to make it a one-possession game with 1:24 left, but short-armed a pair of free throws.

The Spurs return to Staples Center tonight, ending their L.A. back-to-back against the Clippers. They hope to give a better showing than they did Sunday.

"We'll have our work cut out for us, especially because we dug such a hole tonight," Popovich said.

"Hopefully, we can use it for some fuel for tomorrow."



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jludden@express-news.net