Fourth Quarter Play-by-Play

We watched Manu carry the team, now let's read about it.

11:37 Bonner misses open three off Manu drive/dish. Manu rebounds, draws foul, makes both FTs

11:22 Jawad Who misses contested 3, Manu/Blair tip rebound to RJ

11:12 RJ misses contested 3 off RMJ pass

11:03 Delonte West misses contested 13 footer, Blair rebounds

10:52 Manu loses ball on pick/roll double-team, then fouls

10:30 Delonte West makes contested 13 footer

10:04 RJ drive stopped, throws to Bonner who makes ridiculous 9 foot jump hook

9:52 Daniel Gibson makes long 3 on slow RMJ rotation

9:34 Manu drives, misses, Blair rebounds and is blocked, tips ball to Manu

9:15 Manu makes contested toe-on-line 2 (foreshadowing) after drive/dish from RMJ

9:04 Jawad Who makes 3 in Bonner's face

8:52 RMJ misses open 3 off Manu pass, Manu tip doesn't go

8:27 Delonte West misses contested 9 footer, RJ rebounds

8:08 George misses floater, Blair misses two tips

8:00 Delonte West misses contested 7 footer

7:50 RMJ misses 3 off pick/roll

7:31 Jamario Moon misses contested 22 footer, Manu rebounds

7:18 RJ misses open corner 3 after good ball movement

7:01 Jawad Who misses 8 footer after Manu tries to draw charge but gets no Joey Crawford love

6:41 Manu ball-fakes opponent, makes open 3 after Hill drive/dish

6:41 Cavs timeout lets Bogans/Duncan finally sub for Manu/Blair. Cue ominous music.

The next 1:30 is painful. To give Manu a breather Pop goes with a Hill/Bogans backcourt. I call this tandem the Guards of Doom. George is great when paired with someone who can create. Tony and Manu are ideal, RMJ a serviceable third option. But Bogans? Oh, the humanity!

6:20 Team D forces contested Mo Williams shot late in the clock but Bogans doesn't block out and Delonte West makes easy tip-in.

6:03  Timmy sees George with inside position down low, passes for easy layup. But George gave up his inside position! Ball sails out of bounds.

5:48 Mo Williams makes 3 after Hill mysteriously leaves him to help on Delonte West

5:26 Bonner misses open 3 after Timmy draws double team

5:11 Bonner draws charge on Varejao, takes knee to gut, leaves game

5:11 Pop ends Guards of Doom horror show, Manu in for Bogans

4:48 George misses 20 footer, McDyess fights for rebound, Spurs ball out of bounds

4:46 Manu attempts impossible baseline pass, Spurs ball out of bounds

4:31 Timmy misses jump hook over defensive stud JJ Hickson. Duly intimidated he never shoots again.

4:18 Mo Williams misses contested 16 footer, Manu rebounds

4:11 George makes open corner 3 on Manu assist

3:49 Delonte West misses contested jumper, RJ rebounds

3:34 McDyess misses open 20 footer after Manu draws double and passes to him

3:24 Delonte West makes contested 16 footer

3:03 Manu fakes 3, misses 21 foot leaner, fouls Jawad Who after rebound

2:33 Manu steals Mo Williams/Hickson pass, passes to George to RJ who travels

2:12 Delonte West makes contested 16 footer

1:49 Manu misses 3 after scrambling to chase down errant pass from Bonner

1:28 Manu rips ball from Jawad Who , passes to Bonner to George to RJ  who makes non-traveling dunk

1:05 Manu called for foul on Hickson after Timmy's help D is weak

0:53 Timmy lazy pass easily intercepted by Delonte West. Manu fouls to protest pervasive incompetence.

0:36 George misses open corner 3 after Manu drive/dish, gets own rebound off Timmy tip

0:34 RMJ misses 3, Timmy tips out to RJ who saves it at halfcourt

0:14 Manu makes heartbreaking toe-on-line 2, Cavs lead 93-92

0:09 Mo WIlliams 2 FTs after intentional foul, Cavs lead 95-92

0:03 RMJ misses open 3 after choosing not to pass to open George Hill in the corner

0:02 Varejao 2 FTs after intentional foul, Cavs lead 97-92

0:00 Manu makes absurd running 3

Manu scored 12 of Spurs' 19, assisted on George's open 3 and made the steal that lead to RJ's open dunk. The only Spurs score he did not create was Bonner's 9 foot jump hook at 10:04. Manu also created 16 "should-have-been" points: four open 3s, an open 20 footer for McDyess and a traveling opportunity for RJ. In the spirit of being everywhere and doing everything, Manu rebounded two of the missed 3s he set up and got the only two steals in the quarter. If only he had teammates who could make open shots, not travel on the dunks he creates and avoid too many defensive breakdowns!

The Cavs ran their offense 18 times. 12 times the Spurs defended well, yielding only contested jumpers which produced a mere 6 points (all by Delonte West). The other six times the Spurs broke down or failed to contest or block out. The Cavs capitalized with amazing efficiency, getting 13  points from these 6 trips down the floor.

The Spurs, on the other hand, got many open looks but converted with low efficiency. They also got 9 nine offensive rebounds but zero putbacks (two eventually led to Manu 3s after re-setting). Of course the Cavs made their only offensive board count for two points. That's really the story of the 4th quarter and the game. When the Spurs defense showed the slightest crack the Cavs converted, but when the Cavs allowed wide open jumpers the Spurs missed. Except the one named Manu, of course.