Game #6 Recap: Spurs 95, Bobcats 91 - Fright Fest

Hirschof

So after winning an overtime game, one that had absolutely no business going into extra minutes, our beloved San Antonio Spurs shuffled up to Charlotte to take on the B-b-b-b-bobcats. The last meeting between these two teams was on January 15th and it was a night that ended with a desperate attempt to purge my memory via alcohol after an embarrassing butt-kicking.

The nightmare of Mason’s 3-10 in 20 minutes still wakes me in a cold sweat time-to-time.

So how did the Silver and Black look against the squad of Captain Jack this time around?

A little, uh, frightening...

Ronald Martinez/Getty Images

Stephen Jackson: Former Spur and Devourer of Children's Souls

via www.aupadeportivo.com

He is the stuff dreams are made of... and nightmares. Especially nightmares. (Thanks CarBahia)

Pre-Game: Whatever you do, don't fall asleep.

Before the chaos in Charlotte last year, the Spurs were 10-1 all-time against the Bobcats. Charlotte finished with a franchise record of 44-38 and made their first-ever playoff appearance (and then got steamrolled by the Magic). After a curious and lackluster off-season, the Bobcats have gotten off to a rocky 1-5 start. Although Charlotte is shooting a high percentage from all-over, the offensive production is choking from the team's turnover issues (29th) and lack of offensive boards (29th). Early issues aside, the Larry Brown coached Bobcats are always a tough match-up and will fight baseline-to-baseline for a full 48 minutes. Win, lose, blow-out, or nail biter; the Spurs will have their hands full.

Game time, beaches.

Spurs Starting Five: Parker, Ginobili, Jefferson, Duncan, Blair

Bobcats Starting Five: Augustin, Jackson, Wallace, Diaw, Mohammed

1^st Quarter – One, Two, Jackson is coming for you...

• 11:44 Blair to Ginobili layup SAS 2 - CHA 0
• 11:13 Duncan misses turn-around jumpshot but its obvious inside defense will not exist for CHA.
• 10:43 Duncan dunk. Told ya. SAS 4 - CHA 2
• 10:19 Jackson turnover. CHA is one of the worst teams handling the ball (19 pg). May be a theme tonight
• 9:04 Duncan blocks Wallace. CHA is blocked over 6 times per game this season.
• 7:36 Augustin hits the Bobcats third 3PT already (3-5). This team can shoot (39% 3PT season). SAS 6 - CHA 11
• 6:46 Jefferson dunk. Shots are there on the inside but Spurs just missing. SAS 8 - CHA 13
• 6:30 Jackson hits another 3PT. SAS 8 - CHA 16
• 6:24 Spurs Timeout. Pop rips backcourt players a new one.
• 6:19 Manu hits 3Pt out of timeout. SAS 11 - CHA 16
• 5:53 Wallace misses wide open 3PT. Spurs are begging for pain.
• 5:38 Duncan cleans up a blocked layup (Jefferson) with a dunk. RJ not shooting well 1-5 but nothing stupid. SAS 13 - CHA 16
• 5:09 Bobcats 20 second timeout. Brown is trying to calm team down.
• 4:22 Wallace turns ball over driving to the basket. CHA is not smooth inside the paint.
• 4:01 Parker pullup jumper. Slow quarter for Tony (2 PTS, 1-3) SAS 15 - CHA 18
• 3:42 Wallace fouled on drive. CHA points tonight will be 3PT and FT. Makes both SAS 15 - CHA 20
• 2:40 Duncan def rebound and horrible long pass straight to Diaw. Not smart ball.
• 2:23 McDyess rebound. CHA hardly attempt offensive boards.
• 2:13 Jefferson with beautiful drive and backwards kick to McDyess SAS 17 - CHA 20
• 1:40 Parker turnover.
• 1:28 Anderson (missed HOU game) comes in during Henderson FT. SAS 17 - CHA 22.
• 1:08 More FT for CHA. SAS 17 - CHA 22.
• 0:47 Duncan with turn around jumper. Spurs need to attack paint. SAS 19 - CHA 24
• 0:28 Manu clanks another shot. Bad quarter for Manu. 5 PTS 2-6.
• 0:03 Livingston layup makes this a nice lead for CHA. SAS 19 - CHA 26

The first quarter ends with some horrendous shooting for both clubs. The Spurs are 9-25 on FG and 1-6 from deep. Charlotte isn't shooting too much better but are getting to the line, hitting 8-8 FT versus the Spurs 0-0. The Spurs perimeter defense is giving up wide open looks from outside and are very lucky Charlotte isn't on fire. As sloppy as their play is, Charlotte has only turned it over three times (Spurs 1).

End of 1^st, 19 - 26 Charlotte up.

Streeter Lecka/Getty Images

Interpretive Rebounding.

2^nd Quarter – All work and no play makes Gregg a dull boy.

• 11:35 Mohammed gets foul on Splitter. CHA showing hustle and purpose to start quarter. SAS 19 - CHA 27
• 11:24 Ginobili turnover creates Mohammed dunk from Livingston assist. SAS 19 - CHA 29
• 10:27 Splitter cleans up Anderson miss SAS 21 - CHA 29
• 9:40 Poor passing creates another turnover. (Hill)
• 9:18 Mohammed capitalizes on turnover SAS 21 - CHA 31
• 9:03 Neal hits 3PT to ease Spurs fans suffering. SAS 24 - CHA 31
• 8:43 McDyess non-shooting foul. Bobcats timeout.
• 8:17 Parker steal creates fast break assist to Anderson for three SAS 27 - CHA 31
• 7:25 Parker creates steal for Splitter. Anderson steps out of bounds on drive though.
• 6:42 Neal hits deep 3PT. SAS 30 - CHA 33
• 6:28 Jackson gets Neal his (quick) 2nd foul and hits both FT. SAS 30 - CHA 35
• 6:11 Parker hits jump shot. Much more active in this quarter. SAS have hit their last four shots. SAS 32 - CHA 35
• 5:10 Augustin gets hustle rebound and layup. SAS 32 - CHA 37
• 4:45 After Neal miss, CHA runs court and gets a Mohammed hook. Pop calls timeout. SAS 32 - CHA 39
• 4:37 Duncan fouled. Tim hits SAS FIRST TWO FT OF THE GAME. SAS 34 - CHA 39
• 3:45 Duncan turns it over. CHA is very active on defense. Spurs haven't had a FG since 6:11
• 3:07 Wallace hits wide open 3PT SAS 34 - CHA 42
• 2:44 CHA only has 3 BLKS but is swatting every pass out of bounds.
• 2:36 Another Duncan TO. Three for him and ten overall for SAS
• 2:22 Diop blocks Parker layup. The inside is now closed off to the Spurs.
• 2:17 Ginobili finally hits a shot for Spurs. SAS 36 - 42 CHA
• 1:26 Henderson hits jumper. CHA making shots... SAS not. SAS 36 - CHA 44
• 1:00 Ginobili hits two FT. SAS 37 - CHA 44
• 0:50 Parker steal and easy layup. SAS 39 - CHA 44
• 0:28 Ginobili goes deep. SAS 43 - CHA 46
• 0:08 Duncan fouled after Wallace misses McDyess contested layup. 1-2 FT SAS 44 - CHA 46
• 0:03 Augustin runs down the court and gets embarrassingly easy layup SAS 44 - CHA 48
• 0:03 Wow, Gee in the game. Augustin loses the ball. Half ends with a sigh.

The Spurs are very lucky to only be down 4 PTS at half. Charlotte went from shooting 36% in the first to shooting 45.5% by the half. I maybe off by one but I counted four wide open 3PT misses by the Bobcats. The Spurs are chasing the Bobcats all over the court and its creating opportunities that Charlotte, unless the Spurs wise up, will eventually capitalize on.

It took 26 minutes for the Spurs to reach the charity stripe, finishing the half 5-6 from the line. Charlotte's aggression has earned them 11-12 from the line and, it this point, it doesn't look like they are going to let off the throttle.

On offense, the Spurs need to hit their open shots (17-44) and tighten up on both their passing and court-awareness. After only one turnover in the first quarter, the Spurs proceed to hand the rock over over ten times in the second. Charlotte has somewhat failed to capitalize on this, garnering only 8 fast break points.

Half Time

San Antonio Spurs - 44

Charlotte Bobcats - 48

Streeter Lecka/Getty Images

DeJuan Blair always finds the most inappropriate times for high fives.

3^rd Quarter – Your suffering will be legendary, even in Charlotte.

• 11:45 Diaw hits quick jumper. SAS 44 - CHA 50
• 11:33 Parker gets a quick layup. SAS 46 - CHA 50
• 10:45 Blair gets 2 OREB, throws 645 ball fakes, and scores. SAS 48 - CHA 50
• 9:40 Spurs are moving the ball around much better. Duncan gets a layup. SAS 50 - CHA 50
• 9:14 After CHA jumpshot. Ginobili hits open 3PT off nice Parker assist. First lead in forever. SAS 53 - 52
• 8:28 Ginobili jumps high for rebound and gets a deep pass to Jefferson. Spurs are looking more active but still leaving wide open shooters on defense. SAS 55 - CHA 52.
• 8:11 Thank you DeJuan. Blair gets high to block Diaw.
• 7:43 For the love of... CHA gets rebound of missed Diaw FT. Manu steals ball though. SAS 55 - CHA 53
• 6:56 Parker gets layup plus foul. Misses FT SAS 57 - CHA 55
• 6:35 Jackson abuses Manu in the paint SAS 57 - CHA 57
• 6:12 Ginobili hits big 3PT SAS 60 - CHA 57
• 6:00 Jeffeson steal. Parker and Jefferson play hot potato on fast break. Parker scores. SAS 62 - CHA 57
• 5:27 CHA doing a good job moving the ball around. Thomas gets driving layup plus foul. SAS 62 - CHA 60
• 5:14 Beautiful touch pass by Blair (from Parker) to Duncan for quick two. SAS 64 - CHA 60
• 3:57 CHA is running like crazy now. Spurs doing a great job on transition defense. Duncan gets whacked on head during rebound scrum. Timeout Spurs
• 3:52 Ginobili drives paint right out of time out. Gets fouled on scoring floater. SAS 67 - CHA 62
• 3:23 Augustin is creating chaos with his speed. Brown gets dunk off of run. SAS 67 - CHA 64
• 2:58 Anderson 3PT SAS 70 - CHA 64
• 2:40 Thomas gets another shot. The games pace is killing my fingers. SAS 70 - CHA 66
• 2:00 Great defense by the Spurs creates block by McDyess on last second jumper.
• 1:16 Rebound battle is pretty even at 33 - 30. Diaw gets one and scores. SAS 71 - CHA 68

Streeter Lecka/Getty Images

"Heeeeeeeeey...."

End of 3^rd, 71 - 69 San Antonio up.

San Antonio found some rhythm on the offensive end, outscoring Charlotte 27-21 in the 3rd quarter. They also remembered to take care of the ball again and it resulted in only one turnover. Tightened defense helped San Antonio to cool off Charlotte but they are starting to get-hustled on the boards.

4^th Quarter – A Bobcat once tried to test me. I ate his liver with some alfajores and a nice chianti.

• 11:43 McDyess gets long rebound off of Neal miss and slams it down. And 1! Hot damn. SAS 74 - CHA 69
• 10:48 CHA getting into the paint easily to start 4th. SAS 74 - CHA 73
• 10:23 With 3 rookies, Hill, and Dice on floor, the Spurs offensive movement is pretty ugly.
• 9:39 After a putback dunk earlier, Splitter gets tough rebound and foul. Tiago shoots bullets for FT. SAS 77 - CHA 73
• 9:27 Thomas miss. CHA is testing Splitters defense.
• 9:03 CHA shoots its 19th FT (16-19). SAS 77 - CHA 75
• 8:47 Neal hits his third 3PT off of screen. SAS 80 - CHA 75
• 8:31 Thomas alley oop dunk... Timeout by Pop. He takes his belt off to whip someone. SAS 80 - CHA 77
• 8:15 Smart play by Jefferson. Earns trip to the line but misses both. SAS 80 - CHA 77
• 7:38 CHA playing smart defense but fouls McDyess (Spurs in bonus now). SAS 82 - CHA 77
• 7:14 Diaw is creating 2nd chances for his team. Henderson scores SAS 82 - CHA 79
• 6:49 Neal hits his 4th 3PT. SAS 85 - CHA 79
• 6:23 Jackson hits clutch last second 3PT. SAS 85 - CHA 82
• 6:00 Neal responds with his 5th 3PT from three feet behind the line. SAS 88 - CHA 82
• 5:41 After Jefferson foul, CHA calls timeout to discuss Gary Neal (5-7 from deep) Turn it over on offensive foul later.
• 5:23 and 4:49 Neal turns it over two times in a row (foul and lost dribble).
• 4:36 Officials getting excited with the whistles now. Jefferson foul (not really). Henderson hits both. SAS 88 - CHA 84)
• 4:19 Duncan blocked by Wallace. CHA fast break is cut off by incredible transition defense. Even with size mis-matches, CHA can't create something.
• 3:25 Ginobili hits a big 3PT, his 5th. SAS 91 - CHA 84
• 2:52 Jefferson quick jumper from the line makes SAS 93 - CHA 84.
• 2:51 CHA timeout. Jefferson having a statistically bad night but still +9 in +/-. Smart play all night.
• 1:58 Jefferson rebound. The rebound battle was almost even. Its now +9 in favor of SAS
• 1:52 Instead of running some clock, Ginobili pushes it and turns it over.
• 1:43 Diaw hits 1-2 FT SAS 93 - CHA 85
• 1:22 Parker rushes shot... and misses. Why?
• 1:00 Big jumper by Livingston SAS 93 - CHA 87
• 0:39 Parker makes a bad pass. TO...
• 0:27 Brown gets rebound after multiple CHA misses and layup plus foul. Misses FT but Brown gets his own damn rebound and a dunk. Pop calls a timeout and slaps Quinn (DNP). SAS 93 - CHA 91
• 0:05 Manu makes clutch contested layup after screen from Duncan. CHA timeout SAS 95 - CHA 91
• 0:00 Augustin misses open 3PT. Spurs win 4th in a row and improve to 5-1.

End of Regulation. Spurs Win: 95 - 91

Post-Game: The Charlotte Bobcats have nards...?

Leave it to Manu to save the day (again). After another steady 12 minutes of smart play, the Spurs decided the game wasn't hard enough. With 2:51 left in the game, this what happens: The Spurs get out-rebounded 5-2, commit 2 TO, 3 fouls, decide not to run clock until under a minute, and give up a four-point play that pulled Charlotte within two.

This team has made too many mental errors this season. Spurs can't continue to rely on a hot shooter to bail their asses out every game.

Streeter Lecka/Getty Images

Diaw: "Ffffffuuuuuuuuu..."

Bobcats’ Three Stars

1. Tyrus Thomas: 16 PTS, 5-11 FG, 6-8 FT, 8 REB, 2 STL, 3 BLK
2. Boris Diaw: 15 PTS, 5-9 FG, 1-2 3PT, 4-6 FT, 6 REB, 5 AST, 1 STL, 1 BLK
3. Stephen Jackson: 15 PTS, 4-13 FG, 3-5 3PT, 4-4 FT, 5 REB, 6 TO

Spurs’ Three Stars

1. Manu Ginobili: 26 PTS, 9-17 FG, 5-11 3PT, 3-3 FT, 5 REB, 3 AST, 2 STL
2. Gary Neal: 15 PTS, 5-8 FG, 5-7 3PT, 1 REB, 1 STL (14:25 MIN)
3. Tim Duncan: 14 PTS, 5-12 FG, 4-6 FT, 10 REB, 3 AST, 1 STL, 2 BLK, 4 TO

Best of the Best from the Best

Hey Joey Crawford, I’m laughing, come on and give me a T.

-TDzilla!

Little do you know that you’ve already been ejected

-Manu Ex Machina

He was watching you while you slept, and ejected you before you even got up

-DrumsInTheDeep

Flagrant 2 for snoring.

-sparkling!!!

Five Quick Shots: 24 seconds? Pfft...

1. Neal's transition to the NBA is smooth and very rare. "Front office of the decade goes to..."
2. Manu is made of magic and tastes like candy.
3. Even with low stats, RJ still had a positive impact on this game. Good sign.
4. Gee was absolutely dominate in his 3 second appearance. Caused a turnover... sorta.
5. Blair hitting his sophomore slump on time. Hill a year late.

Next Game: Los Angeles Griffins @ San Antonio Spurs --- 8:30 PM Spurs Time (CT)