We're finishing up Region 1; two more slots available for the next round.
7. 1973 WEST CONF CHAMP L.A. LAKERS v. 10. 2004 CEN DIV CHAMP INDIANA PACERS
Lakers: 60-22, 1st in Pac Div, 2nd in Off, 3rd in Def
d. Bulls West Semis 4-3
d. Warriors West Finals 4-1
Lost NBA Finals Knicks 4-1
#97 seed overall
Coach: Bill Sharman
Starters
C W.Chamberlain (36 Kansas) 13.2 PPG 19.1 PER 18.2 Win Shares
F B.Bridges (33 Kansas) 9.8 12.7 6.5
F J.McMillan (24 NYU) 18.9 14.8 6.4
G J.West (34 W Virginia) 22.8 23.2 12.6
G G.Goodrich (29 UCLA) 23.9 18.8 8.1
Rotation Reserves
C M.Counts (31 Oregon St) 5 17.1 1.6
F H.Hairston (30 NYU) 6.3 20 4.2
F K.Erickson (28 UCLA) 9 12 2.8
G J.Price (23 Louisville) 6.4 12.7 1.5
G P.Riley (27 Kentucky) 7.3 11.3 1
Leaders: Chamberlain (1st Rebounds, 5th Triple Doubles, 1st FG%, 1st Reb/Game, 1st True Shooting %, 1st Eff FG %, 2nd Reb %, 2nd Win Shares)
West (4th Assists, 3rd PER, 2nd Asst %)
Wilt and West, both in their mid 30s, still among the best players in the league here Hairston has a PER of 20, coming off the bench because he played in fewer than 30 games. Pat Riley's on the bench.
Pacers: 61-21, 1st Cen Div, 9th in Off, 3rd in Def
d. Celtics East First Rnd 4-0
d. Heat East Semis 4-2
Lost East Finals Pistons 4-2
#160 overall seed
Coach: Rick Carlisle, Larry Bird GM
Starters
C J.Foster (27 Tex St) 6.1 PPG 16.2 PER 8.3 Win Shares
F J.O'Neal (25) 20.1 21.1 9
F M.World Peace (24 St Johns) 18.3 18.2 8
G J.Tinsley (25 Iowa St) 8.3 16.4 4.4
G R.Miller (38 UCLA) 10 16.1 8.9
Rotation Reserves
C. A.Harrington (23) 13.3 14.9 5.9
F A.Croshere (28 Providence) 5 14.4 3.4
F F.Jones (24 Oregon) 4.9 11.8 4
G K.Anderson (33 Geo Tech) 6 11.1 1.5
G A.Johnson (29 Charleston) 6.2 11.6 3.6
Leaders: World Peace (3rd Steals, 3rd Steals/Gm)
O'Neal (5th Blocks, 4th Def Win Shares)
Miller (5th True Shooting, 3rd Off Rating)
Reggie Miller's 38; it's Jermaine O'Neal who leads the club in PER and Win Shares.
Roster Matchup:
C Wilt (Lakers)
F O'Neal (Pacers)
F World Peace (Pacers)
G West (Lakers)
G Goodrich (Lakers)
Bench: Pacers
Lakers have home court, the Pacers don't match up badly except at the top end, Wilt and West are easily the two best players on the floor and the Lakers are favored.
GAME ONE
1ST QTR
9 MIN PACERS 10 LAKERS 4
LAKERS Wilt, West
PACERS O'Neal, Artest (3), O'Neal, Tinsley
6 MIN PACERS 19 LAKERS 12
LAKERS Goodrich (3) McMillan (3) Goodrich
PACERS Miller (3) O'Neal, Foster, Foster
Pacers couldn't have hoped for a better start; Jermaine O'Neal has 6, Wilt and West just have two each and Indiana's up 7 halfway through the first.
3 MIN PACERS 26 LAKERS 16
LAKERS Goodrich, West
PACERS O'Neal, Miller (3) O'Neal
1ST QTR SCORE: PACERS 30 LAKERS 18
LAKERS Hairston
PACERS World Peace, Croshere
Indiana just comes out firing against the Lakers, O'Neal outscoring Wilt 10-2.
2ND QTR
9 MIN PACERS 35 LAKERS 26
LAKERS Counts, McMillan, McMillan, West
PACERS Foster, Croshere (3)
6 MIN PACERS 41 LAKERS 33
LAKERS Erickson, McMillan (3), Wilt
PACERS Foster, Anderson, Foster
Lakers cut the deficit to 8, McMillan has 7 this quarter.
3 MIN PACERS 45 LAKERS 39
LAKERS Hairston, Riley, Erickson
PACERS Foster, Artest
HALFTIME SCORE: PACERS 52 LAKERS 46
LAKERS Counts, McMillan, Goodrich(3 buzzer beater)
PACERS O'Neal, O'Neal (1) Miller, O'Neal
Jermaine O'Neal's got 15, Wilt and West just 4 apiece and the Pacers lead by 6 at the Forum.
3RD QTR
9 MIN PACERS 61 LAKERS 53
LAKERS Goodrich, Wilt (1) West, O'Neal
PACERS Harrington, Miller (3) Hairston, World Peace
6 MIN PACERS 65 LAKERS 61
LAKERS McMillan, West, West, West
PACERS Johnson (3) Foster (1)
Best 3 minute stretch of the game for LA; West has 8 on the quarter and the Pacers lead is trimmed to 4.
3 MIN LAKERS 71 PACERS 69
LAKERS Goodrich, Goodrich(1) Wilt, Wilt, Hairston (Lakers lead)
PACERS Tinsley, World Peace
3RD QTR SCORE: LAKERS 73 PACERS 73
LAKERS McMillan
PACERS O'Neal, Croshere
Wilt now has 10, the Lakers even it up and we're set for a good stretch run here in game one.
4TH QTR
The Pacers miss, the Lakers turn it over.
11:07 IND: Jamaal Tinsley hits a corner 3. 76-73
10:56 LA: Bill Bridges hits a short J 76-75
Both clubs miss, the Pacers miss again.
9:51: LA: Bridges again from underneath and the foul. 78-76 Lakers
9:41: IND: Tinlsey misses a long two, but Al Harrington is there with the putback. 78-78
9:34: LA: West pushes it right to the goal for the layup. 80-78
The Lakers miss 3 times, the Pacers miss 4.
7:38: LA: Pat Riley gets the feed from Wilt and hits a two from the foul line. 82-78
The Pacers turn it over.
6:58: LA: Mel Counts with the short J. 84-78
The teams exchange possessions.
6:01: IND: Jermaine O'Neal hits a long 2. 84-80
The Pacers steal the ball, miss the shot, Goodrich finds an open West.
5:24: LA: West from the right wing. 86-80
Miller misses a 3, Wilt clears it, finds a streaking West.
5:01: LA: West layup. 88-80
4:38: IND: World Peace pull up J from 11. 88-82
4:26: IND: Jeff Foster steals the ball, dunks it home. 88-84
4:19: LA: Jim McMillan hits a right side J. 90-84
4:11: IND: Miller dishes to Foster for the dunk. 90-86
3:58: LA: West again, short J. 92-86, he's got 8 in the 4th.
3:47: IND: Kenny Anderson is fouled, hits 1. 92-87
3:32: LA: Wilt takes a dish from West and drives hard to the tin. 94-87
The Pacers miss. West comes down and gets fouled.
3:12: LA: West hits both. 96-87
The teams exchange possessions.
2:33: IND: Foster short J. 96-89
2:14: LA: Goodrich is fouled and makes 1. 97-89
2:01: IND: Miller finds O'Neal with the layup. 97-91
The teams exchange a couple of possessions, Pacers can't afford that.
1:09: LA: Jim McMillan hits the 10 foot fadeaway. 99-91
:54: IND: World Peace is fouled, hits both 99-93
:47: LA: McMillan is quickly fouled, hits both and that might do it. 101-93
Wilt blocks O'Neal. Goodrich is fouled.
:13: LA: Goodrich htis both. 103-93
FINAL LAKERS 103 PACERS 93
The Lakers trailed 6 at the half, tied it after 3 and win going away to take game one.
West 24 pts, 6 boards, 7 assists - Player of the Game
McMillan 22 pts, 6 boards
Wilt - 11 pts, 17 boards
Goodrich - 18 pts, 5 boards, 5 assists
Bridges - 5 pts, 11 boards
Hairston 9 pts, 9 boards
O'Neal - 25 pts, 14 boards
Foster - 17 pts, 8 boards
World Peace - 15 pts, 5 boards, 6 assists
Miller - 11 pts, 7 assists
GAME TWO
1ST QTR
9 MIN LAKERS 8 PACERS 2
LAKERS Bridges(1) West, Goodrich (3) McMillan
PACERS O'Neal
6 MIN LAKERS 13 PACERS 6
LAKERS Goodrich(3) Goodrich
PACERS O'Neal, Foster
Slow start for the Pacers here in game 2 - outscored by Gail Goodrich, he's got 8.
3 MIN LAKERS 19 PACERS 16
LAKERS West, West, McMillan
PACERS Tinsley(3) Miller (3) World Peace, Miller
1ST QTR SCORE: LAKERS 23 PACERS 21
LAKERS Wilt (1) Riley (1) Erickson (buzzer beater)
PACERS Tinsley (3) Jones
Wilt's 36, he averaged just 13 PPG on the season, it was really rebounding/defense where he maintained all his value; but it's still a little startling to see he has just 1 point through the first. Pacers hit three triples in the back part of the quarter and trail by a bucket.
2ND QTR
9 MIN LAKERS 29 PACERS 28
LAKERS Riley, Price, McMillan
PACERS O'Neal, Croshere (3) O'Neal (Pacers go up)
6 MIN LAKERS 35 PACERS 33
LAKERS McMillan, West, Wilt
PACERS O'Neal (1) World Peace (3) World Peace (1)
Tight, tight, tight.
3 MIN LAKERS 45 PACERS 42
LAKERS West, Hairston, Goodrich, McMillan, McMillan
PACERS O'Neal, Harrington, Tinsley (3)World Peace
HALFTIME SCORE: LAKERS 51 PACERS 47
LAKERS West (1) Wilt (3) Wilt
PACERS O'Neal, O'Neal (1) Tinsley
Jim McMillan's got a dozen for LA, Jermaine O'Neal 14 for Indiana. Can the Pacers make a second half run?
3RD QTR
9 MIN LAKERS 55 PACERS 49
LAKERS Goodrich, Bridges
PACERS Anderson
6 MIN LAKERS 64 PACERS 53
LAKERS Riley, Wilt, McMillan (3) Wilt
PACERS Anderson, Foster
The Lakers now have a double digit lead and it looks like the end is drawing near. 15 for McMillan.
3 MIN LAKERS 70 PACERS 55
LAKERS Hairston, Price, Goodrich
PACERS Tinsley
3RD QTR SCORE: LAKERS 80 PACERS 59
LAKERS West, West, West (1) West, Erickson
PACERS Foster, O'Neal
LA locks this one down; Jerry West scores 7 straight LA points, the lead is 21, LA will advance to the next round in 12 minutes.
4TH QTR
9 MIN LAKERS 84 PACERS 67
LAKERS McMillan, West
PACERS World Peace, O'Neal, Tinsley, World Peace
6 MIN LAKERS 95 PACERS 72
LAKERS West (1) West, Erickson, West, Bridges, Goodrich
PACERS Harrington, Harrington
West has 7 in the quarter and the Lakers are cruising home.
3 MIN LAKERS 97 PACERS 76
LAKERS McMillan
PACERS O'Neal, O'Neal
FINAL SCORE: LAKERS 103 PACERS 82
LAKERS Goodrich, Trapp, Grant
PACERS Jones(3) Jones(3)
The 7th team to advance in Region 1 - the '73 Lakers, they battled through game one but today just dominated their way to advance.
Wilt - 12 pts, 22 boards - Player of the Game
West - 25 pts, 6 boards, 7 assists
McMillan - 19 pts
Goodrich - 18 pts, 6 assists
2. 2004 SAN ANTONIO SPURS v. 15. 1997 HOUSTON ROCKETS
One spot in Region 1 remains; the second seed in the Region, the '04 Spurs meets their cross-state rival Rockets.
Spurs: 57-25, 2nd in MW Div, 16th in Off, 1st in Def
d. Grizzlies, West First Rnd 4-0
Lost Lakers, West Semis 4-2
#32 Overall Seed
Coach: Greg Popovich, Mario Elie is an assistant coach for the Spurs and on the floor for the Rockets.
Starters:
C Rasho Nesterovic (27) 8.7 PPG 15.3 PER 7.2 Win Shares
F Tim Duncan (27, Wake Forest) 22.3 27.1 13.1
F Robert Horry (33, Alabama) 4.8 14.5 4.6
G Tony Parker (21) 14.7 15.7 7.5
G Manu Ginobli (26) 12.8 18.5 9.1
Rotation Reserves
C Kevin Willis (41, Michigan St) 3.4 14.9 .9
F Malik Rose (29, Drexel) 7.9 15 3.8
F Hedo Turkoglu (24) 9.2 14.1 6.7
G Jason Hart (25, Syracuse) 3.3 12.3 1.9
G Bruce Bowen (32, Cal St Fullerton) 6.9 8.2 5.4
Leaders: Duncan (4th Rebounds, 2nd Reb/Gm, 2nd PER, 2nd Def Reb %, 4th Reb %, 2nd Steal %, 2nd Def Rating, 3rd Win Shares, 2nd Win Shares/48, 2nd Box +/-, 3rd VORP)
Ginobli (2nd Steal %, 4th Def Box +/1)
Nesterovic (4th Def Rating, 5th Def Win Shares, 5th Def Win Shares)
Tim Duncan is in his prime, he's got a 27 PER and 13 Win Shares and he carries these Spurs; mediocre offensive club, best Def team in the NBA. Kevin Willis will be playing against himself in this game; he's the backup center for both teams.
Rockets - 57-25, 2nd MW Div, 7th in Off, 10th in Def
d. Sonics West Semis 4-3
Lost West Finals Jazz 4-2
#225 overall seed
Coach: Rudy Tomjanovich
Starters
C Hakeem Olajuwon (34, Houston) 23.2 PPG 22.7 PER 9.1 Win Shares
F Charles Barkley (33, Auburn) 19.2 23 9.4
F Mario Elie (33, American Int) 11.7 14.3 8.9
G Matt Maloney (25, Penn) 9.4 12.3 5.3
G Clyde Drexler (34, Houston) 18 19.9 8.1
Rotation Reserves
C Kevin Willis (34, Mich St) 11.2 14.3 3.8
F Matt Bullard (29, Iowa) 4.5 10.3 1.7
F Othella Harrington (23, Georgetown) 4.8 10.8 1.4
G Brent Price (28, Oklahoma) 5 12 .7
G Eddie Johnson (37, Illinois) 11.5 14.2 1.5
Leaders: Drexler (4th in Triple Doubles)
Elie (5th in FT%, 1st True Shooting %, 1st Off Rating)
Barkley (5th in PER, 2nd Reb %, 4th Win Shares/48)
Olajuwon (5th in Def Win Shares)
We've got some big ticket Hall of Famers here, Olajuwon and Barkley are hitting their mid 30s, both still have PERs over 20. Drexler's similarly aged, just a tick below 20. Mario Elie, as mentioned, is an assistant with the Spurs and starting for the Rockets and Willis will be facing himself, coming off the bench for both sides.
Roster Matchup:
C Olajuwon (Rockets)
F Duncan (Spurs)
F Elie (Rockets)
G Parker (Spurs)
G Drexler (Rockets)
Bench: Spurs
Spurs have massive seed advantage, but it's closer on the floor - Duncan's in his prime and he's the best player, but Houston's got Olajuwon and Barkley and Drexler. Let's head to Houston.
GAME ONE
1ST QTR
9 MIN SPURS 5 ROCKETS 4
SPURS Ginobli, Parker, Duncan (1)
ROCKETS Drexler, Olajuwon
6 MIN SPURS 17 ROCKETS 6
SPURS Duncan, Horry (3) Duncan (3) Parker, Nesterovic
ROCKETS Olajwuon
Spurs were the top defense in the NBA in 2004 and that shows up so far here, holding Houston to 6. Duncan has 6 by himself.
3 MIN SPURS 19 ROCKETS 11
SPURS Duncan
ROCKETS Maloney(3) Olajuwon
1ST QTR SCORE: SPURS 32 ROCKETS 15
SPURS Willis (3) Turkoglu, Willis, Duncan, Hart, Duncan
ROCKETS Willis, Price
Willis v Willis in the last 3 minutes, both versions scoring. Duncan's got 12 and the Spurs are laying the Rockets out early on.
2ND QTR
9 MIN SPURS 37 ROCKETS 17
SPURS Turkoglu (3) Bowen
ROCKETS Willis
6 MIN SPURS 43 ROCKETS 22
SPURS Rose, Nesterovic, Duncan
ROCKETS Johnson, Maloney (3)
Barkley's yet to score for the Rockets; Duncan's got 14, the Spurs are up 21.
3 MIN SPURS 51 ROCKETS 22
SPURS Duncan, Ginobli, Rose, Rose
ROCKETS
HALFTIME SCORE:SPURS 59 ROCKETS 30
SPURS Duncan, Ginobli, Nesterovic, Parker (buzzer)
ROCKETS Drexler, Barkley, Barkley, Harrington
San Antonio just annhilating the Rockets in game one; 18 for Duncan, it's a 29 point San Antonio bulge.
3RD QTR
9 MIN SPURS 64 ROCKETS 39
SPURS Parker, Turkoglu (1) Duncan
ROCKETS Maloney, Olajuwon, Drexler, Drexler, Price
6 MIN SPURS 68 ROCKETS 47
SPURS Horry, Duncan
ROCKETS Olajuwon, Olajuwon, Barkley, Harrington
Good 6 minutes for Houston; it's too late, but they've closed the gap to 21, Olajuwon has 12; Duncan 22.
3 MIN SPURS 73 ROCKETS 53
SPURS Turkoglu(3) Duncan
ROCKETS Johnson(3) Maloney (3)
3RD QTR SCORE: SPURS 84 ROCKETS 61
SPURS Parker, Horry, Parker (3) Parker, Duncan (buzzer)
ROCKETS Maloney(3) Barkley (3) Olajuwon
7 points in the last 3 minutes for Tony Parker, Duncan's now got 26, the Spurs will win game one.
4TH QTR
9 MIN SPURS 90 ROCKETS 70
SPURS Horry (3) Duncan (3)
ROCKETS Drexler (3) Price Drexler, Barkley
6 MIN SPURS 95 ROCKETS 76
SPURS Ginobli, Willis, Parker (1)
ROCKETS Olajuwon, Johnson, Drexler,
6 minutes left in game one.
3 MIN SPURS 104 ROCKETS 78
SPURS Nesterovic, Duncan, Parker (1) Parker
ROCKETS Elie
FINAL SCORE: SPURS 106 ROCKETS 83
SPURS Carroll
ROCKETS Stephens(3) Livingston
Game one was never competitive, the Rockets win by 23 and it just never got close. Duncan was the best player over the course of the season and was the best player today.
Duncan-31 pts, 9 boards, 5 assists - Player of the Game
Parker - 21 pts, 6 boards
Nesterovic - 8 pts, 14 boards
Horry - 10 pts, 6 boards
Olaujwon - 16 pts, 12 boards
Barkley - 11 pts, 9 boards
Drexler - 15 pts, 5 boards, 5 assists
Maloney - 13 pts
GAME TWO
1ST QTR
9 MIN SPURS 6 ROCKETS 3
SPURS Parker, Horry, Duncan
ROCKETS Drexler, Olajuwon(1)
6 MIN SPURS 10 ROCKETS 9
SPURS Duncan, Parker
ROCKETS Barkley, Olajuwon Olajuwon
The Spurs locked Houston down in game one and that remains true here, but the Spurs also struggling to get points on the board early here.
3 MIN SPURS 16 ROCKETS 14
SPURS Ginobli, Duncan, Parker
ROCKETS Drexler (3) Olajuwon
1ST QTR SCORE: ROCKETS 23 SPURS 20
SPURS Nesterovic, Turkoglu
ROCKETS Drexler, Drexler, Drexler, Bullard (3)
Clyde Drexler drops 11 in the first quarter and the Rockets take the lead.
2ND QTR
9 MIN SPURS 26 ROCKETS 23
SPURS Duncan, Willis, Ginobli
ROCKETS
6 MIN SPURS 28 ROCKETS 28
SPURS Duncan
ROCKETS Olajuwon, Johnson, Olajuwon (1)
Dead even halfway through the second; Olajuwon has 10.
3 MIN ROCKETS 38 SPURS 34
SPURS Rose, Parker, Duncan, Maloney (3)
ROCKETS Price, Willis, Maloney (1) Olajwuon
HALFTIME SCORE: ROCKETS 46 SPURS 42
SPURS Duncan, Rose, Rose, Rose
ROCKETS Drexler(3) Bullard (3) Bullard
Matt Bullard scores the last 5 points of the half to give Houston a 4 point lead. Can the Rockets even up this series?
3RD QTR
9 MIN ROCKETS 50 SPURS 47
SPURS Nesterovic(1) Horry, Horry
ROCKETS Olajuwon, Barkley
6 MIN ROCKETS 57 SPURS 51
SPURS Willis, Turkoglu
ROCKETS Maloney, Elie, Drexler
Houston just got taken to the woodshed for 48 min in game one, but halfway through the third in game two they lead by 6. 16 for Clyde.
3 MIN SPURS 60 ROCKETS 59
SPURS Duncan, Nesterovic, Duncan, Horry (3, Spurs take lead)
ROCKETS Olajuwon,
3RD QTR SCORE: SPURS 70 ROCKETS 62
SPURS Horry, Ginobli, Parker, Willis, Willis
ROCKETS Johnson(3)
That Spurs defense just locks Houston down in the final 6 minutes, giving up just 5 points and now San Antonio leads by 8 as we head to the 4th.
11:23 HOU: The Spurs missed, Houston comes down and Matt Maloney scores from the lane 70-64
10:43: HOU: The Spurs miss twice and then Charles Barkley hits a corner three, the Rockets cut it to 70-67
8:43: HOU: After multiple missed baskets both ways Mario Elie is fouled and hits 1 FT 70-68
7:58: HOU: It's the Spurs longest scoreless stretch of the series, they miss again, Drexler gets a layup to tie the score. 70-70
7:44: SA: Tony Parker's fouled on a shot, hits them both. 72-70 Spurs
7:36: HOU: Matt Bullard hits a 3 from the top and the Rockets retake the lead. 73-72
7:12: HOU: Clyde Drexler steals the ball and streaks home for a dunk. 75-72
6:51: HOU: After a Spurs turnover, Elie is fouled, hits them both. Rockets 77-72
6:16: SA: Missed baskets both ways, Tony Parker gets a layup, 77-74
5:53: SA: After a Houston miss, Manu Ginobli is fouled, hits both. 77-76
5:45: HOU: Both Kevin Willis's are in the game, the younger is fouled, hits 1. 78-76
5:29: SA: Parker is fouled the other way, hits one. 78-77
5:09: HOU: Elie misses, but Barkley is there with the putback. 80-77
4:46: SA: Bruce Bowen hits a clutch 3 from the wing and we are tied. 80-80
4:48: HOU: Brent Price finds Barkley who hits a fadeaway from the right side. 82-80
3:55: SA: The Spurs miss, get it back on a turnover, and then the older Kevin Willis gets a one handed game tying dunk.
3:46: HOU: Clyde finds Mario Elie who whips home a dunk of his own. 84-82
3:29: SA: Old Kevin Willis again, foul line J to tie the score. 84-84
2:47: HOU: Both sides miss, Barkley finds Drexler underneath for the layup 86-84
2:20: HOU: After an offensive foul, Olajuwon finds Drexler for a dunk. 88-84
2:11: SA: Horry's fouled, makes 1. 88-85.
1:01: HOU: Both sides miss and then Barkley hits a J from the paint, 90-85
Horry misses a 3, the Spurs get the board, but Duncan throws a pass away at :27.
:26: HOU: Olajuwon is quickly fouled - hits both. Rockets up 7. 92-85
:22: SA: Horry hits a quick 3. 92-88
:20: HOU: Another quick foul on Hakeem - again he hits both. 94-88
Duncan misses. Barkley gets the board and Olajuwon is fouled.
:10: HOU: Olajuwon hits both and Houston has forced game 3.
FINAL: ROCKETS 96 SPURS 88
Super impressive rally by Houston after that game one debacle and now we've got one game for all of it. Can the #15th seeded Rockets knock out the #2nd seeded Spurs?
Drexler - 24 pts, 8 boards, 7 assists, 4 steals - Player of the Game
Olajwuon - 22 pts, 9 boards
Barkley - 13 pts, 26 boards
Bullard - 11 pts
Duncan - 18 pts, 15 boards
Horry - 15 pts, 11 boards
Parker - 15 pts
Willis - 12 pts
GAME THREE
Here we go - sold out crowd in San Antonio, winner moves on and we conclude Region 1, Round 1.
1ST QTR
9 MIN SPURS 9 ROCKETS 6
SPURS Parker, Parker, Duncan, Parker(3)
ROCKETS Maloney(3) Olajuwon(1) Barkley
6 MIN SPURS 15 ROCKETS 10
SPURS Ginobli, Parker, Ginobli
ROCKETS Olajuwon, Bullard
21 year old Tony Parker comes out firing, he's got 9 in the first 6 minutes.
3 MIN SPURS 21 ROCKETS 18
SPURS Horry(1) Ginobli(3) Ginobli
ROCKETS Harrington, Johnson, Willis, Price
1ST QTR SCORE: SPURS 28 ROCKETS 27
SPURS Ginobli(3) Hart, Bowen
ROCKETS Willis, Moore(3), Harrington, Harrington(buzzer)
Rudy T goes to the bench in the last 6 minutes and Houston cuts the deficit to 1, the rookie Othella Harrington scoring 6. Manu Ginobli has a dozen for the Spurs.
2ND QTR
9 MIN SPURS 35 ROCKETS 32
SPURS Duncan, Duncan, Bowen(3)
ROCKETS Harrington(1) Price, Harrington
6 MIN SPURS 42 ROCKETS 36
SPURS Horry(3) Turkoglu, Nesterovic
ROCKETS Elie, Olajuwon
Spurs get a little more daylight; how about a double digit half for Othella Harrington off the Rockets bench?
3 MIN SPURS 44 ROCKETS 42
SPURS Nesterovic,
ROCKETS Barkley, Drexler, Olajuwon
HALFTIME SCORE:SPURS 53 ROCKETS 48
SPURS Willis(3) Nesterovic, Turkoglu, Bowen(buzzer)
ROCKETS Barkley, Willis, Willis
Kevin Willis scores for both teams; Olajuwon picks up his 4th foul and the Spurs lead by 5 at the half.
3RD QTR
9 MIN SPURS 61 ROCKETS 54
SPURS Duncan, Duncan, Hart, Duncan
ROCKETS Drexler, Drexler, Harrington
6 MIN SPURS 64 ROCKETS 54
SPURS Ginobli, Duncan
ROCKETS
Duncan comes out with 8 in the first six minutes of the half and the Spurs lead balloons to 11. Tough to take a series from these favorites, just like the Heat took game 2 from the Lakers but couldn't follow it up, maybe we're seeing that play out here.
3 MIN SPURS 70 ROCKETS 65
SPURS Parker, Horry, Duncan(1)
ROCKETS Barkley, Price, Elie, Drexler(3) Elie
3RD QTR SCORE: SPURS 76 ROCKETS 72
SPURS Parker, Parker, Duncan
ROCKETS Olajuwon, Barkley, Johnson(3)
The Rockets close the gap in the last 6 minutes of the quarter and now trail by only 4 as we reach the decisive 12 minutes of this series.
4TH QTR
11:36: HOU: Olajuwon blocks Jason Hart and its turned into a fastbreak, Barkley converts the dunk to cut the deficit to 2.
10:58: HOU: The Spurs miss - that leads to another break and it's Olajuwon converting the dunk and the score is tied. 76-76.
10:39: SA: Horry hits a corner 3. Spurs 79 Rockets 76
10:22: HOU: Barkley misses, but gets his own board, kicks to Drexler who scores from 10. 79-78
9:35: HOU: The Spurs miss, the Rockets miss, the Spurs miss again and Olajuwon hits the fadeaway to give the Rockets the lead.
9:13: SA: The Spurs miss, but get it back and Old Kevin Willis dunks it home. 81-80 Spurs
8:31: SA: Olajuwon picks up his 5th foul, Duncan layup, misses the FT. 83-80
8:17: HOU: Olajuwon misses but gets his own follow. 83-82
7:54: HOU: The Spurs miss, the Rockets miss - but again here's Hakeem, he gets the putback and gives Houston the lead.
7:00 SA: Both clubs miss and then Nesterovic is there for a short J. 85-84
6:42: HOU: Drexler feeds Olajuwon, here's the Dream Shake and the bucket. 86-85
6:34: SA: Barkley fouls Jason Hart, he and Olajuwon both have 5. Hart hits both. 87-86
6:16: HOU: Eddie Johnson hits a corner 3. 89-87 Rockets
6:07: SA: Duncan rattles home a dunk. 89-89.
4:51: HOU: Both teams miss, Barkley then misses a 3, but Brent Price comes away with the board - feeds Barkley who elevates for his own dunk and Houston has the lead. 91-89
4:32: HOU: Price steals a Parker pass and streaks home for a layup. 93-89
4:02: HOU: Parker misses, and Olajuwon hits a floater from the wing and now the Rockets are up 6. 95-89.
3:48: SA: Duncan misses - but Horry gets the putback. 95-91
Houston gets two chances, they miss them both.
3:16: SA: Old Kevin Willis hits a short J. 95-93 Rockets
3:04: HOU: Drexler hits a 3 from the wing - big shot. 98-93
2:50: SA: Horry takes the ball to the hole - scores - and is fouled by Olajuwon and that ends the Dream's day. Horry hits the FT. Houston leads by 2, but they'll need to finish without Hakeem.
2:42: HOU: Barkley hits a long 2, 100-96
2:33: SA: Duncan from the foul line. 100-98
2:19: HOU: Olajuwon's out - that means Younger Kevin Willis is on and he lays it in. 102-98
2:10: SA: Ginobli gets the Parker dish and hits a midrange J. 102-100
Barkley misses.
Duncan rebound. Nesterovic misses.
Younger Willis rebound.
1:22: HOU: Barkley from the lane - and the foul. 105-100
1:05: SA: Nesterovic feeds Duncan for the layup. 105-102
Barkley misses.
Parker rebound. We're under a minute. Spurs down 3.
Ginobli misses a 3 and Barkley gets the board. 47 seconds left.
Nesterovic blocks Barkley's short J. 33 seconds.
Houston's Kevin Willis comes up with it.
With 15 seconds left - a huge call - Barkley drives - scores -- but the bucket is waved off, Barkley's called with the charge - and that's his 6th foul. What would have been a 5 point Rocket lead instead results in Barkley's leaving the game.
:11: SA: The Spurs get a quick Duncan dunk. They trail by a point.
:07: HOU: The Spurs quickly foul Younger Kevin Willis. He makes them both. Huge. Huge.
Rockets 107 Spurs 104 Seven seconds left. Game 3.
00: SA: MANU GINOBLI HITS A BUZZER BEATING 3 TO TIE THE GAME!
It's our first OT game of the tournament and it comes in a series deciding game 3 after a Ginobli 3 to tie the score. Great game - best of the tournament.
OVERTIME:
The teams exchange missed baskets.
4:07: SA: Duncan hits a short one hander. 109-107 Spurs.
3:57: HOU: Younger Kevin Willis is fouled, makes both.
3:45: SA: Ginobli is fouled, makes one. 110-109
3:01: SA: Elie misses, it comes the other way and Parker hits Duncan for the midrange J. 112-109
1:50: SA: They exchanged missed baskets and here's Duncan again, he's got 6 in the OT, 114-109
1:14: SA: The Rockets miss again, there's Duncan again, scoring and is fouled and now it's almost over. 117-109
:51: SA: Duncan blocks Young Willis, he gets fouled and makes both. 119-109
FINAL: SPURS 119 ROCKETS 109
Ginobli hits a game tying buzzer beater to save the Spurs and send the game to OT where Duncan just takes over. Houston lost both Olajuwon and Barkley to fouls and they just couldn't hold up to the Duncan and the Spurs.
Duncan - 36 pts, 17 boards, 4 blocks - Player of the Game
Parker - 17 pts, 10 assists
Horry - 14 pts, 13 boards
Ginobli - 20 pts, 6 boards
That ends Region 1, Round 1. When we eventually make our way back around:
2017 Warriors v. 2005 Mavericks
2015 Clippers v. 1980 Lakers
1989 Hawks v. 1963 Celtics
1973 Lakers v. 2004 Spurs
The All Region 1 Round 1 Team:
Center - Kareem '80 Lakers
Forward - Durant '17 Warriors
Forward - Duncan '04 Spurs
Guard - Curry '17 Warriors
Guard - Paul '15 Clips
