Sunday Slams: Blogging Spurs/Lakers

It’s a special live blogging edition of the Slams. Can the Lakers get a season sweep of the Spurs or will the San Antonio exact revenge for the home loss Los Angeles handed them two weeks ago?

Let’s find out.

1ST QUARTER

-The Lakers are without Luke Walton, who will miss at least a week with an ankle sprain. Bad break for the Purple and Gold since they just got Lamar Odom back from his injury.

-Interesting that Vlad Radmanovic gets the start considering he’s coming off of a DNP-CD.

-Tim Duncan goes glass to give the Spurs a 2-0 lead. Does anyone in the league do that better? Maybe Dwayne Wade, but I’d give the edge to Duncan.

-Tony Parker makes it 4-0 with an easy lay up. That’s a bad sign for LA.

-Nice passing by Kobe Bryant and Odom leads to a dunk for Andrew Bynum. That was pretty. It’ll be interesting to see if Kobe keeps his facilitator role now that Odom is back. If he does, the Lakers are going to have a lot more highlight worthy plays.

-By the way, for the record, I have no audio for this game due to my wife having company over. So, not only can I not hear, but I am also being totally rude. They understand. At least, I think they do.

-Duncan puts San Antonio up 8-2 with a bank hook shot over Bynum and Radmanovic. That was unstoppable.

-Bryant gets an assist with a nice pass to Odom for a lay up. Good sign for LA that Odom seems involved so far.

-Odom gets another basket off the dribble, followed by Duncan at the other end using a sweeping hook off of the glass again. It’s 10-6 San Antonio, and Duncan is feeling it.

-Kobe feeds Bynum with a behind the back pass, and Bynum draws the foul. Bryant is looking to get everyone involved again, and this is the main argument for his MVP candidacy. He is actually making his teammates better this year, which is something fresh.

-Off a San Antonio miss, Odom rebounds and goes coast-to-coast for an easy deuce. Make him go right and don’t let him get to the rim, otherwise, trouble waits. That’s the expert analysis you can find only here. It’s 10-9 Spurs.

-Gregg Popovich is saying something, but I can’t hear him. I hope it isn’t important.

-Odom is surprisingly aggressive today. He goes to the line after a Robert Horry foul right at the rim. Odom was far more tentative on Friday in the overtime loss to the Bobcats.

-Robert Horry. 3-pointer at the Staples Center? There’s something new and different. Spurs are up 15-11.

-Make it 17-11 as Duncan goes to a left hand floater. He has eight points early and I’m guessing he’s making Lakers fans angry due to his supreme goodness. He’s hard to dislike. He doesn’t talk much and he’s good. What’s to hate?

-Kobe beats the shot clock with one of those double pump 15-foot shots that have no business going in. He makes it look easy.

-Shooting has been hard for both teams so far. It’s 17-13 with 2:20 to play in the quarter. I would say this pace favors the Spurs.

-Bryant dribbles the ball off of his foot out of bounds. I feel like he’s been turning the ball over a lot of late. I’ll have to look up the numbers. Here are his turnovers in the last five games: 9, 5, 1, 6, and 7.

-Down 19-13, Odom again rebounds, goes the length of the floor with the left hand and draws the foul. He makes one of two to cut the lead to five. I’m assuming Popovich will get that to stop soon.

-Odom and Bryant connect on an alley-oop. Gorgeous feed from Odom, who lobbed the ball from the 3-point line.

-It’s 19-16 Spurs after a quarter. Nice to see the Pussycat Dolls take us to break on ABC.

2ND QUARTER

-It’s Odom vs. Duncan so far. Each has eight points. Odom has five rebounds to Duncan’s three.

-Spurs are shooting 32%. Lakers are hitting 33%. That’s ugly.

-Bryant connects on a nice spinning lay up to cut the lead to one. Good feed by Ronny Turiaf, who is without question the most bizarre and fun Lakers player. I urge you to watch his act on the bench if you get a chance to see him in person.

-With the Spurs up 21-18, Bryant whips a no-look pass to Turiaf, who is fouled. That was tremendous court vision by Bryant. I don’t know if you’ve heard this, but he’s quite good. Turiaf misses both free throws.

-Bryant blocks Bowen’s shot, but Mo Evans misses on the other end. Tony Parker bricks a leaner, but the Lakers fail to take advantage as Kobe misses an alley-oop. Jordan Farmar is no Lamar Odom. That was the exact same play that worked before.

-Manu Ginobili is off to a rough start. He was just whistled for a charge by the one and only Violet Palmer. You know when Palmer is officiating a game, and that’s not a compliment. Close call on this particular play, but surprisingly, Ginobili and Palmer disagree. Actually, that’s not surprising at all.

-Bryant makes it a 21-20 game with another fall away jumper. That’s becoming his specialty.

-After a timeout, Odom is forced to go right and he airballs a 15-footer. Duncan takes advantage with a 12-foot hook over Bynum. Duncan is now officially abusing young Andrew. ESPN on ABC shows Kwame Brown in street clothes.

-Bynum answers back at the other end with a nice post move and basket. His drop step gets quicker and quicker.

-Michael Finley puts San Antonio up 25-22 with a jumper. No one talks about Michael Finley anymore. He can apparently still shoot well.

-Brian Cook, the master of the “catch and shoot a line drive”, knocks down an 18-footer. That’s what he does. In fact, that’s all he does.

-Finley hits again. This time it’s for three. Spurs lead 28-24.

-Tim Duncan is now laughing at Violet Palmer for her latest whistle. Bynum thanks her, and makes both free throws.

-This game is not exactly what I would describe as pretty. In fact, it’s pretty ugly. Oxymoron time, kids!

-Does anyone else find ESPN on ABC pointless? What was wrong with having a separate ABC sports?

-Smush Parker knocks down a triple, Bynum rejects Tony Parker, and Bryant hits from long distance. Just like that, the Lakers lead 32-28. That happened fast. Bynum’s block was very close to goaltending.

-Tim Duncan misses, but Robert Horry rebounds, backs out, and hammers down another three. It’s the building. You can’t stop him here, unless it’s 2004.

-Odom answers back with a three. The knee doesn’t seem to be bothering him at all. 35-31 L.A.

-Ginobili hits a baseline jumper to cut the lead to 38-33. Every time I type Ginobili, I can hear Charles Barkley screaming his name. I don’t think that’s ever going to change, and I’m fine with it.

-I missed a chance to tell you about a basket earlier. Smush Parker made a lay up after taking about six steps. Just thought you should know.

-Radmanovic hits a three from the corner following a lovely dish from Bryant. Ronny Turiaf is the happiest man in the building. He’s so great. Tony Parker may have dislocated a finger. The Lakers lead 42-33 and we have a timeout.

-Michael Finley nails another from long range. It’s an 18-8 Lakers run. They’ve had a tendency to go on huge runs against the Spurs this year.

-Kobe hits another jumper after a sick crossover dribble. Bruce Bowen had no chance there. 44-36 Lakers. Bryant has 14 points.

That’s the half.

3RD QUARTER

-We start with a full minute of missed baskets until Kobe lures Bruce Bowen into a foul with a double pump, and to make it sting a little more, he hits the basket. Free throw is good as well. 47-36 Lakers.

-Tony Parker makes some free throws. At the other end, Kobe delivers a beautiful feed to Bynum for two. 49-38 L.A.

-Duncan scores again with the hook. He has 12 points.

-Bryant tries to do too much again by trying another no-look pass, but this time it’s a turnover. Duncan puts back a Parker miss. Look out.

-Bynum doesn’t get a call, and he’s angry. Swearing and gesturing=technical foul. That was easy.

-Tim Duncan hits a 16-footer to cut the lead to four. This is all San Antonio right now.

-Bryant turns it over again, this time with an offensive foul. Either way it was a turnover as he threw the ball away as well.

-Radmanovic ends the Spurs run with a tip-in off a Bynum miss. You don’t see Vlad do that often.

-The Spurs let Odom go left again, and he gets back to the charity stripe. Odom has 11 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists, but he’s been awfully quiet since the first quarter.

-San Antonio is currently on a Rodeo road trip. Good to know. Ginobili misses a three.

-Following a Lakers miss, Ginobili drives to the basket and is hammered by Smush Parker. It wasn’t close to flagrant, but it was a hard foul.

-Tobey Maguire, Jesse Jackson and Jack Nicholson are in the house. That’s a nice trio. I’m sure there are more famous faces there.

-Bryant drives to the hole for a basket, then Ginobili hits a very low percentage bank shot. That was impressive.

-The Parkers exchange buckets. First, Eva Longoria’s better half. Then, the driver of the Smushcalade. Hey, where is Eva? Have I missed her? She has to be there, right?

-Kobe nails another fade away jumper to put the Lakers up 58-51.

-The Lakers take advantage of Michael Finley by ripping the ball from him in the corner, and Odom makes them pay with a 3-pointer. Big shot. 61-52. Timeout Spurs.

-The Spurs are 7-10 vs. teams better than .500. That’s why people are down on them this year.

-Finley bangs home another three. The Spurs bench has a 29-2 advantage over the Lakers. That surprises me.

-Robert Horry tackles Bynum to prevent a dunk. Good strategy there. Bynum makes the free throws.

-Tony Parker and Ginobili are a combined 4-20 from the floor. Yuck.

-Kobe hits another jumper. San Antonio is in trouble here. It’s 65-57.

-Mo Evans gives the Lakers bench some points with two free throws. He’s been quiet tonight. Evans has been a major surprise for the Lakers.

-It’s 67-57 Lakers after three. If Ginobili and Parker don’t get going, this game is over. San Antonio is shooting 29% against a team that was torched by Memphis and Charlotte in the past week. This is not a good way to start the Rodeo trip.

4TH QUARTER

-It’s a good thing the Spurs brought Finley. He hits another three to cut the lead to seven.

-The Lakers have gone to the bench to start the fourth. Turiaf, Vujacic, Farmar, Evans and Odom are on the floor.

-Odom makes a 19-footer to give the Lakers a 69-60 lead.

-Good sign for San Antonio. Tony Parker hits a shot. In fact, he hits two in a row. It’s a five-point game.

-Mo Evans misses a mid-range jumper. The next time you watch a Lakers game, count how many times Joel Meyers say mid-range game or in rhythm. This should be a drinking game. You’ll be drunk halfway thru the first quarter.

-Farmar drives right past Parker for a basket. More bench points for L.A. It’s 71-64 and we have a timeout.

-Kobe Bryant is hopping up and down as we return from the break. I hope he’s staying warm, but that may have been a Ronny Turiaf impression.

-Bruce Bowen throws an inbounds pass away, and Farmar converts a lay up to put the Lakers up nine.

-We’re in the midst of a scoring drought for both teams. Nothing to write about except for some bad basketball plays. It’s still 73-64, now with 6:22 to play. We’ve gone more than two minutes without a field goal.

-I’ve put the sound on the TV for the exciting finish. The Spurs are having the worst shooting game of any team this season. Seriously, ESPN on ABC just said so.

-Ginobili hits a floater to end the drought. The Spurs have to be happy to be in this game.

-Bynum travels. Mark Jackson says that last thing you want to do is let the Spurs hang around. That’s precisely what the Lakers are doing.

-Following another Ginobili miss, the Lakers move the ball well and Kobe gets to the line. Popovich is not happy. Bryant makes both foul shots. 75-66 Lakers.

-Ginobili knocks down a three after Bryant falls down. It’s down to six with 4:30 to go.

-Kobe and Duncan exchange misses followed by Radmanovic taking a trip to the line where he only makes one. Free throws are hurting the Lakers.

-On a second chance opportunity for San Antonio, Ginobili drops in another 3-pointer. That’s a very large shot. It’s a 76-72 game.

-Back from break, Horry blocks Bynum from behind. That’s a great play by Big Shot Rob. Duncan misses at the other end, but Odom can’t handle the rebound. The Spurs just won’t go away.

-Duncan cuts the lead to two with a left hand floater off a great pass by Ginobili. Bryant misses for the Lakers. The Spurs can tie the game.

-Ginobili tries to give them the lead from long range, but misses. However, the Spurs get yet another second chance and Tony Parker heads to the foul line. He makes them both to tie the game.

-Duncan fouls Odom under the basket. Duncan doesn’t like the call. Violet Palmer had nothing to do with it. Odom misses the first. He makes the second. Lakers lead 77-76.

-Bruce Bowen hits a wide-open three to give the Spurs their first lead of the second half. Great, great pass by Duncan out of a double team.

-Radmanovic can’t answer back for the Lakers at the other end. Loose ball foul sends Ginobili to the line. He misses the first. Unreal. Manu makes the second. Spurs lead 80-77.

-Bryant misses a dunk and whines about it. Meanwhile, Bynum rebounds and feeds Radmanovic for a clutch 3-pointer. This game is wild suddenly. We’re tied at 80 heading to a timeout.

-How are the Spurs in this game while shooting so poorly? Second chance points and bad free throw shooting by the Lakers.

-Robert Horry misses a 3-pointer from the corner with three seconds left. It looked like he might have been fouled. It would have been fitting if he had made that.

-Are the Lakers headed to their seventh overtime of the year? I’m guessing the ball is going to Bryant here with 2.7 seconds left to play.

-I was right. Bryant gets the ball, but Ginobili blocks his shot to force overtime. Ginobili got whacked in the face for his trouble. This will be the Lakers second straight overtime game. They’re 3-3 on the year in the extra session.

OVERTIME

-Ginobili is bleeding everywhere. He’ll be a non-factor to start overtime.

-Bryant feeds Radmanovic to put the Lakers up by two.

-Tony Parker misses a jumper and Horry is called for a loose ball foul. Bryant and Bynum work the pick and roll to perfection and Bynum finishes with a jam. Pretty stuff.

-Bowen answers with a jumper for the Spurs. Bryant comes right back with one of his own for the Lakers. Kobe has 27. Lakers lead 86-82.

-Tony Parker makes some free throws, and then Smush Parker connects on a shot at the other end. 88-84.

-The Lakers force a turnover, but Bryant can’t connect. On the other end, Tony Parker makes a great move to blow by Smush, hits the basket and makes the free throw. 86-85. Tony has 17.

-Radmanovic gets a shooter’s bounce on a 12-footer. Tony Parker comes right back and hits again to make it an 88-87 game in favor of the Lakers.

-Smush Parker takes a tough spinning shot and misses. Bad shot. Ginobili gets back to the line with penetration. He makes them both to put the Spurs back on top.

-Kobe drills a pull up to give the Lakers the lead. Michael Finley can’t connect from downtown and the Lakers have a chance to put it away. They can’t as Bryant misses a runner with 31 seconds to go.

-Duncan drives past Bynum for a left-handed lay up. That was too easy. Spurs lead 93-92 with 20 seconds to play.

-Bryant hammers down a thunderous dunk, but the Spurs use their foul to give before the shot, so it doesn’t count. Kobe says no problem and nails another fall away jumper. He had Bruce Bowen all over him for that one. Kobe has 31, but more importantly, the Lakers have the lead back with seven seconds left.

-The Spurs go to Duncan, who finds Finley for a deep 3-pointer. That was clutch. It drew nothing but nylon. Spurs lead 96-94 with only 1.3 to play. Mark Jackson says it’s fitting that Finley hit the shot, since he’s the only Spur other than Duncan who hasn’t been hesitant on offense. I totally agree.

-With the game on the line, the Lakers surprisingly go to Radmanovic, who airballs an impossible turnaround 3-pointer. Spurs win 96-94.

-That was a very impressive comeback for San Antonio and a great way for them to start a long road trip. For the Lakers, it’s another tough loss to swallow considering they had a 10-point lead in the fourth quarter. L.A. now heads East for a long road trip of it’s own.

-Thanks for reading!!