Jose Netsfan says: Kidd was chili today, maybe hot tamale?
Spurs 101, Nets 89
NBA Finals Game
1 File
Tim Duncan has a mighty, mighty game,
scoring 32 points, grabbing 20 rebounds and blocking 7 shots, while Jason
Kidd has a mini-one. Kidd was outplayed by his opposite, Frenchman Tony
Parker. Parker picked up 16 points, 5 assists, 3 rebounds and his entire
team, repeatedly driving past Kidd off the dribble, while Kidd scored
10 points (off 4 - 17 shooting), made 10 assists, got 8 rebounds, and
couldn't get anybody other than Kenyon Martin going. The game was even
at the half, but the Spurs exploded in the 3rd quarter offensively, and
got back on "D" to shut down the Nets' transition. Kenyon Martin's
foul trouble hampered his effectiveness, but still didn't keep him from
a 21 point, 12 rebound effort (in 33 minutes of playing time).
• Box
Score
NBA Finals Record: Spurs lead series 1 -
0.
Game 1: Spurs 101, Nets 89
Nets High Men:
• Points: Kenyon
Martin, 21.
• Assists: Jason
Kidd, 10.
• Rebounds: Kenyon
Martin, 12.
• Steals: Jason
Kidd and Richard Jefferson each had
2.
• Turnovers: Jason
Kidd and Richard Jefferson each had
3.
• Blocks: Kenyon
Martin, 2.
• FG Percentage: Richard
Jefferson and Rodney Rogers each shot
50% (5 - 10).
Nets Team Stats:
• FG Percentage: 37.1%
• FT Percentage: 76%
• Rebounds: 45
• Rebound Differential: -2
• Turnovers: 8
• Turnover Differential: -4
• Bench
Points Differential: +9
The Kidd Effect:
• Nets Players in Double Digit Scoring:
5
• Nets Fast Break Points: 17
• Kidd's FG Percentage: 23.5%
(4 - 17).
• Scoring
Differential Kidd in the game: -12
• Scoring
Differential Kidd out (Anthony Johnson at PG): even
• Triple
Doubles this Season: 5
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South Of The Border
Everything about the second half of the Nets' Game 1 loss to the Spurs felt like a bad field trip South of the Border: the leader got separated from his flock and couldn't find his way, and his charges, with the exception of Kenyon Martin, seemed to be playing through some major acid reflux. Heck, this team wished they could get the runs...by the time the urgency of the situation hit them in the fourth quarter, the Game was out of reach. The tourists got taken by the locals.
The Spurs, behind Tim Duncan's MVP performance of 32 points, 20 rebounds, 6 assists and 7 blocks, negated Kidd, dominated the Nets inside on both ends of the floor (getting back to defend the Nets transition attempts), and won Game 1 going away behind hot shooting (49.4% for the game) and a huge third quarter. The Spurs take a 1 - 0 series advantage while the Nets' 10 game playoff win streak ends with a whimper.
This game was tied 42-all at halftime, despite the Nets' early twinges of abdominal discomfort. Kidd was the chief culprit, wolfing down his first two field goals (wow, the Nets opened with a fast break bucket off the tip again!), then missing his next 9 shots from the field. The Nets jumped to a 6 - 0 early advantage, but the Spurs then scored the next 6 points to eliminate any thoughts of a bust-out first quarter for New Jersey's gunslingers. Those 6 points would represent the largest Net lead of the game.
The Spurs were getting inside on the Nets easily, but the Nets were forcing turnovers (8 in the opening quarter for the Spurs) and getting some big play from Martin (10 points in the half), Rodney Rogers (7 points) and Dikembe Mutombo, of all people. Mutombo made his Finals debut due to a glut of Big Man foul-trouble...he stirred up the Nets bench by throwing a block on Duncan and a diving to the floor for the loose ball and calling a time-out, in the middle of the 2nd quarter. The Nets and Martin managed to keep Duncan to only 8 first half points, but David "Retiring In A Few Weeks" Robinson played like it was 1992 again, with 8 points and 6 rebounds.
The Nets' third quarter was like a drunken binge in the cantina that gets you tossed in the pokey. Immediately, Bruce Bowen, who had been a non-factor in the first half, nailed a three to open scoring. You could feel the momentum shift. After Martin missed on the other end, Stephen "Ax To Grind" Jackson was fouled but missed both free throws. Duncan then retrieved the board and was fouled by Martin, who picked up his third foul. Two free throws later it was 47 - 42. The Nets then came up empty again: Tony Parker hit a jumper, then after a twisting Martin lay-in, Parker nailed a three to make it 52 - 44.
The Nets would get it as close as three points, 58 - 55, but by then Duncan was rolling. Duncan (13 points in the third) and Parker (9 points) thoroughly outplayed Martin (and his replacements) and Kidd, and the Spurs zone defense was totally befuddling the Nets, forcing them to settle for jump shots when they weren't having their inside attempts rejected. All this helped the Spurs close the quarter on a 15 - 4 run to take a 15 point lead after three.
And that was pretty much your ballgame; that's where the Nets were bucked from the mechanical bull. They tried to remount and conquer the Texas beast, but Martin remained on the bench for a long stretch with 4 fouls, and Kidd wasn't igniting anything except Netsfans' heartburn. Robinson put an exclamation point on things by soundly rejecting Richard Jefferson, when the Nets were down by 14 points a bit more than midway through the fourth. That was the sign that it was time to go back to your hotel, pack up the tacky tourist t-shirts, and try to blend in with the locals for Game 2.
See you Friday night.
Senior Duncan's Border Patrol
Illegal Alien - It wasn't the 10 day layoff. Jason Kidd just got outplayed by "The Kid," Tony Parker. Parker (16 points, 5 assists, only 2 turnovers) helped blow the game wide open in the third, and hampered Kidd from doing what he wanted to do, as often as he hurt the Nets with his offense. Kidd didn't play his "A" game, and the team certainly followed his lead. His near triple-double line (10 points on 4 - 17 shooting, including a late, meaningless 3-pointer, 8 rebounds and 10 assists) was not indicative of how badly he played. He was unsuccessful finding a way to make the dash across the second half Rio Grande.
Duncan Truckin' - Tim Duncan, taken out of the game in the first half by Martin and a Nets defense designed to make him pass instead of shoot, figured things out pretty quick in the third quarter, didn't he? Let's see, 13 third quarter points and 24 in the second half? Duncan was too much for the Nets' front line to handle, plowing into them and getting them in foul trouble – he went to the line 14 times. The Nets couldn't force him to take bad shots, as his 11 - 17 shooting line attests. If the Nets can't throw a speed berm down for Duncan, they don't have a prayer. It's going to take Martin, Jason Collins, Aaron Williams, Rodney Rogers and even Dikembe Mutombo everything they have to try to keep him from crashing the Nets' Gated Interior.
Hefe Martin - Where might the Nets have been without Kenyon Martin in this one? Martin (21 points, 12 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 blocks and a late foul-out) tried to force his will on this game and was the only Nets offense for long stretches. A seriously bad sign. Not enough fast break points, not much help from the likes of Kerry Kittles and Richard Jefferson, and no scoring from Kidd. Even Martin had several of his shots rejected inside, so it's going to be a struggle if someone doesn't free themselves up and make outside shots.
Mas Cerveza, Por Favor - That's what they're saying in San Antonio after watching the Spurs punish the Nets inside. The Nets tried to take it to the Spurs, but the refs swallowed the whistles more often than not, blocked 12 Net shots, and generally took away their offense. No back door cuts, few garbage baskets around the rim and certainly not much room to run (only a 17 - 11 fast break advantage for the Nets). Plus, the Nets lost overall control of the boards (the Spurs were +2 in rebounding for the night). The Spurs' zone defense did its job, screwing the Nets up further in the third quarter. The Nets need to find a way to take it to the rim and get fouled next game, or this will be a mighty quick series.
Tequila for the Bench - Both benches played well, with the Nets' Wild Bunch outscoring the Spurs' 30 to 21. Rodney Rogers (11 points in 21 minutes) was great in the first half, especially when the Nets needed him to play extra minutes because of all the foul trouble up front. Aaron Williams struggled against the much taller Duncan and managed 4 points, 4 rebounds and 4 fouls. Lucious Harris hit some outside shots (15 points, 4 - 10 shooting, and made a team-high 7 trips to the free throw line) and saw some extra time in the three-guard look. The real star of the Spurs bench was Malik Rose, with 12 points and 6 boards in 24 minutes.
Admirable Admiral - How old is that fella with the ripped body and the ever-present smile? David Robinson was huge for the Spurs tonight - perhaps the difference maker. He contributed 14 points, 6 rebounds (all in the first half – Duncan wouldn't let him get near one in the second half) and 4 blocks.
Chalupas For Everybody In San Antonio
We all know the formula: If Jason Kidd has himself a poor game, and none of the other role players besides Kenyon Martin can take some of the load off his shoulders, then the Nets will lose. Tim Duncan quite obviously saved his best performance for the second half – too bad the Nets had already had their best performance in the first half. If the Nets don't find an answer for Mr. Duncan, or can't limit his playmates' shots, or keep the score under 100 points, we could be looking at more offseason excuses. You know Kidd will play better. And his message will likely be: "Get the split, Nets."
- Joe
Champagne's Donkey Show
1) Due to a synching problem between sound and visuals, the 8pm EST opening of ABC's Finals telecast looked like Japanese monster movie. The problem was quickly corrected. However, there is little they can do about Bill Walton at this point...
2) I thought it boded well when I heard somebody in the Nets' huddle shout, "Put your fucking hardhats on!" when the ABC camera's swooped into it before tip-off. The presence of Julius Erving (throwing up a ceremonial jump ball) was nice to see, too. The two quick Kidd buckets and the 6-0 lead, forcing Popovich to take a 20 second time-out at the 10:39 mark looked even better. I didn't read the chicken bones accurately.
3) It would be hard to call Lisa Marie Presley's halftime show either a "performance" or a "travesty." First of all, she didn't just lip-sync her song (something called "Sinking In") – the entire band was on tape. And her father wasn't just the King of Rock, he was also the King of Schlock, so you can't exactly say Elvis was rolling in his Graceland grave. That tight corset she had on was a bad sign. If I had to put her appearance in Elvis terms, I'd say she was sitting at about a year or two after the 1968 comeback special, and just before E totally blew up and lost it all in Vegas. Who is buying her CDs?
4) Bill Walton's security with his sexuality is quite refreshing in this uptight, reactionary, distinctly non-ABA age. Once during a Nets/Pistons game Walton gushed about Jason Kidd's "emerald green" eyes. Tonight Walton focused his lurid gaze and purple prose on David Robinson's physique. Walton on Robinson: "Michelangelo closed his eyes and said, 'What shall a perfect man look like?'"
5) I've written that I didn't care if I never saw Dikembe ever get on the floor and play as a Net again. I owe Mutombo and all his fans an apology. I'm an ass. He didn't produce any buckets (he had one pretty easy chance), but he did have a really great negation of a Duncan attempt, followed by that dive to the floor and the time-out. Inspirational, at the very least.
- Champagne
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