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PHILADELPHIA
VS.
INDIANA
MILWAUKEE
VS.
ORLANDO
MIAMI
VS.
CHARLOTTE
NEW YORK
VS.
TORONTO
SAN ANTONIO
VS.
MINNESOTA
L.A. LAKERS
VS.
PORTLAND
SACRAMENTO
VS.
PHOENIX
UTAH
VS.
DALLAS
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Rim: Wolves just not big enough
ESPN.com
FROM THE BASELINE
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I'm the Man!
(Line o' the day)
Allan Houston had his best game of the series as the Knicks won in Canada. |
Houston |
| MIN |
FG |
FT |
3s |
PTS |
| 45 |
9-14 | 4-4 |
2-3 | 24 |
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Shoulda stayed in bed
(Stinker o' the day)
Nice ending to your season, Scottie Pippen. Way to help your team rise about the fray. |
Pippen |
| MIN |
FG |
3s |
T-O |
PTS |
| 37 |
3-13 | 0-6 |
3 | 7 |
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Number on our mind
This is what Vince Carter is shooting from the field in the series. |
.308 |
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They said it
"I'm a strong believer in team chemistry. You can have a lot of talent, but you can't just throw it out there and win. It's pretty embarrassing. The playoffs were an accumulation of the last six weeks of the season. We basically fell apart."
-- Detlef Schrempf after the Blazers lost.
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Schrempf |
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Mon., April 30
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| Robinson |
| |  | |
| Duncan |
We could break down this Spurs-Wolves series in the most simplest of terms and we would come up with this: One team has two big men, the other has only one.
It sounds pretty simple, and if you look at the numbers, it is. There's obviously more to it than that, as guys like Terrell Brandon and Derek Anderson are also pretty important to their teams, but with Tim Duncan and David Robinson averaging a combined 24.3 rebounds per game, while Kevin Garnett gets 11. But no other Minnesota player gets even 5 boards a game.
This stat may seem silly when you note that the Wolves have more rebounds in the series, but that's a tad misleading. The Spurs get the big rebounds. They get the rebounds down the stretch. They have the extra big man to get the ball to when they need a bucket. And whenever a Spur drives the lane, he has two trees to deal with. KG's getting his points, but no other teammate is getting 15 points. And you can certainly make the point that this series would already be over if Duncan, who didn't foul out a game all season, had played more than 29 minutes on Saturday.
Not much to say about this if you're a Minnesota fan. Reggie Slater and Radoslav Nesterovic aren't enough. We knew that months ago. If the Wolves were playing, say, Phoenix, this would be different.
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| Garnett |
"It's frustrating to not be out there and help the squad," Duncan said. "It really broke my rhythm. It broke the team's rhythm."
It also cost the Spurs a chance to join the Lakers as teams getting this entire week off.
"They're beatable," Garnett said. "We use this win as a formula. It's similar to math. This is the formula that we draw on."
But one has to wonder if the Wolves can do the same thing. They pounded the ball inside looking to get Duncan and/or Robinson in foul trouble. Duncan knows this now. Will he fall for it again on Monday night?
Notes
Another reason the Spurs are doing well? They have experience. Obviously, they won a title not too long ago, but a guy like Terry Porter has been around the block. In fact, Porter's done quite well on this block. The former Blazer has taken over 10th place on the NBA's all-time list for three-point field goals made during the playoffs with 137 in his career. Byron Scott, with 134 three-pointers, previously held 10th place.
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| Porter |
Reggie Miller, with an NBA-leading 11 three-pointers made in NBA Playoffs 2001, is the all-time postseason leader in the category with 254.
The top 10: Miller, Scottie Pippen, Dan Majerle, John Starks, Danny Ainge, Sam Perkins, Robert Horry, Michael Jordan, Clyde Drexler and Porter.
San Antonio committed 18 turnovers in Game 3, matching the most ever by a Timberwolves playoff opponent. Minnesota scored 26 points off turnovers, and set a franchise single-game playoff record with 12 steals. The Spurs are averaging 15.3 turnovers in the series, up from 14.0 during the regular season.
Brandon came back from a sprained ankle to score 21 points and dish out nine assists in 45 minutes in Game 3. Brandon scored seven points and two assists in 23 minutes in Game 2.
San Antonio's Tim Duncan was held to 15 points in Game 2, playing 29 minutes with foul trouble. Duncan averaged 25.5 points in 40.5 minutes in the first two games of the series.
The Spurs shot .394 from the floor in Game 3, tying the lowest percentage ever against Minnesota in the playoffs. The Spurs are shooting .438 in the series, the Timberwolves .384.
Game 3 marked the first time the Timberwolves have scored 90 or more points against San Antonio in seven postseason meetings.
Game 3 was Minnesota's third playoff victory in eight outings, and the Timberwolves have never won a Game 4 matchup. During the regular season, Minnesota won a franchise-best 30 games at home.
San Antonio's last four first-round playoff series have been decided in four games. In 2000 the Spurs lost to Phoenix in four games, playing without an injured Duncan. San Antonio defeated Minnesota in 1999 and Phoenix in 1996 and 1998.
San Antonio has never lost a postseason series after winning the first two games. The Spurs have won the first two games of a playoff series seven times before this season, but only once during a first-round series, in 1996 against Phoenix.
Around The Rim archives
Friday, April 27 | Tuesday, April 24
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What's on your mind? As usual, we always want to read what you're thinking about the NBA or Rim. If you want future e-mails in this spot to be yours, then click here. Keep it concise and clean please.
I would like to know why Jeff Van Gundy hasn't received any consideration for coach of the year. He is the only coach who is able to get the best out all his players. This was the first year in his coaching career (even when he was an assistant) in which he is without one of the greatest centers ever, Patrick Ewing. He has been able to get 48 wins, despite having three players playing the same position. Van Gundy does not have a Webber, a Kobe, a Shaq, or an Iverson. Please remind me, who is the only coach Pat Riley addresses with the title "Coach". It's VAN GUNDY.
Marwan Zeibak
Athens, Greece
Well some things in the NBA never change. Once again Jamal Mashburn is to blame for the Heat's pathetic early playoff exit.
Efan
Charlotte, N.C.
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