How to train your dragon: NBA Edition.
You can sum up how the San Antonio Spurs are feeling right now by borrowing a quote from a fan I heard last night on my out of the AT&T Center. He said ever so eloquently that Game 3 “ruined his f&%ing evening.” Evening? We’re talking evenings? Let’s talk Playoffs. Who would have thought that an entire season’s body of work would be removed by a team that used to break down more than Turbo in an Electric Boogaloo clip.
Sometimes you have to appreciate the finer aspects of being at an NBA Playoff game. Take Steve Nash at the shootaround rocking Nike low-tops with patent leather striping for example. Classic. Let’s also not forget the man with the Will Smith flat top circa 1991, who sported the Jerome Bettis St. Louis Rams jersey. Hmm, maybe that was Jerome Bettis himself. Also classic.
Then sometimes you are witness first hand to one of the greatest fourth-quarter performances of all-time. Don’t believe me? Well you don’t have to. Grant Hill was the one who said that in reference to Goran Dagic’s ridiculous play at the end of Game 3, a Suns win over San Antonio, 110-96. San Antonio has about as much life left in them as the Jordans I used to wear on the court in sixth grade. Funny, because I bet Tim Duncan was still in the League then.
No matter where you watched Game 3, the Spurs were in vintage form at the start. Antonio McDyess got the party started by getting 6 of the Spurs’ 8 points. The Spurs kept it simple and I’m not talking about the props the Coyota mascot was using. A homemade box of Cheer to get applause? Really? They were on their way with an eighteen-point lead in the second quarter. But for some reason they fell in love with the three-pointer. You could sense that they were running out of gas at the end of the third quarter as they tried desperately to stab a knife into the heart of the collective Sun. As they did the Suns were content to methodically chip away at their lead. In a sense, the Spurs let Phoenix back into the game by falling onto their own swords. They had a bigger problem. Nobody planned for a dragon to show up.
Goran Dragic became the biggest surprise story of the Playoffs in the time it takes to cook a pizza. And you thought Rasho Nesterovic would be the only Slovenian player who would have a Fathead in his image. Puhlease. Check the stats. 23 points in 12 minutes. 4-4 in three-point attempts, 9-11 overall In shots. Not a bad game. Oh wait. That was Dragic’s FOURTH QUAR
TER. Sick. He went into beast mode and the Suns outscored San Antonio 39-25 in the final act of Game 3.
Now, my ballaholics, it’s time to hand out awards for Game 3.
The Dragic Magic Award
Right now Spurs fans everywhere are asking, “Who the HELL is Goran Dragic?” The answer is the end to your Playoff run. Don’t feel bad. Everyone around me in the media row was looking over their press guides as they scrambled to edit their stories. To say that Dragic took the game over in the fourth quarter would be an understatement. He just got crossed off the list for Tim Duncan’s next birthday party. With four minutes to go in the game, he had the fans walking to the exits. No lie.
The Dwight Howard Free Throw Clinic Trophy
You can’t keep a lead, even if it is 18 points, if you shoot 47 percent from the free throw line in the first half, San Antonio. And you can’t chip away said lead if you shoot 50 percent in the same timeframe, Phoenix. I swear Shaquille O’Neal was pulling a group possession tonight. Somebody call the exorcist!
Most Misleading Nickname for a Player in Game 3 Award-
Amar’e Stoudemire has been doing his thing this series but there was little from STAT. We were ready to dub him “The Goose” temporarily for his 0-5 line in the first quarter. Kidding, Amar’e. You know we have love for you.
The Gingerhead Man Award
We don’t get to talk Matt Bonner up very often so we will now. Bonner hit 3 three-point shots tonight. This game will surely be played in his retirement highlight reel.
I heard a Spurs fan yelling “Win a ring, punk. Then talk,” to an ecstatic Suns fan. Something tells me that the four rings San Antonio won in the prime of their once held dynasty is going to be the only thing their fans will be able to hold on to for some time.
It feels strange even saying this but the Spurs are done now thanks to the Phoenix Suns. Even Harry Potter is appreciating the brooms being broken out by Phoenix at this point. Yeah, we broke out some Hogwarts references in here, bitches. You have to at this point because the Spurs will have to be nothing less than magicians to win this series. Down 0-3 you are basically playing for pride. Based on that fact alone I think San Antonio could win Game 4 but little is left but the formalities. Phoenix, say hello to the Western Conference Finals and Ron Artest’s latest hairdo.
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