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Tim Duncan blocks James Harden to seal huge Spurs win over Rockets
The San Antonio Spurs spent much of Friday night's massively important game at the Toyota Center intentionally fouling the Houston Rockets. After the final possession of the game, the hosts may have been left wondering why they couldn't get one more trip to the line to help them win the game.
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With the Spurs up 104-103 and just six seconds on the clock, Rockets MVP candidate James Harden got the rim and elevated for a lay-up opportunity, only to be denied by Tim Duncan for a game-sealing block. Replays showed significant contact from Duncan on Harden's arm, although NBA.com's John Schuhmann thinks Duncan got ball first. We'll let you be the judge:
Harden had given the Rockets a chance at the win with a three-pointer at the 28-second mark, after which they forced a Manu Ginobili turnover to get the ball back for the final possession. Yet it was not to be — Duncan's stop sent the Spurs to a 104-103 win, their 10th in a row and 20th in their last 23 contests. San Antonio also moved a half-game ahead of Houston in the race for the Southwest Division crown, which we'll cover in more detail later in the post.
The game's final call may not appear especially controversial in isolation, but it took on added significance given the Spurs' defensive tactics for large portions of the second half. San Antonio began to take control of the game late in the third quarter when head coach Gregg Popovich instructed his players to foul Houston forward Josh Smith, just a 49.5 percent foul-shooter on the season. Smith did not respond well to the pressure, going 12-of-26 on his opportunities (including 3-of-10 in the third quarter) as the Rockets offense failed to convert at its typically efficient rate. The Spurs also deserve credit for the way in which executed at the other end, not allowing the lack of end-to-end flow to keep them from working through their offense.
On the other hand, what works is not always what is exciting, and the second half provided arguably the best evidence yet that the NBA needs to adjust its rules regarding off-ball intentional fouls to send poor free-throw shooters to the line. This game looked like the most important and exciting left on the NBA regular-season schedule before it started. Instead of getting a thrilling matchup between two of the best teams in the league, fans were treated to an unwatchable slog. It's true that Popovich's tactics were within the rules and that the Spurs carried them out about as well as any team can, but professional basketball exists as entertainment and not just an opportunity for teams to prove their aptitude for high-stakes problem-solving. The Spurs have converted prior doubters in the past few years with some of the most beautiful ball movement that the league has ever seen. Friday's performance may have turned some of them back to the other side.
It's a shame, too, because the Spurs are otherwise playing their best basketball of the season and look very similar to the five-man hivemind that ran through the postseason last spring. Tim Duncan was the star on Friday with 29 points on 12-of-15 shooting, 10 rebounds, and three blocks to help offset a combined 1-of-14 shooting night for Tony Parker and Danny Green. San Antonio also managed to limit Harden (5-of-19 shooting for 16 points) and were only really hurt by Trevor Ariza, who shot 7-of-8 from the floor for 19 points, just one off Smith's foul-shot inflated team-high of 20 points.
The result is that the Spurs, who looked like a shell of their former selves as recently as the week after the All-Star break, have a legitimate shot at the West's No. 2 seed. Friday's win jumped them over the Rockets from No. 6 into No. 3, although they still sit a half-game behind the Memphis Grizzlies, who beat the Utah Jazz 89-88 on Friday only because Gordon Hawyard missed the third of three free throws at the buzzer.
Houston has now fallen from their tie with the Memphis Grizzlies for the No. 2 seed into No. 6. While the Rockets can get back into homecourt advantage in the first round if they win their final two games and get a bit of help, they have a very slim chance of winning the Southwest and grabbing the No. 2 seed. After winning one of four games against the Spurs, the Rockets will drop any tiebreakers against them and will drop below both rivals in a three-way tie that also includes the Grizzlies. Plus, the Rockets will now finish with an in-division record below the Grizzlies and would therefore lose that second tiebreaker after splitting their season series at 2-2.
It's a messy situation, but it's perhaps more important to keep in mind that both these teams (and several more in the conference) are separated by thin margins not only in the standings, but on the court as well. Sometimes it comes down to something as small as a foul call or a few bizarrely obtained missed free throws. Come playoff time, those minor moments will loom a lot larger.
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Eric Freeman is a writer for Ball Don't Lie on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at efreeman_ysports@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
