River Walk Chronicles ♦ ///

[Houndy]

I suggest calling up Cousins or Gist maybe with 3 games left in the season, to see what they can do.

[kibaxx7]

West Region
(1) Texas 93 vs. (4) Ohio State 84
• Game Info | Boxscores (Texas - Ohio State)


If Jai Lucas wants some time off, that's OK with his coach Rick Barnes. Lucas had 18 points after missing the team's morning shootaround because of traffic, leading the Texas Longhorns to a 93-84 victory over the Ohio State Buckeyes, and clinch their first Final Four appearance since 2002-03. Lucas only played 16 minutes but led the team in scoring, 7-of-9 from the field, including 4-of-5 from 3-point territory. “A day off now, that can be arranged,” Barnes joked. “At this rate, he and some other players will get some rest in the shootarounds, if they play like this.” Lucas appreciated coach Barnes understood his problem. Lucas is Axel Gomez's backup; Gomez added 17 points, three assists and four steals for the Longhorns, while Justin Mason contributed with 15 points and nine dishes. The Longhorns had 29 assists on 38 field goals, and their bench defeated Ohio State's, 38-19.

Lucas and Gomez played together on some stages of the contest and were key to stopping Ohio State's third-quarter rally. Texas led by 15 at the mid of the second period, but the Buckeyes had a 12-2 run in the third, capped with a 3-pointer by Julian Martin, to enter the fourth frame down by only 2 points: 73-71. William Buford scored the other nine points; he scored a game-high 27 points for Ohio State. But Gomez opened the last quarter with a fadeaway jumper and then, he forced a turnover by Jeremie Simmons to score a fastbreak layup. Martin scored 12 points for the Buckeyes and said the team had their opportunities, but just couldn't get over the hump: “We played good sporadically. Defensively, we weren't very sharp either.” Lucas then hit a a 3-pointer for the Longhorns to make it 89-82; then Buford scored on a jump shot but Texas' Matt Hill hit two free throws and Gomez added a dunk that sealed the victory. Texas' Clint Chapman (dislocated finger) and Ohio State's David Lighty (shin splints) missed the game; Lighty will have to wait until next year, but Chapman is available for the game against Georgia Tech.

(2) Kentucky 54 vs. (3) Georgia Tech 68
• Game Info | Boxscores (Kentucky - Georgia Tech) •


Martti Must said he would find a way and he did. The Estonian collected 16 points and 5 rebounds as the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets defeated the Kentucky Wildcats with a 68-54 victory, and set up a Final Four matchup against league-best Texas. In the game against North Carolina, Must attempted just five baskets and never found his groove. But he found a way. “I studied the tape from the game against the Tar Heels over and over again,” Must said, “and I got a better feel for how they are playing me. I realized that, with the defensive sets a lot of teams are using, the best thing to do is keep moving and be aggressive.” Must came out firing, making his first five shots, with 10 points in the first half, and finished 6-of-8 from the field. The Wildcats tried a handful of defenders on Martti, with no success -- forwards Ramon Harris and Perry Stevenson and even center Josh Harrellson had foul trouble.

But Martti also did it on defense, controlling Darnell Dodson, who shot 4-of-17 for Kentucky. “I know what I can do and what I can't do,” said Dodson. “Tonight, it didn't work out for me and we lost. Props to him.” Stevenson added eight and seven rebounds and Jeff Williams scored 13 to lead the Wildcats, who shot 3-of-16 from beyond the arc (18 percent). Harrelson scored all of his seven points in the first half for Kentucky, and said: “They (Georgia Tech) definitely stepped up their level of intensity. Better luck next year for us. It will be a nice encounter between them and the Longhorns.” The Yellow Jackets held a 38-37 advantage on the glass in what was a close game, but Must, along with Iman Shumpert and Zach Peacock were too much. Shumpert added 12 points, five rebounds and five assists, while Peacock contributed with 11 and nine boards.

East Region
(1) Duke 91 vs. (5) Baylor 88
• Game Info | Boxscores (Duke - Baylor) •


Mason Plumlee came up big down the stretch for the Duke Blue Devils. Plumlee scored 10 of his 14 points in the fourth quarter, lifting the Blue Devils to a 91-88 victory over the Baylor Bears. “I was able to hit a few early shots, but I was able to get my confidence in the last moments of the game,” Plumlee said. Baylor led by eight in the third quarter and almost posted the season's biggest surprise, but the true Duke appeared in the fourth. “It was real tough, real tough,” said Baylor's Anthony Jones. “The game shouldn't have been in that situation, so it's our own fault.” After getting close on numerous occasions, the Blue Devils tied the game at 63 entering the the fourth quarter on a layup by Will Sit. Willie Lewis made a jumper to give the Bears a 86-83 lead, but Duke scored the next eight points: Jon Scheyer tied it again with a 3-pointer, Kyle Singler converted a layup and Sit had a 3-pointer, giving the Blue Devils a 91-86 advantage. Lewis added a consolation jumper but it was late.

“This is a big win that we needed,” said Singler, who added 17 points. “One could say we had an easy game against the Volunteers. This game was really key for us, to get this close win.” Scheyer had a game-best 22 points, while Sit had 14 points, two rebounds and three assists, having a bigger scoring role. “When they were undermanned, the guys really reached down and just got after it,” Blue Devils coach Mike Krzyzewski said. “That just goes to show you what hustle and effort can do. Good things happen when you play hard and that's why I'm really proud of them.” Lewis had 21 points and 12 assists to lead the Bears, while Jones added 15 and Josh Lomers posted 13 and eight rebounds. “It's tough, we did a great job, but their guys did a huge job. We made too many mistakes and too many errors. We've got to move on; my heart says next year will be better for Baylor,” said Lewis. Duke's defense did a great job on the perimeter -- the Bears didn't shoot a 3-pointer in the whole game and 74 of their 88 points were in the paint. In contrast, the Blue Devils made 12-of-19 treys and only 12 points were inside.

(2) Michigan State 100 vs. (3) Villanova 76
• Game Info | Boxscores (Michigan State - Villanova) •


Dolph Lundgren Jr. put the Michigan State Spartans on his shoulders and had the Villanova Wildcats on their heels -- or even worse. Lundgren was unstoppable with 26 points and six rebounds as the Spartans got their ticket for the Final Four with a 100-76 victory. Kalin Lucas added 22 points and four assists. “We are a tough team to beat when those two guys are performing like that,” said Spartans coach Tom Izzo. “You can't help out off Dolph, and you certainly can't help off Kalin.” Coming off a 22-point performance in the team's win over Purdue, Lundgren was even better today, making 11-of-14 shots, and also keeping the Wildcats off balance with his defense. It was a contest only for the first quarter, with the game tied at 15, but then L&L went to work. “Lucas made some tough shots, they were pretty much all contested,” said Villanova's Kevin Johnson, who had 14 points and 12 rebounds. “When it was really contested, he found Lundgren in the post. He did everything he was supposed to do.”

The Wildcats had a small 8-0 run in the third quarter, but Lundgren then fully appeared in the fourth. “Lundgren's really is in a perfect system for himself,” said Corey Fisher, who led Villanova with 19 points. “When you have a dominant player like him, everyone is just trying to key on him and stop him. But when you are close to do it, Lucas just runs up and knocks it down. I think they will win it all this year.” Taylor King and Corey Stokes added 15 points apiece. “If you ask me, apart from that duo, it was their whole team,” added Stokes. “They shot nearly 60 percent for the whole contest. That's the formula for a win.” As Stokes said, Michigan State shot 59 percent (37-of-62), including 58 percent from the arc (10-of-17), had 25 assists on those 37 field goals, and is the only team to reach 100 points in this tournament. Twice.

[kibaxx7]

I suggest calling up Cousins or Gist maybe with 3 games left in the season, to see what they can do.

Yep, that was the idea. The division is pretty much clinched. I thought of giving Timmy some rest.

[dare]

Buford kill our team will all of his attempts, I should be the main focus on offense not him. I'm more consistent.

[Axel The Great]

Lucas, my backup, gets more minutes than me? Damn you coach Barnes!

Either way, great to see we're in the Final Four. Just hope Lucas doesn't kill our chances like Buford did to Ohio State.

[Houndy]

Dammit

[Justine.]

Off to Final Four with Axel!

EDIT: Funny I chose Ohio State to be the champion in my bracket

[hova-]

I was like wrong in every category except Duke.

[chaim]

Wow, Kentucky lost to GT... That is upset.
Check your PM!

[Fresh8]

I was like wrong in every category except Duke.

Smart because Duke has me.

[Valor]

Getting knocked out by Martti is just

[kibaxx7]

Duncan, Manu, Spurs play best 4th quarter in months, romp past injury-plagued Celtics
Preview | Recap | Game Info | Full Play-by-Play | Boxscores (BOS :: SAS)
SAN ANTONIO, March 31 -- The outside-inside play of Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili proved to be too much for the injury-plagued Celtics. Ginobili scored 13 points in the first half, to finish the game with 18, and Duncan added 9 of his own 18 in the key fourth-period, as the San Antonio Spurs came away with a 102-77 triumph over Boston. Already without starters Ray Allen (broken ankle) and Paul Pierce (strained abdomen), Boston lost Jermaine O'Neal (severe ankle sprain) in the second quarter and Delonte West (lower back strain) in the third. “Our bench looked like an hospital,” said Celtics coach Doc Rivers. “Some guys gave us a lift, but down the stretch we had some head-scratching turnovers and we had some defensive breakdowns. To be clear, they killed us.” Despite these injury woes, the Celtics rallied from an 11-point deficit in the first quarter to tie the game at 41 on a 3-pointer by Rajon Rondo. Duncan responded with a dunk and Ginobili shot from just inside the arc, and it was all San Antonio from there. Boston never led in the contest.

“They were just finding me open,” said Duncan. “They were getting me the ball when I found open space. Also, when Manu is making shots like this, it opens things up for everyone else.” San Antonio also got a lift from DeJuan Blair, who finished with 12 points, 15 rebounds, three assists and a block on Glen Davis. Despite playing most of the fourth period with five personal fouls, Tony Parker made a compelling argument for his contract extension (more news on that will surely come soon), when he scored nine points in a 13-2 run. He capped it with an alley-oop pass to Corey Maggette; the Frenchman and Maggs scored 16 points apiece for the Spurs. Parker added eight assists while Maggette was very versatile, with five rebounds and five dishes. Parker said he had no ill feelings toward the Spurs board regarding his extension. “We've been talking about this for a very long time,” a serious Parker said. “The board is in a situation where they need to secure the team's future. They need me to sign that paper? Ok, I'm ready.”

Rondo was the only player in Boston to score in double figures: 27 points and six assists. That shows how important he was for Boston to stay in the game early. Before leaving the game with injuries, O'Neal was limited to six points and four rebounds. West had 7 points in only 13 minutes. “A lot of guys have injuries right now,” said Kevin Garnett, who only had 8 points and six rebounds in 41 minutes; he couldn't make a field goal in the first half. “We're just going to try to tough it out. Hopefully some of them will return for the playoffs.” Rookie Avery Bradley scored five points and three assists, while Duncan limited Kendrick Perkins to 2 points (1-of-8 from the floor) for the Celtics, who have lost two straight games. “They made a lot of difficult shots,” said Marquis Daniels, who started in Pierce's absence. It was an all-around victory for San Antonio: 50 percent shooting from the field, 27 assists, won the glass battle 47-34 and dominated the paint 70-38.

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Video Music :: Empire Of The Sun • “We Are The People” [Burns Remix]

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[kibaxx7]

Buford kill our team will all of his attempts, I should be the main focus on offense not him. I'm more consistent.

Yep, looks like Buford was the cause. You were shooting pretty good.

Lucas, my backup, gets more minutes than me? Damn you coach Barnes!

Either way, great to see we're in the Final Four. Just hope Lucas doesn't kill our chances like Buford did to Ohio State.

You were ball-hogging man, 16 shots in 15 minutes! You had some Gatorade in the bench and then played alongside Lucas and assisted him.

Dammit

It was a nice upset of the Hoyas. You almost won this time, very close. But the Blue Devils, you know, they have Sit.

Off to Final Four with Axel!

EDIT: Funny I chose Ohio State to be the champion in my bracket

IMO it's Texas or Duke. That would a nice final, the two 1st seeds, but the Spartans are killing everything in sight.

I was like wrong in every category except Duke.

Smart because Duke has me.

It will be a huge game between Duke and Michigan State. Sit, you gotta defend, so the Spartans don't score 100 again.

Wow, Kentucky lost to GT... That is upset.

Not much of an upset, if you ask me. Kentucky only had Williams and Dodson, GT had Peacock, Shumpert, Must, Udofia, all played good the entire season.

Getting knocked out by Martti is just

Martti had good numbers in almost every stat and his teammates were good too. You were great, but your teammates didn't.

So, April is just around the corner. Who would knew, in this thread?

[Grandmama Johnson]

Wow, you crushed Boston. Great job with your balanced scoring and getting so many players in double figures!

[Bucket]

Ouch You killed Celtics and Ray Ray and The Truth is out? When they will return back to action?
Rondo with headband?

[Martti.]

Texas, you're going down. Final Four, here we come!

[kibaxx7]

Wow, you crushed Boston. Great job with your balanced scoring and getting so many players in double figures!

Thanks man. Boston's lineup in the fourth was Rondo, Marquis Daniels, Sam Young, Big Baby, Semih Erden. It was an easy win.

Ouch You killed Celtics and Ray Ray and The Truth is out? When they will return back to action?
Rondo with headband?

Allen is out for the first two rounds of the playoffs at least, maybe he can return for the East Finals or NBA Finals. The Truth returns in a couple of weeks, just for the start of the postseason.

Texas, you're going down. Final Four, here we come!

It will be a nice match, coming soon...

Tonight -- March report, then the last games of the season, and PLAYOFFS!

EDIT -- Edited the index!

[George7]

Nice dominant win there
Though I believe the results would be really closer if the injured players were ok

Both of my West predictions were wrong!
I'll cheer for Duke now!

[Mavs4Life]

One of my favorite associations even thought I hate your Spurs. Almost complete, & great presentaion. Blowin' out the Celtics! Watchin the real one right now, think it'll be a little diffrent.

[rise]

EDIT -- Edited the index!

Woah, I didn't even realize there was an index. It's great for catching up on what I've missed if I don't check in for a while. Great win over Boston!

[hova-]

TD + / - of +31. Really a great effort to beat the Cs. You seem prepared for the Playoffs. I'm really looking forward.

[Valor]

Can't wait till the playoffs come

[kibaxx7]

San Antonio's toughest enemy -- San Antonio -- could end title run
nba.com/spurs/beat | April 1st, 2011

SAN ANTONIO -- So often they can run up and down the floor with all of the energy of the world, and know how to trample anything that stands in their way. Too often they spend parts of the very same night looking like they've been tied to chairs. If June ends without the San Antonio Spurs raising the trophy, the most likely reason might be, well, themselves. They're strong, athletic, aggressive, and there have been numerous occasions in 2010-11 when the Spurs have flexed their muscles and shown that they have everything that it takes to go the distance. But, also, there have been times when they look like they've slept through their mobile phone's alarm clock. On the one hand, there's reason for excitement in San Antonio: they already have the LA Lakers in their rearview mirror -- 2 games behind. But on the other hand, there's reason to think they could be breathing right down their necks. If you follow the NBA regularly, you know the Spurs have major problems closing games. 11-, 15- and even 22-point leads were blown by the team this season.

“For whatever reason, we always seem to have been a first-half team this year,” said bigman DeJuan Blair. “If we're up by a healthy lead, it's like we get loose a little and when we're done, the other teams are making a run and doing what they should have done 10-12 minutes before. We're closing in to the playoffs and we need to figure out a way to eliminate that.” Can they do that? Or is it a character flaw that's simply impregnated into their DNA? “I really don't know. I wish I could answer that, but I really don't know. I guess we could lend some zen philosophy from Phil (Jackson),” joked Larry Hughes. This is the team that lost some head-scratching games against teams like the Los Angeles Clippers (already eliminated from playoff contention), both clashes against the New York Knicks (juggling for the eighth seed in the East), the Philadelphia 76ers (in the brink of being eliminated) and the Memphis Grizzlies (allowing 124 points on regulation). But, at the same time, this is the team that won both encounters against the Miami Heat (best record in the entire league), the Orlando Magic, twice, and also had 6-, 8- and 11-game winning streaks.

That yin/yang, black/white, light/dark personality of this Spurs team had kept coach Gregg Popovich wrestling with his team's inconsistent mental approach. This is a lineup that's loaded with talent and has three trophies under their belt. While all of the attention has gone to guys like Tony Parker and his contract extension saga, or the excellent rookie season of Tiago Splitter and his Sixth Man of the Year contention, players like Gary Neal or George Hill frequently flown beneath the radar but been no less stellar. Just to name some highlights -- Neal's 24 points back in November, as the Spurs rallied from a 19-point hole to defeat the Clippers (all in the second half); or Hill's explosion by the end of January against Golden State, with 24 points, 9-of-10 from the field and 6-of-6 treys, to go with 9 assists, in only 21 minutes.

But it's in their own head-to-head where the Spurs have their problems, keeping themselves into every game despite some letdowns. Keeping their intensity level high, all of the time. Only two nights after Hill had that explosive night against the Warriors, the Spurs went belly up in consecutive losses to Utah and Houston. And in the middle of the Rodeo Trip, had back-to-back losses, at Philadelphia and Washington. “Championship teams pay attention to the details. That's what we did when we won in '03, '05 and '07. You don't let opportunities slip away and you don't beat yourself,” commented Manu Ginobili. “It's some mental things that come back to haunt you. Like a bad goaltend call or a turnover. Little things, especially on the road, have a way of hurting you, but if we come out and look to attack, play the way we can, play the way we know, there are not many teams that can put a hold on us. It's a matter of when.” Which is both a valuable asset and potentially deadly liability. “I don't think we'll be able to get away with that in the postseason,” Hughes added. “I think it's something that can be fixed. But we need to do it quick -- the clock's ticking.”

Or else the team that stops the Spurs in the playoffs will be the Spurs.

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[kibaxx7]

Nice dominant win there
Though I believe the results would be really closer if the injured players were ok

Both of my West predictions were wrong!
I'll cheer for Duke now!

Just the win I needed. And I agree, if Ray and The Truth were there, it would have been a very different game.

One of my favorite associations even thought I hate your Spurs. Almost complete, & great presentaion. Blowin' out the Celtics! Watchin the real one right now, think it'll be a little diffrent.

I'm a Spurs fan but for no reason I hate the Mavs. I like the team, in fact. As George said, I won easily but two or their three best players were out.

Woah, I didn't even realize there was an index. It's great for catching up on what I've missed if I don't check in for a while. Great win over Boston!

Yep I've been updating every week or so. Also the reserved posts for coming seasons.

TD + / - of +31. Really a great effort to beat the Cs. You seem prepared for the Playoffs. I'm really looking forward.

TD is killing. I thought of giving him some rest, but I have a huge game against the Lakers. Might activate him just for that game and call Cousin and Gist, and test them.

Can't wait till the playoffs come

Seven games left man, just a little!

Decided to do the March Report later, along with April, so it's less time consuming.

[The X]

Crazy that your record is near identical to RL one

Wouldn't be the case if Spurs weren't folding down the stretch IRL