Musings From the Mezzanine, First Half:
Spurs vs. Suns, Game 3
By Dave Mann and Josh Rosenblatt, 6:57PM, Sat. May 12, 2007
Some sort of cosmic glitch, some kind of karmic mishap, something off-kilter in the universe has allowed us, Dave Mann and Josh Rosenblatt, two sinners seeking salvation, to come down here to San Antonio and witness Game 3 of the Western Conference semifinal battle between the San Antonio Spurs and the Phoenix Suns.
Maybe there's something to all that "chosen people" talk after all.
Either way, it's enough to make a skeptical man believe.
Some humble observations:
Steve Nash just made 20 straight 15-foot jump shots in the pregame warm-up. No rim, no backboard, just net. We haven't consulted tea leaves in years, but this can't augur well for the Spurs.
If, during the "The Star-Spangled Banner," all you can think about is sleeping with the woman singing it, is that the height of disrespect or the model of perfect patriotism?
Amare Stoudemire is taking a ton of heat from the partisan crowd at the At&T Center. Apparently San Antonio fans didn't take kindly to the Suns center calling their team "dirty." Boos rain down like ash from every corner of the arena every time he touches the ball. Amare commits a hard - but clean - foul on Michael Finley seven minutes into the first quarter, and the crowd chants "dirty, dirty." A minute later, Stoudemire picks up his second foul, and the place goes wild.
The difference in the first quarter is three-point shooting. The Spurs inexplicably are leaving the Phoenix shooters more open this game - Raja Bell has two three's already. Meanwhile, the Spurs have missed on several open looks. Bruce Bowen even air-balled a three from his usually automatic corner - the sight of which made us think the apocalypse was upon us.
End of the first quarter: Suns 30, Spurs 25.
Leandro Barbosa is impossibly fast. According to Dave, he jogs faster than we run.
Which may be true, but can he play the piano like we can?
And if he could, would he want to?
And if he wanted to, what would he play?
Odds at the barbershop favored "Alexander's Ragtime Band," but we have our doubts.
Raja Bell is killing the Spurs from behind the three-point line. He already has four of them a mere three minutes into the second quarter.
That being said, we have it on good authority that he's a crap piano player.
Kurt Thomas with three fouls plus Amare Stoudemire with two fouls equals Tim Duncan with 18 points at the half.
And Steve Nash scoreless at the break equals: Spurs 55, Suns 53.
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