luther

Tough one tonight...

luther

McCants is inactive--no word yet on why.

Starters are:

PG: Telfair
SG: Jaric
SF: Gomes
PF: Jefferson
C: Madsen

luther

Duncan knocked Madsen down (bit of a flop), and coach Popp freaked out. He got a T and should've gotten kicked out. I mean, he was irate.

luther

Telfair picks up his second PF with about 7.5 minutes left in the first--he's out, Buckner's in.

luther

Late in the first quarter, a great hustle play seems to have injured Jaric. He dove onto the floor for a loose ball and tossed it behind his back/over his head to a breaking Buckner, who scored (goaltend). But Jaric got up hobbling, and while he's still in the game (Telfair has 2 PFs, remember), he's not moving properly.

luther

End of Q1, Wolves up 24-22.

And I just realized that I named the thread Wolves at Spurs, when it is Spurs at Wolves. Whoops.

luther

Seems Marko actually might have tweaked his knee before diving on the floor (which makes that a more admirable, if dumber, move). But we're now down to zero PGs at the moment, unless you count Buckner. I don't.

Might Antoine Walker see time at the point tonight? It happened occasionally in the old days in Boston...

luther

Corey Brewer joins Walker, Smith, Telfair and Buckner at about 11:00 2Q. Hopefully he can get something going tonight. Check that--Gerald Green replaced Buckner.

luther

Bad drives on consecutive possessions by Green and Brewer, but Smith had a defensive, then offensive rebound (the latter with a put-back). Weird lineup, though.

Oh, and yes, I can talk to myself all night, if necessary.

luther

The commentators said the team is going to x-ray Jaric's right foot; he's out for the half, undetermined for the second half. That's not good for the backcourt: we'd be out Foye, McCants and Jaric.

luther

A Brewer steal and coast-to-coast drive and dunk leave things at 38-32 in the 2nd.

luther

And a Brewer feed to Smith down low puts it to 40-32. 7-0 MN run. The Spurs keep tapping rebounds out, and the quick Wolves team on the court (Telfair, Green, Brewer, Smith and Jefferson at the moment) is just beating them to spots on the floor. That has led to at least half a dozen breaks with numbers here in the 2nd quarter. Things are looking up tonight--the kind of hustle and smart play that had us optimistic in the early games.

luther

And the signs of youth...they let S.A. go on a 7-2 run, and then after a few buckets, Smith began running back down court before a Spurs possession ended, allowing his man (Bonner) an offensive rebound and put-back. Would've been a simple box-out and Bonner would've had no chance...

luther

Rough final few minutes, and the half ends tied at 48.

luther

Mad Dog draws a T from Duncan!