Heat 105, Spurs 100
You were probably confused if you started watching this one from the opening tip. No Tim Duncan or Tony Parker in the starting lineup and Manu Ginobli was also nowhere to be found. Minutes later we heard that coach Gregg Popovich had made the decision in advance to fly home Duncan, Parker, Ginobli, and Danny Green, essentially the Spurs four best healthy players. Popovich has done this sort of thing before. After all, this was the final game of an 11-day road trip and the Spurs have to host the Grizzlies Saturday night. But a nationally televised game against the Heat was a huge letdown on paper, and before halftime, David Stern announced that San Antonio will face substantial sanctions for resting their stars.
Fortunately for fans and TNT, this game proved to be close and competitive until the end. Miami did play down the the Spurs B-Team, and if not for LeBron's final-minute heroics, San Antonio steals this one. While a loss could have been forgivable for the defending champs, imagine the hysteria if they dropped this game last season. But by now, you know the rest. LeBron found Ray Allen on the wing, and he hit an open three to seal the deal. Resting Duncan & Co. may have been Popovich's way of getting back at the league for giving San Antonio a grueling road trip over Thanksgiving. Whatever action Stern takes here will be unprecedented. He wants his league to be of the highest-quality and it is, but there's no way of knowing yet what sanctions San Antonio will face for this decision.
Warriors 106, Nuggets 105
This was a supremely entertaining second half that featured two of the league's youngest and fastest teams. The Warriors needed 31 points from David Lee, his best game of the season, as well as strong efforts from Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Jarrett Jack to pull this win out. In the end, Golden State shot 51% and that was enough to overcome a string of questionable calls in the final minute.
On a rare night when the Nuggets shot free-throws well, they still couldn't get key stops in the fourth quarter. Danilo Gallinari and Andre Iguodala lead the way for Denver, with 20 and 22 points. Denver hung in this one mainly because of Kenneth Faried's ability to cause extra offensive possessions. The intrigue in this game is the sequence of the final five seconds, that featured four long replay look by the referees and took about 5 minutes in real time.
It started with the Nuggets down three. With a foul to give and the clock just under five seconds, Jack fouled Iguodala just before the act of shooting. However, the refs incorrectly called a shooting foul. Since Iguodala was beyond three, he received three shots. He made the first two, then bricked the third. The ball came off the rim hard and last touched Draymond Green of the Warriors. With 2.1 seconds left, the Nuggets tried a bizarre lob play that bounced in front of the rim and looked to have been touched last by Ty Lawson. The refs looked at a replay and declared Nuggets ball with 0.5 seconds left. Inbounding the ball from the corner, Andre Miller found Iguodala cross-court for a three as time expired. Iggy swished it but, was about 0.2 seconds late and the Warriors held on for a one-point win. Warriors coach Mark Jackson had been steaming at times late, but was glad the replay system got it right in the end.
This game had everything to be the typical NBA thriller. Two young, exciting teams. Nationally televised, but late enough to be seen by a limited audience. And of course, multiple head-scratching decisions by the officials. What else can you ask for?
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