Roger Mason converts for the bucket and the foul over Devin Brown late in overtimeSpurs Foil Rookie's Coming-Out PartyBOX SCOREIt took an extra period, but the
San Antonio Spurs battled back from a 12-point halftime deficit to defeat the
New Orleans Hornets 125-118 in overtime.
A game many had expected to be a wash and Spurs highlight showcase since the Hornets were without injured floor leader,
Chris Paul, turned into a hotly contested grudge match and coming-out party for UCLA rookie point guard,
Darren Collison.
Collison played like no man's inferior, as he protected the ball fiercely, got teammates involved and attacked the basket on offense while doing a decent job containing veteran point,
Tony Parker, on the defensive end. Before night's end, Collison tallied a team high 25 points and 7 assists, only turning the ball over once and committing one foul.
The unexpected excellent play of New Orleans' rookie point, as well as early foul trouble by
Tim Duncan, and a mild ankle inversion which sidelined
Manu Ginobili after only 10 minutes of play, found San Antonio staring at a 12-point deficit by halftime.
Following halftime, the Spurs would rally once again around mister consistency,
Tim Duncan. Duncan scored 9 of his 20 points in the third quarter which got momentum rolling for San Antonio. Another turning factor was a renewed commitment to snaring rebounds, which no Spur did better than,
Antonio McDyess. "Dice may be old but he can still make an impact," said Duncan of the veteran big man. McDyess shot a perfect 2-of-2 from the field and 4-of-4 from the charity stripe for 8 points and a team-high 16 rebounds.
Tony Parker orchestrated the Spurs offense and comeback, though he struggled from behind the arc shooting only 1-of-6. "Collison did a good job staying in front of me; I couldn't hit <expletive> from the perimeter." Parker finished with 24 points, 11 assists and 3 rebounds.
With 24.4 seconds left in regulation and New Orleans trailing 101-102, it looked like the Hornets might end victorious when Collison hit the go-ahead trey. But with 18.6 seconds remaining and New Orleans ahead 104-102, the ball was inbound to Duncan in the post who missed the shot attempt but was rebounded by Parker, who then tied the game with an acrobatic reverse layup as the game clock expired.
In overtime,
Roger Mason was the man, scoring 11-points in the extra period, including the dagger "and 1" over defender
Devin Brown which sealed the Spurs' road victory. After the game Mason told reporters, "I saw Timmy and Dice crashing the glass and going after every rebound, leaving everything on the floor, just to get us back even. When we went into OT, I was inspired and wasn't about to let their efforts go wasted."
GAME NOTES· Erasing the 12-point deficit for the win is San Antonio's biggest comeback victory of the young season;
· Combined, 9 players scored in double digits, 8 players scoring 20+;
· Post-game medical exams confirm Manu Ginobili shows no lingering effects of tweaking his ankle during the first half; he will be available to play next game
San Antonio next faces the retooled
Boston Celtics on the road.
PROJECTED STARTING LINEUPS - Saturday November 7th: SA @ BOS
IR LIST SA: Malik Hairston - Marcus Haislip - Ian Mahinmi
BOS: Glen Davis - Tony Allen - Bill Walker