Hornets beaten behind the arc
Sometimes it’s hard to dissect a basketball game. If you watched the Hornets-Spurs Game 7, you would think San Antonio won on the boards. The Spurs seemed to get a ton of offensive rebounds and not allow the Hornets any. Yet at game’s end, the Spurs had 13 offensive boards, the Hornets 11.
Or maybe you would glance at the point totals and figure that the Hornet stars just didn’t produce. David West had 20 points and Chris Paul 18, but that’s a solid performance. Not a championship performance, but solid. Yet Tony Parker had just 17 points and Tim Duncan 16 for San Antonio. Yes, Manu Ginobili had 26 points for the Spurs, but made just 6 of 19 shots.
And San Antonio had an edge at the foul line — 19 of 21 to New Orleans’ 12 of 17 — but several of those Spur foul shots came in the final minute, when the Hornets were futilely trying to catch up.
But the difference in this game was clear. The Spurs won this game on 3-pointers. San Antonio made 12 of 28, which is big-time shooting; that’s 36 points on 28 shots. The Hornets made 4 of 17 3-pointers.
And here’s the even bigger difference. The Spurs got a huge boost off the bench. Michael Finley was 2-of-2; Robert Horry 2-of-4; Ime Udoka was 2-of-5. That’s 6-of-11 3-pointers off the bench. The Hornet bench made only six field goals total, all by Jannero Pargo.
San Antonio had the stronger bench in Game 7. That’s why the Spurs will keep playing.
-------------Berry Tramel can be heard Monday through Friday from 4:40-5:20 p.m. on The Sports Animal radio network, including AM-640 and FM-98.1. You can e-mail him here and follow him on Twitter @BerryTramel. Visit Berry's website here.
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