The New Orleans Hornets yet again came up just short of a victory, this time feeling the pain of defeat thanks to a Tim Duncan running hook shot and a game full of pick-and-rolls from Tony Parker. Final score– 104-102 Spurs.
Mike Dunleavy senior (who I identified as someone who has taken the first concrete step toward purchasing the Hornets) was in attendance tonight.
Also, Eric Gordon reportedly has a structurally sound knee and is on the verge of extending his deal with the Hornets. He can resume basketball activities in three weeks. Still no word on what exactly the problem was/is. I’ll be interested to find out what the actual diagnosis was.
How it Ended: With the score tied 90-90 with 5:00 to go, the Spurs grabbed an offensive board and took possession. Tiago Splitter layed in a bucket for two, and immediately following, Belinelli improperly nbounded the ball and the Spurs took over. They missed and Trevor followed that up on the other end with a miss of his own. Parker then found the rim yet again.
Okafor found the rock with a second left on the shot clock and nailed a jumper. I’ll never get used to writing that…
After a Jefferson miss on the other end, Duncan got an offensive board and topped it in to give the Spors a four point lead. Predictably, Jarrett Jack answered with a jumper to pull it back to two.
Tim Duncan hit a jumper of his own off yet another pick and roll, and just like that it was a four point game with 2:24 to go. After a brief commercial/dancing (cam) break, the Hornets came out with a lineup of Belli- Okafor-Ariza-Jack Landry (all from last year), and Belli hit yet another jumper.
Parker then headed down the floor and again got the basket and hit a floater. Not to be outdone, Jack hit another jumper. The guy would not be denied.
The Spurs then threw it to Tim Duncan for an ISO and he drew a foul on Jack. After hitting both free throws the Spurs had a 102-98 lead.
Guess who answered? Jarrett Jack! He took it to the hole for nice reverse layup. After a Hornets steal on the other end he ran the floor, barely missing a layup that would have tied up the game with 40 seconds to play.
After Parker killed time, he found a cutting Splitter who was flat out DENIED by Emeka Oakfor, sending the crowd into a frenzy. Down two with 14 seoconds left, Jack took the ball and went at the hoop. He missed, barely, but Emeka Okafor was there to finish it for his little buddy.
Tie game. Four seconds left.
Enter the sadness.
Tim Duncan nailed a running hook shot from 13 feet. The Hornets inbounded to Landry with a tick and a half left on the clock. He gave it a go from a step and a half behind the three point line, but it hit nothing but air as time expired.
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Trevor Ariza, SF 36 MIN | 7-13 FG | 2-2 FT | 6 REB | 5 AST | 18 PTS | +4Contributed nine points in the first eight minutes of the game, helping the Hornets get out to a nice early lead. He slowed down his offensive roll after that, but he was feeling it all game long. I don’t know what causes Trevor to unleash his better self, but I really enjoy watching when he does. |  |
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Jason Smith, PF 17 MIN | 2-3 FG | 1-1 FT | 4 REB | 0 AST | 5 PTS | +9When Monty was particularly upset about a foul with about 45 seconds to go in the first half, Smith stepped in between Monty and the ref, presumably to make sure Monty didn’t get T’ed up. I like a player that looks out for his coach. He had some nice energy plays and didn’t try to do too much. |  |
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Emeka Okafor, C 33 MIN | 5-11 FG | 0-0 FT | 8 REB | 2 AST | 10 PTS | -3Okafor has really developed a nice little right handed hook shot and seems to have the green light to use it on offense. Banged bodies with Duncan earlier, and was very unfortunate to not see better results from it. He was a big reason why the Hornets led the points in the paint battle 8-0 after the first quarter. Overall he played a quality game. | |
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Jarrett Jack, PG 41 MIN | 12-22 FG | 1-1 FT | 6 REB | 9 AST | 26 PTS | +6Jarrett Jack went into beast-mode tonight just about every time the Hornets needed a big play on offense. He clearly was doing his best Chris Paul impersonation, but on the defensive end he was hopeless. Parker found space every time he tried and in the end nothing Jack could do (he did a lot) would change that. It’s hard to blame him for getting burned on defense since that’s what we all expected. The blame goes to Monty for not coming up with a plan to stop Parker. |  |
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Marco Belinelli, SG 29 MIN | 5-6 FG | 0-0 FT | 1 REB | 0 AST | 12 PTS | -1Look who remembered how to shoot! Belli had the jumper going all game long. Defensively he played a nice game. His biggest error was when he was unable to inbound properly midway through the fourth. He beat himself up about it, though, so I don’t need to. | |
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Chris Kaman, C 14 MIN | 3-8 FG | 0-0 FT | 4 REB | 0 AST | 6 PTS | +1I may have missed one, but I think every time Kaman missed a shot today he looked at the ref for a call. I’m all about getting to the line, but I always got the feeling he was looking for a bail out. Again he was way off shooting and struggled on defense despite getting a couple blocks. At least he grabbed boards when they came his way. |  |
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Carl Landry, PF 32 MIN | 5-11 FG | 8-9 FT | 8 REB | 2 AST | 18 PTS | -11Landry picked up right where he left off last game, aggressively initiating contact and getting to the line. The end result was another efficient if unspectacular game. He was fighting a lot harder for boards tonight than he has been recently, and as a result he eclipsed his rebounding total from the last four games combined. | |
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DaJuan Summers, F 9 MIN | 1-3 FG | 0-0 FT | 1 REB | 0 AST | 2 PTS | -9The Hornets really struggled on both ends when Summers was out there. I’m hesitant to blame it on him, but his defense was sub-par and he had two fouls and a turnover in only eight munutes. I’ve seen better days (cue Sublime). |  |
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Greivis Vasquez, PG 17 MIN | 2-5 FG | 0-0 FT | 0 REB | 1 AST | 5 PTS | 0Hit a big three as the shot clock expired with 10:30 left in the fourth to close the deficit to one, and then a floater the next time down to take the lead. Those points were big for the Hornets as they got the crowd excited for the closing minutes. Other than that minute he didn’t play particularly well. He struggled to hang with Parker just as Jack did. |  |
Five Things We Saw
- Wanda Sykes was at the game. She occupied baseline seats instead of the halfcourt seats usually reserved for celebrities AND her being in attendance wasn’t highlighted until the fourth quarter. Brook Shields, Melanie Griffith and Daryl Hannah, however, occupyied Hugh Weber’s usual seats and were highlighted early in the game. I hope someone has some lotion because Wanda Sykes just got a mild burn!
- Trey Johnson was in a suit for non-injury reasons. Xavier Henry was active but never touched the floor. Squeaky and Ayon received DNP’s. I probably would have tried to get Ayon involved in an effort to slow down the pick and roll, but what do I know?
- Four dudes were playing the bottom of buckets with drum sticks at halftime, and it was one of my favorite halftime musical performances ever. It gave me goose bumps for some reason. Bravo, gentlemen!
- Kiss cam never gets old. If you think it does, you’re wrong.
- The Spurs had one offensive rebound through the first three quarters. The Hornets scored 100 for the first time all season and gave up 100 for only the third time. Both teams shot over 50% from the floor, marking the first time that’s happened in a Hornets game this season. The 17 assists were a career high for Tony Parker. Hornets have now lost 14 of 15. Attendance was 12,599 (yikes).
38 responses to “Late Running Hook by Tim Duncan Sinks Hornets”
Monty Williams called Duncan “The best power forward of all time”
Garnett, Malone and Elvin Hayes would probably all come close but he might be right. Duncan’s hook tonight reminded me of Magic’s running hook over McHale and Bird in one of the classic 80s finals’ battles between the Lakers and Celtics …. except this one sucked.
Eric Gordon tells Yahoo! Sports that a contract extension is in the hands of David Stern! WHOOP WHOOP. B-ball activities can resume in 3 weeks and knee is structurally sound.
Source: https://twitter.com/#!/SpearsNBAYahoo
BTW, Jack’s 1 on 1 defense vs. Tony Parker was not terrible in the slightest tonight. But whenever a big came to set the screen, the communication between Jack-Big was not there to stop the Duncan-Parker pick and pop.
I have no flipping clue what Monty was thinking when he had Jack instead of Ariza inbound the ball with 1.4 secs left. Puzzling beyond all belief.
All-in-all we are competing against our division rivals with winning records and barely losing. We are literally Eric Gordon away from being above .500 right now. Give us an NBA-ready Jared Sullinger and we are a 4-6 seed if completely healthy next year. Just my opinion.
All you that want to trade Jack. Screw off. I don’t know what you think is in college right now that is a ready-made better leader/floor general than we presently have. He makes 2-4 stupid plays a game that we aren’t used to seeing because we had the BEST PG IN THE GAME for 5 years. He is above average and our effort and competitiveness is there because our LEADER, Captain Jack, wills our team to bring that effort night in, night out. I love what I’m seeing and can’t wait to see him grow under Monty with a real supporting cast.
I had the same feeling about that last play. Why have your smallest player inbounding the ball?
I was hoping for an alley-oop on that last play, that would’ve brought the house down for sure.
I applaud you for giving Jack his props, the man has really stepped up his game this year, he has to be a shoe in to win most improved player. Also I think Trevor read this blog and saw all y’all hatin’ on him cause since he came back from his injury he has been beasting it.
The Hornets finally found their three game!!! *knock on wood*
The reason the hornets are finding success from three is because ariza is driving to the lane and causing defenders to help, this is leaving our guys open for the three shot instead of everyone standing around and then shooting with a dude in their face. This execution on offense is amazing and when gordon and henry are up to speed with everything, then the hornets are going to be scary good.
I agree with you about keeping JJack. He’s having a great year and it is unfair to compare him to arguably the best pg in the nba. I think we should keep jack, landry, and ariza. We should trade kaman and okafor at somepoint this season, maybe belinelli too if we can get a half-decent offer. Jack is unquestionably the leader of this team. He is a warrior, a beast, and he plays with tremendous heart and passion. I love watching him play and i wouldn’t mind him sticking around as our starter next year. For those of you saying he’s a shooting guard and not a starting pg, he’s averaging 7.3 assists/game not counting the 9 that he got tonight, which was good for 11th in the league coming into today, and he might’ve moved up. He’s the guy who has been keeping the past few games close, so don’t hate, appreciate.
Love this paragraph:
“All-in-all we are competing against our division rivals with winning records and barely losing. We are literally Eric Gordon away from being above .500 right now. Give us an NBA-ready Jared Sullinger and we are a 4-6 seed if completely healthy next year.”
Couldn’t agree more.
Relax everybody and try to hang together the same way we want the team to hang together. The Eric Gordon Cavery is set to ride in in February.
AMEN
Can’t see how Smith only rates a B when he had a +9 (highest on team) in only 15 minutes. Similarly, Landry’s A has to be reduced by his -11 (worst on team) in his wopping 32 minutes,
Not to be negative…but that is actually Citizen King, not Sublime. Great recap though!
Carl Landry is an expiring 9 million dollar contract. He is VALUABLE to a contender. We need to deal he and Kaman’s 14 million expiring because bigs that can play are like GOLD to a contender. Bigs that can play w/ 23 mill in expiring contracts are worth more than gold. If we want Landry back, guess what, he will be a free agent next offseason and we can try to get him back.
highlight of the game: after a hysterical moment on kiss cam of a dude caught looking down and staring akwardly at the floor instead of obliging, trevor makes a nice tip dunk. crowd looks up at jumbotron for replay but they suprise with a redux of kisscam moment. almost fell out my chair laughing
mike dunleavy, ouch!
eric gordon, scratching my head, has to be something more than a bone bruise, but alternatives such as loose pieces to clean would seem to merit surgery
jarrett jack, as good as he played tonight and recently, his refusal to pass and take a higher degree of difficulty shot himself, especially on break, is maddening
trevor, wow, nice freaking game
where is my man gustavo? i know our frontcourt is crowded and monty clearly wanted to shorten the rotation to his top players in this one, how can you leave a guy shooting 70% and bringing that much energy on the bench altogether?
J-Squared has been playing B+ ball this season. He needs to work on his court vision and I think he would be great. (And yes, I am trying to get J-Squared to catch on)
14,022 is the target average over the next 2 games. Friday against Orlando and Dwight Horward (likely), and Sunday against the Hawks.
16,000 Friday likely seals the deal, while 18,000 would make Sunday meaningless solely due to season tickets.
Thanks for the update. I stopped worrying because I thought they clocked 17 G for the mavs friday night, no? What did they call it last night?
15.4 and 12.6 for a nice 14wedding average. Some people were ‘hearing’only things about a sellout, but they heard it from unreliable sources. No star power + no wins = no sellout. Friday should draw at least 16k and Sunday should draw at least 12ka (I’d be surprised to see anything under 12k, based on season tickets and equivalents alone). Day of the week matters alot.
Weekend games draw, so I expect at least 16ka Friday based on Dallas’ draw.
I also think that this doesn’t matter even if we fall short. I suppose either that or confidence in my analysis is why no one else is discussing it. I find the perceptions about attendance fascinating, and the actual factors almost so.
I was at the game friday and crowd was very thick, despite all the now shows in sections of sections I know are mostly sold. I saw two numbers in the paper one over 15k one over 17k in parentheses. I assumed the 15k meant turnstile attendance while the 17 number represented the figure you mentioned aggregating tickets sold with comps used etc.
Nah.15.4k is real.
I think if nothing else tonight, the most obvious thing is that we play well with GV at the 1 and JJ at the 2
oh and would like to have seen Ayon (trade Kaman for picks pls) and get X out there
Jarrett Jack’s tenure in the NBA has covered tenures in Portland, Indiana, Toronto and New Orleans. Jack had opportunities to become the guy at point guard in each of those situations and with each he utlimately failed. He is a shoot first guard with limited ability or inclination to distribute to teammates. Ultimately the Hornets will need to find a true point guard to get others involved, or if they want a shoot first one, then get somone with more talent. Jack will always get his, if the team wins that’s a secondary consideration with this guy.
i dno if i agree with your last sentence, i think he truly wants to win but with our lineup thinks he truly needs to get his (and more often than not he does) but if Vasquez is on the floor with him I think that makes JJ a decent offensive option (might even say our first offensive option) just would rather see the ball in GV’s hands so the best optioned is picked
going into the season, if you remove eric gordon (obvious number one option), you’d probably say the people we want shooting are
1 carl
2 kaman
3 jack
4 beli / greivis
5 trevor/mek (uggh it already started getting ugly at #4
5 aminu
or thereabout
kaman has struggled mightily, carl has been benched, beli and greivis have done nothing to move their names up on the list.
so while I like to criticize jack at times, especially for his habit of looking to shoot when it seems prudent to pass, who else do you really want taking the shots?
I thought we played very well again, just came up alittle short at the end. But you gotta love our passion, purpose, and pride out there. I also liked the faster pace we played with last night. Ariza has been playing out of his mind on both ends, Jack on the offensive end. I think I am getting sold on the idea of not blowing this team up but simply coming back next year with a healthy Gordon and 2-3 draft picks added to this team. Watch out NBA, the Hornets are gonna shock some people!
I thought Jack actually did a much better job of driving and dishing tonight. He’s starting to recognize that teams will look for him to score and will leave someone open down low (tonight it frequently was Okafor). He still is unable to pass the ball on a fast break, which teams are also recognizing (as evidenced by the heavily contested layup attempt towards the end). Overall though, he had a great game, especially considering the amount of minutes he played and how much running he had to do on the defensive end.
For everyone that keeps talking about trading Trevor: it’s not going to happen. Right now he’s playing the best I’ve ever seen him play, especially on the defensive end. He’s so disruptive and gets his hands on so many loose balls. Yes, he’s irrationally confident on offense, but this team needs all the confidence it can get right now.
Finally, a shout out to the block party that Jason and Emeka were throwing tonight. Emeka’s block on that weak bitch Splitter was so fantastic, I thought for sure we were going to win after that.
It’s like we’re in that movie Groundhog Day. We keep getting better/closer each game. . .
“Then put your little hand in mine
Their ain’t no hill or mountain we can’t climb” – Sonny (RIP) amd Cher
trevor has been awesome, bigs solid, jack fine, its that two spot killin us, was really hoping to get a peek at henry to see if he can help and give us better min there, guess monty thinks summers to slow to play 3, he seems to bring more to table then beli
Our record should be better than this we should 7-8 instead of 3-15 because we had close games but blew leads.
From reading that yahoo story about Gordon getting extended thats not going to happen because its what under 48 hours to strike a deal and we have to depend on Stern it’s like depending on the republicans on job creation lol.
thought that was interesting strategy to call out stern like that, imagine that probably hurts chances of extension more than help, guess they’re trying to capitalize on the public backlash against stern’s perceived tyranny over the trade
Mark Cuban is watching this Stern Approval
the refs missed an up and down call that resulted in a jefferson three, and we lost because of it… weak
Belli had 2 TO the first 2 times we had the ball in the 4th, & coach inexplicably took him out. I thought we might win. Not to worry. He’s back in at 90-90 and steps on the court before inbounding. Without his 3 timely TO’s, how do we secure the L? I think that rates more than a A-.
Gordon comes back & we stop winning all these L’s. What does that do to our shot at a great draft pick? Maybe Jack goes into treatment for exhaustion and we start Squeaky.
lot of work, havent even read comments, but why not adding Monty to the scores?as you said, Maybe it was not as Jack’s fault, but Monty that Parker abused him… thee could be a Monty/Coaching stuff score as well.
May as well have some fun. With the first pick in the 2012 NBA draft the New Orleans Hornets select??????