 |
| |
|
 |
 |
|
|
||||||||||||||||
|
Thorn in their side Rose rejects Bradley, pumps life into SpursPosted: Thursday May 22, 2003 2:37 AMUpdated: Thursday May 22, 2003 2:54 AM
SAN ANTONIO -- Spurs reserve forward Malik Rose didn’t have time to think. He saw 7-foot-6 Mavs center Shawn Bradley unfolding like a ladder, getting ready to slam dunk the ball in the second quarter of Wednesday’s Game 2, and he just reacted. "My instinct was to go for it," Rose said. "But then reality set in and I was like, ‘What the heck am I doing?’" Turns out, Bradley is the one who should have been asking that question. In a flash, Rose extended every inch of his 6-foot-7 frame and somehow redirected Bradley’s dunk attempt right back in his face, leaving the giant in disbelief and sending the SBC Center crowd into a frenzy. It was just one of many highlights for Rose, who bounced back from a miserable Game 1 to become a major thorn in the Mavs’ side. It wasn’t just his 25 points, six rebounds and two assists in 27 minutes. It wasn’t even his 15-of-18 performance from the foul line, a much-needed boost for a San Antonio team that lost Game 1 at least in part because of its inability to make free throws. Like he’s done all season, Rose also provided the Spurs with an energy jolt that helped vault them on their way. Consider the fragrant selection of Rose’s Game 2 bouquet:
When Rose checked into Game 2 midway through the first quarter, the Spurs led 11-7. When he checked out for a breather with 7:11 to go in the second the Spurs led 53-29. In between, he made perhaps the single biggest play of the game, driving hard into the lane to draw Nowitzki’s third foul and send the 7-foot German star to the bench just seven minutes into the game. "Obviously we were more guarded [after that]," said Mavs coach Donn Nelson Jr., who took over after his father Don Sr. was ejected for arguing with the officials. "We didn’t want our best player getting four fouls." Rose’s performance was a far cry from Game 1, when he had more fouls (five) than points (three) and wound up hobbling to the locker room late in the game with a painful back stinger. "It was like hitting your funny bone," Rose said about the injury, in which he got kneed in the back of the head by Mavs forward Eduardo Najera then got trampled by Nowitzki seconds later as he lay prone on the floor. "I lost feeling in both arms for a minute." Fortunately for him -- and the Spurs -- the easy-going Rose was back on the court laughing and joking the following morning. Without Rose, the Spurs really have nobody to defend Nowitzki when the Mavs go to their Small Ball lineup. He has the quickness to venture out on the perimeter to crowd Nowitzki, but also the strength to be able to battle on the boards. "Malik can play inside and out. He’s versatile," San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich said. "Not having him for Game 1 was a huge factor for us." About the only blemish for Rose in Game 2, in fact, was that he missed a foul shot late in the second quarter to snap San Antonio’s string of 24 straight to start the game. Of course, by then, the Spurs led 61-36. "Nobody really said anything on the bench," Rose said with a laugh. "But, yeah, I guess you could say I messed up the streak." On this night at least, the rest of the Spurs weren’t about to complain.
Marty Burns covers pro basketball for SI.com. Click here to send Marty a question or comment.
|
|
||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
