Spurs to retire Ginobili’s Number

By Anthony Caruso III | Publisher

The San Antonio Spurs have plans to retire Manu Ginobili’s No. 20 jersey this season. His retirement ceremony will take place on March 28th against the Cleveland Cavaliers at the AT&T Center.

Ginobili — who retired in the off-season — will take place on the hardwood. IT will also air on FOX Sports Southwest, according to KSAT.

Manu Ginobili walks off the court after the San Antonio Spurs lost to the Golden State Warriors in the 2018 playoffs (Getty Images)

He will become just the ninth player to have his jersey retired in franchise history. Ginobili will become the first Spurs to have their jersey retired since Tim Duncan had his No. 21 retired by the team.

Besides Ginobili and Duncan, the team also has No. 12 retired for Bruce Bowen. Shawn Elliott’s No. 32 is retired, as is George Gervin’s No. 44. Avery Johnson also has his No. 6 jersey retired.

David Robinson has his No. 50 retired. In addition, James Silas’ No. 13 is retired.

The 41-year-old Bahia Blanca, Argentina native played his entire career with the Spurs. He averaged 13.3 points with 3.5 rebounds, 3.8 assists, 1.3 steals, and 0.3 blocks in 1,057 games.

He played 16 seasons with the franchise, who drafted him with the 57th overall pick in the 1999 NBA Draft. He did not debut with the team until the 2002-03 season as a 25-year-old.

He is the all-time leader in three-pointers made with 1,495 and the all-time leader with 1,392 steals. He is third all-time with games played in 1,057, along with being fourth in assists with 4,001. He is also fourth with 3,380 free throws made and fifth all-time in points with 14,043.

Belinelli missed the Spurs-Warriors game, and could miss Friday’s game against the Lakers

By Anthony Caruso III
Posted: November 12th, 2014 at 1:51 AM EST

The San Antonio Spurs were without guard Marco Belinelli on Tuesday night against the Golden State Warriors. He has been dealing with a groin injury.

As of last Thursday, he is expected to miss 7-to-10 days. Plus, head coach Gregg Popovich is expected to play it safe with him until he’s ready to return.

Marco Bellinelli (Getty Images)

There’s no guarantee that he’ll be active for the Spurs game against the Los Angeles Lakers this Friday night.

With Belinelli out, Corey Joseph, Danny Green, and Manu Ginobili are expected to get increased playing time.

The 28-year-old has only played in three games this season, where he played 57 minutes. When he’s been on the court, he’s averaging 8.3 points, 1.7 rebounds, and 1.7 assists per game.

Spurs defeat the Heat in Game 5 to win the NBA Finals

By Anthony Caruso III
Posted: June 15th, 2014 at 11:04 pm EST

The San Antonio Spurs are the NBA Champions.

The Spurs beat the Miami Heat, 104-87, causing a 4-1 series win in the NBA Finals. It is the second loss in the NBA Finals for the Big 3 of LeBron James, Chris Bosh, and Dwyane Wade.

San Antonio Spurs celebrating (Photo by the San Antonio Spurs)

“We remember how it felt last year,” Duncan said. “It makes last year ok. We remember how it felt in that locker room that got us here today.”

This championship is the fifth for the Spurs since 1999. It is also the fourth in the Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, and Manu Ginobili era.

Last year, the Spurs were just seconds away from winning their fifth in Miami, before Ray Allen hit a key three-pointer and turned Game 6 into the Heat’s favor. A few days later, the Heat won in Game 7, as the Spurs were deflated after the Game 6 loss.

Kawhi Leonard let the Spurs with 22 points. Ginobili came off the bench and scored 19 poins with Patty Mills scoring 17 off the bench, as well.

Parker scored 16 points, and Duncan scored 14 points with 8 rebounds. Besides Leonard, Boris Diaw chipped in five points and Danny Green had zero from the Spurs starting lineup.

Marco Bellinelli scored 4 points, while Tiago Splitter scored 3 points. Jeff Ayres and Aron Baynes chipped in 2 points.

They had 16 fast break points and 32 points in the paint. The Spurs also scored 8 points off of 8 turnovers.

The Heat were led by James, who had 31 points. This was his third NBA Finals loss in his career.

Bosh scored 13 points with Wade chipping in 11 points. The rest of their starting lineup had 8 points, as Rashard Lewis scored 3 points and Allen, who started as the point guard in place of Mario Chalmers, had five points.

Michael Beasley scored 9 points and Chalmers had 8 points. Toney Douglas had 3 points, while Udonis Haslem and Norris Cole had 2 points.

The Heat had 11 fast break points, and 34 points in the paint. They scored 12 points off of turnovers.

Flashback? Spurs take Game 3 of the NBA Finals against the Heat

By Anthony Caruso III
Posted: June 11th, 2014 at 12:08 am EST

The San Antonio Spurs are once again leading the NBA Finals.

The Spurs defeated the Miami Heat, 111-92, in Game 3 of the Finals at the American Airlines Arena. It also marked the 38th road playoff win in NBA history, the most ever.

The Finals (Photo by the NBA)

This is also the first loss at home for the Heat all postseason.

The Spurs will now have to avoid a letdown in Game 4 on Thursday night, as the Heat attempt to make it 2-2. Last year, the Spurs won Game 3 by 36 points, winning 113-77 at AT&T Center.

In Game 3 last year, Danny Green stepped up and had 27 points. This year, Kawhi Leonard led all scorers with 29 points.

It seemed like he couldn’t be stopped, as he went 10-of-13 from the field and 3-of-6 from three-point range. He also went 6-of-7 from the free throw line.

Green and Tony Parker added 15 points, while Tim Duncan scored 14 points and 6 rebounds. Duncan will attempt to break Magic Johnson’s career playoff double-double on Thursday in Game 4, as both are tied with 157 double-doubles.

LeBron James, who had a game-high 35 points in Game 2, scored 22 points, along with Dwyane Wade. Rashard Lewis chipped in 14 points and Ray Allen scored 11 points.

Manu Ginobili also scored 11 points for the Spurs.

The Spurs will attempt to take a 3-1 lead at American Airlines Arena. They are looking to win their 5th NBA Finals since 1999.

They have won NBA Championships in 1999, 2003, 2005, and 2007. The 2007 NBA Finals was against James’ Cleveland Cavaliers team.

Game 3 winner of a tied NBA Finals series goes on to win the series 83 percent of the time (30-6)

— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) June 11, 2014

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Spurs: 15-3 in best-of-7 series when leading 2-1 in the Gregg Popovich era

— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) June 11, 2014

 

Heat take Game 2 to tie the NBA Finals at 1 as the teams head to Miami

By Anthony Caruso III
Posted: June 8th, 2014 at 11:00 pm EST

The Miami Heat have tied the NBA Finals at 1 game apiece.

The Heat defeated the San Antonio Spurs, 98-96, tonight at the AT&T Center.

The Finals (Photo by the NBA)

The series will now move to Miami for Tuesday night’s Game 3. Last year, the Spurs won the first game, before the Heat won the second game.

In last year’s NBA Finals, the Spurs won Game 3 113-77. The Spurs also won Game 5, after the Heat tied the series at 2-2, before they took the final two games.

LeBron James, who left Game 1 in the fourth quarter with cramps, had a game-high 35 points with 10 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 steals. Chris Bosh scored 18 points with 3 rebounds, while Dwyane Wade and Rashard Lewis each scored 14 points.

Tony Parker led the Spurs with 21 points. Manu Ginobili scored 19 points, while Tim Duncan had 18 points and 15 rebounds.

Duncan ties Magic Johnson with his 157th career playoff double-double.

Perfect in Game 1: Spurs defeat the Heat 110-95 to take a 1-0 lead in the NBA Finals

By Anthony Caruso III
Posted: June 6th, 2014 at 12:20 am EST

The San Antonio Spurs have won Game 1 of the NBA Finals.

The Spurs defeated the Miami Heat, 110-95, on Thursday night at the AT&T Center.

Both teams had trouble with the heat in the arena, as there was an air-conditioning failure. This also caused Heat star LeBron James to leave the game in the fourth quarter with cramps.

San Antonio Spurs players vs. Miami Heat players fighting for the ball (Getty Images)

This is the second straight year that the Spurs have won the first game of the NBA Finals against the Heat. This is the first NBA Finals rematch since 1998.

Last year, the Heat went on to win Game 2 to tie the series at 1-1. They will look to do the same on Sunday night.

Veteran Tim Duncan had 21 points and 10 rebounds, as the Spurs improved to 6-for-6 in NBA Finals Game 1s in team history. Manu Ginobili chipped in 16 points with 11 assists and Tony Parker scored 19 points with eight assists.

James, who only played 33 minutes, scored 25 points. The Heat were outscored 36-17 in the fourth quarter that helped the Spurs win game one.

Dwyane Wade scored 19 points with 3 rebounds and 2 assists, while Chris Bosh scored 18 points with 9 rebounds and an assist. Ray Allen came off the bench to score 16 points with 3 rebounds and 3 assists.

The Spurs have had revenge on their mind since losing the NBA Finals last season. They were seconds away from winning Game 6 until Ray Allen hit a key three-pointer that helped the Heat win that game, before winning Game 7.

Duncan, Ginobili, and Parker sets a new NBA record with their 111th playoff win together

By Anthony Caruso III
Posted: May 22nd, 2014 at 12:03 am EST

The San Antonio Spurs have defeated the Oklahoma City Thunder in their latest game in the Western Conference Finals.

The Spurs now lead the Thunder 2-0 in the Best of 7 game series. While they went up 2-0 in the series, the important number is 111.

Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili, and Tony Parker (Getty Images)

This is the Spurs 111th playoff win with Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, and Manu Ginobili, as teammates. Now, they stand alone with the most wins by teammates in NBA history.

They passed Magic Johnson, Michael Cooper, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who had 110 playoff wins. The three players have won three NBA Championships together (2003, 2005, and 2007).

They are also favorites to return to the NBA Finals this season. The veterans could face off against the Miami Heat in the NBA Finals for the second straight year.

Last year, the Spurs lost in Game 7 to the Heat in Miami. The Spurs were seconds away from a 4th Championship with seconds left in Game 6, before Ray Allen hit a key three-point basket to sway the momentum in the Heat’s way for the rest of the series.

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Durant outshines the other USA men’s basketball players in the Olympics

By Anthony Caruso III
Posted: August 12th, 2012 at 11:46 AM EST

Kevin Durant has now gone world wide.

Many people knew Durant for his talents with the Oklahoma City Thunder. Now, they are going to know his talents in the Olympics after his performances these past three weeks.

Kevin Durant (Getty Images)

Durant has just done something that no other basketball player has ever done, wearing a United States jersey. He has scored a 153 points in this Olympics, and his tally is still counting with a quarter left in the goal medal round.

This is the most points by any USA player in a single Olympics. It also broke the Team USA record of a 145 points, which Spencer Haywood set in 1968.

San Antonio Spurs guard and Argentinian National team member Manu Ginóbili scored a 155 points to lead all players. His team lost to Russia in the gold medal round earlier today.