San Antonio – With less than two minutes remaining and the San Antonio Spurs in desperate need of a basket, they went where they always go.
To Tim Duncan.
Only the player who received the ball – and then missed two consecutive pressure jump hooks in the lane – wasn’t the Duncan most NBA fans recognize.
This Duncan struggled to make shots all night, easy and difficult alike. This Duncan was snatched out of the game on a regular basis to rest an ankle that has been slow to heal. This Duncan wasn’t capable of his usual heroic feats at the end of a tight game, going 0-for-7 from the field in the fourth quarter.
But …
“Timmy gave us everything he could,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. “Obviously he’s not in his typical rhythm and not at the very top of his game, but we knew that going in. He played more minutes than he probably is able to, but he did it because he is a competitor. We’ll hope that he comes off it OK and go after Wednesday’s game.”
Added Spurs guard Tony Parker: “Obviously he’s not 100 percent. I’d say he’s 80 percent. He’s just going to fight through it and give us his best shot, the best out of him.”
Duncan had his good moments, but many more average ones in the Spurs’ loss. He scored 18 points on a very un-superstar like 7-of-22 shooting.
The 35 minutes he played were his most since returning from a severely sprained right ankle April 13. He played in the Spurs’ final four regular-season games in an attempt to shake off the rust and mental hang-ups that came with it.
He has a long way to go, if his play Sunday was any indication. Afterward, however, he insisted his ankle had nothing to do with a subpar performance.
“I feel fine,” Duncan said. “I just had a bad night. I thought I felt pretty good the entire time there.”
If Duncan felt fine, Nuggets coach George Karl said he sure didn’t look it.
“I thought we benefitted a little bit with Timmy being rusty,” Karl said. “He’s not as special as he usually is.”
Unexpectedly, San Antonio’s best post presence in Game 1 was from Nazr Mohammed, whom the Spurs acquired in a trade with the New York Knicks on Feb. 25. Mohammed scored 15 points on 7-of-9 shooting, grabbed 15 rebounds and blocked four shots.
Anything San Antonio got done in the paint, Mohammed was usually in the middle of it.
“I just made a conscious effort to hit the glass hard at both ends,” Mohammed said. “It’s Tim who attracts so much of the defense’s attention. It helps me get to the offensive glass.”
But the Spurs know they need Duncan to be Duncan if they are to win this series. And no one expects to see Sunday’s Duncan too much longer.
“He’s still the focal point of his offense,” Denver’s said. “It’s going to be tough. He’s a champion, a former MVP.”
Staff writer Chris Dempsey can be reached at 303-820-5455 or cdempsey@denverpost.com.
