San Antonio and Houston traded blowout victories to open the series and one of the teams will take a 2-1 lead when the Spurs visit the Rockets in Wednesday's Western Conference semifinals.
Gregg Popovich, known more for his scowl and scathing responses to media, summarized the status of Parker in three words on Wednesday night.
Even though Parker has always been on the quiet side, Popovich said he had seen a more vocal point guard this year as the team tried to find itself without Duncan there to provide guidance and leadership.
The Spurs' LaMarcus Aldridge, who scored 26 points, shoots over Clint Capela and James Harden.
"No excuses, we're just going to go complete and play our best game in Houston", he said. The sellout crowd of 18,418 fell silent as teammates Dewayne Dedmon and Dejounte Murray carried Parker off the court and to the training room.
Niskayuna Graduate Charged in Connection with Penn State Student Death
A staggering Piazza continually fell with a blood-alcohol level of up to.4, and hit his head, but no-one called for help. The university on March 30 issued a permanent ban on Beta Theta Pi , which was once regarded as a model fraternity.
San Antonio's Tony Parker needs surgery to fix his left leg and won't play again until next season. "That's a tough blow". We knew they were going to come out with some aggressiveness.
Parker had not only played 221 career postseason games, which ranks fifth in National Basketball Association history, but he had also never missed a playoff game in his 16 seasons with the Spurs. Patty Mills was the primary point guard without Parker and Ginobili served as the lead back-up. He says he's fine, but he's shooting only 31 percent from the field in his last four games (9 for 30 so far in this series), and a really troubling 19 percent from 3-point range in that span. The point guard isn't among the top players at his position, posting his lowest scoring and assist totals since his rookie season. Houston demolished the Spurs with a 27-point victory in the opener before San Antonio returned serve with a 25-point beat down of the Rockets in Game 2. Hall of Famer Michael Jordan is the only player to average 31 points, 8.0 assists and 5.0 rebounds in a single postseason, doing so in 1991.
After the first two games of the series were decided by a combined 52 points, things were much more interesting Friday. Losing Parker is huge for San Antonio, obviously.
"It's odd and a little bit sad", Ginobili, a 15th-year pro, said of not having Parker, a 16th-year pro, and fellow member of the Spurs' vaunted Big Three by his side.
The Cavaliers became the only team since the Minneapolis Lakers in 1949 and 1950 to win their first seven playoff games in consecutive seasons. In Game 2, he finished with 34 points on 13-for-16 shooting to lead all scorers.
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