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Ray Allen curled to the left corner and found an opening to squeeze off a triple that would have trimmed a late deficit to one. The shot looked good leaving his hands. Like every other attempt on Tuesday night, it came up short. Two nights after setting the NBA Finals record for most made three-pointers in a game (eight), he nearly wrote himself into the history books again. Allen finished 0-13 from the ...

The Houston Rockets did not win the draft lottery, an outcome as surprising as traffic gridlock on the city's freeways during rush hour. The team carried a 98 percent chance of picking 14th to Secaucus. Aaron Brooks' presence could not inspire a miracle. John Wall and Evan Turner will not play in Houston next year. So, what now? The Rockets' primary offseason target is clearer than a new pane of glass. The team's followers ...

With one flick of his wrists and in one motion, Jason Richardson buried the Spurs. With a hand in his face and three seconds left on the shot clock, he pulled up from the right wing and saved a broken play with the dagger triple. Steve Nash bled again, but the Spurs were the ones in need of an elusive bandaid. The Phoenix Suns shot as well as a team with human beings ...

Just for kicks and old times sake, George Hill should put Steve Nash's groin on watch. He should stand under Amar'e Stoudemire while he dunks and make him think twice about how he lands. Maybe for one night, the Spurs can do what they used to against the Suns— get them to complain about the officials, out-execute them in crunch time, and strike first when it comes to hard fouls and snaring ...

Tim Duncan hit another three-pointer. This one didn't break any hearts. It just prolonged a 110-102 final result no one could have anticipated seven months ago. Then, Phoenix Suns GM Steve Kerr put the finishing touches on a confusing off-season that seemed to confirm his roster management ineptitude. The Suns up 2-0 on the San Antonio Spurs in the playoffs? Pigs will do more than fly this week. They'll also walk on the moon. When the Suns ...

The last time Phoenix beat San Antonio, Tim Duncan watched the series in street clothes. Steve Nash has never played on a team that could beat the Spurs. The Suns believe. They swear. They promise. They insist. This time, it's different. This will be the year, players say, that the whipping boy and punching bag becomes the abuser. The Suns will repeat the above sentences until they convince themselves the torture will end, until they accept ...

For the third time in four years, Dirk Nowitzki and the Dallas Mavericks will watch the second round of the NBA's postseason instead of playing in it. Another early exit has the blogosphere and NBA community abuzz about what the franchise's German star might do in the wake of another botched title run. Should he stay or should he go? Can he win a title with a team guided by proactive but intrusive ...

Manu Ginobili whipped a perfect pass to Caron Butler, who ran the length of the floor for a layup. It was the kind of flawless, crisp delivery the Argentine's fans have come to accept as the norm. The problem: Butler plays for the Dallas Mavericks, not the San Antonio Spurs. It was that kind of night for the Spurs—a closeout opportunity ended with a 103-81 thud. They embarrassed themselves. They embarrassed the franchise, the ...

George Hill caught a desperation pass in the corner from 6'7" rookie Dejuan Blair, who had just snared his first of five offensive rebounds in a tense and physical Game Four, and delivered the first of his many presents to Tim Duncan. He swished a three-pointer with less than one second left to give the Spurs a 20-17 edge after the first quarter. When his 29-point star turn was over, his message was clear, his status as the key to this series established. Happy 34th, ...

SAN ANTONIO: Antonio McDyess had every reason to hate the San Antonio Spurs. Not in the half-superficial way Mark Cuban says he does. His first encounter with Tim Duncan involved the Spurs' great torching him seven straight times in a playoff game. He was one quarter away from the championship celebration he craved in a Game Seven, when Duncan and Manu Ginobili took over that 2005 winner-take-all match. Through the years, though, he saw how the Spurs operated. He ...