Retro Diary: Game 6 – San Antonio Spurs Vs. Golden State Warriors

May 16, 2013; Oakland, CA, USA; San Antonio Spurs power forward Tim Duncan (21) hugs Golden State Warriors power forward David Lee (10) after Spurs win over the Warriors for game six of the second round of the 2013 NBA Playoffs at Oracle Arena. The San Antonio Spurs defeated the Golden State Warriors 94-82 to win the series. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports

In what was another historic night in San Antonio Spurs history, the silver and black defeated the Golden State Warriors, 94-82. With the win the Spurs eliminated the Warriors, and punched their ticket to a second straight Western Conference Finals appearance. The appearance is also the Spurs 8th in the Tim Duncan era, and 12th in franchise history.

Since there was no basketball to watch Friday night, I decided to re-watch Game 6 of Spurs/Warriors, while I wrote a retro diary of the game like I didn’t already know the outcome.

We’re doing this slideshow style, so use the arrow keys to move between each quarter. Hope you all enjoy it!

1st Quarter, 11:40 remaining: Tiago Splitter just blew a layup after Harrison Barnes’ presence scared him or something. I’m already reaching for some vodka.

7:55 Parker penetrates deep into the paint, draws a triple team around him, passes it to Green in the corner for three. Everyone on the Warriors bench yells to distract him, except for Richard Jefferson. Swish. Green turns back to the Warriors bench with a smirk. My heart melts.

7:32 Duncan steal leads to Kawhi fast break. I jump out of my chair expecting Kawhi Leonard to destroy Steph Curry’s soul…then he does some weird hopstep that Curry gets his hand on and draws a jump ball call. FURIOUS. Kawhi knows he can jump over Curry’s short a**, right?

7:19 #TiagoSplitterBlownLayUpCount: 2.

6:06 Mike Breen says, “Let’s listen to Mark Jackson.” I promptly mute my television until his huddle is over.

2:30 Jeff Van Gundy and Mike Breen talk about how Cory Joseph requested to be sent down to the D-League, just to get some playing time. The Spurs refer to their Austin Toros squad as an opportunity and not a “demotion.” It’s been said before, the Spurs are the only team in the NBA that use the D-League the way it’s meant to be. And it’s obvious when guys like Green and Leonard or front office personal like Pop and R.C. make the drive to Austin to watch and support them. It’s one big family. And the rest of the NBA should take note.

1:26 Boris Diaw posting up Draymond Green, spins baseline under the basket, and reaches his arm around Green and Carl Landry, passing it to Splitter for the open layup. Beautiful assist by Bobo the Land Walrus.

Spurs 21, Warriors 19. End of first quarter.

May 16, 2013; Oakland, CA, USA; Golden State Warriors small forward Harrison Barnes (40) reacts after an injury during the second quarter in game six of the second round of the 2013 NBA Playoffs against the San Antonio Spurs at Oracle Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

12:00 remaining, second quarter: Pop just gave Doris Burke solid answers to each question she asked. Twitter instantly speculated that maybe the league took some action and asked him to tone it down? Who knows. But I don’t like it.

11:45 One of Burke’s questions to Popovich was to assess the offense in the first quarter. He basically said, he didn’t want the Spurs to get too reliant on the three.

11:33 Danny Green launches 30-foot three pointer. Misses.

8:31 Andris Biedrins comes in for Andrew Bogut, who heads to the locker room. Andris Biedrins is way too tan. Like, his spray on tan is more brown than the basketball floor at Oracle.

7:11 Beautiful move by Tiago Splitter. He fakes the high pick-and-roll with Parker. Biedrins overplays the pick, letting Parker deliver a precise bounce pass in between two defenders to Splitter, who’s streaking into the lane for a floater over Harrison Barnes. 8-0 run.

6:44 “Splitter was a great player in Spain. Was the Spanish League MVP and has been a huge part of their bench.” – Mike Breen, who obviously doesn’t watch Spurs games to know Tiago starts. ESPN, y’all.

6:13 Matt Bonner hook shot. Drink.

2:51 Hey, it’s another Mark Jackson huddle. Because that’s what I want to hear is more Mark Jackson.

1:15 Harrison Barnes goes to block Diaw under the basket, gets tangled in mid-air and lands on the side of his skull. My stomach still hurts rewatching this. And ESPN won’t stop showing countless replays. Glad he gets up and is okay.

0:03.7 Cory Joseph lets Steph Curry drive the length of the floor for a layup. Pop is LIVID as he power walks down the floor to the locker room, right behind Joseph, as play continues.

Spurs 47, Warriors 40. Halftime.

May 16, 2013; Oakland, CA, USA; San Antonio Spurs small forward Kawhi Leonard (2) celebrates after making a basket against the Golden State Warriors during the fourth quarter in game six of the second round of the 2013 NBA Playoffs at Oracle Arena. The Spurs defeated the Warriors 94-82. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

12:00 remaining, third quarter: Harrison Barnes returns from his scary injury. ESPN uses that as an excuse to show the gut wrenching replay 297593432325 more times.

10:04 Spurs botch another fast break. Leonard steals the ball and drives to the basket, dishing it off to Parker too early. Tony decides to play selfish and go up for a contested layup on Barnes, which he blows, and the ball goes off Leonard’s foot out of bounds. (puts away vodka, grabs bottle of whiskey)

8:50 Biedrins picks up his fourth foul, prompting Mike Breen to talk about his perfect hair. Then this exchange between Breen and Van Gundy happens – JVG: “And he’s tan! How do you tan in San Francisco?” MB: “Sun was out yesterday…” JVG” “No, but it’s windy and it’s…”

Jeff Van Gundy thinks you can’t tan when it’s windy outside.

8:24 Another Leonard steal leads to a Parker fast break. Curry recovers in time to block Parker’s layup. (pours stronger drink)

7:14 Tony Parker blows ANOTHER fast break layup, but Leonard is there with the offensive rebound and tip-in. Sheesh.

6:14 ESPN shows a third Mark Jackson huddle. The Warriors huddles are getting shown more than Seinfeld reruns at this point.

3:13 During a timeout, ESPN zooms in on Tim Duncan’s face. Something that bothers me lately, because I’m superficial, is the little grey hairs on Tim’s chin. Not because it shows me that Timmy’s getting old. It bothers me because I worry that one day, he’s going to be in one of those god awful Just For Men commercials with Emmitt Smith, Keith Hernandez and Randy Johnson.

2:22 Great ball movement around the perimeter leaves Kawhi Leonard open for a three in the corner, which he misses, but the rebound bounces right to him, as he proceeds to fly for the dunk. One of the few plays that’s gotten T-Mac off the bench and earned more than just a fake, supportive clap.

0:04.6 Ginobili at the free throw line. Parker and Manu shooting a combined 1-for-15 for 5 points and 13 assists at this point. Yet the Spurs are still up 7. Amazing.

Spurs 66, Warriors 59. End of 3rd quarter.

May 16, 2013; Oakland, CA, USA; Golden State Warriors bench in the final moments of the fourth quarter of game six of the second round of the 2013 NBA Playoffs against the San Antonio Spurs at Oracle Arena. The San Antonio Spurs defeated the Golden State Warriors 94-82 to win the series. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports

7:41 Previous possession, Kawhi Leonard got free for a midrange jump shot. McGrady fist pumps approvingly. This possession, same play, nearly identical spot, but Leonard misses. The reason I have this here is because McGrady got up off the bench so anxious to watch that shot fall. I’ve read his body language a lot during the playoffs, and you can tell he wants to be out there. But Pop won’t play him, since he practically doesn’t know the system. But what I can tell is that McGrady loves him some Kawhi Leonard and is really supportive of him. Something Stephen Jackson wasn’t.

4:28 Spurs offense has completely stalled, meanwhile the Warriors have cut the deficit to two points. Tim Duncan takes a pass from Parker and proceeds to pass it to Joey Crawford, right out of bounds. Timeout called. Game 4 flashbacks starting. And I need another drink.

May 16, 2013; Oakland, CA, USA; San Antonio Spurs shooting guard Tracy McGrady (1, back) hugs power forward Tim Duncan (21, front) during the fourth quarter in game six of the second round of the 2013 NBA Playoffs against the Golden State Warriors at Oracle Arena. The Spurs defeated the Warriors 94-82. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

Still 4:28, after timeout Pop decides to bench Duncan for Ginobili, to play small ball. Umm, okay. If Pop trusts Tiago Splitter this late in a closeout game, so do I. (pours double shot of whiskey)

3:39 Ginobili from the top of the key, drives to the rim and makes an absurd cross-court pass to Tony Parker in the corner, who nails the wide-open three pointer. My heart rate slows down just slightly.

3:16 Loose ball foul on Carl Landry. Warriors now in the penalty. Kawhi Leonard nails both free throws to make it a 7 point lead.

2:02 Ginobili again with the drive-and-kick, this time Leonard in the corner for three. Didn’t even touch the rim as it went in. Boris Diaw celebrates on the bench by stealing Patty Mills’ towel wave, as the Spurs go up six.

1:49 Candid moment from Jarrett Jack. Klay Thompson misses a three, but the rebound goes off Kawhi Leonard and out of bounds. For some reason, the officials think they need to review the play. Jack tells Leonard something along the lines of, “Hey just say the ball went out off of you so we don’t have to do this s***. It’s off you, right?” Leonard just hits him with a dismissive shrug. I love Kawhi.

1:17 Ginobili from the wing, passes it to Parker in the corner. Parker gives Jarrett Jack the, “I’ma shoot this in your face even though I can blow past you” look.

1:15 DAGGER.

0:00 Spurs 94, Warriors 82. End of game. End of series.

Funny and cool moment as all the players and coaches for both teams congratulate each other. Richard Jefferson comes over to Tim Duncan with a big bear hug and a, “I still love you guys” as the two share a laugh.

Sometimes I miss Richard Jefferson

. Richard Jefferson is getting paid $11 million next season to keep Golden State’s bench warm.

The end.