GAMEDAY: Spurs Fall To LeBron & The Cavs…
Feb.21.2004

February 20, 2004 – Spurs (87) at Cavaliers (89)

The San Antonio Spurs six-game winning streak has been cut short, and by the Cleveland Cavaliers of all teams. The Cavaliers LeBron James lived up to the hype, showing the Spurs exactly why the high school phenom was picked number one overall. James scored 31 points and grabbed 11 rebounds as the Cavs knocked off the Spurs, 89-87. San Antonio had a chance at tying it up, but Manu Ginobili threw a pass that sailed out of bounds with 2.8 seconds remaining. Ginobili finished with 21 points and 5 steals in the loss.

"We just made mistakes," Tim Duncan told the Associated Press after the game. "It's unfortunate it happens in that situation, teammates misreading each other and passes kind of going all over the place. It was nobody's fault in particular, it just kind of happened." Ginobili agreed, adding to the San Antonio Express-News, "We are upset, especially because we had many chances and we couldn't take (the game)… When you lose like that, it's pretty sad. But it's not the first time and it's probably not going to be the last time."

Ron Mercer played nine minutes, scoring 3 points and grabbing a rebound in the loss. Mercer simply wasn’t able to get himself going in the limited minutes that he played, but that was to be expected. It’s hard for a guy to step in immediately and score without having a chance to warm up. Still, Ron was able to do some damage, and merely his presence on the floor is beneficial to the Spurs. Mercer is a guy that must be defended at all times, otherwise he can burn a team if left open. Hopefully Spurs Coach Greg Popovich saw that Ron was able to do some good without much playing time to do it in.

By Nathan Bishop for Ultimate Pros and Basketball News Service