Spurs-Cavs, Game Three, Fourth Quarter Diary

11:05 -- $15,000 for a scalper seat in this game. I'm thinking the person who bought that isn't loving the purchase right now.

11:06 - Donyell Marshall and Damon Jones, on the floor at once, in a close game. Wow, this is an NBA Finals team. Scary.

11:07 - Manu with miss number 6. Marshall matching him, miss for miss. Barry does what Barry does, giving the Spurs an 8-point lead. You know, it's a shame someone has to win this game.

11:09 - Call me a wuss if you like, but if I see a train in my rear-view mirror, even if it is dispensing beer and a refreshingly cold wind, I'm probably soiling myself.

11:10 -- Adam Sandler *and* Kevin James? Whoa, that's just too much comedy. "Chuck and Larry", that's just unfair!

11:11 -- James clangs for 3. Duncan turns the ball over. Jones misses a 3. Cavs have not taken a free throw in the second half. Aren't you glad I'm watching this, so you don't have to?

11:12 -- James to the hoop, pretty finish and the bonus. Basketball doesn't have to make you want to stab your eyes. Good to know! 60-53, Spurs.

11:14 - Gooden grabs rebound number 10, then hits the open jumper. 5 point game, and a double-double for the Weeper. Duncan, of course, senses the momentum and answers. He's the Terminator of NBA superstars.

11:15 -- Duncan narrowly avoids his fifth foul on a drive from Gooden. He makes both to bring it back to 5 with 7:37 left. Parker does his Duncan impersonation and drills the jumper. Even when they are playing a terrible game, the Spurs are the Spurs.

11:17 -- A Finley three makes it a ten point game, and one suspects that the ratings for Game 4 aren't going to be any better...

11:18 -- Pavlovic hits the Cavs' 2nd three pointer of the night to give them a pulse. 5:44 left -- but you have the feeling that if the Cavs can't win this game unless they go up by 5.

11:23 - James with the hoop and harm, bringing us back. Oh, and for the record, Bowen's heel nickname for tonight is the Brooklyn Bowen. Yeah, I got nothing.

11:24 - Gooden board, 4 point game, but James doesn't want the shot, and the Cavs barf up the possession. Gooden then, in a remarkably stupid play, crushes the man for an offensive board attempt for foul number five. They have to move this guy.

11:25 - James steal, Varejao turnover. LeBron's going to have to carry these slugs.

11:26 - Miss, miss, miss, miss, turnover... Honest, folks, these are the two last teams in the NBA.

11:27 - OK, there are lids on these rims. 67-63 with 2:26 left. Is anyone outside of Texas and Ohio still watching?

11:31 - Gosh, a turnover, followed by an actual foul call. Brooklyn Bowen has no chance with James, and yet James still isn't scoring. LeBron hits both to cut the lead to 2.

11:33 - An 8-0 run for the Cavs... in the last 4:24. Isn't that an 8-0 walk? Or an 8-0 crawl?

11:34 - Gooden fouls out, obviously and badly. Despite the numbers, he's just not, you know, good. Gibson in as the Cavs go small; Duncan hits both to get to 14 points for the night. The idea that the Spurs are in a game where Duncan has 14, and Ginobili has nothing, is just this short of ludicrous. 4 point game.

11:35 - Snow sets up James to get it to 2. Boy, Eric Snow has gotten more out of his talent than anyone in NBA history... and Parker does not care, as he drains a 3.

11:36 - Shootout! Back to back 3s, 2 point lead with 42 seconds left. Parker with a bad turnover... and somehow, Anderson Varejao thinks it's a good idea to go 1-on-1 with Duncan from 20 feet away on the Cavs' most important possession of the Finals.

That, I think, is the ultimate moment for a Mike James team -- Varejao is taking the key shot. Cleveland, you've had The Drive, The Fumble, and The Shot. This is The Stupidity.

Manu responds with a miss to keep the game alive, and it's a 3-point game with 10 seconds left. It'll be up to the Cavs, who are 3 for 18 from 3-point range but 2 for 6 in the fourth quarter, to hit one to keep the game alive.

11:40 - James scores a quick hoop, and Manu is fouled. 5.5 left, 2 shots to make from a guy with one point for the whole night... and, being as these are the Spurs, he makes both. 75-72, Spurs.

11:41 - OK, Mike James has a set-up from the time out. He needs a three to tie; he doesn't have time to get a quick hoop. Who takes the shot -- Eric Snow or Anderson Varejao? With Mike James, *anything* is possible.

11:43 - Jones inbounds to James, who gets open and misses from distance... and LeBron has a legitimate complaint that Bowen fouled him behind the arc, because, well, he did.

Ah, that's fitting. Even when they win, they are going to be known for winning dirty. There should be no controversy, because no one should want to see more of this Series, but that's just an impossible call to miss.

You know, Spurs Fan is going to read this diary and say that FTT is just a hater blog... but in the fourth quarter, it was actually hard for me to keep paying attention. The Cavs shot 36.7%. The Spurs shot 41.1%. The defense, honestly, wasn't that good. This was just a road team trying to give away the game, and the home team not taking it.

Spurs, please -- end this thing in four, and put the Finals out of their misery. I've had dental exams that were more fun than this game.