The Best Moments of the 08-09 Season: Parker’s 55 Point Game
By Caleb
The November 5th game in Minnesota was way more exciting than any regular season game deserves to be, and adding to that improbability was the fact that it was scheduled at an otherwise unimportant point in the season. Under normal circumstances, we would have simply viewed the game as part of an average start, but last season saw our worst introduction in years. Hobbled by injury from the outset, faith — even among the diehards — was in short supply. Our first win of the season needed to be a special one. And boy, was it.
Tony Parker’s 55-point onslaught signified two things in the minds of everyone paying attention. For one thing, Tony Parker had arrived. It’s relatively common for good players to have great games on occasion, but you cannot stumble upon a 50+point game. Even on an “on” night, you have to make it happen. Your will, no matter how intense, has to be matched by immense talent. Perhaps more importantly, though, was the realization that this Spurs season would not be like any other in the Duncan era.
After our worst start in that time, the double OT thriller seemed like an explosion of pent up aggression from a franchise feeling like its resiliency still required some kind of verification. When the final buzzer sounded on such a classic game, the overwhelming sensation was one of reassurance. Of faith. The Spurs could win with this squad. As exciting as it was watching the game, I get a better thrill now looking back at it in context. Who would have thought that our Frenchmen would have carried the team like he did that night in November for the rest of the season? What a game.
From ESPN, if you care to recall some interesting tidbits:
“I saw it in his eyes, man. I could tell,” said teammate Roger Mason, who had 26 points. “he was in that zone, like they say. He kept his foot on the pedal and just kept going and going and going. When a guy’s like that, who knows?”
…Parker was 22-36 from the field and added 10 assists and seven rebounds. According to sports researcher STATS, Inc., the last NBA player to have at least 55 points and 10 assists in a game was Michael Jordan. He had 57 points and 10 assists for Chicago against Washington on Dec. 23, 1992.
Thanks for the submission, Caleb. And for those of you who would still like to contribute, keep ’em coming. A couple of people have sent me video/links of some great moments but didn’t provide any accompanying text. I’d love to include your reflections along with the video so if you have the time, send it along.
