First, a correction:

I gave Spurs fans crap yesterday for being a dead crowd. They completely redeemed themselves last night. Good fans, plenty of talent. My bad, y'all.

Now, a statement before my cream of hatred again rises to the top:

That was a hell of a game. Each team led by 10, lots of ties and lead changes. It's what playoff basketball is supposed to be. Fantastically entertaining, even if I was alternately screaming approval and screeching anger.

Okay. I got all the good sensations out of my system. Now, all that's left is bile. Prepare thyselves.

Let's start with a list of the personalities most responsible for Sacramento's quality showing:

Now, the list of personalities most responsible for San Antonio's quality showing:

It's unbelievable how poorly Bibby and Miller played and by how much Pops outcoached Adelmania. If the Maloofs are honestly using this series to decide whether they're attempting to bring Adelman back (I don't believe that's the case, but it's what they say), then R.A. has absolutely no chance. I mean, how many substitutions did Adelman make in the last four minutes of regulation and all of overtime? Like, two? (He exchanged Francisco Garcia and Brad Miller once, and he brought Jason Hart in when Bonzi fouled out. No substitutions in overtime.) Meanwhile, Pop was finding a way to get Bowen in for damn near every Sacramento possession near the end. He was even taking Tim Duncan out on defense to prevent the sixth foul! It was masterful! Meanwhile, our lineup stays identical, gifting the Spurs a chance to figure out how to stop them.Despite Popovich's tremendous coaching job, I almost thought about giving Bibby the two spot on the Spurs MVP list. Everyone's going to miss some shots, granted. But hell. He played crappy defense all night, letting Brent F. Barry destroy him consistently. He did nothing to get anyone else involved on offense, save for a few transition buckets in the first quarter. The overtime foul was absolutely inexcuseable – if Tony Parker does that, he gets a seat on the bench immediately. Absolutely moronic. Then, the turnover down at the other end as the door was squeaking to a close. Heartbreaking.

I'm losing the will to talk about the game at this point, so I apologize for giving Shareef, Kevin and Bonzi short shrift – I'll get back at them later.

But damn. Through the cracks goes the season, just like that.