SAN ANTONIO — Spurs point guard Tony Parker claimed he would have no true sense of the stability of his achy left ankle until he played.
So he got a sense. And it was good. Very good, in fact.
“Ankle felt better and better. I was a little bit worried in the first quarter, but as it got warmed, got a little bit of rhythm,” said Parker — who like everyone inside the steamy AT&T Center had no trouble with warmth Thursday in the Spurs’ 110-95 Game 1 Finals victory. “And the second half it felt great and the fourth quarter even better. So I’m excited for Game 2.”
NBA President of Basketball operations Rod Thorn was in attendance and he said he was in close contact with the refs to make sure the game could be played under the adverse conditions.
“What you are looking for is to make sure that the conditions on the court are fine, and in this case there was no one slipping. Once the game starts, it’s in the hands of the referees,” Thorn said. “Had the referees felt at any time or had I felt at any time ‑‑ I was sitting the second row midcourt ‑‑ were such that the game shouldn’t be continued, then they would have come over and said something to me.
“I never said anything to them regarding the fact that the game should be canceled.”
Thorn said the anticipation is Game 2 will be played under normal circumstances Sunday.
“At this time it is our feeling very strongly that it will be fixed and there will not be a problem. If something were to transpire over the course of, let’s say, tomorrow, where we felt maybe we wouldn’t be able to play for some reason, then obviously we would look at something else,” he said. “But as of right now we feel as I said, very strongly that the condition will be taken care of, and we’ll be able to play on Sunday without any problem.”
Bernie Bickerstaff, a veteran of 40 NBA coaching seasons, was named the recipient of the Chuck Daly Lifetime Achievement Award by the league’s Coaches Association. Bickerstaff, currently an assistant in Cleveland, was previously a head coach in Seattle, Denver, Washington and Charlotte, in addition to numerous assistant’s positions. … 2013-14 represented the 15th straight year the Spurs won at least 50 games, extending their own NBA record. The second longest such run was by the Lakers with 12 seasons (1979-80 to 1990-91).
LeBron James spoke afterward through a pool reporter.
“I’m feeling better than I did when I came off the floor. So, doing better,” James said.
And what felt worst? Probably his pride at being unable to help down the end.
“It [stinks] at this point in time in the season. You know, after I made that layup we was down two and, you know, as well as they played we still had a chance,” James said.