Thursday, March 8, 2012

Spurs pounded the Knicks, Ford hurt again

This article is cross-posted at Spurs World.
Tony Parker scored 32 points and the San Antonio Spurs dealt Jeremy Lin and the New York Knicks a third consecutive loss, 118-105 on Wednesday night.
San Antonio Spurs guard Manu Ginobili looked like his old self against the New York Knicks.
San Antonio pounded it on the inside, outscoring the Knicks 60-38 on inside points, on their way to a 54.1 percent shooting night.
Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili added 17 points apiece in Ginobili’s second game back after missing two weeks with a strained stomach muscle.
Carmelo Anthony led New York with 27 points.
The Knicks have lost six of nine, they bear little resemblance to their Lin-inspired resurgence before the All-Star break.
Lin came out of nowhere last month and delivered the Knicks the play-making point guard they craved for, but New York’s transition has been anything but seamless since Anthony returned February 20 after missing seven games, mostly because of a groin injury.
The Knicks are 2-5 with Anthony back in the lineup.
“You have to work through. But there’s no reason why it can’t co-exist,” D’Antoni said. “There’s no reason why everybody shouldn’t do well. We just got to find the right balance of everybody getting into their spots.”
Lin scored 20 points and had four assists, while Amare Stoudemire had 18 points and 11 rebounds.
Gary Neal scored 12 points and found his way back into the starting lineup as the Spurs ease Ginobili back into playing shape.
Manu played 25 minutes, shooting 7-of-10 from the floor and added a team-high six assists.
DeJuan Blair, Kawhi Leonard and Tiago Splitter added 10 points apiece for the Spurs.
It was a convincing win for San Antonio, which had lost two of its last three at home after returning from the winningest nine-game road trip in NBA history, when the Spurs went 8-1 and quietly climbed to the second-best record in the West.
Spurs coach Gregg Popovich didn’t stick around to see the end, getting ejected at the end of the third quarter following a heated exchange with officials over foul calls.
A scary moment came in the second quarter when Spurs point guard T.J. Ford lay on the floor for more than three minutes.
The Spurs said the veteran point guard received a stinger after getting elbowed in his back.
Ford appeared wobbly while being helped off the court and back into the tunnel. He didn’t return to the game.

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