Duncan, Parker guide Spurs to 5th straight win

This article is cross posted at Spurs World.

The San Antonio Spurs continued with their winning ways defeating the Phoenix Suns 100-107 on Tuesday night behind some familiar faces.

Tim Duncan scored 26 points and grabbed 11 boards, while Tony Parker scored eight points in a 10-0 run early in the fourth quarter, and finished with 24 points and seven assist to help the Spurs win their fifth in a row, eighth in nine games and 12th in the last 14 road games.

Kawhi Leonard added 14 points and seven rebounds, Manu Ginobili had 13 points, five assists and five rebounds, and Matt Bonner chipped in 10 points for San Antonio.

Shannon Brown, starting because Grant Hill was a late scratch with right knee inflammation, scored a career-high 32 for Phoenix.

Defense propels Spurs to fourth straight victory

This article is cross posted at Spurs World.

With Tim Duncan and Tiago Splitter not playing, DeJuan Blair continued his strong play scoring 19 points and grabbing six rebounds in 31 minutes while Tony Parker scored 21 points and dished out seven assists and the San Antonio Spurs beat the Philadelphia 76ers 93-76 on Sunday night in a matchup of short-handed teams.

Manu Ginobili and Boris Diaw provided the Spurs with quality minutes off the bench.

The Spurs won for the seventh time in eight games and swept the season series with the 76ers despite being without Duncan. With the Spurs playing three games in three nights, coach Gregg Popovich gave the 35-year-old Duncan his second day off this season.

Duncan led Spurs in easy win over Wolves, Parker injured

This article is cross-posted at Spurs World.

Tim Duncan had a double double performance as he the San Antonio Spurs in an easy 116-100 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves.

With Tony Parker hurt, Gary Neal rose to the challenge and gave the Spurs a lift off the bench.

Duncan finished with 21 points and 15 rebounds, four assists, one steal and one block shot in just 24 minutes of action playing inspired basketball with Stephen Jackson back in the fold.

However, all is not good news in San Antonio.

Tony Parker left with a left hamstring strain with 8:03 remaining in the second quarter. He spoke briefly with Spurs coach Gregg Popovich before heading to the locker room with two points and six assists.

“I think they said mild hamstring, so we won’t know much until tomorrow,” Popovich said. “Not good timing.”

Jackson, Kawhi Leonard and Gary Neal stepped up with Parker going out early. The trio scored 16 points each for the Spurs who improved their record to 30-14.

“Things are going to be difficult for a minute until we figure it out without Tony,” Jackson said. “He’s the head to our monster, but at the same time, we’re in a good position when we have Ginobili being able to play point, be able to move the ball. We just have to figure it out. Gary and Ginobili did a great job of picking up the slack.”

Spurs whipped Bobcats

This article is cross-posted at Spurs World.

Tony Parker scored 15 points, and the San Antonio Spurs cruised past the Charlotte Bobcats in the second half for a 102-72 victory on Friday night.

Richard Jefferson scored 14 points and grabbed 7 rebounds in the Spurs victory over the Bobcats.

The Spurs (25-11) bounced back from a rare home loss earlier this week against the Chicago Bulls to win for the 13th time in their last 15 games.

The Bobcats (4-30), who were playing San Antonio for the only time this season, have lost four straight and 20 of their last 21.

Richard Jefferson scored 14 points, including four 3-pointers and grabbed seven rebounds, while Tim Duncan had 14 points and eight boards for the Spurs.

Matt Bonner added 14 points, Kawhi Leonard had 10 and Gary Neal and Tiago Splitter chipped in nine points each off the bench.

Corey Maggette and Boris Diaw each scored 14 points for the Bobcats, who were held below 100 points for the 21st straight game.

San Antonio outrebounded Charlotte 55-37, with DeJuan Blair leading all players with 11 rebounds.

San Antonio, which was playing the second game of a seven-game homestand, never trailed after the first quarter.

The Spurs’ defense frustrated the Bobcats throughout the game, with Charlotte hitting only 31-of-83 shots. Starting guards D.J. Augustin and Gerald Henderson combined to shoot 5 of 21.

The Spurs led 51-41 at halftime behind Parker’s 13 points and Duncan’s 10 points and eight rebounds. San Antonio held Charlotte to 17-of-49 shooting in the half to help overcome 10 turnovers.

Charlotte started the game well and had a 16-12 lead in the opening period, but the Spurs went on a 11-0 run and led 29-20 after the first quarter.

Jefferson’s 3-pointer with 4:23 left gave the Spurs a 17-16 lead that they wouldn’t relinquish throughout the game.

The Spurs will be back in action on Sunday night when they host the Denver Nuggets.

Hot shooting extends Spurs’ win streak to 11

This article is cross-posted at Spurs World 
 
Playing without Tiago Splitter, Manu Ginobili and T.J. Ford, the undermanned San Antonio Spurs needed a spark to help them keep their winning streak going.

Matt Bonner's 20-points on 5-of-6 shooting from beyond the arc was key to the Spurs victory over the Jazz.

Behind 20 points and 11 rebounds from Al Jefferson and 16 points and 11 boards from Paul Millsap, the Utah Jazz did their best to halt the NBA’s hottest team.

They man-handled San Antonio on inside points 56-30 and 41-33 on rebounds.

But the Spurs won anyway, thanks to a 47.6 percent (10-of-21) shooting from behind the arc.

Matt Bonner made 5-of-6 three-pointers enroute to his 20 point performance, and Gary Neal added 14 points off the bench as the Spurs defeated the Utah Jazz 106-102 Monday night for their 11th consecutive victory.

A non-factor on the offensive end for most of the night, Richard Jefferson’s 3-pointer with 6.5 seconds left actually sealed the victory for the Spurs, who won their seven straight road win, improving their road record to 10-8.

Devin Harris scored 15 points for the Jazz (15-16), while C.J. Miles and Josh Howard added 13 points and 12 points respectively.

Spurs' "Other Trio"

After the most active offseason in recent memory, much of the talk in the past few months has been focused on the Spurs' new additions, free agent signings and camp hopefuls. It's normal; fans would love to know more about the new guys coming to their team.

These days much of the news about the Spurs would headline Blair, Hill, Jefferson and McDyess. Even Theo Ratliff, Keith Bogans and Malik Hairston have been on the news lately. Don't get me wrong, it doesn't mean I don't like it. In fact most articles on this site are about the 'new guys' and the 'Big three'.

But this time, I would like to give the spotlight on some of the least mentioned Spurs. Let me make it clear, if the Spurs are to win a title this coming season; they need a healthy Big three (have we heard or read about that a million times already?).

The newcomers like Blair, Jefferson and McDyess are great additions. They certainly boost our chances to win it all this year. But like any other championship year, we need players that know their roles and the system, players that complement stars.

In past we have players like Robert Horry, Brent Barry, Fabricio Oberto, and Steve Kerr fit into that role. This year, we have at least three players that can fit into that role. I'd like to call them, the "Other Trio."

Remember Roger Mason Jr.? In my opinion this guy remains to be the best pure shooter on the team. Last season he showed that he can really shoot. At some point last year he can even be considered as one of the league’s clutchest shooters; Hitting big shots when the game is on the line. He even earned the moniker 'Big Shot Rog' because of his late game heroics.

I know he went missing in action in last season's playoffs. But I am confident that this year will be different, with Manu coming back and Hill improving everyday; I think Roger Mason will be more comfortable with his role clearly defined. And that is to catch and shoot the ball.

What about Michael Finley? In my opinion, he remains to be one of the best clutch shooters in the league (sorry Mase!). It's because of the fact that he was able to deliver in clutch situations during the playoffs (Remember his performance in 2007 playoff series against Denver?).

Just this week he reminded everyone of what he is capable of doing. He scored 20 points, made five 3-pointers in just 17 minutes of action to lead the Spurs to a 119-102 preseason victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder. It's just a preseason game, but it's still basketball. Finley's value to the team is not limited to being able to hit shots. His veteran smarts and savvy can help the new and young guys learn the system more quickly.

And then there's Matt Bonner, most Spurs fans (including myself) has made him a target on possible trade discussions. I think that he was an easy target for two main reasons. His inability to defend his man effectively, and his failure to make his shots when it counted most.

But last year's situation was unfair for Bonner. He's was our starting center if you guys remembered, and that limits his effectiveness. I think Bonner is more of a forward, a shooting big to be exact. More like Horry, but to lesser extent.

This season things should be different. He would definitely come off the bench, I think the Spurs will use him in game situations where they need to stretch the floor a bit more. If Bonner can focus on just shooting the basketball and don't think too much if he misses a shot, he could be helpful.

The Spurs are serious about winning the title this year, if these guys can stick to their role and do it effectively; things could be a lot easier for the Spurs. I'm not saying that the Spurs are clear favorites to win the title. All I'm saying is, they are a lot more better this year... and if every players gets into the same page? Watch out league! the Spurs are coming...

Rockets beat the Spurs in Pre-Season Opener

The wait is over, the Spurs finally played. But they dropped their pre-season opener 99-85 against the Rockets. It's important to note that the Spurs played without Duncan, Parker, Finley, McDyess and Ratliff. While the Rockets played with Scola, Landry, Brooks and Ariza.

Matt Bonner played pretty well pumping in 14 points and 3 rebounds; George Hill was solid with 15 points, 4 assist and 3 rebounds as he played the most minutes for the Spurs (30 mins 26 secs. to be exact) and DeJuan Blair was great scoring 16 points, grabbing 19 rebounds (8 offensive) and handed out 2 assist. If this is a sign of things to come, then the Spurs will be very tough to beat when the games begin to count. (Video highlights at the bottom of this post!)

Even if the Spurs lost, I'm not too worried. It's their first game and It's the pre-season. Of course winning the game would be nice but at least the Spurs saw their new additions play. Jefferson scored 6 points in 15 minutes of action and Haislip had 7 points.

Important things to note: Hill looked comfortable at the point. Blair is a rebounding machine and knows how to use his body, Bonner looked like a rotation player for the Spurs, and Hairston wants that 15th spot badly and he could really contribute.

On the other hand, it seems that some Spurs needs more time to blend in. Haislip needs to cut on his turnovers, Ian must get tougher and smarter (enough with those fouls already). Manu needs to get his rhythm back and Bogans should relax and let the game come to him, same goes to Mason.

To be fair, the Rockets played well and hard as always. Carl Landry led them with 19 points, rookie Chase Budinger played a good all-around game. And Luis Scola, Brooks and Ariza; all played fairly well. They deserve to win.


Overall, it looked like the Spurs will have a great season. Considering the fact that they played without most of their starters, they still managed to stay in the game for three quarters. It's interesting to see how will they develop their team chemistry as the season goes along.


Related posts:

Spurs Game day Recap preseason opener

PtR Preseason Quick Cap

Blair impresses in preseason loss

Confidence Shows in Bonner's shot

Mahinmi must show his worth to the Spurs

Links from SPURS.COM, Pounding the Rock and San Antonio Express.

Game Video highlights: