canihavu
01-21-2009, 06:48 AM
Duncan's 27 Powers Spurs Past Pacers
Jan 20, 11:18 PM (ET)
By PAUL J. WEBER
SAN ANTONIO (AP) -Tim Duncan scored 27 points and Manu Ginobili had 26 before the San Antonio Spurs sat their stars early in a lopsided 99-81 win over Indiana on Tuesday night.
Tony Parker added 13 points for San Antonio, which ended the first half of the season in the familiar position of first in the Southwest Division. The Spurs have won three straight and eight of their last 10.
Danny Granger had 17 points for the Pacers, who shot 37 percent from the field and scored their second-fewest points in a game this season. Indiana entered ranked third in the league in scoring.
Duncan had 10 rebounds for the Spurs and didn't play in the fourth quarter.
Mike Dunleavy added 15 points for the Pacers.
At the midway point of the season, the Spurs are 28-13 - same was a year ago. But this hasn't been business as usual in San Antonio.
The Spurs opened the season without Ginobili and lost Parker for 10 games with an injured ankle. The result was a 2-5 start and whispers of the end for an NBA dynasty grew louder.
The Spurs responded by getting back to their defense-first ideology, the backbone of their four titles since 1999. Ginobili then rejoined the lineup and Parker followed suit, and the Spurs are 22-8 since.
San Antonio certainly looked like its usual self Tuesday.
Indiana (15-27) lost a heartbreaker Monday to New Orleans when Chris Paul sank a 3-pointer as time expired. But the Pacers might have seen this lost coming by halftime.
Indiana did little to contain Duncan, who scored 16 of his points in the first half and finished 10 of 15 from the field. Ginobili hit all four 3-pointers he fired up and was 8 of 10 from the floor.
The Spurs led 53-40 at halftime. The lead stretched to 24 in the third quarter and ballooned to as much as 29 by the fourth quarter, when both teams began emptying their benches early.
The Spurs play New Jersey at home Friday before starting their toughest road swing so far. It begins Sunday with a rematch at the Los Angeles Lakers - who the Spurs beat in a 112-111 thriller last week - before going to Utah and then Phoenix.
The Pacers have lost five of seven. ^
Notes:
Spurs guard George Hill has made long strides since debuting as a poor-shooting rookie this summer after San Antonio drafted him No. 26 overall. Hill entered Tuesday's game averaging 7.5 points and about 18 minutes a game, and Spurs coach Gregg Popovich doesn't seem him hitting a first-year wall. "He probably isn't playing enough minutes to do that. I don't think that will happen with him." ...The Spurs are 6-0 when the second half of back-to-back games are at home.
Jan 20, 11:18 PM (ET)
By PAUL J. WEBER
SAN ANTONIO (AP) -Tim Duncan scored 27 points and Manu Ginobili had 26 before the San Antonio Spurs sat their stars early in a lopsided 99-81 win over Indiana on Tuesday night.
Tony Parker added 13 points for San Antonio, which ended the first half of the season in the familiar position of first in the Southwest Division. The Spurs have won three straight and eight of their last 10.
Danny Granger had 17 points for the Pacers, who shot 37 percent from the field and scored their second-fewest points in a game this season. Indiana entered ranked third in the league in scoring.
Duncan had 10 rebounds for the Spurs and didn't play in the fourth quarter.
Mike Dunleavy added 15 points for the Pacers.
At the midway point of the season, the Spurs are 28-13 - same was a year ago. But this hasn't been business as usual in San Antonio.
The Spurs opened the season without Ginobili and lost Parker for 10 games with an injured ankle. The result was a 2-5 start and whispers of the end for an NBA dynasty grew louder.
The Spurs responded by getting back to their defense-first ideology, the backbone of their four titles since 1999. Ginobili then rejoined the lineup and Parker followed suit, and the Spurs are 22-8 since.
San Antonio certainly looked like its usual self Tuesday.
Indiana (15-27) lost a heartbreaker Monday to New Orleans when Chris Paul sank a 3-pointer as time expired. But the Pacers might have seen this lost coming by halftime.
Indiana did little to contain Duncan, who scored 16 of his points in the first half and finished 10 of 15 from the field. Ginobili hit all four 3-pointers he fired up and was 8 of 10 from the floor.
The Spurs led 53-40 at halftime. The lead stretched to 24 in the third quarter and ballooned to as much as 29 by the fourth quarter, when both teams began emptying their benches early.
The Spurs play New Jersey at home Friday before starting their toughest road swing so far. It begins Sunday with a rematch at the Los Angeles Lakers - who the Spurs beat in a 112-111 thriller last week - before going to Utah and then Phoenix.
The Pacers have lost five of seven. ^
Notes:
Spurs guard George Hill has made long strides since debuting as a poor-shooting rookie this summer after San Antonio drafted him No. 26 overall. Hill entered Tuesday's game averaging 7.5 points and about 18 minutes a game, and Spurs coach Gregg Popovich doesn't seem him hitting a first-year wall. "He probably isn't playing enough minutes to do that. I don't think that will happen with him." ...The Spurs are 6-0 when the second half of back-to-back games are at home.