(Photo via ESPN/NBA)

The health of the Big 3 has been always been among the San Antonio Spurs top priorities. They knew they need their top dogs to be fresh and ready as possible once the playoffs roll around.

With coach Gregg Popovich juggling the lineup like a magician, while managing his stars minutes at the same time, that has been the case this season.

San Antonio holds a 2-0 series lead in their first-round series against the Utah Jazz, and will gun for a third straight post season victory, and 13th overall when they head to Salt Lake City for Game 3.

However, the Spurs expects a tougher Jazz squad with their home crowd at their side.

Tony Parker said Thursday he would rank the Utah crowd as one of the five loudest in the NBA.

“Since I’ve been here back with Karl Malone and John Stockton, suddenly there are no more calls, it’s like super physical and it’s almost like no referees,” Parker said, chuckling. “It’s great over there. I like the atmosphere, the fans they are great and it’s going to be fun.”

The Spurs have made the proper adjustments in Game 2, and appear to be in full control of the series so far. But in reality, that just held homecourt. Winning Game 3 in Utah will give them the real upper hand.

Despite San Antonio’s recent success, Manu Ginobili has been struggling in the postseason. In two games, Ginobili has totaled 11 points and has as many assists as turnovers. He has made 5-of-16 field goals, and missed all six of his 3-point attempts.

Should the Spurs be worried?

Not at the moment. With a deep lineup, the Spurs simply didn’t need Manu to force the issue and carry the team on his back.

In Game 1, he didn’t shoot the ball well, but he did made some great plays for his teammates. In Game 2, with the game out of hand early, Ginobili didn’t get enough minutes to get it going.

Nonetheless, Manu aims to get back on track Saturday, he doesn’t seem to be sweating his personal struggles in Games 1 and 2. The stellar play from almost everybody else up and down the Spurs’ roster has done wonders for his spirits.

“I didn’t play good the first two games,” he said. “Everybody saw that. I want to get it back in Game 3.”

“The good thing is that we are a good team. You don’t need individuals. You need a group to stand by you and play well. When your team is doing so good, your mistakes and the bad game I had is totally unimportant. I’m proud to see the team play like that.”

The Spurs main goal is winning.

On Saturday that will be the case, but it will also be a good thing to see Ginobili to back being Manu as the series progresses. San Antonio will definitely need him as they go deeper into the playoffs.

(Photo by Glenn James/NBAE via Getty Images)

The Oklahoma City Thunder get off to a quick start, on their way to a 95-79 victory over the Dallas Mavericks on Thursday night for a commanding 3-0 series lead over the defending NBA champions.

After two close games on their home court, the young Thunder ran away in Game 3.

The Mavericks never led in the game, while Oklahoma stretched their margin to as high as 26 points.

Kevin Durant finished with 31 points on 11-of-15 shooting and added six assist, three rebounds and two steals.

The three-time NBA scoring champion shot a measly 15-of-44 in the first two games of the series, though he had a game-winning jumper with 1.5 seconds in the opener.

Russell Westbrook scored 20 points, while Serge Ibaka had 10 points, 11 rebounds and four blocks for the Thunder.

Dirk Nowitzki led the Mavericks with 17 points and nine rebounds, Jason Kidd added 12 points, and Jason Terry chipped in 11 points off the bench.

The Thunder will go for the series sweep on Game 4, Saturday in Dallas.

LeBron James led the Heat to an 87-70 victory, scoring 32 points, 17 in the final quarter. (Photo by Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images)

James had 17 points in the final period for the Heat, who held the short-handed Knicks to eight field goals in the second half and will go for the sweep Sunday afternoon.

Dwyane Wade added 20 points for the Heat and Mario Chalmers had 19, hitting consecutive 3-pointers in the fourth quarter, that put the game away.

Carmelo Anthony scored 22 points but shot 7-of-23 for the Knicks, who are playing without Amare Stoudemire, Jeremy Lin and Iman Shumpert and needed a super effort from Anthony that he didn’t come close to providing.

The Heat won the opener by 33 points and took Game 2, 104-94 on Monday, when the Knicks’ biggest problems came after the game.

Stoudemire punched a fire extinguisher case in the arena and badly cut his left hand, needing surgery Tuesday to repair a muscle. He sat on bench with his arm in a sling.

(AP Photo/Eric Gay)

Cross posted at SpursOnFire!

Tony Parker led the San Antonio Spurs with scored 18 points and nine assist, rookie Kawhi Leonard added 17 points, and Danny Green chipped in 13 points as Spurs handed the Jazz their second-worst playoff loss in franchise history, crushing Utah 114-83 on Wednesday night to take a 2-0 lead in the first-round series.

Coach Gregg Popovich practically put the Spurs on autopilot after a 22-2 blast in towards the end of the second quarter that stunned the Jazz, who had vowed to play better and more physical after the Spurs easily won Game 1.

But the Spurs quickly removed any doubts on which is the better team in this series.

A fire argues?

After building 25-point halftime lead, the Spurs never let up, and kept coming at the Jazz, totally outplaying their opponents and seemingly scoring at will.

By the time the third quarter ended, San Antonio’s lead was 34, and Utah was done for the night.

Al Jefferson and Josh Howard were the only Jazz players to score in double figures with 10 points each, while Paul Millsap had nine points and five rebounds.

Tim Duncan had a double-double for the Spurs with 12 points and 13 rebounds in just 27 minutes of action.

Boris Diaw and Gary Neal scored 11 points apiece and DeJuan Blair had 10 points and seven boards.

San Antonio shot the ball with precision, making 47-of-82 (57.3 percent) attempts, including 10-of-22 (45.5 percent) from beyond the arc.

Utah shot a measly 31-of-90 (34.4 percent) from the floor, but went 20-of-23 from the foul line (87.0 percent). The Spurs were perfect from the free throw line making 10-of-10 shots, six coming from Parker.

Manu Ginobili continues to struggle in this series. He finished with four points on 2-of-6 shooting from the field, and added three assist, two steals, but had four turnovers in 19 minutes of playing time.

The Spurs protected homecourt, and will gun for a commanding 3-0 lead, as the series shifts to Utah.

Game 3 is Saturday night in Salt Lake City.

As you guys may have noticed, the post here on Spurs World has been scarce lately.

It’s been almost year since I founded this website and I am extremely happy with the results.

While I would love to continue posting on this blog site, Michael Hirschbein of FanvsFan network gave an offer I couldn’t resists.

We tried to use the domain Spursworld.com but unfortunately, it was already taken and that led us to choosing SpursOnFire.com.

From here on out, I’ll be posting on SpursOnFire for the latest about the San Antonio Spurs, and hopefully YOU,  my loyal readers will continue to support the new site.

I felt that by joining the the FanvsFan network with Michael’s help, things will only get bigger and better.

Thanks for all the support you gave me here at Spurs World, and I hope to see you there at SpursOnFire! Go Spurs Go!

The San Antonio Spurs have played consistent basketball throughout this season, some believed they outdid themselves running out of the gates and claiming the second-best record in West despite injuries to key players like Manu Ginobili and Tiago Splitter.

People tend to forget that last season, the same Spurs team finished the season on top of the Western Conference. Credit should go to coach Gregg Popovich who has done a masterful job of juggling the roster, while giving some of his veterans the needed rest and still managed to pile up wins along the way.

However, San Antonio was still not considered a serious threat to the title this season.

A lot experts predicted that the Oklahoma City Thunder or the Los Angeles Lakers will come out of the West and for a reason — the Spurs have not advanced deep into the playoffs in the past three years.

But the trade and waiver deadlines may have changed the course of the story.

San Antonio got rid of Richard Jefferson and his hefty contract and acquired Stephen Jackson at the trade deadline who won a title with the team back in 2003.

Don’t get me wrong Jefferson isn’t a bad player, he’s just not a good fit. Jackson on the other hand, fits the Spurs like a glove, and his aggressiveness and swagger makes him a better player.

In six games with the Spurs, Jackson is averaging 10 points and 3.8  rebounds in 23 minutes per game, while shooting 50 percent from the floor.

He gives the Spurs an additional scoring punch that is capable of driving and finishing strong to the hoop. Also, his versatility and tenacity on the defensive end will only make the team better.

The bottom line is, Jackson is a strong and physical player and he shows it on both ends of the floor.

After getting Captain Jack, the Spurs went back to business and acquired another quality player, this time at the waiver wire.

With a thin frontline, the Spurs needed to add another big body in the paint to add depth, and getting a guy like Boris Diaw should be a coup.

Diaw is not a typical big man who bangs in the low block and dominate but his ability to play unselfish basketball and high basketball IQ are enough reasons for the Spurs to be giddy.

The former Bobcat started his Spurs career with three games in his first three nights with the team resulting to all wins.

Diaw played 16 minutes against Dallas barely 24 hours after arriving in San Antonio Friday night. He played 11 more minutes in New Orleans Saturday, and then played 27 minutes in the Spurs’ 93-76 victory over Philadelphia on Sunday with Tiago Splitter being on the side lines.

“I’m learning to play with them and I didn’t get a chance to practice. And I played right away with three games in a row,” Diaw said. “But that’s the NBA. We know that and I’m just glad we took care of these three games.”

Diaw may not fill up the box score. In five games, he is averaging just 2.4 points, 3.6 rebounds and 2.0 assists on 41.7 percent shooting in 18 minutes per game, but he does the little things.

A fine example would be the games against Philadelphia and Sacramento.

On Sunday, Diaw took only three shots and scored two points, but grabbed seven rebounds, had two assists and three steals.

On Wednesday, Diaw failed to score for the first time with the Spurs, but he had four rebounds, two assists, one block and a steal in just 18 minutes as San Antonio claimed their sixth straight.

The Spurs may not be favorites to win the title, however, Diaw and Jackson might just be the missing pieces the Spurs needed to get over the hump this time around.

What do you guys think? Will the Spurs be able to seriously compete for the title this season? Share us your thoughts.

Playing their fifth game in six nights, the San Antonio Spurs was supposed to be a tired team.

However, with the team’s depth, and coach Gregg Popovich able to rest some of his key players during the five-game stretch, the Spurs hold off a hard fighting Sacramento Kings squad.

Manu Ginobili scored 20 points and added five assists off the bench, and rookie Kawhi Leonard continues to impress, finishing with 19 points and nine boards on 8-of-11 shooting from the field, and the Spurs beat the Kings 117-112 on Wednesday night for their sixth straight victory.

Tim Duncan added 18 points and eight rebounds, Gary Neal had 13 points, Tony Parker finished with 10 points and 10 assists and Stephen Jackson had eight points, three rebounds and one steal for San Antonio.

Isaiah Thomas scored a career-high 28 points and had 10 assists for Sacramento, DeMarcus Cousins added 25 points and 11 rebounds, Marcus Thornton scored 18 points, and Jason Thompson had 15 points in a losing cause.

Tiago Splitter, who played for the first time since March 21, had seven points and six rebounds for the Spurs but battled early foul trouble.

Newly acquired guard Patrick Mills finished with seven points in just six minutes of action for San Antonio.

Since starting the season losing 8-of-10 on the road, the Spurs have been difficult to beat away from home. The victory was their 13th in 15 games and their seventh consecutive victory overall in Sacramento.

Both teams shot well from the field, San Antonio made 49-of-91 (53.8 percent) of their shots, while Sacramento hit 47-of-86 (54.7 percent) of their attempts.

However, the Spurs went 10-of-20 (50 percent) from beyond the arc compared to just 8-of-21 (38.1 percent) by the Kings.

San Antonio also outrebounded Sacramento 42-34.

The Kings have lost four straight games and never led throughout the game.

The Spurs will host the Indiana Pacers on Saturday night at AT&T Center.

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.

Marcin Gortat added 21 points and 14 rebounds in just the second home loss for the Suns in 10 games since the All-Star break. Steve Nash had 16 points and eight assists.

“We got close,” Nash said. “We kept ourselves in the game for a long time and couldn’t ever really get more than that five- or six-point lead, and they came flying back, and then the start of the fourth there they kind of got up by nine and we couldn’t close back the distance.”

Phoenix shot 51.5 percent through three quarters but made just 33 percent (7-of-21) in the fourth.

“Shannon Brown was making crazy shots so we felt like if we could hang in there things were going to turn and they’re going to miss at some point,” Parker said, “and they started missing, and we played better defense.”

The Spurs led by as many as nine and were up 62-57 at halftime behind Duncan’s 17 points and eight rebounds on 8-of-9 shooting from the field in the first half.

Phoenix started the second half with a 12-2 run to go up 69-64 on Gortat’s 6-footer. Brown’s fifth and final 3-pointer of the night put the Suns ahead 79-74 with 4:50 left in the third quarter, but San Antonio scored the next six points, the last four by Ginobili, to take an 80-79 lead.

After Robin Lopez’s reverse layup cut San Antonio’s lead to 88-87 with 10:08 to play, Parker started the decisive run with a layup on a pass from Ginobili. Parker followed with a 13-footer, then made a 20-footer.

Boris Diaw sank a 20-footer, then Parker capped the outburst with a 10-foot jumper after Phoenix’s second straight turnover, and the Spurs led 98-87 with 5:59 to go.

Nash’s 18-footer cut it to 98-89, but Leonard made a 3 from the corner to put San Antonio ahead 101-89 with 5:29 to go.

Parker sealed the victory with four straight from the foul line.

San Antonio played without Stephen Jackson (rest), but had backup point guard Patrick Mills debut.  Mills had one rebound and one turnover in four minutes of play.

San Antonio will gun for their six straight victory when they visit the Sacramento Kings tomorrow night.

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.

Philadelphia lost for the second time in their last four games as they played without Andre Iguodala, who was out due to left patella tendinitis.

Manu Ginobili added 11 points, five assists, five rebounds and three steals of the bench, Kawhi Leonard had 11 points and 10 rebounds as the Spurs won their third game in three nights while missing one of their three stars in each game.

Parker sat out with a hamstring injury Friday at home against the Mavericks and Ginobili missed the win at New Orleans on Saturday with a hip injury.

Elton Brand led the 76ers with 12 points. Jodie Meeks, starting for Iguodala, added 11 points. Evan Turner and Jrue Holiday each added 10.

Philadelphia trailed by three points at halftime, but San Antonio’s defense helped force 14 second-half turnovers.

Matt Bonner started for Duncan and helped San Antonio get off to a strong start with eight points in the first quarter, including two 3-pointers. He finished with 10 points, Danny Green also had 10 points to help the Spurs improve to 20-4 at home.

San Antonio led 52-49 at halftime behind Parker’s 11 points and four assists. Blair had 10 points on 5-of-6 shooting. Holliday led the 76ers with 10 points in the first half.

After the Spurs had taken a 29-22 lead into the second quarter, the 76ers went on a 12-0 run to go in front. But San Antonio responded with a 10-0 run of their own.

Gary Neal (left mid-foot sprain) and Tiago Splitter (mid-back spasms) didn’t play. It was the second straight game that Neal has missed and third for Splitter.

San Antonio will return to action on Tuesday night when they visit the Phoenix Suns.

This article is cross posted at Spurs Basketball.

DeJuan Blair kept the San Antonio Spurs in the game and finished with a team-high 23 points, Tim Duncan scored on two key baskets down the stretch as the Spurs rallied just in time to avoid an embarrassing loss to the short-handed New Orleans Hornets.

San Antonio trailed by a point twice in the final two minutes, but Duncan responded each time, atoning for a lackluster game by making two free throws and tipping in a missed shot with 1:19 left to give the Spurs the lead for good and won the game 89-86.

“New Orleans was more efficient than we were and executed better than we did,” San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich said. “So we just had to hang in there and keep plugging. That is probably the best thing we did was keep on pushing, and at the end of the game it worked out. We were fortunate.”

Jarrett Jack had 27 points for the Hornets, but only had two points in the fourth quarter. He also committed a costly turnover and missed a driving layup in the final 32.7 seconds.

“I was just trying to make a play at the basket,” he said. “My legs were kind of tired. I tried to muster it up there, and I just didn’t have enough steam to get it up on the glass.”

Duncan finished with 13 points and seven rebounds but was only 4-of-11 from the field. Popovich said before the victory he probably would rest Duncan when the Spurs host Philadelphia on Sunday in their third game in three days.

New Orleans had one final chance to tie after the Spurs’ Danny Green missed two free throws with 2.3 seconds left, but Marco Belinelli threw up an air ball in traffic after catching an inbounds pass.

Tony Parker had 12 points and 10 assists for San Antonio, and Stephen Jackson added 14 points.

The Spurs played without Manu Ginobili, Tiago Splitter and Gary Neal who are all resting because of minor injuries.

Carl Landry had 15 points for the Hornets, who also missed three starters from their win over the Los Angeles Clippers on Thursday.

After Duncan’s tip-in, Green took a wild pass from Parker and hit a contested baseline jumper to give San Antonio an 89-86 lead in the final minute.

The Hornets shot 5-of-18 in the fourth quarter.

The Spurs are 3-0 against the Hornets but won by just two points in their other trip to New Orleans last January.

“We’ve had tough times both times we have been here,” Popovich said. “I don’t think any staff, players or organization has had as difficult circumstances as them, and they continue to play hard every game. It’s pretty impressive. It’s nice to see.”

The Hornets were without center Chris Kaman (sick), forward Trevor Ariza (sprained ankle) and Jason Smith, who served the first of a two-game suspension for a flagrant 2 foul Thursday on the Clippers’ Blake Griffin.

Blair carried the Spurs early, scoring 12 of their first 18 points and finishing the first half with 16. All but two of his points came on layups or putbacks.

“He does what he does,” Popovich said. “He’s got great hands and he hits the boards hard. He’s real clever around the bucket.” Jack had 17 points in the first half.

San Antonio signed Justin Dentmon out of the NBA Development League earlier Saturday to back up Parker. Dentmon scored two points in six minutes of action.

The Spurs will host the Philadelphia 76ers tomorrow night at the AT&T Center for their third game of back-to-back-backs.