Spurs’ shooting blitz doomed Jazz; take 2-0 series lead

(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?

Spurs uses depth to fend off Kings

This article is cross posted at Spurs Basketball.

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.

Duncan, Parker guide Spurs to 5th straight win

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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

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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.

Spurs less Parker rolled over Mavericks

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With Tony Parker sitting out because of a strained left hamstring, Manu Ginobili started at the point and delivered 11 points, seven assists and seven rebounds in 28 minutes of action, leading the San Antonio Spurs to a 104-87 victory over the Dallas Mavericks on Friday night.

Jackson has provided an added spark since he came back in San Antonio (Photo via Spurs Nation).

Danny Green added 18 points, Tim Duncan 15 points and 12 rebounds and Matt Bonner added 14 off the Spurs bench to improve their team record to 31-14 and hold a tight grip at the second-seed on the West.

Parker,  missed his third game of the season, but his absence didn’t seem to distract the Spurs, who had seven assists in the first quarter alone and finished with 28 total.

San Antonio led 24-21 after the first quarter and maintained their advantage throughout the game with the exception of a two-minute spurt by Dallas.

Jason Terry’s 18-foot jumper with five minutes remaining in the third quarter gave the Mavericks a 60-58 advantage, their first lead since 4-2 two minutes into the game. The Spurs responded quickly, however, closing the quarter on a 12-3 run to gain a decisive advantage.

Duncan led Spurs in easy win over Wolves, Parker injured

This article is cross-posted at Spurs Basketball.

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.

Spurs outguns Magic

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Tony Parker had 31 points and 12 assists, and Tim Duncan had 21 points and 13 rebounds as the Spurs closed a seven-game home stand by defeating the Orlando Magic 122-111 on Wednesday night.

Tim Duncan held his own against Dwight Howard, as the Spurs defeat the Magic for the second time this season.

Jameer Nelson scored 25 points and had seven assists, while Dwight Howard had 22 points and 12 rebounds on the eve of the NBA trade deadline.

Parker whose averaging 29.8 points in his past four games, was serenaded by chants of “M-V-P! M-V-P!” in the closing minutes.

Magic spokesman George Galante confirmed that Howard informed the team before Wednesday night’s game against the Spurs that he will not waive the early termination clause in his contact, which would have guaranteed Howard sticking around at least one more season.

Howard said publicly this week he wants to finish the season in Orlando and encouraged the front office to “roll the dice” on re-signing him this summer. The Magic, however, are looking for stronger assurances they can realistically hang onto the NBA’s most dominant big man.

Spurs pounded the Knicks, Ford hurt again

This article is cross-posted at Spurs Basketball.

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.

Spurs whipped Bobcats

This article is cross-posted at Spurs Basketball.

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.

Popovich named Coach of the Month, Manu could return on Friday

This article is cross-posted at Spurs Basketball.

San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich was chosen by the NBA as the Western Conference Coach of the Month after leading the Spurs to an 11-2 record in February.

Gregg Popovich was named Wests' Coach of the Month for February.

During the month, Popovich led the Spurs to an 8-1 record on their Rodeo Road Trip, tying the league record for winning percentage on a nine-game road trip.

The Spurs had an 11-game winning streak that extended into the month, despite playing without Manu Ginobili and T.J. Ford for extended periods during the month.

It marks a record 13th month when Popovich has been selected as the NBA’s Coach of the Month, and broke the previous mark he shared with Pat Riley, who won the award on 12 occasions during his career.