Ginobili: “I Want to Get it Back in Game 3″

(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.

Jackson and Diaw could be Spurs’ missing pieces

This article is cross posted at Spurs On Fire and Spurs Basketball.

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.

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

This article is cross posted at Spurs Basketball.

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 Basketball.

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, Blair led Spurs to defeat pesky Hornets

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.”

Spurs less Parker rolled over Mavericks

This article is cross posted at Spurs Basketball.

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.

Spurs Frontrunner to sign Diaw?

This article is cross-posted at Spurs Basketball.

The Charlotte Bobcats and Boris Diaw have agreed to a buyout, making the versatile forward available once he clear waivers. According to league sources, the San Antonio Spurs might have emerged as frontrunner to sign Diaw.

Acquiring Diaw could be a coup for the San Antonio Spurs.

San Antonio is looking to bolster their frontcourt going into the playoffs, and getting a big man with Diaw’s talent should be a coup.

Earlier this month, Tony Parker expressed his interest of adding the soon to be 30 year-old forward to Spurs roster if he becomes available.

However, Diaw is clearly not in his best basketball shape at the moment.

In 37 games this season, including 28 starts, the former Bobcats forward has averaged 7.4 points, 5.3 rebounds and 4.3 assists while shooting 41 percent from the field and a woeful 26.7 percent from behind the arc.

Mills to join Spurs

Patrick Mills (#8) could give the Spurs immediate help at the point.

This article is cross-posted at Spurs Basketball.

Patrick Mills has signed a contract with the San Antonio Spurs and could join the team within a week, pending the resolution of work visa issues.

“We had previously noted that Mills’ delay was a result of government work visa issues, so this should have been expected” said agent Aaron Goodwin.

Mills, 23, an Australian national who could be in line for immediate minutes backing up Tony Parker, is eager to resume his NBA career.

The former Portland Trail Blazer who last played in China during the NBA lockout, averaged 5.1 points and 1.5 assists in limited minutes during his first two NBA seasons in Portland. He is also a member of the Australian national basketball team coached by Spurs assistant Brett Brown.

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.