The ageless Tim Duncan strikes again after posting his fifth double-double of the year with 10 points and 18 rebounds in 28 minutes and in doing so became only the fourth player in NBA history 39 or older to record 18 rebounds joining Dikembe Mutumbo, Karl Malone and Robert Parish.
“He does it all,” Green said. “He doesn’t get old. He doesn’t get tired. He doesn’t get out of shape. I don’t think there’s anything that Tim can’t do.”
“He’s been doing it for so long, we take him for granted,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. “I just told those guys they played well, and I didn’t even know he got 18 [rebounds]. I’ll have to go back in there and tell him again how good he was.”
But Boris Diaw had other reasons for Duncan’s successes.
“He got lucky,” joked Boris Diaw. “I was boxing out for him most of the time. It’s good. Obviously, he didn’t play yesterday [a 91-80 win in Denver]. So he was rested. But great energy. That’s something he can do: go into a game and get 20 [points and] 20 [rebounds]. He still can do that any given night; probably not every night.”
The Spurs get back to it as they visit the Derrick Rose led Chicago Bulls tonight. The Bulls have been in a bit of a struggle this season with Rose coming back from two serious back to back injuries has been having a hard time getting back into form. They will be without Mike Dunleavy and Jimmy Butler may be hampered some with injuries but is expected to play.
All in all, the Spurs and Bulls are two of the top teams in the league and usually enjoy playing against each other.
“I do enjoy playing against one of the best teams, I think, in the history of the game,” Center Pau Gasol said after Sunday’s practice. “They’ve (Spurs) been incredible for the last 15, 16, 17 years now since they won that first championship. So really impressive what they’ve done. I think everybody is trying to follow up on what they’ve accomplished. And building that culture, longevity. So yeah, I still do get very much motivated against a team that’s always at the top of the league.”
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