Gregg Popovich | SAN ANTONIO SPURS TICKETS

Old-school Spurs pump up defense

By Jeff McDonald
jmcdonald@express-news.net

So these aren’t the Mike D’Antoni, “Seven-Seconds-or-Less” Phoenix Suns.

They don’t play offense as if shot from a cannon anymore. They don’t put up scores that would tilt a pinball machine. Steve Nash, at 37, is still proficient on the pick-and-roll, but no longer an MVP candidate. Amare Stoudemire is in his second season dunking in the Big Apple.

Three weeks into this lockout season, Phoenix — once a running, gunning scoring circus with Nash as ringmaster — ranks as one of the NBA’s most pedestrian offenses.

Given the Spurs’ well-chronicled struggles on defense this season, they’ll still take what happened in a 102-91 victory over the Suns on Sunday at the ATT Center as a definitive sign of progress.

“That’s where we want to go,” point guard Tony Parker said after the Spurs improved to 9-0 at home this season. “I thought overall, we played great defense.”

The Spurs (9-4) limited the Suns to just 41.8-percent shooting, the third straight opponent to ? hit less than 43 percent against them.

It arrived on the heels of a stretch in which three straight opponents shot better than 50 percent against them.

After Milwaukee torched the Spurs at a 51.8-percent clip Tuesday — in a game the Spurs lost 106-103 despite shooting 60 percent themselves — coach Gregg Popovich derided his club as “the worst defensive team we’ve ever had.”

The difference since?

“I think we just pay attention more,” Parker said. “I think everybody is making a conscious effort to play better defense.”

The Spurs’ return to defense was part of a throwback night Sunday that also featured an old-school duel between Nash and Tim Duncan, the Spurs’ 35-year-old power forward and Phoenix’s frequent nemesis.

Reprising their infamous clashes from postseasons past, Duncan threw in a season-high 24 points to go with 11 rebounds for his fourth double-double of the season, while Nash had 20 points and 10 assists.

“It was a good back-and-forth,” said Duncan, who passed Gary Payton for 26th on the NBA’s all-time scoring chart.

Playing the role of Stoudemire as Nash’s favorite receiver was Marcin Gortat, who finished with 24 points and 15 rebounds as the Suns (4-8) dropped their fourth in a row. Aside from a stretch early in the third quarter, when the Spurs found little answer for the Nash-to-Gortat pick-and-roll, they were solid defensively.

“Steve’s so tricky, he frustrates everyone no matter what you do,” Popovich said. “You can’t be perfect at it.”

For now, Popovich will accept “competent.”

After the debacle in Milwaukee — “a game we could have won,” Parker said — Popovich sat his team down for a come-to-Jesus film session. The topic, not surprising to anyone who has been around the Spurs’ program for more than 35 seconds, was defense.

Where the Spurs used to rely on “stops on demand,” too often this season Popovich had to resort to begging.

Heading into Sunday, even after back-to-back acceptable games against Houston and Portland, the Spurs ranked 26th in the NBA in field-goal percentage defense (46.1 percent) and 19th in points allowed (95.6).

In a bit of a role-reversal, Phoenix came into the game averaging 94.1 points, a number the Suns in their high-scoring heyday could often approach in the third quarter.

“We know it’s a work in progress,” Duncan said. “We know it’s a long season, and we use the season to get where we want to be, but we know we have to be a lot better defensively.”

After Nash threw in a running 8-footer to cut what had been a 19-point deficit to 94-89 with 4:42 left, Popovich at last got the stops he demanded.

Phoenix managed just one field goal the rest of the game, and the Spurs held on to win the old-fashioned way.

“We had a couple of steals and some good stops at appropriate times,” Popovich said. “But we can certainly get better.”

– photos by Edward A. Ornelas

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Spurs 102, Suns 91 – Jan. 15, 2012

FOR SPORTS – San Antonio Spurs’ Tony Parker drives around Phoenix Suns’ Steve Nash during first half action Sunday Jan. 15, 2012 at the ATT Center. (PHOTO BY EDWARD A. ORNELAS/eaornelas@express-news.net) (SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS)

FOR SPORTS – San Antonio Spurs’ DeJuan Blair looks for room around Phoenix Suns’ Markieff Morris during first half action Sunday Jan. 15, 2012 at the ATT Center. (PHOTO BY EDWARD A. ORNELAS/eaornelas@express-news.net) (SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS)

FOR SPORTS – San Antonio Spurs’ Tiago Splitter shoots around Phoenix Suns’ Robin Lopez during first half action Sunday Jan. 15, 2012 at the ATT Center. (PHOTO BY EDWARD A. ORNELAS/eaornelas@express-news.net) (SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS)

FOR SPORTS – San Antonio Spurs’ DeJuan Blair shoots under Phoenix Suns’ Shannon Brown during second half action Sunday Jan. 15, 2012 at the ATT Center. The Spurs won 102-91. (PHOTO BY EDWARD A. ORNELAS/eaornelas@express-news.net) (SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS)

FOR SPORTS – San Antonio Spurs’ Cory Joseph looks for room around Phoenix Suns’ Ronnie Price during second half action Sunday Jan. 15, 2012 at the ATT Center. The Spurs won 102-91. (PHOTO BY EDWARD A. ORNELAS/eaornelas@express-news.net) (SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS)

FOR SPORTS – San Antonio Spurs’ Tim Duncan shoots around Phoenix Suns’ Marcin Gortat during second half action Sunday Jan. 15, 2012 at the ATT Center. The Spurs won 102-91. (PHOTO BY EDWARD A. ORNELAS/eaornelas@express-news.net) (SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS)

FOR SPORTS – San Antonio Spurs’ Tony Parker shoots around Phoenix Suns’ Marcin Gortat during second half action Sunday Jan. 15, 2012 at the ATT Center. The Spurs won 102-91. (PHOTO BY EDWARD A. ORNELAS/eaornelas@express-news.net) (SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS)

FOR SPORTS – San Antonio Spurs’ Tim Duncan drives around Phoenix Suns’ Marcin Gortat during second half action Sunday Jan. 15, 2012 at the ATT Center. The Spurs won 102-91. (PHOTO BY EDWARD A. ORNELAS/eaornelas@express-news.net) (SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS)

FOR SPORTS – San Antonio Spurs’ DeJuan Blair congatulates teammate San Antonio Spurs’ Tim Duncan after he scored against the Phoenix Suns during second half action Sunday Jan. 15, 2012 at the ATT Center. The Spurs won 102-91. (PHOTO BY EDWARD A. ORNELAS/eaornelas@express-news.net) (SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS)

FOR SPORTS – San Antonio Spurs’ DeJuan Blair looks for room between Phoenix Suns’ Channing Frye and Phoenix Suns’ Marcin Gortat during second half action Sunday Jan. 15, 2012 at the ATT Center. The Spurs won 102-91. (PHOTO BY EDWARD A. ORNELAS/eaornelas@express-news.net) (SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS)

FOR SPORTS – San Antonio Spurs’ Tim Duncan shoot around Phoenix Suns’ Markieff Morris during first half action Sunday Jan. 15, 2012 at the ATT Center. (PHOTO BY EDWARD A. ORNELAS/eaornelas@express-news.net) (SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS)

FOR SPORTS – San Antonio Spurs’ Gary Neal shoots against the Phoenix Suns during first half action Sunday Jan. 15, 2012 at the ATT Center. (PHOTO BY EDWARD A. ORNELAS/eaornelas@express-news.net) (SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS)

FOR SPORTS – San Antonio Spurs’ Tony Parker drives around Phoenix Suns’ Channing Frye as San Antonio Spurs’ DeJuan Blair and Phoenix Suns’ Marcin Gortat look on during first half action Sunday Jan. 15, 2012 at the ATT Center. (PHOTO BY EDWARD A. ORNELAS/eaornelas@express-news.net) (SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS)

FOR SPORTS – San Antonio Spurs’ Manu Ginobili waves to fans from the bench during first half action against the Phoenix Suns Sunday Jan. 15, 2012 at the ATT Center. (PHOTO BY EDWARD A. ORNELAS/eaornelas@express-news.net) (SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS)

FOR SPORTS – Phoenix Suns’ Marcin Gortat shoots between San Antonio Spurs’ Tim Duncan and San Antonio Spurs’ Kawhi Leonard during first half action Sunday Jan. 15, 2012 at the ATT Center. (PHOTO BY EDWARD A. ORNELAS/eaornelas@express-news.net) (SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS)

FOR SPORTS – Phoenix Suns’ Steve Nash walks off the court after the game with the San Antonio Spurs Sunday Jan. 15, 2012 at the ATT Center. The Spurs won 102-91. (PHOTO BY EDWARD A. ORNELAS/eaornelas@express-news.net) (SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS)

FOR SPORTS – San Antonio Spurs’ Tim Duncan reacts near the end of the game with Phoenix Suns Sunday Jan. 15, 2012 at the ATT Center. The Spurs won 102-91. (PHOTO BY EDWARD A. ORNELAS/eaornelas@express-news.net) (SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS)

FOR SPORTS – The San Antonio Spurs Coyote performs during the game with the Phoenix Suns Sunday Jan. 15, 2012 at the ATT Center. The Spurs won 102-91. (PHOTO BY EDWARD A. ORNELAS/eaornelas@express-news.net) (SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS)

FOR SPORTS – San Antonio Spurs’ Richard Jefferson talks with teammate San Antonio Spurs’ Kawhi Leonard during first half action against the Phoenix Suns Sunday Jan. 15, 2012 at the ATT Center. (PHOTO BY EDWARD A. ORNELAS/eaornelas@express-news.net) (SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS)

FOR SPORTS – San Antonio Spurs’ DeJuan Blair defends Phoenix Suns’ Hakim Warrick during first half action Sunday Jan. 15, 2012 at the ATT Center. (PHOTO BY EDWARD A. ORNELAS/eaornelas@express-news.net) (SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS)

FOR SPORTS – San Antonio Spurs’ Tim Duncan looks for room around Phoenix Suns’ Marcin Gortat during second half action Sunday Jan. 15, 2012 at the ATT Center. The Spurs won 102-91. (PHOTO BY EDWARD A. ORNELAS/eaornelas@express-news.net) (SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS)

FOR SPORTS – San Antonio Spurs’ Tony Parker passes around Phoenix Suns’ Marcin Gortat during second half action Sunday Jan. 15, 2012 at the ATT Center. The Spurs won 102-91. (PHOTO BY EDWARD A. ORNELAS/eaornelas@express-news.net) (SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS)

Game rewind: Horrible start to new year in frigid Minneapolis

It would be hard to imagine much worse of a start for the new year than what the Spurs endured Monday night.

The Spurs lost All-Star guard Manu Ginobili for an extended period after he sustained a fractured fifth metacarpal of his left hand. It is Ginobili’s dominant shooting hand.

Making matters worse, a blistering perimeter game by Minnesota catapulted the Timberwolves to a 106-96 victory for the Spurs’ second road loss in as many games.

Here’s a look at how the Wolves punctuated the most successful back-to-back of the team’s recent woeful history after beating Dallas Sunday night.

Game analysis: The Spurs looked old and slow in their defensive rotations as Minnesota blistered them for 87.5 percent 3-point shooting in the first half and cruised to their first victory over them since Jan. 3, 2007.

Where the game was won: After James Anderson’s 3-pointer pulled the Spurs within 72-65 with 7:38 left in the third quarter, the Timberwolves erupted for 10 straight points to put the game away on a 3-pointer and three assists from Luke Ridnour. The Spurs never came within single digits during the rest of the game.

Player of the game: Kevin Love. The skinnier version of Love looks like he has picked up where he left off during his breakthrough season last year. Love torched the Spurs for 24 points and 15 rebounds, including four 3-pointers.

Player of the game II: Ridnour. His playing time eventually might be impacted with the emergence of Ricky Rubio, but Ridnour expertly directed the Timberwolves’ offense with 19 points on 7-for-10 shooting from the field and nine assists. He hit his first five shots and then sparked the finishing kick late in the third quarter that put the Spurs away.

Player of the game III: Tim Duncan bounced out of his recent slump to provide a season-best 16 points and five assists. It was his strongest offensive game of the season.

Most unsung: Danny Green. Before Ginobili’s injury, Green might have been expendable when Gary Neal came off injured reserve. But his strong game Monday night and Ginobili’s injury should give him an opportunity to showcase his skills. He made a good first start Monday nbight with nine points, three rebounds and suffocating defense on Rubio in 17 minutes. He was also one of two Spurs to have a postive plus-minus score at plus-1, along with Matt Bonner.

Stat of the game: The Timberwolves shot 57.7 percent from the field and 57.1 percent of their 3-pointers, including 87.5 percent behind the arc in the first half.

Stat of the game II: Minnesota’s starting backcourt of Wesley Johnson and Ridnour combined to shoot 81.3 percent from the field. Wesley Johnson hit all six field-goal attempts and Ridnour went 7 for 10.

Stat of the game III: The Spurs had 30 rebounds against the Timberwolves Monday night. It was their fewest rebounds in game since grabbing 27 against Memphis last March 27.

Weird stat of the game: The Spurs limited Minnesota to 12 points in the fourth quarter. It was the lowest-scoring quarter by a Spurs opponent this season.

Quote of the game: “He’s pretty important to us. And we lost him. We’ve just got to deal with it,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich to reporters after the game on the loss of Ginobili.

How the schedule stacked up: The Spurs rested Sunday before their arrival in Minnesota. The Timberwolves were on the second night of a back-to-back after beating Dallas on Sunday night.

Injuries: Neal sat out his fifth regular-season game of the season with an appendectomy. Ginobili sustained a fractured fifth metacarpal on his left hand late in the second quarter. Minnesota guard Jose Juan Barea missed the game with a strained left hamstring and did not dress. Neither did guard Malcolm Lee, who underwent surgery last week to repair a torn meniscus in his left knee. He’ll be sidelined indefinitely.

What’s up next: The Spurs return home Wednesday to play Golden State at home, starting a run of six games over the next eight days. Minnesota will face Memphis Wednesday night, starting a run of five games over seven days.

Spurs notebook: Splitter’s free-throw work paying off

For Spurs center Tiago Splitter, shooting free throws was once an adventure.

As a rookie last season, he made just 54.3 percent of them, converting at just better than the rate of “heads” in a coin flip.

“I didn’t have a great mechanic,” Splitter said. “We tried to change it, and it wasn’t easy. You’re changing the way you shot your whole life.”

After a season working with shooting coach Chip Engelland, and a lockout-prolonged offseason spent honing his touch on his own, Splitter appears to be developing into a rarity among Spurs big men — a competent foul shooter.

Splitter is hitting 69 percent of his freebies heading into tonight’s game against Phoenix, having converted 20 of 29. Those numbers will never confuse him for Mark Price, but they do make him a more valuable weapon in the post.

With so much juking and junk in his post game, Splitter can count on drawing fouls and going to the line often.

“If he’s going to make his free throws, we can definitely pass him the ball inside,” point guard Tony Parker said. “He’s going to be a force down there.”

Splitter had made nine consecutive free throws before snapping that streak with a 4-of-7 showing in Friday’s 99-83 win over Portland. He hopes it is a sign that his new shooting mechanic is becoming second nature.

“Sometimes, you make them in practice, then you go to the game, and it’s different,” Splitter said. “You start thinking too much. Now, I just go there and shoot it.”

Talking ’bout practice: For the first time since the start of the regular season, coach Gregg Popovich was able to conduct a full-scale practice Saturday.

The light, 45-minute session was focused mostly on teaching and geared to younger players such as rookies Kawhi Leonard, Cory Joseph and Malcolm Thomas, as well as second-year guys such as Splitter and James Anderson.

“The young guys are still a little confused in the system,” Popovich said. “They need time in it. So the weight room and the film room and the court are all important places for education, and we were able to do all three today.”

Getting defensive: After the Spurs gave up 51.8 percent shooting in a 106-103 defeat at Milwaukee — a performance so porous they lost despite hitting 60 percent — Popovich challenged his players to become more defensive minded.

In the two games since, wins over Houston and Portland, neither opponent has shot better than 42.7 percent. The Blazers made just 40.7 percent of their shots Friday and were held to just 36 points in the second half.

“I like to think it’s increased focus and understanding of who we have to be and what we have to do if we want to win basketball games,” Popovich said. “We’re not an offensive juggernaut by any stretch, so we’ve got to guard people.”

That said, the Spurs do rank fourth in the league in scoring (100.8 points per game). Typically prolific Phoenix ranks 16th at 94.1.