By Jeff McDonald
NEW ORLEANS — Monty Williams’ team was already depleted when Chris Kaman showed up at shootaround Saturday with flu-like symptoms.
When Trevor Ariza also arrived unable to play on a sore ankle, the New Orleans coach was prepared to pull fans out of the stands to fill out the Hornets’ roster.
Saddled with a short bench of his own in the middle of a back-to-back-to-back, Spurs coach Gregg Popovich considered a more radical alternative.
“I thought about calling (George) Gervin,” Popovich joked. “But he was busy.”
The Spurs didn’t quite require the services of a 59-year-old Iceman, but they needed every iota of production from everyone else to sneak by the Hornets 89-86 at New Orleans Arena.
With Manu Ginobili and Tiago Splitter home in San Antonio, and Gary Neal a late scratch with a sprained left foot, the Spurs had to dig deep to fend off the team with the Western Conference’s worst record.
The Hornets were playing hurt too, with five rotation players out, yet still managed to push the Southwest Division-leading Spurs to the brink.
It wasn’t until the final 1:19, when Tim Duncan hit a go-ahead tip-in, Danny Green followed with a jumper and New Orleans’ Marco Bellinelli left a tying 3-pointer short at the horn that the Spurs (32-14) were able to escape with their sixth victory in the past seven games.
“It was not pretty, but we’ll take it,” said Tony Parker, who returned after missing a game and a half with a stiff hamstring. “We didn’t play our best game, but it’s a good win for us.”
Ginobili did not make the trip, with Popovich opting to rest his star guard in the midst of the season’s most grueling stretch. Splitter missed his second game with back spasms.
It was an all-hands-on-deck kind of night, and with 20 games left to be crammed into the next month, there will likely be more of them to come.
The Spurs’ reward for survival? Their third game in three nights, tonight at home against Philadelphia.
DeJuan Blair sparked the Spurs early, scoring 23 points in three quarters before falling victim to the vagaries of Popovich’s rotation. He did not play at all in the fourth.
Parker had his moments, too, scoring six of his 12 points in a 2 1/2–minute span of the third. He also notched 10 assists, seven of which came before he even attempted a shot.
Later, Stephen Jackson scored six straight points — including a driving dunk to start the fourth — to give the Spurs life.
“New Orleans, for most of the game, was more efficient than we were and executed better than we did,” Popovich said. “We had to hang in there and keep plugging. It’s probably the best thing we did.”
For the second time this season, Jarrett Jack torched the Spurs for 27 points, hitting 11 of his first 14 shots before ending 0 for 5.
With Kaman and Ariza joining Emeka Okafor and Eric Gordon on the injured list, and Jason Smith serving a two-game suspension for his Flagrant-2 foul against the Clippers’ Blake Griffin, Jack guided a lineup better suited to the D-League to the cusp of an upset.
As far as Popovich is concerned, New Orleans’ woeful 12-36 record should come with an asterisk.
“I don’t think there’s any staff or players or organization that’s had as difficult of circumstances as them, and they continue to play hard every game,” Popovich said.
The NBA’s top 3-point shooting team, the Spurs went just 2 of 19 from beyond the arc, perhaps a sign of tired legs after an emotional home victory a night earlier against Dallas.
Even when the Spurs seemed to have the game sealed, they made things difficult. After his team made its first 15 foul shots, Green missed a pair with 2.3 seconds left that could have spared the Spurs the drama of having to defend a final possession.
“It was a tough game,” Blair said. “But we need games like this.”
In the end, the Spurs won’t quibble with the details. In a season in which every game seems to come with a built-in excuse to lose, the Spurs will take the wins however they come.
jmcdonald@express-news.net
Twitter: @JMcDonald_SAEN
1 of 15 | Share
Spurs 89, Hornets 86: March 24, 2012
Spurs guard Tony Parker, left, keeps the ball from New Orleans Hornets’ Lance Thomas (42) in the first half of an NBA basketball game in New Orleans, Saturday, March 24, 2012. (AP Photo/Bill Haber) (AP)
Spurs center Tim Duncan (21) works his way to the basket against New Orleans Hornets’ Chris Johnson (20) during the first half of an NBA basketball game in New Orleans, Saturday, March 24, 2012. (AP Photo/Bill Haber) (AP)
New Orleans Hornets guard Xavier Henry (4) and center Gustavo Ayon (15) defend Spurs forward Boris Diaw (33) in the first half of an NBA basketball game in New Orleans, Saturday, March 24, 2012. (AP Photo/Bill Haber) (AP)
New Orleans Hornets coach Monty Wlliams yells to the officials in the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Spurs in New Orleans, Saturday, March 24, 2012. (AP Photo/Bill Haber) (AP)
Spurs coach Gregg Popovich and Spurs guard Tony Parker (9) watch as an official calls a foul in the first half of an NBA basketball game against the New Orleans Hornets in New Orleans, Saturday, March 24, 2012. (AP Photo/Bill Haber) (AP)
New Orleans Hornets’ Jarrett Jack goes to the basket in front of Spurs center Tim Duncan (21) in the first half of an NBA basketball game in New Orleans, Saturday, March 24, 2012. (AP Photo/Bill Haber) (AP)
Spurs center Tim Duncan, right, and Spurs guard Stephen Jackson (3) double team New Orleans Hornets forward Carl Landry (24) in the second half of an NBA basketball game in New Orleans, Saturday, March 24, 2012. The Spurs defeated the Hornets 89-86. (AP Photo/Bill Haber)
San Antonio Spurs center Tim Duncan (21) shoots over New Orleans Hornets forward Gustavo Ayon (15) in the second half of an NBA basketball game in New Orleans, Saturday, March 24, 2012. The Spurs defeated the Hornets 89-86. (AP Photo/Bill Haber) (AP)
Spurs guard Tony Parker (9) passes around New Orleans Hornets forward Carl Landry (24) in the second half of an NBA basketball game in New Orleans, Saturday, March 24, 2012. The Spurs defeated the Hornets 89-86. (AP Photo/Bill Haber) (AP)
Spurs guard Daniel Green (4) and New Orleans Hornets guard Jarrett Jack (2) battle for a loose ball in the second half of an NBA basketball game in New Orleans, Saturday, March 24, 2012. The Spurs defeated the Hornets 89-86. (AP Photo/Bill Haber) (AP)
New Orleans Hornets guard Jarrett Jack (2) holds the ball after turning it over to the Spurs in the second half of an NBA basketball game in New Orleans, Saturday, March 24, 2012. The Spurs defeated the Hornets 89-86. (AP Photo/Bill Haber) (AP)
San Antonio Spurs forward DeJuan Blair (45) loses the ball as he is fouled by the New Orleans Hornets in the first half of an NBA basketball game in New Orleans, Saturday, March 24, 2012. The Spurs defeated the Hornets 89-86. (AP Photo/Bill Haber) (AP)
Spurs center Tim Duncan (21) and Spurs forward Matt Bonner (15) block the shot of New Orleans Hornets forward Al-Farouq Aminu (0) in the second half of an NBA basketball game in New Orleans, Saturday, March 24, 2012. The Spurs defeated the Hornets 89-86. (AP Photo/Bill Haber) (AP)
Spurs center Tim Duncan (21) and New Orleans Hornets forward Gustavo Ayon (15) tangle in the second half of an NBA basketball game in New Orleans, Saturday, March 24, 2012. The Spurs defeated the Hornets 89-86. (AP Photo/Bill Haber) (AP)
Spurs center Tim Duncan (21) and New Orleans Hornets forward Gustavo Ayon (15) reach for a loose ball in the second half of an NBA basketball game in New Orleans, Saturday, March 24, 2012. The Spurs defeated the Hornets 89-86. (AP Photo/Bill Haber) (AP)
