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Johnson’s big game helps Hawks punctuate long road trip

Joe Johnson didn’t need much time to get started Tuesday night.

Johnson matched his season high with 30 points despite playing in only three quarters in Atlanta’s convincing 100-77 victory at Toronto.

“That’s the type of player he is,” Atlanta teammate Tracy McGrady told the Associated Press of Johnson, who made 13 of his 18 field-goal attempts. “Once he gets that feeling, he can run off 10 or 12 points in a hurry.”

The Hawks’ victory punctuated the most successful five-game road trip in more than four decades. After losing their opener against the Spurs last week, they notched victories at Milwaukee, Detroit, New Orleans and Toronto in the trip.

Johnson’s big game was a major reason why they were able to finish strongly Tuesday night.

STUDS

Atlanta G Joe Johnson: Torched the Raptors for 30 points and four assists and was a team-best plus-18 in the Hawks’ victory.

Indiana G Danny Granger: Produced 21 points, seven rebounds, five assists, three steals and shared team honors at plus-13 in the Pacers’ victory over the Nets.

Memphis F Rudy Gay: Rebounded from his struggles against the Spurs to notch 20 points, 13 rebounds, five assists, two steals, two blocks and was a game-best plus-15 in the Grizzlies’ overtime victory over the Nuggets.

Cleveland F Anderson Varejao: Notched 20 points and a career-high 20 rebounds in the Cavaliers’ loss to the Celtics. He became the fifth player in the league to accomplish the feat this season.

New Jersey G Deron Williams: Went for 34 points and seven assists in the Nets’ loss at the Pacers.

Sacramento G Tyreke Evans: Filled the stat sheet for 22 points, 10 rebounds, nine assists, three steals and a block and was plus-3 in the Kings’ loss to the Warriors.

DUDS

Toronto G Leandro Barbosa: Went 2 for 8 from the field with three turnovers and was minus-11 in the Raptors’ loss to the Hawks.

Charlotte G Cory Higgins: Missed all six shots and was minus-16 in the Bobcats’ loss to the Lakers — their ninth straight defeat.

Denver C Timofey Mozgov: Missed all three shots, was minus-8 and had three turnovers in the Nuggets’ loss at the Grizzlies.

Denver F Danilo Gallinari: The Nuggets’ leading scorer went 1 for 10 from the field with a turnover in their loss at the Grizzlies.

Golden State G Klay Thompson: The rookie struggled through a 2-for-10 shooting night, was minus-1 and scored only four points in the Warriors’ victory over the Kings.

Duncan-led Spurs deny Memphis in the fourth

By Jeff McDonald

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Tony Parker scanned the box score after the Spurs’ 89-84 victory over Memphis on Monday.

When he got to the line next to Tim Duncan’s name, Parker’s eyes got big.

Nineteen points. Seventeen rebounds. Five blocks. All of it crucial in the Spurs’ grind-it-out win to open the nine-game rodeo road trip.

“Those are big numbers,” Parker said, “at 45 years old.”

Parker went for the obvious joke, exaggerating the one number that needed exaggerating. Duncan is not yet 45, but at 35 and with the mileage of four title runs on his odometer, there are nights he looks it.

Not Monday in Memphis. And not lately.

With the feisty Grizzlies trying hard to ruin the Spurs’ return trip to the FedEx Forum, storming back from 14 points down to take a six-point lead in the fourth quarter, Duncan — the Spurs’ venerable captain — kept the whole thing from capsizing.

The 17 rebounds were a season high for any Spurs player. So were the five blocked shots. For Duncan, who scored seven of the Spurs’ final nine points, it was the fourth consecutive game with either 19 points or 15 rebounds.

Two of Duncan’s blocks came in the final 34 seconds, with Memphis pushing to crawl within one. First Duncan denied Rudy Gay at the rim, then Marc Gasol.

“The blocks are really what did it,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. “Those kinds of things are what he does at the end of games, where games are won.”

Parker continued his one-man All-Star campaign with 21 points and seven assists, a decent enough follow-up to his 42-point, nine-assist epic Saturday in a victory over Oklahoma City.

Tiago Splitter added 14 points off the bench for the Spurs, who answered a furious Memphis rally with one of their own to notch their season-best fifth win in a row.

With the Spurs (17-9) opening an 18-day, nine-game road swing equaling the longest in franchise history, Monday’s victory was an important one. They earned it in large part with defense, holding Memphis to just 37.3-percent shooting and 11 fourth-quarter points.

“More than anything, it was just a mentality,” said Popovich, whose team had beaten Memphis (12-13) by 10 here a week earlier. “You’re on the road, they make a great run. I’ve seen teams fold in those circumstances. We just kept banging away.”

Earlier this season, Popovich’s own team might have folded in those circumstances. Last month, in a 120-98 loss at Miami, Popovich accused his players of exactly that.

In that regard, Monday’s game demonstrated how far the Spurs have come. They are still just 4-8 on the road, but have won four of their past six.

“A month ago, we probably wouldn’t have had enough confidence to win a game like this,” said reserve forward Danny Green, who was 0 for 8 but instrumental in helping hold Gay to a 9-for-26 shooting night. “The young guys have grown up a lot.”

Of course, when the going gets tough for the Spurs, it also helps to have the old guy around.

There have been nights in the past when Popovich used to glance at a box score like Monday’s, shrug his shoulders and laugh about how he’d come to take Duncan’s steady greatness for granted.

Asked if Duncan’s advancing age has caused him to become more appreciative of what the 13-time All-Star can still give, Popovich, like Parker, went for a joke.

“I’m tired of coaching him, actually,” Popovich said.

Then, he paused.

“He’s somebody who is pretty special,” Popovich said.

In his 15th season, Duncan can’t give Popovich special every night. But he can some nights.

Monday in Memphis was one.

jmcdonald@express-news.net

– Associated Press photos

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Spurs 89, Grizzlies 84: Feb. 6, 2012

Memphis Grizzlies forward Rudy Gay (22) shoots from the outside under pressure by San Antonio Spurs guard Kawhi Leonard (2) and San Antonio Spurs guard Tony Parker, of France,(9) in the first half of an NBA basketball game on Monday, Feb. 6, 2012, in Memphis, Tenn. (AP Photo/Jim Weber) (AP)

Memphis Grizzlies forward Marreese Speights (5) blocks a shot by San Antonio Spurs center DeJuan Blair, middle, in the first half of an NBA basketball game on Monday, Feb. 6, 2012, in Memphis, Tenn. (AP Photo/Jim Weber) (AP)

Memphis Grizzlies guard Mike Conley (11) shoots under pressure by San Antonio Spurs forward Tim Duncan, left, in the first half of an NBA basketball game on Monday, Feb. 6, 2012, in Memphis, Tenn. (AP Photo/Jim Weber) (AP)

Memphis Grizzlies forward Marreese Speights (5) draws the offensive foul by San Antonio Spurs center DeJuan Blair(45) in the first half of an NBA basketball game on Monday, Feb. 6, 2012, in Memphis, Tenn. (AP Photo/Jim Weber) (AP)

Spurs center Tiago Splitter passes a loose ball to San Antonio Spurs center DeJuan Blair, left, under pressure by Memphis Grizzlies forward Dante Cunningham in the second half of an NBA basketball game on Monday, Feb. 6, 2012, in Memphis, Tenn. (AP Photo/Jim Weber) (AP)

Memphis Grizzlies center Marc Gasol, of Spain, (33) shoots under pressure by San Antonio Spurs forward Danny Green (4) in the second half of an NBA basketball game on Monday, Feb. 6, 2012, in Memphis, Tenn. (AP Photo/Jim Weber) (AP)

San Antonio Spurs guard Tony Parker, of France, (9) looks for an open man under pressure by Memphis Grizzlies guard Mike Conley (11) in the second half of an NBA basketball game on Monday, Feb. 6, 2012, in Memphis, Tenn. (AP Photo/Jim Weber) (AP)

Memphis Grizzlies forward Josh Davis battles for a rebound with San Antonio Spurs forward Tim Duncan(21) in the second half of an NBA basketball game on Monday, Feb. 6, 2012, in Memphis, Tenn. (AP Photo/Jim Weber) (AP)

Memphis Grizzlies guard O.J. Mayo (32) shoots under pressure by San Antonio Spurs forward Danny Green (4) and San Antonio Spurs guard Cory Joseph (5 )in the second half of an NBA basketball game on Monday, Feb. 6, 2012, in Memphis, Tenn. (AP Photo/Jim Weber) (AP)

Parker makes a pass at perfection

For Tony Parker, the nightly marching orders from Spurs coach Gregg Popovich are as simple as they are impossible.

“He wants me to be perfect,” Parker said.

Popovich does not dispute this depiction of what he demands from his 29-year-old point guard.

“He’s constantly in the area of getting hounded by me,” Popovich said. “He scores and I want assists. He assists, I tell him, ‘You gotta score.’”

Monday in New Orleans, in a 104-102 victory the listing Spurs absolutely had to have, Parker came as close to perfection as he ever could.

Using a prolific mixture of passing and scoring, Parker turned in a game for the annals, registering 20 points and a career-best 17 assists, becoming the second Spurs player to reach those totals in the same game.

The other: Wes Matthews, who did it in a win over Portland on April 16, 1986, a month before Parker’s fourth birthday.

The 17 assists tie Parker for fourth on the franchise’s single-game chart. It was the highest for a Spurs player since Dec. 17, 1997, when Avery Johnson doled out 20 in a game against Vancouver.

For Parker, games like Monday’s opus — which followed a 24-point, 13-assist stat-stuffing in a defeat at Houston — have been 10-plus seasons in the making.

“Pop’s been on him for years about his decision making,” forward Tim Duncan said. “When to attack, when to kick and trying to do both at the same time. He’s in a real rhythm right now.”

Forced to carry more of the offensive load with Manu Ginobili out, and forced to log extended minutes with backup T.J. Ford hurt, Parker is deftly dancing on the line between passing and scoring.

Heading into tonight’s game against Atlanta at the ATT Center, the three-time All-Star is averaging 17.7 points and a career-high 8.1 assists. In his past nine games, those numbers are 22 and 9.1.

Like a streak shooter who suddenly finds a hot hand, Parker has gotten on a roll with his passing, registering 30 assists in his past two games.

“There’s always that fine line between being aggressive and finding my teammates,” said Parker, who is playing through a lower back inflammation. “I just try to do my best and make Pop happy.”

Early in the game against New Orleans, Parker took that ethos to the extreme. He had eight assists before attempting his first field goal.

Certainly, his teammates contributed to Parker’s lofty assist total. In addition to hitting big men Tiago Splitter and DeJuan Blair on a handful of pick-and-rolls, Parker padded his assist numbers simply by finding open jump shooters.

“It helps when people make shots,” Parker said.

Still, there’s no denying Parker has come a long way since 2001, when he entered the league as a 19-year-old bent on scoring.

Earlier in his career, Parker acknowledges the mixed message coming from his coach — “Score! No, pass!” — played with his head.

“Sometimes, it hurt my game because I wouldn’t be as aggressive as I need to be,” Parker said.

These days, Parker’s only battle is with his own body. His back has been bothering him since Jan. 10 in Milwaukee. The minutes have been piling up on him, at least 34 in eight of the past nine games, with no rest in sight, at least until Ford returns sometime next month.

Until then, the games will keep coming, and Parker will approach them the way he usually does — terminally in pursuit of perfection, always in hopes of pleasing his hard-to-please head coach, chasing the impossible.

“He wants me to score, he wants be to pass, he wants me to do everything,” Parker said. “I have to be perfect.”

Sometimes, it’s just that simple.

jmcdonald@express-news.net