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Parker, Duncan provide finishing touch for Spurs

By Jeff McDonald
jmcdonald@express-news.net

Time went by, and the minutes kept coming, then came overtime. By the end of a much-needed 101-95 Spurs victory Wednesday, Tim Duncan was sweating into his 73rd minute in two nights, logging the kind of playing time that, at age 35, had become a faded memory of younger era.

Asked afterward if he could give another 35 minutes today, if the schedule required it, Duncan answered with a mix of wry wit and realism.

“I think I could,” he said. “But my body might think differently.”

Duncan was never one for gaudy numbers or flashy statistics, and Father Time has robbed him of what little athleticism Mother Nature gave him. Even his signature banker is no longer automatic.

Yet what Duncan still has, hidden behind those blank-stare eyes yet on display minute-by-minute at the ATT Center in a game the Spurs absolutely had to have, is a burning desire to win.

Against Houston, Duncan filled his box score with 17 points, 11 rebounds, five assists, two blocks and three steals. In the process, he passed Larry Bird for 27th on the NBA’s all-time scoring list, laughing that the go-ahead points came at the foul line, a place never all that kind to him.

It was the little things Duncan did that separated him against the Rockets and eventually shoved the Spurs to victory.

It was wrestling with Sam Dalembert for a key rebound. Hitting Tony Parker on a perfectly timed backdoor cut. That one perfect piece of footwork to keep Kyle Lowry from a sure layup in overtime.

“Tim’s a competitor,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said of the two-time MVP. “Just because he’s a little older doesn’t mean he’s not going to compete.”

When Manu Ginobili went out with a broken hand, Popovich scoffed at the idea it would be up to his immediate replacement — either James Anderson or Gary Neal or Kawhi Leonard — to pick up the slack.

It was Duncan and Parker, the other two spokes of the Spurs’ Big Three, who would need to raise their games. Wednesday, they delivered, steadying the Spurs (7-4) through some unsure moments to their seventh home victory in as many dates.

For the second game in a row, Parker threw in a season high, this time going for 28 points with eight assists. The 29-year-old point guard played more than 45 minutes, a night after giving almost 36 in a 106-103 loss in Milwaukee.

“He’s unbelievable, man,” Duncan said, with a tinge of envy. “He’s going to be worn out tomorrow.”

Leonard, the rookie from San Diego State, earned his first career start at shooting guard. He replaced Neal, who was moved to the bench upon news that backup point guard T.J. Ford will miss the next four to six weeks with a torn left hamstring.

Leonard finished with 11 points, his third consecutive double-figure game, and eight rebounds and survived a trial by fire chasing Houston scoring machine Kevin Martin.

Martin finished 18 points, but had to work for them. Lowry had 22 points for Houston (3-7). Luis Scola scored 20, but only six after the first quarter.

With both teams having played the night before — Houston won in Charlotte — overtime seemed almost cruel. It seemed especially unkind to Duncan.

Clearly down to his last drop of fuel, Duncan missed his first four tries in OT and was 1 of 4 from the foul line.

Richard Jefferson hit the game’s biggest shot, a corner 3-pointer with 1:09 left in OT that gave the Spurs a 94-92 lead. Moments later, Duncan notched his only basket of the extra frame with 35.8 seconds left, when he spun Dalembert into a pretzel to eke out a shot on the block.

There are nights Duncan can feel the fingers of Father Time. He will probably feel them this morning.

He says he has not heard the whispers, from elsewhere in the NBA, that perhaps his game is not what it used to be.

“I don’t really care,” Duncan said. “I’m just trying to play the game, go out and see what I’ve got.”

Wednesday night, he had just enough.

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Spurs 101, Rockets 95 OT – 20120111

Tim Duncan of the San Antonio Spurs (21) goes up to score the the field game that won the game for the Spurs as Samuel Dalembert of the Houston Rockets defends during the overtime period of NBA action at the ATT Center on Wednesday, Jan. 11, 2012. BILLY CALZADA / gcalzada@express-news.netHouston Rockets at San Antonio Spurs (SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS)

Luis Scola of the Houston Rockets attempts to pass off as Tony Parker, left, and Tim Duncan of the San Antonio Spurs reach for the ball during fourth-quarter NBA action at the ATT Center on Wednesday, Jan. 11, 2012. BILLY CALZADA / gcalzada@express-news.netHouston Rockets at San Antonio Spurs (SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS)

DeJuan Blair of the San Antonio Spurs is determined during second-half NBA action at the ATT Center on Wednesday, Jan. 11, 2012. BILLY CALZADA / gcalzada@express-news.netHouston Rockets at San Antonio Spurs (SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS)

Tony Parker of the Spurs passes off as Jordan Hill, left, and Chase Bodiner of the Rockets defend during first-half NBA action at the ATT Center on Wednesday, Jan. 11, 2012. BILLY CALZADA / gcalzada@express-news.netHouston Rockets at San Antonio Spurs (SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS)

Tim Duncan of the San Antonio Spurs hangs from the rim as is his custom before the team’s game against the Houston Rockets at the ATT Center on Wednesday, Jan. 11, 2012. BILLY CALZADA / gcalzada@express-news.netHouston Rockets at San Antonio Spurs (SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS)

Tim Duncan of the San Antonio Spurs shoots as Patrick Patterson of the Houston Rockets defends during NBA action at the ATT Center on Wednesday, Jan. 11, 2012. BILLY CALZADA / gcalzada@express-news.netHouston Rockets at San Antonio Spurs (SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS)

Tiago Splitter of the San Antonio Spurs is fouled by Goran Dragic, right, of the Houston Rockets as he successfully shoots during NBA first-half action at the ATT Center on Wednesday, Jan. 11, 2012. Splitter was able to make the ensuing free throw. BILLY CALZADA / gcalzada@express-news.netHouston Rockets at San Antonio Spurs (SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS)

Tim Duncan of the San Antonio Spurs dunks against the Houston Rockets during NBA action at the ATT Center on Wednesday, Jan. 11, 2012. BILLY CALZADA / gcalzada@express-news.netHouston Rockets at San Antonio Spurs (SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS)

Tiago Splitter of the San Antonio Spurs, in white, is fouled by Luis Scola of the Houston Rockets as he makes a shot during NBA action at the ATT Center on Wednesday, Jan. 11, 2012. Splitter was able to convert on the ensuing free throw. BILLY CALZADA / gcalzada@express-news.netHouston Rockets at San Antonio Spurs (SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS)

Matt Bonner of the San Antonio Spurs makes a reverse layup during first-half NBA action against the Houston Rockets at the ATT Center on Wednesday, Jan. 11, 2012. BILLY CALZADA / gcalzada@express-news.netHouston Rockets at San Antonio Spurs (SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS)

Spurs notebook: Dad-to-be McDyess glad to be retired

By Mike Monroe
mikemonroe@express-news.net

HOUSTON — Admitting it felt strange to be sitting in the stands 10 rows behind the Spurs bench, and even weirder seeing Tim Duncan sitting out the second half of the third game of the season because the Spurs were being blown out by the Rockets, Antonio McDyess put to rest any thoughts that he might elect to come out of retirement at any time this season.

“Uh-uh,” he said, flashing his characteristic smile. “A lot of people have been asking, but it’s not happening.”

McDyess and his wife are expecting their first child in a few days and he said he is comfortable with his decision to leave the NBA after 16 seasons, the last two with the Spurs.

The former All-Star and Olympic gold medal winner paid a short visit to the Spurs locker room after the Rockets’ 105-85 drubbing, to the delight of coach Gregg Popovich.

“The best part of this whole night was seeing Antonio,” Popovich said.

ANXIOUSLY WAITING: Second-year shooting guard Gary Neal is looking forward to the Spurs’ next practice session, whenever that may be.

Cleared to begin contact work after undergoing an appendectomy on Dec. 12, Neal has been working hard on conditioning this week but understands he needs a practice or two before he can expect to get in a game for the first time this season.

“He’s working out with Sean Marks back in San Antonio,” Popovich said. “We won’t practice tomorrow, but he’ll do something.

“He’s got to have contact before we get him into a game. It might be a month-and-a-half before we have a chance to practice again, but we can get some of the rookies in there with him so he can get some contact. I expect he’ll be back in another week, or so.”

RATINGS MONSTERS: After drawing more viewers for their regular season opener against the Grizzlies than ESPN’s Monday Night Football game that featured Saints quarterback Drew Brees’ quest for a single-season passing record, the Spurs continued their domination of local prime-time TV for their Wednesday night game against the Clippers.

That game posted an 11.1 overnight Nielsen rating, more than doubling the ratings for the University of Texas-Cal Holiday Bowl game, which came in at 5.1.

DOMINANT THIRDS END: The Spurs went into Thursday’s game against the Rockets having outscored their first two opponents 67-31 in the third quarter.

The trend ended against the Rockets, who outscored the Spurs 25-24 in the third.

What the Spurs and Warriors said after the game

Here, courtesy of the folks from Spurs media servies, are some post-game comments from the Spurs and Warriors after San Antonio’s victory Wednesday night at the ATT Center.

San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich:

(You used both T.J. Ford and Tony Parker down the stretch…was there something that you saw?)

“We needed to chase those guys. I wanted to get Tony back in the game, but T.J. was playing great; so we just matched them up that way. T.J. was fantastic. Danny Green was fantastic. The two of them, they gave us the energy to get that ball game. They played fantastic basketball.”

(It appeared at one point that you were trying to get Tony to be more aggressive, offensively in particular…is this accurate?)

“I want all the players to be aggressive. Everybody needs to be aggressive and in attack mode all the time. Tony’s no different. He’s a great player and when he’s in attack mode, he’s an even better player.”

Spurs guard Danny Green

(On pulling out the victory tonight…)

“We did, it was fun. In the second half we did a great job of shutting down their guards, a little bit. They came out hot and we played better defense. Our shots weren’t falling like we wanted too. Eventually they would fall, but we had to play defense and we ended up doing it.”

(Does success on defense trigger you on offense…)

“I think so; I think it triggers all teams. With us, we play some good defense and we get some stops. We’re able to get out and run and get some open threes. We’re a perimeter team and we were able to get some open looks and some of them fell eventually.”

(On finishing the game after not playing in the first half …)

“I rather finish the game than start.”

Spurs forward Richard Jefferson

(On hitting all five of his 3-point attempts…)

“Tony had some great passes. We were down quite a few for most of the night. Those two guards were on fire. We kind of caught a break with Stephen Curry going out. It allowed us to focus a little more on Monta, but even then, it was tough to stop him. Danny Green came in and played some amazing defense, but for the most part, I was getting open looks. I think every shot was assisted. They were just good passes from my teammates.”

(Was it important to win this game without Manu?)

“We have a mentality that were going to be O.K., not because we’re the San Antonio Spurs. It’s because everyone has to step up, everyone has to work extremely hard and everyone has to be more mistake free, than we normally are. Danny Green came in and played some great defense. The defense he was playing, just giving Monta a different look. That’s somebody else stepping up and every night someone else needs to step up because Manu is irreplaceable.”

Spurs guard Tony Parker

(On playing together with T.J Ford)

“They played small for almost four quarters. T.J was playing well and Pop decided to keep T.J in and I played with him for the last six minutes. It worked out pretty well.”

(How important was it to win this game without Manu…)

“It was good for our confidence. We’re going to play a long time without Manu. In a schedule like this, you have to win games at home. It was a big one for us and now we have a big one tomorrow.”

Golden State Warriors coach Mark Jackson:

(When asked how much the mood changed when Stephen Curry was lost with his injury)

“It’s natural to think here we go again, as a player. It was a disappointing loss. Things were still going our way. The bottom line is giving up 31 points in the fourth quarter is not a way to close out a victory on the road.”

(When asked if the Spurs did anything differently in the fourth quarter)

“They made shots. We had some breakdowns. It was disappointing.”

(When asked about the play of Monta Ellis tonight)

“He was incredible and inspiring. He made every play. I asked him if he needed a breather, he said, ‘No.’ It didn’t look like he was out of gas. Not only am I asking him to make the plays on the offensive end, but I’m asking him to defend Tony Parker on the other end. He gave me everything he had. I’m proud of his effort and his leadership. I hope that his passion for the game truly becomes contagious in the locker room.”

Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry

(On re-injuring his right ankle…)

“I got the steal. It was either a steal or a deflection but I got the ball. Put up a pump fake in transition and took off on my right foot. I pushed off on my toe and it flipped over. It was just a re-aggravation of the same thing that has been happening. It’s another frustrating incident that I have to deal with.”

(Measuring the severity of his ankle injury based on his other ankle injuries…)

“The way I do it is, I tell the athletic trainers the instant pain I feel and this is the worst it has been. I am sure it has to do with the fact that it’s the third time. It is hard to say exactly how to react. I tried to put weight on it. I did put weight on it. I tried to tape it back up and lace it back up to go back out there but it started to stiffen up. We will just have to see how it reacts tomorrow. It’s déjà vu all over again.”