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)


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)

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