Matt Bonner | SAN ANTONIO SPURS TICKETS

Sunday: Suns (4-7) at Spurs (8-4)

Time: 8 p.m.
TV: FSNSW, ESPN
Radio: WOAI-AM 1200, KCOR-AM 1350

STARTING LINEUPS

Point guard
Spurs: 9 Tony Parker (6-2, 11th yr)
Suns: 13 Steve Nash (6-3, 16th yr)
Parker has reached 20 points in three consecutive games.

Shooting guard
Spurs: 2 Kawhi Leonard (6-7, 1st yr)
Suns: 3 Jared Dudley (6-7, 5th yr)
Coach Alvin Gentry considering newly acquired Michael Redd at this spot.

Small forward
Spurs: 24 Richard Jefferson (6-7, 11th yr)
Suns: 33 Grant Hill (6-8, 17th yr)
Jefferson was shooting 60 percent on 3s at home until Friday’s 1 for 5.

Power forward
Spurs: 21 Tim Duncan (6-11, 15th yr)
Suns: 8 Channing Frye (6-11, 7th yr)
Duncan: 9 turnovers in past 2 games, including season-high 5 vs. Portland.

Center
Spurs: 45 DeJuan Blair (6-7, 3rd yr)
Suns: 4 Marcin Gortat (6-11, 5th yr)
Blair owns team-best four double-doubles this season.

SPURS RESERVES
25 James Anderson, G, 6-6, 2nd yr
15 Matt Bonner, C/F, 6-10, 8th yr
4 Danny Green, G/F, 6-6, 3rd yr
14 Gary Neal, G, 6-4, 2nd yr
5 Cory Joseph, G, 6-3, 1st yr
22 Tiago Splitter, C, 6-11, 2nd yr
23 Malcolm Thomas, F, 6-9, 1st yr

SUNS RESERVES
1 Josh Childress, F, 6-8, 6th yr
15 Robin Lopez, C, 7-0, 4th yr
11 Markieff Morris, F, 6-10, 1st yr
2 Ronnie Price, G, 6-2, 7th yr
22 Michael Redd, G, 6-6, 12th yr
31 Sebastian Telfair, G, 6-0, 8th yr
21 Hakim Warrick, F, 6-9, 7th yr
26 Shannon Brown, G, 6-4, 6th

COACHES
Spurs: Gregg Popovich
Suns: Alvin Gentry

INJURIES
Spurs: Manu Ginobili (fractured fifth metacarpal, left hand) and T.J. Ford (torn left hamstring) are out.
Suns: Nash (right quad contusion) and Hill (right quad tendon strain) are day-to-day.

PROJECTED INACTIVE PLAYERS
Spurs: Ginobili, Ford.
Suns: None.

NOTABLE
Spurs ran season-opening home winning streak to eight in Friday’s 99-83 win over Portland. … Blazers’ 40.5 percent shooting lowest for Spurs foe since Mavericks hit 35.1 percent on Jan. 5. … Suns are opening season-high five-game road trip that will also take them to Chicago, New York, Boston and Dallas. … Duncan needs nine points to pass ex-Seattle guard Gary Payton for 26th on NBA’s all-time scoring list. … Nash and Hill sat out Phoenix’s 110-103 loss to New Jersey on Friday but are likely today.

Popovich, Spurs get points across

By Jeff McDonald

For much of the season, Tony Parker has been waiting for coach Gregg Popovich to lose it.

Game in and game out, win or lose, good play or poor, Mount Popovich would not erupt. Not like it used to in its magma-spewing heyday.

“As he gets older and drinks more wine, he gets more patient,” Parker said.

Wednesday night, with a lead against Atlanta growing tenuous and the Spurs sleepwalking out of the halftime locker room, Popovich’s patience finally wore out, and Parker finally got his explosion.

A quick timeout 60 seconds into the third quarter, followed by a mass substitution that brought three starters to the bench, sent a clear message in what became an easy-does-it 105-83 win at the ATT Center.

“We weren’t playing well,” said reserve forward Matt Bonner, who had nine of his 17 points during the third-quarter charge. “Pop’s a good coach. He senses that, and he has to do something.”

Behind a trio of third-quarter threes by Bonner, 13 second-half points from DeJuan Blair and a defensive focus that limited the Hawks to just 39 points in the second half, the Spurs turned a four-point halftime lead into Atlanta’s most lopsided loss of the season.

For the Hawks, the defeat was the 14th in a row in San Antonio, a losing streak that dates to Feb. 25, 1997, the season before Tim Duncan arrived.

Blair scored 17 points, matching his highest-scoring night since New Year’s Eve, while Bon? ner equaled a season high in scoring as well. He was 5 of 7 from 3-point range, kick-starting the Spurs’ decisive 22-5 second-half run with consecutive buckets.

It marked only the fifth multiple 3-pointer game of the season for Bonner, last year’s NBA leader in long-range accuracy.

“I just take it one game at a time, focus on the process and trust the results will come,” Bonner said. “Honestly, at this point it’s the key to sanity.”

If the Spurs (12-7) were aiming to drive their coach insane — to cajole him into laying the mushroom cloud Parker had been waiting for — they accomplished as much coming out of halftime.

The Hawks (13-6) ended the first half on a 14-4 spurt, reducing what had been a 14-point deficit to 48-44.

At halftime, Popovich talked to his team about playing with more energy and greater attention to detail. Specifically, he asked his players to keep Atlanta’s ballhandlers from driving to the middle of the lane.

On Atlanta’s first trip of the third quarter, Jeff Teague took Parker to the middle for two of his 20 points. On the Spurs’ first possession, Richard Jefferson missed a cut he was supposed to make.

When Josh Smith threw in a jump hook on the Hawks’ next possession, Popovich angrily signaled for a timeout, then replaced Parker, Jefferson and Blair with Cory Joseph, Danny Green and Bonner.

“We didn’t play hard enough, I guess,” Blair said. “You see what happened. We were on the bench. He shouldn’t have to do that, but it gets us going.”

The move was akin to plugging the Spurs into a light socket.

Not only did the Spurs’ bench extend the lead, with Bonner, Green and Joseph providing quality minutes, the starters played well when they returned from being grounded.

Asked what he wanted from that timeout, Popovich responded with two words: “More focus.”

Popovich continued to hammer that message throughout the rest of the blowout. When Joe Johnson hit a jumper over Bonner to bring Atlanta within 21 points with 5:33 to go, Popovich called another timeout to correct the defensive lapse.

Asked if this was a grouchy as Popovich had been all season, Bonner offered the safe answer.

“No comment,” he said.

Parker, for his part has definitely seen worse. As a 19-year-old rookie 10 seasons ago, he frequently found himself on the wrong end of a Mount Popovich eruption.

“I always tell the rookies they’re lucky,” Parker said. “Because it’s nothing like when I was a rookie. He’s so nice to them.”

jmcdonald@express-news.net

– Jerry Lara photos

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Spurs 105, Hawks 83: Jan. 25, 2012

SPURS — San Antonio Spurs guard Tony Parker drives to the basket as Atlanta Hawks center Zaza Pachulia defends during the first half at the ATT Center, Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2012. Jerry Lara/San Antonio Express-News (San Antonio Express-News)

SPURS — San Antonio Spurs forward Matt Bonner, right, tries to steal a rebound from Atlanta Hawks forward Vladimir Radmanovic during the first half at the ATT Center, Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2012. Jerry Lara/San Antonio Express-News (San Antonio Express-News)

SPURS — San Antonio Spurs guard Danny Green, right, loses a pass under pressure from Atlanta Hawks Tracy McGrady during the first half at the ATT Center, Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2012. In back is forward Tiago Splitter. Jerry Lara/San Antonio Express-News (San Antonio Express-News)

SPURS — San Antonio Spurs forward Tiago Splitter goes for two against Atlanta Hawks guard Joe Johnson during the first half at the ATT Center, Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2012. Jerry Lara/San Antonio Express-News (San Antonio Express-News)

SPURS — San Antonio Spurs Cory Johnson goes through Atlanta Hawks Kirk Hinrich, (6), and Ivan Johnson, (44), during the first half at the ATT Center, Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2012. Jerry Lara/San Antonio Express-News (San Antonio Express-News)

SPURS — San Antonio Spurs guard Tony Parker drives through Atlanta Hawks guard Willie Green, left, and forward Josh Smith during the second half at the ATT Center, Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2012. The Spurs won 105-83. Parker ended the game with 15 points.Jerry Lara/San Antonio Express-News (San Antonio Express-News)

SPURS — San Antonio Spurs Matt Bonner looks to pass the ball as he drives through Atlanta Hawks guards Joe Johnson, left, and Jeff Teague during the second half at the ATT Center, Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2012. The Spurs won 105-83. Bonner tied with DeJuan Blair for 17 points and the team’s high scorers. Teague had the game high of 20 points. Jerry Lara/San Antonio Express-News (San Antonio Express-News)

SPURS — Atlanta Hawks guard Jeff Teague is fouled by San Antonio Spurs guard Cory Joseph after stealing the ball during the second half at the ATT Center, Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2012. The Spurs won 105-83. Jerry Lara/San Antonio Express-News (San Antonio Express-News)

SPURS — San Antonio Spurs guard Tony Guard drives around Atlanta Hawks guard Jeff Teague during the second half at the ATT Center, Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2012. The Spurs won 105-83. Jerry Lara/San Antonio Express-News (San Antonio Express-News)

SPURS — San Antonio Spurs forward Kawhi Leonard passes out to center DeJuan Blair, left, during the second half against the Atlanta Hawks at the ATT Center, Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2012. The Spurs won 105-83. Jerry Lara/San Antonio Express-News (San Antonio Express-News)

SPURS — San Antonio Spurs Tim Duncan defends against Atlanta Hawks Jeff Teague during the first half at the ATT Center, Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2012. Jerry Lara/San Antonio Express-News (San Antonio Express-News)

SPURS — San Antonio Spurs DeJuan Blair tries to get around Atlanta Hawks Ivan Johnson during the first half at the ATT Center, Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2012. Jerry Lara/San Antonio Express-News (San Antonio Express-News)

SPURS — San Antonio Spurs Kawhi Leonard gets blocked Atlanta Hawks Zaza Pachulia, right, as he was trying to defend Joe Johnson, during the first half at the ATT Center, Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2012. Jerry Lara/San Antonio Express-News (San Antonio Express-News)

SPURS — San Antonio Spurs Danny Green, center, and DeJuan Blair defend against Atlanta Hawks Willie Green during the second half at the ATT Center, Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2012. The Spurs won 105-83. Jerry Lara/San Antonio Express-News (San Antonio Express-News)

SPURS — San Antonio Spurs Head Coach Gregg Popovich talks with official Pat Fraher during the first half against the Atlanta Hawks at the ATT Center, Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2012. Jerry Lara/San Antonio Express-News (San Antonio Express-News)

SPURS — Atlanta Hawks Head Coach Larry Drew disagrees with a call during the second half against the San Antonio Spurs at the ATT Center, Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2012. The Spurs won 105-83. Jerry Lara/San Antonio Express-News (San Antonio Express-News)

Duncan-less Spurs falter at end

By Jeff McDonald

HOUSTON — It cannot be said Gregg Popovich did not know what he was doing.

He knew by sitting All-Star forward Tim Duncan on Saturday, a night after the Spurs suffered their first home defeat of the season, he was inviting a losing streak.

Popovich didn’t care. With an eye cast toward the future more than the present or past, the 35-year-old Duncan got his first night off this season in what became a 105-102 loss at Houston.

“This is his fourth game in five nights, and he probably shouldn’t be playing four games in five nights if I want him at the end of the year,” Popovich said. “So, we bite the bullet.”

In the end, the Spurs very nearly bit the Rockets.

Down to one-third of the Big Three, with Manu Ginobili also out with a broken left hand, Tony Parker and Tiago Splitter almost helped the Spurs pull a victory out of thin air at the Toyota Center.

Doing his best Duncan facsimile, Splitter twisted, spun and finished his way to a career-best 25 points off the ? bench. Parker shook off a scoreless first quarter to record his first double-double of the season (24 points, 13 assists).

The Spurs hung around behind that tandem, taking their first edge of the game on Gary Neal’s 3-pointer with 9:56 to play, and leading by as many as five in the fourth.

Kevin Martin scored 25 points to lead the Rockets, Samuel Dalembert had six of his team’s nine blocked shots, and Kyle Lowry and Goran Dragic threw in big baskets down the stretch to help Houston (9-7) pull out its sixth straight win.

For the Spurs (10-7), it was a second straight loss.

“They made their shots,” said Spurs forward Richard Jefferson, who missed 9 of his 11. “Everybody wants to make it seem like there’s a vast difference from one game to the next. Whoever hits shots at the end of the game usually wins.”

Like Sacramento’s John Salmons and Tyreke Evans, heroes of the Kings’ 88-86 win in San Antonio a night earlier, Lowry and Dragic supplied Houston’s big buckets.

Lowry hit consecutive jumpers while blanketed by Spurs rookie Kawhi Leonard, including a 25-foot rainbow to push Houston’s lead to 99-92 with 3:07 left.

Moments later, Dragic capped a mad-cap scramble with the game’s toughest score.

After Parker answered with a floater, Leonard poked the ball away from Lowry, who saved it long to Dragic near midcourt. Dragic danced along the midcourt line, flirting with a backcourt violation, before salvaging possession.

He scored a 2-foot shotput of a floater as the shot-clock blared.

“That’s the difference in a close ballgame right there,” said Spurs forward Matt Bonner, who drew the start for Duncan and was 5 of 12 from the field for 16 points.

At the end, the Spurs had a chance to force overtime, but Neal’s contested 3-pointer at the buzzer missed.

For the Spurs, it was the third consecutive game decided by three points or less.

Popovich, playing the odds in a compressed, lockout-shortened season, only hopes resting Duncan pays off in the long run. The games are coming “with such rapidity,” Popovich said, that simply managing minutes isn’t enough.

Popovich wants to manage Duncan’s games-played as well.

That’s why, even after Duncan sat all but 5.5 seconds of the fourth quarter against Sacramento, he was inactive in Houston. Since he didn’t bother to bring a sport coat, Duncan wasn’t even on the bench Saturday.

Duncan should be extra well-rested for the Spurs’ next game, in New Orleans on Monday,

“You can probably guess Tim’s not the happiest camper in the world,” Popovich said.

Still, Popovich stuck to his guns, and stuck to a decision made long before the Spurs’ charter touched down in Houston. He would be swayed neither by his captain, nor by the threat of a near-certain losing streak.

jmcdonald@express-news.net

– Associated Press photos

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Rockets 105, Spurs 102 – Jan. 21, 2012

San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich gestures to his players in the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Houston Rockets Saturday, Jan. 21, 2012, in Houston. (AP Photo/Pat Sullivan) (AP)

San Antonio Spurs’ DeJuan Blair (45) and Houston Rockets’ Samuel Dalembert, right, battle for the ball in the first half of an NBA basketball game Saturday, Jan. 21, 2012, in Houston. (AP Photo/Pat Sullivan) (AP)

Houston Rockets’ Chandler Parsons (25) passes the ball over San Antonio Spurs’ Richard Jefferson (24) in the first half of an NBA basketball game Saturday, Jan. 21, 2012, in Houston. (AP Photo/Pat Sullivan) (AP)

San Antonio Spurs’ DeJuan Blair (45) bowls over Houston Rockets’ Patrick Patterson (54) in the first half of an NBA basketball game Saturday, Jan. 21, 2012, in Houston. Blair was called for an offensive foul on the play. (AP Photo/Pat Sullivan) (AP)

Houston Rockets’ Patrick Patterson, center, is double-teamed by San Antonio Spurs Gary Neal (14) and Richard Jefferson (24) in the first half of an NBA basketball game Saturday, Jan. 21, 2012, in Houston. (AP Photo/Pat Sullivan) (AP)

San Antonio Spurs’ Richard Jefferson chews on his shirt in the final minutes of an NBA basketball game against the Houston Rockets Saturday, Jan. 21, 2012, in Houston. The Rockets won 105-102. (AP Photo/Pat Sullivan) (AP)

San Antonio Spurs’ Tony Parker (9) passes the ball under pressure from Houston Rockets’ Samuel Dalembert (21) in the second half of an NBA basketball game Saturday, Jan. 21, 2012, in Houston. The Rockets won 105-102. (AP Photo/Pat Sullivan) (AP)

Houston Rockets’ Patrick Patterson (54) and San Antonio Spurs’ Richard Jefferson (24) go after a loose ball in the second half of an NBA basketball game Saturday, Jan. 21, 2012, in Houston. The Rockets won 105-102. (AP Photo/Pat Sullivan) (AP)

Houston Rockets Courtney Lee (5) and Jordan Hill (27) watch the final seconds of an NBA basketball game against the San Antonio Spurs Saturday, Jan. 21, 2012, in Houston. The Rockets won 105-102. (AP Photo/Pat Sullivan) (AP)

Houston Rockets coach Kevin McHale questions a call in the first half of an NBA basketball game against the San Antonio Spurs Saturday, Jan. 21, 2012, in Houston. The Rockets won 105-102. (AP Photo/Pat Sullivan) (AP)

Houston Rockets’ Patrick Patterson (54) and San Antonio Spurs’ Richard Jefferson (24) go after a loose ball in the second half of an NBA basketball game, Saturday, Jan. 21, 2012, in Houston. The Rockets won 105-102. (AP Photo/Pat Sullivan) (AP)

San Antonio Spurs’ Kawhi Leonard (2) tries to maintain control of the ball as Houston Rockets’ Kevin Martin, left, pursues during the second half of an NBA basketball game, Saturday, Jan. 21, 2012, in Houston. The Rockets won 105-102. (AP Photo/Pat Sullivan) (AP)

San Antonio Spurs’ Tony Parker (9) shoots over Houston Rockets’ Courtney Lee (5) in the first half of an NBA basketball game Saturday, Jan. 21, 2012, in Houston. (AP Photo/Pat Sullivan) (AP)