Game rewind: Just like old times as TD torments Suns

The beat went on again Sunday at the ATT Center as the Spurs picked up another victory.

San Antonio ran its home winning streak starting the season to nine games with a 102-91 victory over Phoenix.

It was like the old games between the two bitter rivals in one sense. Tim Duncan contiunued a career trend as he ripped the Suns’ leaky defense like so many times before.

Amar’e Stoudemire and Mike D’Antoni might be long gone, but Duncan picked up against Marcin Gortat just like the good ol’ days against Planet Orange with 24 points and 11 rebounds in the Spurs’ victory.

Duncan notched his 49th career game against the Suns with at least 20 points and 10 rebounds in the victory, including playoff games.

Phoenix has been victimized for Duncan’s biggest games more often than any team in those games.

The Lakers are next with 40 of Duncan’s 20-10 games, followed by 39 against Dallas and 28 against Sacramento and Seattle/Oklahoma City.

Here are the highlights of Sunday’s victory for the Spurs. 

Game analysis: The Spurs pounded the ballrelentlessly inside to take early control. The Suns’ weak interior defense didn’t have an answer early as the Spurs rang up 12 of their first 16 points in the paint. DeJuan Blair (10 points in the first quarter) and Duncan (eight points, four rebounds) dominated inside as the Spurs took control and never trailed after the opening 2 1/2 minutes.

Where the game was won: Phoenix closed to 92-87 on  Gortat’s layup with 5:29 left. On the ensuing possession, the Spurs bled the clock before Duncan hit a clutch 15-foot turnaround over Channing Frye as the clock expired. It started San Antonio’s 10-4 spurt to close the game out.

And don’t forget about this, either: Duncan made history with his final basket of the first half. His 18-footer with 1:29 left in the second quarter boosted him past Gary Payton for 26th place on the NBA’s career scoring list. Duncan’s season-high 24-point effort gave him 21,829 points. Next up is Clyde Drexler in 25th place with 22,195 points.

Player of the game I: Duncan was the Spurs’ primary scoring option with 24 points, but he also grabbed a team-high 11 rebounds and dished off four assists in a vintage all-around performance that was his first 20-10 effort since late last season.  

Player of the game II:  Tony Parker ran the offense efficiently and went for 17 points and nine assists. In his last four games, Parker is averaging 21.8 points and 8.5 assists per game.  

Player of the game III: Gortat was the prime beneficiary of Steve Nash’s return to the Suns’ lineup. Gortat produced season-high totals of 24 points and 15 rebounds coming at the end of a seemingly endless run of pick-and-rolls with Nash.

Most unsung: Matt Bonner had struggled offensively and defensively in a recent slump. He was active and helped the team with a strong all-around game Sunday, hitting for eight points,  five rebounds, three assists and was plus-9.

Did you notice: The Spurs widened their lead in the second quarter when Phoenix hit only 26.1 percent from the field. Other than Gortat, the rest of the Suns’ team clanked through a 2-for-16 shooting effort in the quarter.

Did you notice II: Popovich didn’t hesitate to insert rookie point guard Cory Joseph for playing time early in the fourth quarter. That move effectively bridged the gap until Parker could return. And when Parker was inserted in the lineup, he contributed four points and three assists to help seal the victory.

Stat of the game: Duncan’s throwback scoring and rebounding helped subdue the Suns. Including playoffs, it was his 49th career 20-10 game in 81 career games against Phoenix.

Stat of the game II: After struggling through his worst career start after 10 games, Duncan has picked up his performance in his last four games. During that period, the Spurs’ captain has averaged 17.0 points, 9.8 rebounds and shot 58 percent from the field.

Stat of the game III: Nash provided 20 points and 10 assists in the Suns’ loss to the Spurs.  Including Sunday’s loss, Nash’s career record against the Spurs including the playoffs is 36-49, a .424 winning percentage.

Weird stat of the game: Richard Jefferson contributed four assists on the Spurs’ first nine baskets. During that same period, Nash had none. Jefferson ended up with five assists — tied for second most in his Spurs’ career.

Quote of the game: “I always think he has ‘it,’ even on the nights he doesn’t have it. I think it’s amazing how he gets all of those rebounds, blocks and he’s just good on defense. He’s always doing a lot of things that probably never show up in the stat sheet,” Jefferson on Duncan’s importance to the team.

How the schedule stacks up: The Spurs take tomorrow off before a key road back-to-back with games Tuesday at Miami and Wednesday at Orlando before returning home Friday night against Sacramento. The Suns started a five-game, seven-night road trip Sunday while Disney on Ice’s Toy Story 3 takes over the US Airways Center. Their upcoming schedule includes games Tuesday at Chicago, Wednesday at New York, Friday at Boston and Jan. 23 at Dallas. 

Injuries: Manu Ginobili missed his eighth game after undergoing surgery for a fractured fifth left metacarpal.  T.J. Ford missed his third game with a torn left hamstring sustained Tuesday night in Milwaukee. Rookie forward Malcolm Thomas missed the game with gastroenteritis. Guard Gary Neal left the game with 7:39 remaining in the second quarter after suffering a contusion of the right quadriceps. He did not return and his availability for Tuesday’s game in Miami is undetermined. And Bonner left the game after banging knees with Phoenix forward Markieff Morris with 10:07 left in the fourth quarter. Bonner told Mike Monroe his bruised right knee wasn’t serious and he should be available for Tuesday’s game. Nash (right quad contusion) and Grant Hill (right quad tendon strain) both played after missing the Suns’ loss Friday night in New Jersey.

Spurs’ defense a major work in progress

By Jeff McDonald
jmcdonald@express-news.net

If it’s January, Spurs coach Gregg Popovich must be complaining about his defense.

Earlier this week, Popovich raised eyebrows after a 106-103 loss in Milwaukee by labeling his current Spurs crop “the worst defensive team we’ve ever had.”

It is a theme he continued to hammer when the Spurs returned home to face Houston on Wednesday, noting the Spurs’ defensive ranks — 26th in field-goal percentage defense, 23rd in opponents’ points per game.

“That just won’t get anything done,” Popovich said. “That will portend a very mediocre basketball season for the San Antonio Spurs.”

Whether the Spurs finally heeded Popovich’s message — or perhaps the second night of a back-to-back got to their opponents — Wednesday’s 101-95 overtime win over the Rockets seemed to represent a modest step forward on the defensive front.

After allowing Houston to shoot 65 percent (13 of 20) in the first quarter — “It looked like the same defense from Milwaukee,” Popovich said — the Spurs held the Rockets to 28-of-76 shooting the rest of the way, including 2 for 10 in OT.

Houston finished the game at 42.7 percent, breaking a string of three straight opponents to top 50 percent against the Spurs. The Rockets made just 3 of 21 3-pointers.

Though obviously pleased with the performance, Popovich and team captain Tim Duncan both said they’d like to see more of the same before declaring the Spurs’ defensive woes cured.

“We’ve got a lot of work to do,” Duncan said. “We’ve got a long ways to go to get to where we believe the Spurs’ defense should be.”

All-Star crickets: No Spurs ranked among the top six of their respective positions in the first release of All-Star balloting returns Thursday, a sign that perhaps the league is prepared to stage its first midseason classic in 16 years without a San Antonio representative.

Tim Duncan was the Spurs’ leading vote-getter, placing seventh among Western Conference forwards. Out with a broken left hand, Manu Ginobili is running eighth among West guards, while Tony Parker is not in the top 10.

The last time the NBA played an All-Star Game without a member of the Spurs was 1997, a year in which David Robinson was injured and Duncan was a senior at Wake Forest.

Duncan has played in 13 consecutive All-Star games, starting the past 12.

Ready to help: Spurs rookie point guard Cory Joseph spent four games in the Development League before T.J. Ford went down with a torn hamstring. Recalled before Wednesday’s game, Joseph believes his short time in Austin has him better prepared to contribute to the NBA club.

“(The Toros) run the same stuff, and getting that game experience helped me a lot, really helped my confidence,” Joseph said.

The 20-year-old Joseph averaged 11.3 points in his stint with the Toros, shooting less than 28 percent (10 for 36). Gary Neal will serve as Parker’s primary backup for as long as Ford is out, with Joseph on hand for use in emergency situations.

Opening night extra special for Spurs’ Bonner

By Jeff McDonald
jmcdonald@express-news.net

When the Spurs take the ATT Center floor tonight for their first game that counts since April 27, the loudest cheers are sure to be reserved for the team’s All-Star trio of Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili.

The savvy fan, meanwhile, might reserve a cheer or two for Matt Bonner.

A vice president of the National Basketball Players Association, Bonner was a member of the negotiating committee that — after a five-month slog — was finally able to broker a new collective bargaining agreement with NBA owners that salvaged at least a 66-game season.

“Pretty much up until the deal happened, it was looking like we might not even have a season,” Bonner said. “I’m really happy everything worked out.”

For Bonner, tonight makes the long hours spent in a sport coat and a boardroom worth it.

An optimist by nature, Bonner never stopped believing a deal was possible. Even while being let down almost daily from July 1 until Nov. 26, when lawyers negotiating on behalf of the league and the players announced a deal had been reached.

Bonner admits there were dark days when even he thought opening night might never happen.

“Every time we met with the owners, I went in thinking we were going to get a deal,” Bonner said. “Every time up until it happened, that was the mindset, just to be let down and frustrated.”

In the end, the two sides forged an agreement that satisfied neither completely, but was enough to make NBA basketball possible.

“Everybody thinks they got the wrong end of the deal,” Tim Duncan said. “I think we gave up a lot, but we’re back on the floor, so we’re happy.”

STILL A SPUR: Calling the team’s attempts to replace him “a dead issue,” Richard Jefferson says he is eager to move past a tumultuous offseason.

Earlier this month, the Spurs seriously considered waiving the 31-year-old small forward under the league’s one-time amnesty provision, a move that would have gotten them below the luxury tax line.

In the end, the team opted to keep Jefferson for at least one more season. He is expected to make his third opening-night start tonight.

“I’ve said my piece, so there’s really nothing to revisit about it,” Jefferson said. “If something happens in the future, something happens in the future.”

JOSEPH IN UNIFORM: When rookie point guard Cory Joseph missed the first nine days of training camp tending to immigration issues in his native Canada, it seemed certain he would begin his pro career with the Spurs’ Development League affiliate in Austin.

Yet when the Spurs open the regular-season tonight, Joseph will not only be present in San Antonio — he will be in uniform.

With only 13 players on the roster, and one of them (Gary Neal) unavailable after an appendectomy, Joseph will stick around to be a warm body on Gregg Popovich’s bench.

Has he been in camp long enough to contribute?

“We’re going to have to make it enough time,” said Joseph, who will back up Tony Parker and T.J. Ford.