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Big night from Big Three stops Pacers

By Jeff McDonald

George Hill walked into the ATT Center again Saturday night and noticed something peculiar about the gym he used to call home.

The view from the visiting locker room looks similar to the view from the home digs.

“Same old team,” Hill said. “Nothing has changed.”

Speaking in the hours before his former team, the Spurs, reeled off a 112-103 victory over his new team, Indiana, Hill meant his comments as a compliment.

He was half right. And he was half wrong.

The Spurs have changed in undeniable ways since Hill, a player coach Gregg Popovich once dubbed his favorite, was traded to the Pacers in June. Rookie Kawhi Leonard has taken Hill’s place on the roster and Patrick Mills his stall in the locker room, and the Spurs have loaded up for the stretch run by adding Stephen Jackson and Boris Diaw.

At their core, however, the Spurs are what they’ve been since long before Hill arrived.

For nine-plus seasons and three titles, the Spurs have been Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili. Saturday, they were again — even in throwback Dallas Chaparrals uniforms and knee-high socks that were an homage to the ABA.

Duncan recorded 23 points and 11 rebounds, and Parker and Ginobili each added 18 points and five assists as the longest-tenured trio in the NBA pushed the Spurs (36-14) to a seventh straight win.

“Manu, Tim and Tony led the way,” Popovich said. “Those three were all good at the same time.”

How’s this for never changing? Since Ginobili arrived in 2002 to complete the Big Three, the Spurs have not lost a home game to Indiana.

Hill would be pleased to find Popovich hasn’t changed much either. Before the game, Popovich spent two minutes waxing sentimental about Hill’s three seasons with the Spurs and his place in this community.

“He’s just an incredible human being,” Popovich concluded.

Pause.

“But I traded his ass.”

Hill had nine points, seven rebounds and six assists, but his old team used a 15-1 run in a 39-point second quarter to build a 22-point lead.

For the Spurs, a familiar triumvirate cleared the path. It was the third consecutive game Duncan, Parker and Ginobili had reached double figures together. When that trio combines for at least 50 points, the Spurs are 6-0 this season.

When rallying Indiana climbed within eight multiple times in the final five minutes, Duncan, Parker and Ginobili scored to nudge the lead back to double-digits.

“They fought their way back,” Duncan said of the Pacers (30-21). “I thought we finished well. We made some stops there at the end.”

The Spurs won despite being outshot 53.2 percent to 50 percent. They made 27 of 33 free throws — with Duncan hitting 9 of 9 — and outrebounded the NBA’s second-best rebounding team 40-32, including 10 offensive boards.

The Spurs survived a pair of 18-point nights from Indiana’s Danny Granger and Paul George, as well as a 15-point, four-block line from Roy Hibbert, using a bench that outscored the Pacers’ reserves 51-29.

When Indiana coach Frank Vogel sought to explain Saturday’s outcome, however, he pointed to the usual suspects.

“Anytime you have Gregg Popovich, Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili and Tim Duncan, that foursome is capable of doing anything,” Vogel said.

Anything?

“They have a championship core,” Vogel said. “They have a legitimate shot of winning it all.”

It seems the more things change, the more they stay the same. From the other side of the ATT Center, with a different point of view, Hill likely noticed as much.

jmcdonald@express-news.net
Twitter: @J_McDonald_SAEN

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Spurs 112, Pacers 103: March 31, 2012

Spurs’ Tim Duncan (21) drives to the basket against the Indiana Pacers’ Roy Hibbert (55) in the first half at the ATT Center on Saturday, Mar. 31, 2012. Kin Man Hui/Express-News. (San Antonio Express-News)

Spurs’ Manu Ginobili (20) attempts a fade away shot against the Indiana Pacers’ Roy Hibbert (55) in the first half at the ATT Center on Saturday, Mar. 31, 2012. Kin Man Hui/Express-News. (San Antonio Express-News)

Spurs’ Stephen Jackson (03) makes a pass over Indiana Pacers’ Leandro Barbosa (28) in the first half at the ATT Center on Saturday, Mar. 31, 2012. Kin Man Hui/Express-News. (San Antonio Express-News)

Spurs’ Tony Parker (09) goes up for a shot against the Indiana Pacers’ George Hill (03) in the first half at the ATT Center on Saturday, Mar. 31, 2012. Kin Man Hui/Express-News. (San Antonio Express-News)

Former Spur and current Indiana Pacers guard George Hill (03) enters the game against Spurs’ Tony Parker (09) and Danny Green (04) in the first half at the ATT Center on Saturday, Mar. 31, 2012. Kin Man Hui/Express-News. (San Antonio Express-News)

Spurs’ Manu Ginobili (20) drives around the basket looking to make a pass against the Indiana Pacers’ David West (21) in the first half at the ATT Center on Saturday, Mar. 31, 2012. Kin Man Hui/Express-News. (San Antonio Express-News)

Spurs’ Tim Duncan (21) shoots over the Indiana Pacers’ Leandro Barbosa (28) in the first half at the ATT Center on Saturday, Mar. 31, 2012. Kin Man Hui/Express-News. (San Antonio Express-News)

Spurs’ Tiago Splitter (22) reaches high to defend a shot against the Indiana Pacers’ Leandro Barbosa (28) in the first half at the ATT Center on Saturday, Mar. 31, 2012. Kin Man Hui/Express-News. (San Antonio Express-News)

Spurs’ Manu Ginobili (20) drives to the basket against the Indiana Pacers’ Roy Hibbert (55) in the second half at the ATT Center on Saturday, Mar. 31, 2012. Spurs defeated the Pacers, 112-103. Kin Man Hui/Express-News. (San Antonio Express-News)

Spurs’ Tony Parker (09) goes the basket against the Indiana Pacers’ David West (21) in the second half at the ATT Center on Saturday, Mar. 31, 2012. Spurs defeated the Pacers, 112-103. Kin Man Hui/Express-News. (San Antonio Express-News)

Spurs’ Tim Duncan (21) gets fouled as he attempts a shot against the Indiana Pacers’ Roy Hibbert (55) in the second half at the ATT Center on Saturday, Mar. 31, 2012. Spurs defeated the Pacers, 112-103. Kin Man Hui/Express-News. (San Antonio Express-News)

Spurs’ Tim Duncan (21) takes a moment to chat with former teammate, current Indiana Pacer George Hill (03) at the end of their game at the ATT Center on Saturday, Mar. 31, 2012. Spurs defeated the Pacers, 112-103. Kin Man Hui/Express-News. (San Antonio Express-News)

Spurs’ Manu Ginobili (20) gets a hug from former teammate, current Indiana Pacer George Hill (03) at the end of their game at the ATT Center on Saturday, Mar. 31, 2012. Spurs defeated the Pacers, 112-103. Kin Man Hui/Express-News. (San Antonio Express-News)

Spurs coach Gregg Popovich (right) chats with Tony Parker (09) during a timeout in a game against the Indiana Pacers at the ATT Center on Saturday, Mar. 31, 2012. Kin Man Hui/Express-News. (San Antonio Express-News)

Spurs’ Danny Green (04) takes a shot against the Indiana Pacers’ Paul George (24) in the second half at the ATT Center on Saturday, Mar. 31, 2012. Spurs defeated the Pacers, 112-103. Kin Man Hui/Express-News. (San Antonio Express-News)

Spurs’ Kawhi Leonard (02) takes a shot against the Indiana Pacers’ Darren Collison (02) in the second half at the ATT Center on Saturday, Mar. 31, 2012. Spurs defeated the Pacers, 112-103. Kin Man Hui/Express-News. (San Antonio Express-News)

Spurs’ Stephen Jackson (03) attempts a shot against the Indiana Pacers’ Paul George (24) in the second half at the ATT Center on Saturday, Mar. 31, 2012. Spurs defeated the Pacers, 112-103. Kin Man Hui/Express-News. (San Antonio Express-News)

Spurs’ Manu Ginobili (20) discusses the game with teammate Boris Diaw (33) while seated on the bench with Tim Duncan (21) during their game against the Indiana Pacers at the ATT Center on Saturday, Mar. 31, 2012. Spurs defeated the Pacers, 112-103. Kin Man Hui/Express-News. (San Antonio Express-News)

A Spurs Silverdancer performs before the start of the Spurs game against the Indiana Pacers at the ATT Center on Saturday, Mar. 31, 2012. Kin Man Hui/Express-News. (San Antonio Express-News)

Spurs’ Tiago Splitter (22) lays up the ball against the Indiana Pacers’ Danny Granger (33) in the second half at the ATT Center on Saturday, Mar. 31, 2012. Spurs defeated the Pacers, 112-103. Kin Man Hui/Express-News. (San Antonio Express-News)

Game rewind: Blair torments inexperienced Hornets’ inside players

With New Orleans’ top three centers and a starting power forward missing Saturday night, DeJuan Blair knew he would have a chance to take advantage of the depleted Hornets’ interior players.

Chris Kaman, Jason Smith, Emeka Okafor and Trevor Ariza weren’t in uniform for the Hornets. It gave Blair a chance to exert his will early against New Orleans.

Blair muscled for 23 points and seven rebounds, including 12 in the first quarter, to lead the Spurs’ gritty 89-86 victory over the Hornets.

With Gustavo Ayon and Lance Thomas forced into the starting lineup, Blair wanted to target the seldom-used rookies.

“That’s got to be the mindset,” Blair told FOX Sports Southwest. “Once they don’t have any tall, athletic big men, I’ve got to go try to take advantage of it. I’m pretty good when I start off good.”

That was definitely the case Saturday night when Blair hit five of his first six shots and produced 16 points in the first half. He slowed down a little after the break but still was a key reason the Spurs were able to win their second game in two nights.

“That’s my goal every game to spark us up and start going,” Blair said. “That’s what I’m trying to be is the energy guy for the whole group. Today I did a good job of it.”

It wasn’t necessarily an artistic success, but the Spurs still had enough to notch the tough victory. Here are some of the highlights.

The game, simply stated: The Spurs overcame fatigue and cold shooting to claim a grinding victory where trailed by a point twice in the last two minutes before overcoming the team with the Western Conference’s worst record.

Where the game was won: After Marco Belinelli boosted the Hornets their first lead of the fourth quarter at 84-83 on a jumper with 2:07 left, Tim Duncan hit two foul shots to enable the Spurs to reclaim the lead. Belinelli’s 23-foot jumper pushed the Hornets into the lead again, but Duncan’s tip with 1:19 left gave the Spurs the lead for good at 87-86. Danny Green’s 20-foot jumper with 41.8 seconds extended the lead to three. The Spurs then held on as Jarrett Jack had a turnover and missed a layup on successive possessions and Belinelli’s game-tying 3-pointer at the buzzer was short.

Getting close: Kawhi Leonard’s layup gave the Spurs an 83-78 lead with 4:30 left. But New Orleans charged back, scoring six straight points on a layup by Greivis Vasquez, two foul shots by Carl Landry and Belinelli’s hoop that gave them an 84-83 lead.

Tight throughout: Three quick baskets by Blair boosted the Spurs to a 10-4 lead with 8:43 left in the first quarter. After that.neither team had a lead of more than five points.

Player of the game I: Despite his two late mistakes, Jack was the primary weapon for the Hornets with a game-high 27points, seven rebounds and five assists.

Player of the game II: Blair got the Spurs going and finished with a team-high 23 points, along with seven rebounds and two steals that enabled him to share the team lead.

Player of the game III: Despite scoring only two points in the first half, Tim Duncan had a big finish to produce 13 points, seven rebounds and three blocks. He provided points twice in the final two minutes that enabled the Spurs to reclaim the lead, including the tip-in that gave the Spurs the lead for good with 1:14 left.

Most unsung: Leonard struggled with a tough 3-for-12 shooting night, but still provided big defense all night and finished with eight points and seven rebounds.

Attendance: The Hornets have struggled at the gate this season and there appeared to be numerous empty seats in the lower bowl of the New Orleans Arena. The game attracted an announced crowd of 16,118, which was nearly 4,000 more than the last time San Antonio visited on Jan. 23 and ranked as one of their top six crowds of the season,

Did you notice I: Actor Samuel L. Jackson is filming a movie in the New Orleans area and has become a regular for Hornets games while there. But unlike like before Thursday’s visit by Chris Paul and the Los Angeles Clippers, Jackson didn’t introduce the starting lineup Saturday night.

Did you notice II: When the Spurs put the game away in the fourth quarter, they repeatedly pounded the ball inside with five of their six baskets coming inside the paint. The only basket that didn’t was their last one – a 20-footer by Green that sealed the victory.

Stat of the game I: The Spurs claimed their sixth victory in their last seven games and 11th victory in their last 14 road games.

Stat of the game II: Tony Parker finished with 12 points and 10 assists, despite scoring only two points in the first half. It was his ninth double-double of the season, with eight of them coming on the road.

Stat of the game III: The Spurs won despite shooting only 40 percent from the field, lowest since hitting 38.1 percent in the loss at Portland on Feb. 21. It marked the sixth time this season the Spurs have shot 40 percent or less. They are 4-2 in those games.

Stat of the game IV: The Spurs matched their season low with two 3-pointers and hit a season-low 10.5 percent from the field. They have hit less than 30 percent of their 3-pointers only seven times. Saturday’s struggling was their lowest since shooting 21.1 percent against New Orleans on Feb. 2.

Stat of the game V: Spurs’ opponents have struggled shooting in the last two games. Dallas was limited to 31 percent shooting in the second half on Friday. New Orleans hit 38.5 percent in the second half, including 27.8 percent in the fourth quarter.

Stat of the game VI: The Spurs rang up a 52-42 edge in paint points. Since a loss against Denver on March 4, the Spurs have reached at least 50 paint points in seven of their last nine games.

Stat of the game VII: New Orleans employed its 17th different starting lineup of the season.

Stat of the game VIII: Jack scored a game-high 27 points, but produced only two in the fourth quarter and missed his last five shots.

Weird stat of the night I: San Antonio’s biggest lead was six points and New Orleans’ biggest advantage was five points. That 11-point margin made it the closest game of the season for the Spurs in terms of margin of points.

Weird stat of the night II: The Spurs hit their first 15 foul shots in the game before Danny Green missed the last two foul shots with 2.3 seconds left in the game

Weird stat of the night III: Parker had seven assists before he attempted his first field goal of the game.

Weird stat of the night IV: The tight game featured 16 lead changes and 14 ties. The Spurs were ahead by one at the end of the first quarter, the Hornets had a one-point advantage at halftime and the Spurs led by one again after three quarters.

Not a good sign: The Spurs’ normally potent 3-point shooting struggled through a historically bad night as they hit a season-worst 10.5 percent and missed their final 13 3-pointers.

Best plus/minus scores: Duncan and Matt Bonner were plus-7 and Danny Green and Justin Dentmon was plus-4.

Worst plus/minus scores: Blair was minus-5, Leonard was minus-2 and Parker was minus-2.

Quote of the game: “I thought New Orleans for most of the game was more efficient than we were and executed better than we did. So we just had to hang in there and keep plugging. That’s probably the best thing we did,” Popovich, to reporters after the game on the Spurs’ gritty efforts to claim the victory.

How the schedule stacks up: The Spurs will finish its first back-to-back-to-back with a home game Sunday against Philadelphia. After taking Monday off, they’ll have another back-to-back with games Tuesday in Phoenix and Wednesday in Sacramento. The Hornets will start a West Coast swing with games Monday at the Los Angeles Clippers, Wednesday at Golden State and Thursday at Portland.

Injuries: Manu Ginobili (rest) and Tiago Splitter (mid-back spasm) remained in San Antonio. Gary Neal (mid-foot sprain) did not play. New Orleans played without C Chris Kaman (illness), F Trevor Ariza (sore right ankle), C Emeka Okafor (sore right knee) and F-C Jason Smith (league suspension).

Leonard recalls short time with Pacers

By Jeff McDonald

It doesn’t take Kawhi Leonard long to recount the entirety of his career as an Indiana Pacer.

NBA commissioner David Stern announced him as the 15th pick in the June draft. Someone handed Leonard a Pacers ball cap as he walked up on stage at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J. He shook the commissioner’s hand. He walked off stage.

“And then a media person in the back told me I had been traded,” Leonard said.

Leonard was the property of the Pacers for all of five minutes before being informed he’d been swapped to the Spurs in a pre-arranged deal for guard George Hill.

The Spurs rookie small forward faces his, ahem, former team for the first time tonight when the Pacers visit the ATT Center.

It’s not as if Leonard will be out for revenge against the team that traded him. He’s enjoying life as a starting member of a Spurs team boasting the Western Conference’s second-best record.

He recalls being neither stunned nor daunted by the trade.

“It still felt good,” Leonard said. “I got drafted that day. I was happy with whatever team wanted me.”

Acquired for his skills as a defender and rebounder, Leonard is averaging 8.3 points, an offensive output that has surprised coach Gregg Popovich. In March, the 6-foot-7 Leonard is contributing 11.6 points, 6.8 rebounds and 1.6 steals per game.

“He’s been great all year long,” Tim Duncan said. “Even with Pop getting on him at times, he responds the right way. That’s big for a rook.

“The steals, the one-man fast breaks, all those things — they’re great for us. He adds a new dimension to our team.”

Nash missing Diaw: After obtaining a buyout from Charlotte a little more than a week ago, recently acquired forward Boris Diaw admits he talked to his old friend, Steve Nash, about the possibility of reuniting in Phoenix.

But Diaw wouldn’t go so far as to call it a recruiting pitch.

“He’s a friend, so I talk to him every now and then,” said Diaw, who played for Phoenix from 2005 to 2008. “We were talking about it, when people knew I was on the verge of being bought out by Charlotte. I got some interest from a few teams.”

According to a report in the New York Post, citing an unidentified source, Nash is upset Suns management didn’t do more to lure Diaw back to Phoenix.

Diaw, 29, instead signed with the Spurs, where has averaged 2.4 points, 3.6 rebounds, two assists and 1.4 steals in five games.

False Aussie advertising: Patrick Mills, the Australian point guard who joined the Spurs over the weekend, is sheepish to admit it.

He has indeed been to Outback Steakhouse. What’s more, he kind of liked it.

“I go there for the cheesy fries,” Mills said.

Yes, it’s a little like Yao Ming frequenting Panda Express. Or Eduardo Najera noshing at Taco Bell.

Mills is quick to point out to American diners that Outback probably isn’t the best representative of his home country’s cuisine.

“I might be the most Australian thing in there,” Mills said

jmcdonald@express-news.net
Twitter: @JMcDonald_SAEN