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Ginobili’s return is a cruise

By Jeff McDonald

NEWARK, N.J. — Gregg Popovich worried about Manu Ginobili, because this is what Popovich does.

Specifically on Saturday, the Spurs coach was worried that Ginobili, back on the floor after a 22-game absence with a broken left hand, might spontaneously combust.

“It will be fun to see him, but there’s no telling what might go on,” Popovich said before what became an easy-does-it 103-89 victory over New Jersey. “He hasn’t played in so long. He might burst the first time he touches the ball.”

Ginobili didn’t explode. But late in the second quarter at the Prudential Center, he showed why Popovich might prefer to encase his star guard in bubble wrap until May.

Closing out hard on the Nets’ Anthony Morrow on a corner 3-pointer at the halftime horn, Ginobili went hurtling into the first row of seats.

Morrow missed, but Ginobili was so upset with himself for misreading the play, he whacked himself in the head with his surgically repaired hand.

Gary Neal scored 18 points to lead a list of six players in double figures for the Spurs, who built a 21-point lead in the fourth quarter and cruised to their seventh consecutive victory and third in a row to open the rodeo trip.

The best news the Spurs (19-9) received Saturday, however: The fifth metacarpal in Ginobili’s left hand is again strong enough to survive being attached to him.

“I felt good,” Ginobili reported after logging 17 minutes off the bench in his first action since Jan. 2. “I wasn’t going to do too many things, first because I can’t. I’m not ready. I need to slowly start getting back into basketball shape.”

Ginobili made his return at the 7:06 mark of the first quarter. Moments later, he logged his first points in 39 days when he scooped up a loose ball and scrambled the length of the floor for a layup.

The 34-year-old guard finished with eight points on 4-of-7 shooting and four assists, most of them working the pick-and-roll with DeJuan Blair and Tiago Splitter. He missed both his 3-point tries.

“The legs for the threes aren’t going to be there yet, but he got a good start,” Popovich said. “Scored a little bit, got a few assists, got a good rhythm. I thought he drove it pretty well, passed it pretty well. It was good to see.”

To Ginobili’s teammates, who went 15-7 without him, just getting the Argentine playmaker on the floor Saturday was cause enough for optimism.

“Just seeing him in uniform was great,” said point guard Tony Parker, who had 10 of his 12 points in the first half.

Even in the funky red, white and blue Dallas Chaparrals uniforms the Spurs donned Saturday as part of a salute to the ABA.

In truth, Ginobili was worried Saturday, too. Not for his own safety, but for what his return might do to his team’s winning streak.

New Jersey looked like a trap game to him, and he didn’t want to be the reason the Spurs fell for it. He needn’t have been concerned.

A balanced scoring attack combined with another sturdy defensive night helped the Spurs put New Jersey (8-21) away early, despite 27 points and eight assists from Deron Williams.

Spurs forward Tim Duncan had 13 points and 10 rebounds for his fourth straight double-double, while Blair (11), Danny Green (10) and Splitter (10) also scored in double-digits.

In the end, the night was about a reserve guard whose numbers were statistically inconsequential to Saturday’s win, but whose mere presence gave the Spurs reason for hope.

Ginobili returned to the Spurs a bit more bionic than before. He has six screws in his shooting hand now, an addition someone joked might cause him problems at airport metal detectors.

“So far, so good,” Ginobili said.

One game into Ginobili’s comeback, the Spurs will take it.

jmcdonald@express-news.net

– Associated Press photos

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Spurs 103, Nets 89: Feb. 11, 2012

New Jersey Nets’ Kris Humphries (43) blocks a shot by San Antonio Spurs’ DeJuan Blair (45) in the first half of an NBA basketball game in Newark, N.J., Saturday, Feb. 11, 2012. (AP Photo/Rich Schultz) (AP)

San Antonio Spurs’ Tony Parker (9), of France, reaches for a loose ball in front of New Jersey Nets’ Sundiata Gaines (1) during an NBA basketball game in Newark, N.J., Saturday, Feb. 11, 2012. (AP Photo/Rich Schultz) (AP)

New Jersey Nets’ MarShon Brooks (9) shoots a layup against the San Antonio Spurs in the first half of an NBA basketball game in Newark, N.J., Saturday, Feb. 11, 2012. (AP Photo/Rich Schultz) (AP)

San Antonio Spurs’ Danny Green (4) makes a layup against the New Jersey Nets during an NBA basketball game in Newark, N.J., Saturday, Feb. 11, 2012. (AP Photo/Rich Schultz) (AP)

New Jersey Nets’ MarShon Brooks (9) shoots between San Antonio Spurs’ DeJuan Blair, left, and Kawhi Leonard (2) during an NBA basketball game in Newark, N.J., Saturday, Feb. 11, 2012. (AP Photo/Rich Schultz) (AP)

New Jersey Nets’ Sundiata Gaines (1) loses control of the ball under pressure from San Antonio Spurs’ Tim Duncan (21) and DeJuan Blair (45) during an NBA basketball game in Newark, N.J., Saturday, Feb. 11, 2012. The Spurs won 103-89. (AP Photo/Rich Schultz) (AP)

San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich talks with official Marat Kobut in the first half against the New Jersey Nets during an NBA basketball game in Newark, N.J., Saturday, Feb. 11, 2012. The Spurs won 103-89. (AP Photo/Rich Schultz) (AP)

New Jersey Nets’ Kris Humphries (43) fights for a rebound with San Antonio Spurs’ Tiago Splitter (22), of Brazil, and Kawhi Leonard (2) in the first half of an NBA basketball game in Newark, N.J., Saturday, Feb. 11, 2012. The Spurs won 103-89. (AP Photo/Rich Schultz) (AP)

New Jersey Nets’ Sundiata Gaines (1) shoots as San Antonio Spurs’ Tiago Splitter (22), of Brazil, defends during an NBA basketball game in Newark, N.J., Saturday, Feb. 11, 2012. The Spurs won 103-89. (AP Photo/Rich Schultz) (AP)

San Antonio Spurs’ Tony Parker (9), of France, shoots against New Jersey Nets’ Shawne Williams (7) during the second half of an NBA basketball game in Newark, N.J., Saturday, Feb. 11, 2012. (AP Photo/Rich Schultz) (AP)

San Antonio Spurs’ Tim Duncan (21) pulls down a rebound against the New Jersey Nets during an NBA basketball game in Newark, N.J., Saturday, Feb. 11, 2012. The Spurs won 103-89. (AP Photo/Rich Schultz) (AP)

San Antonio Spurs’ Tiago Splitter (22), of Brazil, loses the ball as New Jersey Nets’ Kris Humphries (43) defends in the second half of an NBA basketball game in Newark, N.J., Saturday, Feb. 11, 2012. The Spurs won 103-89. (AP Photo/Rich Schultz) (AP)

New Jersey Nets’ Shelden Williams (33) fights for the ball with San Antonio Spurs’ Manu Ginobili (20), of Argentina, in the second half during an NBA basketball game in Newark, N.J., Saturday, Feb. 11, 2012. The Spurs won 103-89. (AP Photo/Rich Schultz) (ASSOCIATED PRESS)

San Antonio Spurs’ Tony Parker (9), of France, collides with New Jersey Nets’ Jordan Farmar (2) as he drives to the basket in the second half during an NBA basketball game in Newark, N.J., Saturday, Feb. 11, 2012. The Spurs won 103-89. (AP Photo/Rich Schultz) (AP)

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)

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)

Parker makes a pass at perfection

For Tony Parker, the nightly marching orders from Spurs coach Gregg Popovich are as simple as they are impossible.

“He wants me to be perfect,” Parker said.

Popovich does not dispute this depiction of what he demands from his 29-year-old point guard.

“He’s constantly in the area of getting hounded by me,” Popovich said. “He scores and I want assists. He assists, I tell him, ‘You gotta score.’”

Monday in New Orleans, in a 104-102 victory the listing Spurs absolutely had to have, Parker came as close to perfection as he ever could.

Using a prolific mixture of passing and scoring, Parker turned in a game for the annals, registering 20 points and a career-best 17 assists, becoming the second Spurs player to reach those totals in the same game.

The other: Wes Matthews, who did it in a win over Portland on April 16, 1986, a month before Parker’s fourth birthday.

The 17 assists tie Parker for fourth on the franchise’s single-game chart. It was the highest for a Spurs player since Dec. 17, 1997, when Avery Johnson doled out 20 in a game against Vancouver.

For Parker, games like Monday’s opus — which followed a 24-point, 13-assist stat-stuffing in a defeat at Houston — have been 10-plus seasons in the making.

“Pop’s been on him for years about his decision making,” forward Tim Duncan said. “When to attack, when to kick and trying to do both at the same time. He’s in a real rhythm right now.”

Forced to carry more of the offensive load with Manu Ginobili out, and forced to log extended minutes with backup T.J. Ford hurt, Parker is deftly dancing on the line between passing and scoring.

Heading into tonight’s game against Atlanta at the ATT Center, the three-time All-Star is averaging 17.7 points and a career-high 8.1 assists. In his past nine games, those numbers are 22 and 9.1.

Like a streak shooter who suddenly finds a hot hand, Parker has gotten on a roll with his passing, registering 30 assists in his past two games.

“There’s always that fine line between being aggressive and finding my teammates,” said Parker, who is playing through a lower back inflammation. “I just try to do my best and make Pop happy.”

Early in the game against New Orleans, Parker took that ethos to the extreme. He had eight assists before attempting his first field goal.

Certainly, his teammates contributed to Parker’s lofty assist total. In addition to hitting big men Tiago Splitter and DeJuan Blair on a handful of pick-and-rolls, Parker padded his assist numbers simply by finding open jump shooters.

“It helps when people make shots,” Parker said.

Still, there’s no denying Parker has come a long way since 2001, when he entered the league as a 19-year-old bent on scoring.

Earlier in his career, Parker acknowledges the mixed message coming from his coach — “Score! No, pass!” — played with his head.

“Sometimes, it hurt my game because I wouldn’t be as aggressive as I need to be,” Parker said.

These days, Parker’s only battle is with his own body. His back has been bothering him since Jan. 10 in Milwaukee. The minutes have been piling up on him, at least 34 in eight of the past nine games, with no rest in sight, at least until Ford returns sometime next month.

Until then, the games will keep coming, and Parker will approach them the way he usually does — terminally in pursuit of perfection, always in hopes of pleasing his hard-to-please head coach, chasing the impossible.

“He wants me to score, he wants be to pass, he wants me to do everything,” Parker said. “I have to be perfect.”

Sometimes, it’s just that simple.

jmcdonald@express-news.net