Pacers-Spurs Preview

By MATT BEARDMORE
Posted Mar 30 2012 1:13PM

In this compressed NBA season, there's plenty of concern about player fatigue.

San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich is taking advantage of his team's depth to prevent that from happening.

The Spurs look to extend their winning streak to seven Saturday night when the visiting Indiana Pacers try to avoid a ninth consecutive loss in this series.

With 66 games scheduled in four months, teams have been playing back-to-back-to-back sets and getting very little practice time. Despite those obstacles, the Spurs (35-14) have risen to the top of the Southwest Division and are three games back of Western Conference-leading Oklahoma City.

A major reason for that success is San Antonio's depth, which enables Popovich to rely less on stars Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili.

While they improved to 13-4 with those three in the lineup with Wednesday's 117-112 victory at Sacramento, the Spurs have been getting plenty of production from others.

Rookie Kawhi Leonard is averaging 13.3 points during the six-game win streak, third-year players DeJuan Blair (11.7) and Danny Green (9.3) are also playing well, and second-year guard Gary Neal is scoring 9.8 per game over that span.

Former Pacer Stephen Jackson leads the Spurs' bench players with 55 points during the run.

"We didn't have this kind of depth last year," said Popovich, whose team has won nine of 10. "Our young players allow us not to overplay our veterans like Timmy and Tony. But down the stretch tonight I thought our experience really showed."

The Spurs have plenty of experience winning on their own court, going 20-4 at AT&T Center, and they'll go for a 10th straight home win over the Pacers.

Indiana (30-20) ended a stretch of seven games in 10 days with Thursday's 93-89 victory over Washington. The Pacers trailed by as many as eight in the third quarter and shot 39.2 percent for the game.

"It was a tough night, but I thought our guys tried to get through it and defend," coach Frank Vogel said after earning his 50th NBA victory. "I think our guys are a little fatigued and give them credit.

"... We've got to recognize when they need a day off and they'll get one tomorrow."

The Pacers, though, can't relax, as they are percentage points ahead of sixth-place Atlanta in the East and could open the playoffs on the road if they don't make a push over the final four weeks.

"All we have to do is to continue to fight every night and not let down," reserve guard George Hill said Thursday after scoring 14 points.

Hill will face his former team for the first time Saturday after being part of last summer's deal that sent Pacers first-round pick Leonard to San Antonio.

Leonard had 19 points and nine rebounds Wednesday and is averaging 8.3 boards during San Antonio's surge.

The Spurs' last loss in this series was 100-99 in Indianapolis on April 1, 2007.

Spurs beat Pacers, push NBA-best win streak to 7

By PAUL J. WEBER
Posted Apr 01 2012 12:04AM

SAN ANTONIO (AP) The San Antonio Spurs keep cruising behind what Tim Duncan says is a deeper team than even any during his four championship seasons.

Yet the old-timer certainly still deserves his share of credit.

Duncan had 23 points and 11 rebounds and the Spurs remained the hottest team in the NBA, beating the Indiana Pacers 112-103 for their seventh consecutive win and 10th in 11 games Saturday night.

A week that started with Duncan resting against Philadelphia - when "DND-Old" was officially listed as the reason in the box score - ended with his fourth double-double in his last six games. Duncan, who turns 36 this month, has looked especially spry since that night off, averaging 22.3 points and 10 rebounds his last three games.

"I thought we finished the game very well," said Duncan, who helped the Spurs thwart a late Indiana run. "We did good with moving the ball and defensively we made the stops."

Paul George and Danny Granger each scored 18 for Indiana. The Pacers have lost two of three while trying to break out of the logjammed East playoff picture and secure some home-court edge.

"The rest of our schedule is kind of tough. We don't have any days off in between back-to-backs and whatnot," Granger said. "We really have to close out these last 14 and 15 games and go 12-2, 12-3 - you know, something like that, to really get a lot of momentum going into the playoffs."

The Spurs aren't budging in the standings, either. They're 2 1/2 games behind first-place Oklahoma City and remain stuck behind the similarly streaking Thunder.

Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili added 18 points apiece. The Spurs are 8-1 since making a rare plunge into midseason moves by adding forwards Stephen Jackson and Boris Diaw, giving San Antonio a bench that has drawn raves from Duncan.

Gary Neal scored 11 points and Tiago Splitter added 10 as the Spurs showed off their newfound depth. Their bench outscored Indiana's 52-29.

"The more practice we get, the more we play together, I think we're realizing how deep this team is," said Jackson, who scored eight points.

David West and Roy Hibbert scored 15 points apiece for the Pacers, and Tyler Hansbrough added 12 off the bench. Indiana shaved a 22-point deficit to get within seven points with 5 minutes to go, but the Spurs instantly answered with a 7-2 run in the span of about 1 1/2 minutes to put the game safely out of reach.

Hibbert, who worked out with Duncan in San Antonio during the lockout, said he has grown close to the perennial All-Star. On Friday, he texted Duncan and asked how he should guard him.

"He said, `Go for every pump fake,"' Hibbert said.

Jackson is averaging around 10 points off the bench since coming back to San Antonio in a trade-deadline deal with Golden State. Jackson proved essential to the Spurs during their title run in 2003, and they hope his return recaptures some of that magic while gunning for a fifth title in the Duncan era.

Spurs coach Gregg Popovich, who doubles as team president, also bolstered his frontcourt this month by signing Diaw and added point guard Patty Mills. Seldom have the Spurs been so active on the NBA market in the middle of a season.

Popovich is counting on his new depth in the final month. The Spurs finish the season with 16 games in 23 days, including six back-to-backs. Popovich said he still isn't comfortable playing Ginobili on consecutive nights, since his playmaking guard has already missed more than half the season banged up.

Last season, Ginobili was hurt in a meaningless regular-season finale, which helped sink the Spurs in a stunning first-round playoff ouster. It's not a scenario Popovich wants to repeat - but his stars also resist sitting out.

"I always have to fight Manu and Timmy," Popovich said before tipoff. "I've won a couple battles."

Notes: Diaw didn't play for the first time since signing with the Spurs on March 23 ... San Antonio has won nine in a row against the Pacers. ... The Spurs' 39-point second quarter was a season high.

Notebook: Spurs 112, Pacers 103

Posted Sunday April 1, 2012 12:02AM

By Tim Price, for NBA.com

THE FACTS: Tim Duncan had 23 points, including 9-of-9 from the free-throw line, and 11 rebounds to lead the San Antonio Spurs to their seventh-straight victory, a 112-103 decision over the Indiana Pacers on Saturday at AT&T Center. Duncan is 21-of-22 in his last five games from the free-throw line.

The Spurs (36-14) never trailed and have won 10 of their last 11. Tony Parker was the only other starter to score in double figures (18), but San Antonio got bench production from Manu Ginobili (18 points), Gary Neal (11) and Tiago Splitter (10).

The Pacers (30-21) shot 53 percent and still lost for the second time in three games. Paul George was the best of the hot shooters for Indiana, with an 8-of-11 night for 18 points. Danny Granger also scored 18.

QUOTABLE: "Manu (Ginobili), Timmy (Duncan) and Tony (Parker) led the way. All three of them played really well tonight and everybody else fit in. Those three guys were all good all at the same time."
-- Spurs coach Gregg Popovich

THE STAT: With Indiana shooting better than San Antonio (53 percent to 50 percent), the game was left to be won on the free-throw line. The Spurs were more aggressive in getting free shots: they hit 27-of-33 compared to the Pacers' 14-of-18.

TURNING POINT: San Antonio led by five points less than a minute into the second quarter, but the Spurs soon went on a 10-of-12 shooting surge and within seven minutes led by 22. Four of those baskets came on the fastbreak, and the Spurs had a 14-2 advantage on the break until the final minute of the first half. Indiana got it back to seven points with five minutes to go, but the Spurs never really lost control of the game after the first-half run.

QUOTABLE II: "The Spurs are playing terrific. (But) it's the first time in five home games where an (opposing) team has lost by fewer than 11 points. Every other game has been a 20-point blowout. I'm not happy that we only lost by nine. We played good enough to beat most teams tonight. But not this team in their house."
-- Pacers coach Frank Vogel

HOT: After a sub-par game last out against Washington, George hit 8-of-11. That puts him back in line with the two games prior to the Washington start. He went 3-of-10 against the Wizards after going 15-of-27 in the pair of games before that.

NOT: Leandro Barbosa has had a difficult finding his place -- and shot -- with the Pacers after coming over in the trade deadline move with Toronto. He was 1-of-5 tonight and is 19-of-54 (35.2 percent) since the trade after shooting 44 percent with the Raptors this season.

FANTASY SPOTLIGHT: Duncan has run up double-doubles in two of his last three games. His averages over his last five games are 19 points and 9.8 rebounds.

INSIDE THE ARENA: A row of fans held up a series of signs before the game that spelled out "Hill Always A Spur." They were honoring the Pacers' George Hill, who was making his first appearance in San Antonio since the Spurs traded him to Indiana in a draft-day move that gave the Spurs the draft rights to Kawhi Leonard. Hill, who played his first three seasons in San Antonio, also was cheered loudly when he entered 2 1/2 minutes into the game. He scored nine points but had six assists and seven rebounds tonight.

ROOKIE WATCH: Leonard had his lightest game in the stat sheet in the past two weeks after a five-game stretch that saw him average 12.8 points and 8.2 rebounds. Tonight he scored five points and had two rebounds.

NOTABLE: The Spurs have won nine-straight games in the series with Indiana; the last time the Pacers have won was April 2007. ... For the first time since he was signed by the Spurs after his contract was bought out in Charlotte, Boris Diaw did not play. He had been averaging almost 18 minutes in the five previous games for the Spurs.

UP NEXT: For the Pacers, Sunday @ Houston, Tuesday vs. New York, Wednesday @ Washington. For the Spurs, Tuesday @ Cleveland, Wednesday @ Boston, Friday vs. New Orleans.

• Pacers: Fesenko, Foster
• Spurs: Joseph

• Pacers: --
• Spurs: --

• Lead Changes: 0
• Times Tied: 1

• Arena: AT&T Center, San Antonio, TX
• Officials: #8 Marc Davis, #16 David Guthrie, #54 Nick Buchert
• Attendance: 18581
• Duration: 2:08