Spurs-Jazz Preview

By SANTOSH VENKATARAMAN
Posted Apr 08 2012 11:59PM

The San Antonio Spurs cruised to their 11th straight win in the opener of this home-and-home set against the Utah Jazz. Maintaining the streak isn't important to coach Gregg Popovich.

Popovich continues to reiterate that prioritizing health is his focus in the season's final month as the visiting Spurs try to defeat the Jazz for the seventh straight time Monday night.

San Antonio (40-14) led by as many as 19 points in a 114-104 home victory Sunday over Utah (29-28). The Spurs have matched their longest run of the season from Jan. 30-Feb. 20, and are percentage points ahead of Oklahoma City for the Western Conference's best record.

None of that matters to Popovich, who continues to rest players with starting center DeJuan Blair out Sunday. The coach has been breaking the news about who will play prior to tipoff for the Spurs, who last won 12 straight Nov. 1-24, 2010.

"He's telling before who he's not going to play," said guard Tony Parker, who had a game-high 28 points. "We all have to be ready."

Manu Ginobili said in the locker room he didn't know if he was even traveling to Salt Lake City. Ginobili had 23 points - with a season-high 14 made free throws - in his best game since returning from a broken hand in March.

"I haven't been going to the line often this year," said Ginobili, who has scored 23 both times he has faced the Jazz this season. "Utah is a team that fouls a lot usually as they play hard. Against them, you usually have the opportunity to go to the line more often."

The Jazz are eager to get another chance to face the West's best team, hoping their 64 second-half points will give them momentum Monday.

"Our fans are going to be ready to help us out but the second half proved that we can play with these guys," said center Al Jefferson, who had 19 points and 10 boards. "We played them pretty good tonight but we are a young team. We made mistakes and they don't really make too many mistakes."

The Jazz, who are 1 1/2 games out of the West's final playoff spot, won't return home healthy. C.J. Miles is scheduled to undergo an MRI after he left in the second quarter with a strained left calf, and Earl Watson sat out the second half with a right knee strain.

"We're just going to have to go with what we have," coach Ty Corbin said. "Our guys have been tremendous about responding all year and we expect that to continue."

Devin Harris had 18 points and six assists, but struggled to defend Parker.

"He is a tough guy to play against," Harris said. "When he gets to the paint and how he gets to the free throw line like he does, it makes him tough to guard. The Spurs run a lot of good things for him and he is an All-Star for a reason, but we get to see him again tomorrow."

That may not be the case. When asked if everyone was making the trip to Utah, Popovich said, "That's none of your business."

Jazz end star-less Spurs' 11-game win streak

By LYNN DeBRUIN
Posted Apr 10 2012 12:43AM

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) With a playoff spot locked up and a grueling stretch ahead, San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich called it a "no brainer" to rest stars Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili.

That was fine by a Utah Jazz team still trying to punch a ticket to the postseason.

After losing to the Spurs by 10 on Sunday night in San Antonio, the Jazz (30-28) rebounded with a 91-84 victory in Monday's rematch in Salt Lake City.

"We wanted to come out and get a little bit of revenge from last night," said Gordon Hayward, who started at shooting guard Monday for the injury-depleted Jazz. "They battled and battled until the end and we were able to come out on top."

Credit Devin Harris, who scored 11 straight for the Jazz in the fourth quarter and had a team-high 25 points.

"The big difference in the game, like with a lot of NBA games down the stretch, is you have got to make shots, and Devin came down and knocked down two in transition in a row. On the other end, we couldn't throw it in the ocean," Popovich said.

The Spurs (40-15) were down just 84-80 with 2:23 remaining after Harris' run, which included a pair of 3-pointers. But they shot just 2 of 7 the rest of the way and committed a turnover.

"I think both teams were digging deep, especially after playing last night and having the long flight here," said Matt Bonner, who finished with 10 points for the Spurs. "It was like a heavyweight boxing match and it was coming down to the end. They hit us with a couple of extra punches."

Jazz coach Tyrone Corbin was glad to see Harris step up after he started 1 of 5.

"He was the one guy for us who acted like he had a little more in the tank so it was great to see him come out and be aggressive on the offensive end," Corbin said.

The victory halted the Spurs' 11-game winning streak and allowed Utah to remain 1 1/2 games out of the eighth and final Western Conference playoff spot.

The loss was San Antonio's first since March 17 and ended a six-game winning streak against the Jazz.

Another number that was huge was 13 - the number of blocked shots the Jazz had Monday.

Hayward said the Jazz wanted to make a statement.

"We have to protect this house," said Hayward, who had a pair of blocks. "No easy buckets."

Al Jefferson led the Jazz with four blocks. He added 12 points and 10 rebounds and a steal.

Paul Millsap had 18 points, 10 rebounds and two blocks for the Jazz, and sealed the win with a put-back dunk with 43 seconds remaining.

Reserve Jeremy Evans had three blocks before leaving in the third quarter with a sprained right ankle.

Popovich wasn't worried about securing the No. 1 overall seed but "trying to survive."

The Spurs play three games in four days starting with the Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday. They have 11 games remaining in the condensed season.

While the Spurs were resting players who combined averaged 46.8 points, Corbin was trying to find bodies.

Guard Raja Bell (knee) remains inactive, guard Earl Watson will need knee surgery, and small forwards Josh Howard (knee) and C.J. Miles (calf) also are out with injuries.

That left DeMarre Carroll, on his fourth team in three years, making only his second career start in 99 games. The Spurs started Patty Mills, Boris Diaw and Stephen Jackson.

Both teams looked out of sorts early, with the Jazz starting 1 of 7 with a pair of turnovers and the Spurs starting 1 of 6.

"Coach Pop told us before the game to play hard," said Tiago Splitter, who along with Gary Neal led the Spurs with 14 points. "We tried hard. We gave a great effort. In the end we couldn't hit the shots."

DeJuan Blair, who was given Sunday night off, added 13 points for San Antonio.

Popovich gave the Jazz plenty of credit before the game, and after for holding it together despite a lack of stars and injuries.

"You think they played harder tonight because of the playoffs?" Popovich said. "This is Utah, the Jazz play hard every night. There has never been a night that they don't play hard."

The Jazz took a 23-19 lead into the second quarter and bumped it to 30-23 on a spin move inside by Derrick Favors.

Neal, Mills and Splitter brought San Antonio back with seven points apiece in the second quarter as the Spurs pulled within 47-44 at the break.

The Spurs looked in control in the fourth, when they surged ahead 75-67 on a free throw by Splitter.

But Jamaal Tinsley hit a jumper then Harris took over. He finished 7 of 17, but 3 of 7 from beyond the arc, and made 8 of 12 free throws with six assists, a steal and a blocked shot.

"It was kind of a sluggish game for the first three quarters," Harris said of a matchup that featured 34 turnovers (20 by the Jazz). "But we got some stops, got into transition and get some good shots and knock them down. San Antonio (without its stars) defensively is still one of the best teams in the league. But we were able to grind it out and get the win."

Notes: Hall of Famer John Stockton was in attendance and received a standing ovation from the crowd when he was announced and shown on the big screen. ... Utah signed NBA D-League sharp-shooter Blake Ahearn to a 10-day contract Monday. ... The Jazz announced backup point guard Watson would have surgery to repair torn cartilage in his right knee. He is out indefinitely. ... Miles won't travel with the team on its three-game road trip because of a strained left calf. ...The Spurs entered the game first in the NBA in 3-point shooting (.387) but were just 7 of 24 from beyond the arc.

Notebook: Jazz 91, Spurs 84

Posted Tuesday April 10, 2012 12:42AM

By Andrew Aragon, for NBA.com

THE FACTS: Losing to the San Antonio Spurs without Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker would have been disastrous and likely put the Utah Jazz's playoff hopes on life support.

The Jazz barely avoided that fate, pulling away with a 91-84 victory over shorthanded San Antonio on Monday night. Utah, which trailed by as many as eight points in the fourth quarter, fortunately had Devin Harris and Paul Millsap play the role of closers in the victory.

Harris scored 12 of his game-high 25 points, and Millsap scored nine of his 18 points in the fourth quarter. Utah snapped San Antonio's 11-game winning streak in the second game in back-to-back nights between the two teams.

Before the game, San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich said he decided to rest Duncan, Parker and Ginobili for Monday's game "pretty much when the schedule came out." The Spurs played their second of five games in seven nights.

QUOTABLE: "Fourth quarter was important for us. We got down a little bit, but we didn't lose our poise. We had to fight back. Defensively, I thought we picked it up a little bit. We got in transition offensively and made some things happen."
-- Jazz guard Harris on his team's play in the fourth quarter.

THE STAT: What a difference one night -- and San Antonio's big three -- makes. On Sunday, the Spurs shot 43 free throws compared to 26 for the Jazz. Utah had a 33-10 edge in free throws attempted on Monday with a 25-7 advantage in makes.

TURNING POINT: Harris' play was subpar in the first three quarters of the game, but he finished spectacularly. He helped the Jazz dig back from being down eight in the fourth quarter, and scored on a layup in transition to tie it at 75-75. He hit a 3-pointer, answering one by Gary Neal, to tie it at 78-78. A 3-pointer and three free throws by Harris put the Jazz up 84-80 with 2:23 left in the game. Then it was Millsap's turn, as he hit a jumper and scored on a put-back dunk to put the game out of reach.

HOT: DeJuan Blair only played 21 minutes, but he helped keep the Spurs in it with 13 points and eight rebounds on 6-for-9 shooting. Harris and Millsap combined to shoot 5-for-6 while accounting for 21 of Utah's 26 points in the fourth. The rest of the team shot 2-for-12 in the final period.

NOT: It wasn't a good shooting night for the Spurs, and especially in the fourth quarter when they were 6-for-23. None of San Antonio's starters scored in the fourth quarter. For the game, Stephen Jackson was an abysmal 2-for-13. Jamaal Tinsley was only 2-for-8 for the Jazz. DeMarre Carroll started in place of the injured C.J. Miles and went scoreless in 11 minutes. It was the second start of Carroll's career, and first in three years.

GOOD MOVE: The Spurs weren't going to let Al Jefferson be the one to beat them, and they played remarkable defense on him, denying him touches and shots. He had just 12 points on 12 shots.

QUOTABLE II: "Who knows. It would have been a tough loss, especially with the race that we're in to get one of these playoff spots. But you know what, these guys ... I had a feeling they were going to lay whatever they had out there. They were tired. They laid whatever they had out there in the fourth quarter and did what they had to do to win the ballgame."
-- Jazz coach Tyrone Corbin on how deflating it would have been to lose to the Spurs without their big three.

INSIDE THE ARENA: The Jazz crowd seemed disappointed early on that Duncan, Ginobili and Parker didn't make the trip. A non-descript first half also kept them sitting on their hands. The only time they really made noise before halftime was when Hall of Famer John Stockton was shown on the big screen and introduced to the crowd. They gave him a standing ovation. Former Jazzman Greg Ostertag was also shown to the crowd. He did not get a standing ovation, but fans did give him a warm welcome.

QUOTABLE III: "The big difference in the game, like with a lot of NBA games down the stretch is you have got to make shots, and Devin came down and knocked down two in transition in a row. And on the other end we couldn't throw it in the ocean."
-- Spurs coach Popovich on the difference in the fourth quarter.

NOTABLE: It was the second time this season San Antonio had a chance to stretch a winning streak to 12 games. And just like the last time, Popovich sat his best players. The last time he did it, San Antonio lost to Portland, 137-97 on Feb. 21. The Jazz were without Miles and backup point guard Earl Watson. Miles has a left calf strain and will be reevaluated in a week. Watson has a torn medial meniscus and is out indefinitely. San Antonio reserves Neal and Tiago Splitter each had 14 points to tie for the team high.

UP NEXT: For the Spurs, Wednesday vs. L.A. Lakers, Thursday vs. Memphis, Saturday vs. Phoenix. For the Jazz, Wednesday @ Houston, Friday @ New Orleans, Saturday @ Memphis.

• Spurs: Joseph
• Jazz: Bell

• Spurs: --
• Jazz: --

• Lead Changes: 11
• Times Tied: 13

• Arena: EnergySolutions Arena, Salt Lake City, UT
• Officials: #41 Ken Mauer, #59 Gary Zielinski, #60 James Williams
• Attendance: 19911
• Duration: 2:08