Spurs-Kings Preview

By NICOLINO DIBENEDETTO
Posted Apr 18 2012 11:35AM

A four-game winning streak has given the San Antonio Spurs sole possession of the Western Conference lead.

A visit to Sacramento would appear to be a good way for them to maintain it.

The Spurs aim for a sweep of their three-game, three-day trip through California on Wednesday night by going for their eighth straight road win over the Kings.

San Antonio (44-16) holds a lead of one-half game over Oklahoma City atop the West. The Spurs have six games remaining - one more than the Thunder.

The Spurs have gained the inside track to home-court advantage throughout the West playoffs by averaging 111.0 points during their winning streak.

"We love our position (in the West), obviously," forward Tim Duncan said. "We hope to hold on to it. We're facing a tough schedule, but we're feeling good, and we're staying healthy."

San Antonio certainly had to feel good about Tuesday's 112-91 win over the Los Angeles Lakers, handing the Pacific Division leaders their most lopsided defeat of the season. That came one night after a 120-99 victory at Golden State.

The Spurs have won 22 of the last 25 overall regular-season meetings with the Kings (20-41), going 11-1 record in Sacramento during that stretch. They extended their road winning streak in the series to seven with a 117-112 victory March 28.

Tony Parker finished with 10 points, 10 assists and seven rebounds in that meeting, but he's coming off a much more impressive performance. The All-Star point guard hit 14 of 20 field-goal attempts against the Lakers and had 29 points and 13 assists in Tuesday's win.

Regardless of their ultimate seed, the Spurs will make a 14th consecutive trip to the playoffs, while the Kings are already assured of failing to qualify for a sixth straight year.

Issues off the court are making it uncertain if the Kings will even remain in Sacramento after nearly relocating to Anaheim at the end of last season. The Maloof family announced at last week's NBA owners meetings that they were backing out of a proposed downtown arena plan in Sacramento, putting the club's future beyond next season in doubt.

The outcome of Sunday's game was in doubt until the final buzzer, but Marcus Thornton's jumper with 3.4 seconds to play gave the Kings a 104-103 win over Portland. DeMarcus Cousins finished with 23 points while shooting 11 of 18 from the floor.

"We had a few (fans) that may have voiced their opinion, but once the game started going and became an excitable game, I think they fell back to the side," coach Keith Smart said. "People get upset, but they are die-hard Kings fans. They like Kings basketball, it's just that they are a little heart-broken, like everyone is right now."

Cousins had 25 points and 11 rebounds in last month's loss to the Spurs.

Splitter, Neal lead Spurs past Kings

Posted Apr 19 2012 2:08AM

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) Even with Tim Duncan sitting out to rest, the San Antonio Spurs had enough to get an easy win on the road for the third time in three nights.

The Spurs headed back to San Antonio after their fifth straight win overall and a thorough dismantling of three West Coast teams on consecutive nights, winning each game by at least 20 points.

Tiago Splitter and Gary Neal scored 17 points each, leading the Spurs to a 127-102 victory over the Kings on Wednesday night.

"Our best player (Duncan) doesn't play and we still win by 20," said Stephen Jackson, one of four reserves who scored in double figures. "It's our preparation, giving every team we face respect, and going out and playing hard."

The Spurs were coming off 21-point victories at Golden State and the Los Angeles Lakers the previous two days and showed no signs of fatigue against the struggling Kings.

Using their reserves extensively all game, the Spurs beat the Kings in Sacramento for an eighth straight time and remained a half-game in front of Oklahoma City for the top seed in the Western Conference. The Thunder won at Phoenix on Wednesday night.

Duncan was given the night off to rest and it didn't seem to matter. San Antonio had seven players in double figures, shot nearly 59 percent, had 26 assists, and only one player (Jackson) played 30 minutes or more.

"Everyone wants to be in a rhythm now," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. "It's too late in the season to lose a bunch of games when they really count at this point in the season. Being able to win down the stretch of the season, nobody would trade that."

Tony Parker had 15 points and eight assists for the Spurs, who stretched the lead to more than 20 points early in the fourth quarter. Jackson, Kawhi Leonard and Manu Ginobili all had 13 points, and Danny Green scored 11.

Isaiah Thomas had 21 points and eight assists for the Kings, who have dropped eight of nine games. Marcus Thornton scored 20 points and DeMarcus Cousins had 18 points and nine rebounds, but fouled out with just under 8 minutes left in the game.

San Antonio had the lead for much of the first two quarters, then pulled away in the second half when they outscored the Kings 69-45.

"They are a tough team to play; they have (good) players at every position that can go in and be productive," Thornton said. "And it's not just on offense, it's at the defensive end, too. That's the mark of a great team."

Ahead by 11 points after three quarters, the Spurs continued to shoot well to open the fourth. They started the quarter with an 11-3 run, which ended with a three-point play by Splitter to put San Antonio ahead 108-89 with 8:47 left.

"They executed better than us in the third quarter, that's what happened," Cousins said. "They ran their stuff to perfection and took us out of our game."

No one would suggest that the Spurs are peeking ahead, anticipating the playoffs, which start late next week. A year ago, San Antonio won 61 games and had the best record in the West, but were beaten by Memphis in the first round of the postseason.

"The playoffs will be tough, every team in the West is very talented," Parker said. "You try to be playing well this time of year. We want to stay healthy, stay fresh."

The Kings' owners, the Maloof family, announced at last week's NBA owners meetings that they were backing out of a proposed downtown arena plan in Sacramento, which has put the franchise's future beyond next season in doubt.

The Kings, who will miss the playoffs for a sixth straight season, have as many problems off the court as on it. Sacramento has dropped 13 of 16 games since March 20 and has the second-worst record behind New Orleans in the Western Conference.

Leonard scored nine points in the third quarter when the Spurs shot over 63 percent and outscored the Kings 39-29, taking an 11-point lead heading to the fourth.

Ahead by one point at the half, the Spurs opened the third quarter on a 12-4 run. Scoreless in the first half, Leonard had back-to-back baskets, the second one a twisting, fast-break layup that put San Antonio ahead 70-61 at the 8:13 mark.

NOTES: Kings owners Joe and Gavin Maloof, plus their mother, were seated courtside. During the recent arena controversy, the Maloofs have been absent from their typical courtside location. . Parker scored 10 points and the Spurs' reserves combined for 30 points in the opening half when the Blazers led 58-57. ...Thornton had a great first quarter, making 6 of 7 shots and scoring 14 points. But the streaky Thornton didn't score again until getting three straights baskets during a 55-second period in the third quarter. . The Spurs have won 9 of 11 road games and have five games left in the regular season.

Notebook: Spurs 127, Kings 102

Posted Thursday April 19, 2012 1:42AM

By James Ham, for NBA.com

THE FACTS: The Spurs had very little trouble extending their four-game win streak to five in Sacramento. Even without the services of future Hall of Fame center Tim Duncan, San Antonio walked all over the Kings late, on their way to the 127-102 victory.

The Spurs bench was the story in this one. Reserve Gary Neal led the way, shooting 8-for-9 from the field on his way to a 17-point performance. Tiago Splitter didn't get the start, but he played 22 quality minutes, finishing with 17 points and a team-high eight rebounds. Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker supplied the rest of the offense as the Spurs swept their second back-to-back-back set of the season.

Rookie Isaiah Thomas continued his stellar play, dropping 21 points and eight assists in the loss. Marcus Thornton came out hot early, scoring 14 points in the first quarter. The Kings leading scorer injured his left quad in the third, but returned to the game late and finished with 20. DeMarcus Cousins struggled with foul trouble, but still managed 18 points and nine rebounds in just 27 minutes.

QUOTABLE: "It is a sense of pride. It's better than alternative. Everyone wants to be in a rhythm right now. It's too late in the season to lose a bunch of games when they really count at this point in the season. Being able to win down the stretch of the season, nobody would trade that."
-- Spurs coach Gregg Popovich on sweeping the back-to-back-to-back

THE STAT: The Spurs bench outscored the Kings by a 71-28 margin. Four players scored in double figures off the Spurs bench, led by Splitter and Neal.

TURNING POINT: The Kings played tough through the first half, but fell apart after the intermission. San Antonio outscored the Kings by 10 in the third and 14 in the fourth on their way to the 25 point romp.

HOT: Neal lit the Kings up off the bench. The high scoring guard finished with 17 points on 8-for-9 from the field.

NOT: Tyreke Evans got stuck in neutral. Facing rookie Kawhi Leonard, the third-year guard out of Memphis finished with five points on 2-for-8 shooting and added just one assist and three rebounds.

QUOTABLE II: "It's rough for Tyreke [Evans] right now. We took him off the ball. He's playing the three, so, I mean, it's going to be an adjustment. Since I've known Tyreke, he's always been the primary ball handler. It's an adjustment. It's part of being a pro. Part of his growth."
-- DeMarcus Cousins on the struggles of Evans

GOOD MOVE: Gregg Popovich decided before the game that he didn't need Tim Duncan to beat the Kings. Turns out he was right.

BAD MOVE: Popovich probably should have sat Parker and Ginobili as well, just to make things interesting.

NOTABLE: The Spurs finished off their second back-to-back-back stretch of the season in impressive fashion. For the third straight game, the Spurs won by a margin of 20 or more, not too bad for a team that most experts wrote off after last seasons playoff meltdown.

UP NEXT: For the Spurs, Friday vs. L.A. Lakers, Sunday vs. Cleveland, Monday vs. Portland. For the Kings, Friday vs. Oklahoma City, Sunday @ Charlotte, Tuesday @ Oklahoma City.

• Spurs: Joseph
• Kings: Salmons

• Spurs: --
• Kings: --

• Lead Changes: 11
• Times Tied: 5

• Arena: Power Balance Pavilion, Sacramento, CA
• Officials: #57 Greg Willard, #35 Kane Fitzgerald, #12 Violet Palmer
• Attendance: 16954
• Duration: 2:17