Spurs-Hornets Preview

By JORDAN GARRETSON
Posted Oct 31 2012 10:21AM

The San Antonio Spurs are largely the same team that won the most games in the Western Conference over the last two seasons.

The New Orleans Hornets have undergone sweeping changes to their roster, and both squads have reason for optimism as they meet to open the season in New Orleans on Wednesday night.

San Antonio returns a franchise-record 13 players from last season after going 50-16 to tie Chicago for the best record in the league. The club posted a 20-game winning streak and led 2-0 over Oklahoma City in the West finals.

The Spurs, though, lost the next four games and enter this season wanting more - preferably their first trip to the NBA finals since 2007.

"A lot of people see us as the nice Spurs," said guard Tony Parker, who averaged 18.3 points and a career-high 7.7 assists to earn his fourth All-Star selection last season. "We need to play like we're hungry, like we want it. We have to stop saying, 'Oh, we won a lot of championships, we'll come back next year.' We have to play with more attitude."

San Antonio is no longer necessarily viewed as the top-heavy West's perennial favorite, given the Thunder's emergence and the offseason moves that sent Dwight Howard and Steve Nash to Los Angeles to join forces with Kobe Bryant.

Still, the Spurs have seen little turnover from a lineup that averaged 103.7 points per game, second most in the league. Manu Ginobili returns, though back spasms limited him to 68 minutes in four preseason games and reigning Coach of the Year Greg Popovich ruled him out for Wednesday's opener.

San Antonio shot 39.3 percent from 3-point range last season - tops in the NBA. Tim Duncan averaged 15.9 points and 9.0 rebounds and returns for his 16th season.

By contrast, little looks the same for New Orleans, as nine players prepare to make their debut for a Hornets team that saw Tom Benson become its owner in the offseason.

Top overall draft pick Anthony Davis is the most prominent one on that list. He impressed in the preseason, averaging 14.9 points, 9.9 rebounds and 1.6 blocks in more than 32 minutes per game.

Davis' defense, along with that of new center Robin Lopez, should fortify a team that ranked eighth in the league with 93.4 points allowed per game.

New Orleans may need to be even better defensively after scoring only 89.6 points a contest last season, second lowest in the NBA. The Hornets hope the additions of big man Ryan Anderson and first-round pick Austin Rivers, as well as a healthier Eric Gordon, will allow them to improve at the offensive end.

Gordon was traded to New Orleans prior to last season and played in only nine games due to a knee injury. After re-signing for four years and $58 million, he sat out the preseason as a precaution and his status for Wednesday is uncertain, though he did participate in his first practice without limitations Sunday.

In only his fifth season, Gordon is one of the more experienced players on a roster with an average age of 24.

"We have a great future, looking ahead of us," said Gordon, who's averaged 18.2 points in his career. "A lot of young guys and it's built for the long run to be very good."

Questions about the guard's role surfaced after the Hornets drafted Rivers, who like Gordon can play both point and shooting guard.

"We think they can play together," general manager Dell Demps told the team's official website.

San Antonio swept all four meetings with New Orleans last season.

Duncan leads Spurs past Davis, Hornets 99-95

By PAUL NEWBERRY
Posted Oct 31 2012 11:55PM

NEW ORLEANS (AP) Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and those wily San Antonio Spurs showed the kids a thing or two.

No. 1 draft pick Anthony Davis fit right in for New Orleans in his pro debut, scoring 21 points with a dazzling variety of offensive moves, but the Spurs came through in the final minute for a 99-95 victory over the Hornets on opening night Wednesday.

Parker hit the go-ahead 3-pointer with 49.6 seconds remaining, Duncan tacked on a couple of free throws and the Spurs celebrated at the end, having turned back a franchise that hopes to rebuild around a couple of rookies.

Davis and fellow first-round pick Austin Rivers both started for the Hornets, who fell to the bottom of the Western Conference last season after trading Chris Paul to the Clippers. Rivers struggled in his debut, going 1 of 9 from the field and finishing with just seven points.

Not so for Davis. Even with only one season of college, which he put to good use by leading Kentucky to a national title and earning player of the year honors, he showed no signs of being a tentative rookie.

"He's only going to get better," Hornets coach Monty Williams said. "I love him because he takes losing hard, the way I do. He's in there feeling like it's the end of the world. You can't help but love guys who take it in the heart the way you do."

Of course, considering how it was at Kentucky, this is going to take some getting used to. Davis and the Wildcats lost only two games last season. He's halfway to that total with his new team.

"I'm just trying to play the game. Go out there and explore," Davis said. "If I don't have shots, look for my teammates. And they were doing a great job of finding me in my sweet spots. All the credit goes to them really."

He was admittedly nervous before his first real game as a pro, though it didn't show.

"That's just how I am," Davis said. "We can be playing against a high school team, it doesn't matter. You want to perform well. You get amped up and nervous because you don't know if you're going to play well."

Duncan scored 24 points and Parker added 23 for the Spurs, who trailed 91-87 after Davis hit two free throws with 2:42 remaining. Duncan erased the deficit all by himself, scoring off a drive, then grabbing a pass in the lane from Boris Diaw and powering inside for a dunk, despite getting fouled by Roger Mason. A free throw completed the three-point play and put the Spurs ahead with 1:48 left.

To their credit, the Hornets didn't fold. Greivis Vasquez tossed up a lob that Davis dunked, putting New Orleans back ahead. Duncan responded, going over Ryan Anderson to tip in a missed shot.

After Davis made two free throws with 1:08 remaining to send New Orleans to its final lead, 95-94, the Spurs took control. San Antonio worked the ball with a series of quick passes until Parker broke free by the top of the arc. He connected with 49.6 seconds left for a go-ahead 3-pointer.

Vasquez missed an open 3, slapping his hands in disgust after the ball bounced off the front of the rim. Duncan grabbed the rebound, was quickly fouled and padded the lead with two free throws. Al-Farouq Aminu took one more 3, but it missed badly. The Spurs dribbled out the clock, showing they're not ready to give in yet to a team such as the Hornets.

"Their youth and athleticism made it difficult for us," San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich said. "It's a great group of guys, and it's going to be a fun team to watch. If Timmy doesn't do what he does, that's a loss for us."

Duncan and the Spurs tightened up defensively, and the 15-year veteran just refused to be denied at the offensive end.

"We put in some plays for him," Popovich said, "but it was just his determination down the stretch that got us the win."

Rivers, the son of Boston Celtics coach Doc Rivers, said an ankle that bothered him during the preseason was just fine. But he played like a rookie, especially in the first half.

"I was thinking too much," Rivers said. "The second half, I just played. It was my first game. Now I know what to do and what not to do. That won't happen again."

Duncan schooled Davis right away, scoring a couple of quick baskets against the rookie. But school didn't last long. Davis knocked down an 18-foot jumper from the baseline. Then he swished a 16-footer. By the end of his first quarter in the NBA, the kid had nine points and four rebounds, leading the Hornets to a 31-28 lead.

New Orleans stretched its advantage to 50-43 at halftime, but San Antonio dominated the early part of the third quarter to turn the deficit into a seven-point lead. New Orleans fought back, sending the game to the final period tied at 71. It was tight the rest of the way, neither team leading by more than four points.

The crowd of 15,358 was about 2,500 short of a sellout at New Orleans Arena, showing the Davis era has yet to totally capture the city's imagination.

Give him time.

The Spurs don't have a lot of time with their 30-something core - Duncan, Parker and Manu Ginobili - but let's not forget they had the best record in the West a year ago. San Antonio was knocked off in the conference finals by youthful Oklahoma City and found itself a man down in the opener.

Ginobili wasn't able to play because of back spasms.

The Hornets couldn't quite take advantage of his absence.

"It was a great night," Davis said. "We all went out there and had fun. It didn't end the way we wanted it to, but that's a great Spurs team. We're going to see them again, and it's going to be another great game."

Notes: The Hornets also were short-handed. G Eric Gordon remains out indefinitely after missing all of training camp with a sore left knee. ... Aminu finished with 17 points and had a couple of highlight-reel dunks. ... The teams were even on the boards, each finishing with 43 rebounds. ... Davis had just one blocked shot, one of his big weapons at Kentucky.

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Follow Paul Newberry on Twitter at www.twitter.com/pnewberry1963

Notebook: Spurs 99, Hornets 95

Bradley Handwerger, for NBA.com
Posted Wed Oct 31, 2012 11:28 PM - Updated Wed Oct 31, 2012 11:28 PM

THE FACTS: Tony Parker scored 24 points, including the game-winning 3-pointer with 46 seconds to play and the San Antonio Spurs held off the New Orleans Hornets 99-95 in the season opener for both teams.

San Antonio trailed 95-94 after Hornets rookie Anthony Davis hit two free throws with 1:07 to play. But the Spurs' Kawhi Leonard pulled the New Orleans' defense with him into the lane on the ensuing possession, leaving Parker open from the top to sink his 3-pointer. The Hornets (0-1) couldn't get quality look out of a timeout and Greivis Vasquez's shot hit off the front of the rim. The Spurs' Tim Duncan fetched the rebound, was fouled and sank two free throws to clinch the win. Duncan recorded a double-double, finishing with a game-high 24 points and 11 rebounds while Leonard added 19 points for San Antonio (1-0).

For New Orleans, Davis led the way with 21 points on 6-for-12 shooting and grabbed seven rebounds. Al-Farouq Aminu put up 17 points, pulled down seven rebounds, blocked three shots and had two steals in the loss.

QUOTABLE: "That was a big shot." -- San Antonio's Tony Parker on his late 3-pointer

THE STAT: 732 -- the number of double-doubles the Spurs' Duncan has in his NBA career. He had nine points and five rebounds in the fourth quarter, playing steady basketball when San Antonio needed him the most. His final rebound was the biggest of the night and all but sealed the win.

TURNING POINT: New Orleans led 91-87 in the waning minutes of Wednesday night's game. But Duncan did what he has done so many times in his career. He scored seven points, grabbed a rebound and culled a charge on the Hornets' Roger Mason Jr., all in about a minute and a half to change the momentum of the game.

QUOTABLE II: "You can't put your personal feelings in it. If I got personal about everything I couldn't coach. I've got to do what's best for the team and sometimes you have to think about the player and their future and how they feel." -- Hornets coach Monty Williams when asked about his personal feelings on Eric Gordon sitting out

NOT: Hornets rookie Austin Rivers picked up the start at shooting guard when Gordon was ruled out indefinitely. The spot might have been too big for him, however, as he went 1-for-9 and picked up three fouls in the opening 28 minutes. His first made basket came on an uncontested fastbreak layup with 8:22 to go in the game.

NOTABLE: New Orleans' Vasquez recorded a career-high 13 assists, half of the Hornets total for the game. ... Aminu tied his season high from the 2011-12 season in the '12-13 opener by scoring 17 points. ... San Antonio's Leonard had a career-best five steals to go with his 19 points.

UP NEXT: For the Hornets, Friday vs. Utah, Saturday @ Chicago, Wednesday vs. Philadelphia. For the Spurs, Thursday vs. Oklahoma City, Saturday vs. Utah, Monday vs. Indiana.

• Spurs: Ginobili
• Hornets: Gordon

• Spurs: --
• Hornets: --

• Lead Changes: 14
• Times Tied: 15

• Arena: New Orleans Arena, New Orleans, LA
• Officials: #19 James Capers, #26 Pat Fraher, #30 John Goble
• Attendance: 15358
• Duration: 2:11