Bucks-Spurs Preview

By NICOLINO DIBENEDETTO
Posted Dec 04 2012 10:52PM

Resting key players last week led to a hefty fine for the San Antonio Spurs.

This time, they're not likely to draw that kind of attention from the commissioner.

Injuries may cause the Spurs to be without as many as four players as they go for a seventh win in eight tries Wednesday night against the sputtering Milwaukee Bucks.

Coach Gregg Popovich and the Spurs (14-4) drew national attention and the ire of commissioner David Stern when they sent four starters home ahead of a nationally televised 105-100 loss at Miami on Thursday, which capped a six-game, nine-day road trip. Stern issued a statement apologizing to fans and later fined San Antonio $250,000.

The rest may have helped the Spurs to Saturday's 99-95 overtime win against Southwest Division rival Memphis. Tony Parker had 30 points while Tim Duncan scored a season-high 27 with 15 rebounds after both were rested two days earlier with Manu Ginobili and Danny Green.

Now, resting players may not be optional for Popovich.

San Antonio is dealing with injuries to Green (left hamstring), Gary Neal (Achilles), Kawhi Leonard (right knee) and Stephen Jackson (finger). Green, averaging 9.8 points, exited Saturday's victory after failing to register a point while missing seven field-goal attempts in 19 minutes.

Neal, scoring 11.1 points per game, is averaging 17.3 over the past three contests.

"Pretty concerned about Wednesday," Popovich said. "We'll see what the status is with Gary and Danny. We've played (Boris Diaw) at (small forward) on the road trip, so we could not overplay some people. That'll probably continue."

Diaw is known for his aggressive defensive play and is only averaging 5.8 points. However, he scored 12 with six rebounds as a starter against the Heat before returning to the bench Saturday and contributing three points.

"We're very lucky that we have a very deep team," Ginobili said. "Of course, missing three of our small forwards is hard, but hopefully we're going to be able to mask it."

Playing at home may also help since the Spurs have won seven of the last nine meetings when the Bucks (8-8) visit. Ginobili hit a 17-foot, fade-away buzzer beater to give the Spurs a 92-90 victory in the most recent matchup in San Antonio on Dec. 15, 2010.

With Ginobili out due to a broken hand, San Antonio fell 106-103 at Milwaukee on Jan. 10 in the only matchup last season.

The Bucks may get another chance to capitalize on absences for the Spurs after losing for the sixth time in eight games Monday, 102-81 at New Orleans.

"When we're really moving the ball around, we're really hard to guard," coach Scott Skiles said. "When we start dribbling too much, we get in trouble."

Milwaukee relies heavily on guards Monta Ellis and Brandon Jennings, who lead the team with averages of 18.6 and 17.0 points, respectively.

"Those guys can get hot and take over a game," Neal said. "We know that going in. We're just going to stay focused defensively and hope they have a bad game."

Ellis is averaging 27.4 points over his last nine games against the Spurs, but they all ended in losses with Golden State. He had 38 points while shooting 15 of 30 from the floor and added seven assists in a 101-95 defeat Jan. 4, two months before being traded to Milwaukee.

Jennings, who had a team-high 25 points Monday, scored 15 with 11 assists against San Antonio last season, with four of those points coming in the final minutes to put the Bucks ahead for good.

Parker, Neal score 22 in Spurs' win over Bucks

By RAUL DOMINGUEZ JR.
Posted Dec 06 2012 12:38AM

SAN ANTONIO (AP) The depth that San Antonio showed off in Miami, even though it led to a hefty fine and a stern rebuke from the NBA, yielded an inspired victory for the Spurs.

Tony Parker and Gary Neal each scored 22 points, and San Antonio had a season-high 53 rebounds in a 110-99 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks on Wednesday night.

Tim Duncan added 17 points and 10 rebounds for San Antonio (15-4). Tiago Splitter had 15 points, Manu Ginobili scored 11 and Matt Bonner had a season-high 12 rebounds.

Even with Neal starting in place of an injured Danny Green, San Antonio's bench had 40 points, 25 rebounds and 13 rebounds, and fueled a decisive 36-13 run bridging the final two quarters against Milwaukee (8-9).

"It was our best group all night, on the court," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. "They were really active defensively. They all rebounded. Matty Bonner was awesome on the board and on the other end, the ball moved. Nobody held it, so that group did a good job at both ends and got the win for us."

The bench's contributions came hours after NBA Commissioner David Stern reaffirmed that his decision to fine San Antonio $250,000 was "appropriate."

Stern said Popovich's choice to send Parker, Duncan, Ginobili and Green home rather than play a nationally televised game Thursday in Miami was "not about a coaching decision. This is more about the relationship among our 30 teams and 30 owners."

The Spurs believe Popovich's move was smart coaching.

"They're talented," Parker said. "They showed it in Miami and tonight they showed it again. Pop is always trying to do stuff to make sure our bench is performing and tonight it definitely performed."

San Antonio's starting unit struggled against Milwaukee, trailing 70-64 with 5:21 left in the third quarter following a 16-foot jumper by Samuel Dalembert.

That's when Popovich turned to the group that Miami needed a late rally to overcome.

San Antonio closed the third on a 12-6 spurt, fueled by 3-pointers by Bonner, Ginobili and Nando De Colo. A defensive goaltending call against Larry Sanders on a layup by De Colo gave the Spurs a 78-76 lead, their first since late in the first half.

"They brought in their second unit and De Colo really got them going with his passing," Milwaukee coach Scott Skiles said. "They just went on a run and we couldn't get back into the game."

Monta Ellis had 21 points and 11 assists for Milwaukee. Brandon Jennings added 14 points and Ersan Ilyasova scored all of his 17 points in the first half.

San Antonio outrebounded Milwaukee 53-36, including a 28-17 advantage in the second half.

The Spurs opened the game by missing their first 11 attempts before Parker banked in a runner with eight minutes left in the opening quarter. The Spurs offset that poor shooting with 11 rebounds.

Ilyasova scored eight straight points for the Bucks in a two-minute span late in the first quarter, besting his season average of 6.9.

"In the first half, we were sharing the ball more," Ilyasova said, "getting open looks and knocking them down. In the second half, they played better defense."

Every active Spurs player with the exception of James Anderson scored for San Antonio, which needed the balanced scoring with Green, Stephen Jackson, Kawhi Leonard and Patty Mills all sitting out with injuries.

Notes: San Antonio recalled G Cory Joseph and G De Colo after assigning both to the team's NBDL team in Austin to get some playing time. De Colo was assigned to the Toros on Sunday, scored 14 points in 39 minutes that night and was recalled Monday. . San Antonio hosts Houston on Friday before opening a four-game road trip Saturday in Charlotte. The Spurs have three road trips of at least four games in the first 45 days of their season. Their nine road wins are the most by any team in the NBA this season. Oklahoma City is second with six.

Notebook: Spurs 110, Bucks 99

Tim Price, For NBA.com
Posted Thu Dec 06, 2012 12:08 AM - Updated Thu Dec 06, 2012 12:08 AM

THE FACTS: Tony Parker and Gary Neal each scored 22 points to lead the San Antonio Spurs to a 110-99 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks on Wednesday night at AT&T Center.

It was the seventh win in the last eight games for the Spurs (15-4), who also got 17 points and 10 rebounds from Tim Duncan and a 12-rebound performance off the bench from Matt Bonner.

The Bucks got 21 points from Monta Ellis and 17 points off the bench from Ersan Ilyasova. Milwaukee (8-9) dropped below .500 for the first time this season. The Bucks have lost seven of their last nine.

QUOTABLE: "We were playing really slow the first three quarters of the game, and the second group in the [fourth quarter] pushed the ball up and down, drove, kicked it and got good shots. We've said it all along -- we think everybody on the roster can step up any night and contribute and help us win ball games, and that's what we're doing right now. We have to grind it out, play a 48-minute game, insert cliché here, and that's how we do it.."

-- Matt Bonner

THE STAT: The Spurs starting backcourt of Parker and Neal outscored the Bucks' starters of Ellis and Brandon Jennings, 44-35. But the more telling mark came in shooting the ball. The Parker-Neal combo went 13-for-27 (48 percent) compared to Ellis-Jennings at 10-for-34 (29 percent).

The Spurs also outrebounded Milwaukee 53-36.

TURNING POINT: It was a tie game heading into the fourth quarter, and Spurs coach Gregg Popovich sent out a lineup of Neal along with reserves Bonner, James Anderson, Nando De Colo and Tiago Splitter against a Bucks lineup that included Ellis, Jennings and Ilyasova. The Spurs went on a 17-3 run with those five players and led 93-79 with seven minutes to go.

QUOTABLE II: "They brought in their second unit and De Colo really got them going with his passing. They just went on a run and we couldn't get back in the game."

-- Bucks coach Scott Skiles

HOT: Splitter finished the night 7-for-9 from the floor. He was 5-for-5 in the fourth when the Spurs outscored Milwaukee 34-23. Splitter is 23-for-37 (63 percent) during the past five games.

NOT: Ellis had his first double-double of the season (11 assists along with the 21 points), although he shot 5-for-19 from the floor; he was 10-for-11 from the foul line. Ellis hasn't shot 50 percent from the floor in five games, and is 24-for-73 (33 percent) during that stretch.

FANTASY SPOTLIGHT: Parker turned the ball over seven times, but he had 10 assists to go along with his 22 points. He matched Ellis with a 10-for-11 night from the foul line.

GOOD MOVE: The Spurs reserves have been hot lately, almost winning a game at Miami and sparking a comeback Saturday against Memphis. So, the Spurs rolled with them. In fact, De Colo and Splitter played the entire fourth quarter while Duncan sat the entire time.

BAD MOVE: Skiles was able to pair Ilyasova and Samuel Dalembert effectively in the first half, and the pair went a combined 10-for-13. Ilyasova was especially productive, going 7-for-10 for 17 points in 15 ½ minutes. But that got away from the Bucks after halftime. Ilyasova didn't even play three minutes in the third quarter, and the pair went 1-for-5 in the second half.

ROOKIE WATCH: De Colo played 17 minutes and went 3-for-4 with a 3-pointer, had two assists with no turnovers and seven points.

NOTABLE: Bonner's 12-rebound night was his best since a career-high 17 in December 2007. ... The Spurs started the game by missing their first 11 shots, but had a lead 5:49 into the first quarter. ... The Spurs picked up two more injuries this week with starting swingman Danny Green (left hamstring tightness) and Patty Mills (right ankle sprain). The Spurs already were without starting small forward Kawhi Leonard (left quadriceps tendonitis) and Stephen Jackson (right little finger fracture). ... Mike Dunleavy went back on the Bucks injured list with a left knee bruise, missing tonight's game. He had missed a game last week with the injury yet played 20 minutes in the last game at New Orleans before the soreness returned.

UP NEXT: For the Bucks, Friday vs. Charlotte, Sunday @ Brooklyn, Wednesday vs. Sacramento. For the Spurs, Friday vs. Houston, Saturday @ Charlotte, Monday @ Houston.

• Bucks: Dunleavy, Udrih
• Spurs: Jackson, Leonard

• Bucks: Sanders, Skiles
• Spurs: --

• Lead Changes: 9
• Times Tied: 10

• Arena: AT&T Center, San Antonio, TX
• Officials: #24 Mike Callahan, #12 Violet Palmer, #31 Scott Wall
• Attendance: 18349
• Duration: 2:08