Spurs-Hornets Preview

By TAYLOR BECHTOLD
Posted Jan 06 2013 6:50PM

The San Antonio Spurs appeared to solve their recent road struggles with back-to-back wins away from home, but a lopsided loss to finish their most recent trip could be cause for concern.

San Antonio, though, should be primed to bounce back Monday night when it visits the New Orleans Hornets, who have lost seven straight home games.

While they've won 10 straight at home, the Spurs (27-9) are trying to avoid their sixth loss in eight road games.

"(The Hornets) never stop coming at you," said coach Gregg Popovich, whose team has beaten New Orleans twice this season by a combined nine points. "We've got to keep our focus."

San Antonio seemed to have broken out of its funk on the road with victories at Dallas and Milwaukee after losing four in a row away from home Dec. 12-18. The Spurs, however, had a seven-game overall winning streak snapped Thursday when they shot 36.4 percent in a 100-83 loss at New York.

Popovich's team ranks among the top three in the NBA in scoring, but has averaged just 99.4 points in its last seven road games compared to 112.8 in its last five at home.

Tony Parker will try to provide a boost after totaling 48 points on 19-of-36 (52.8 percent) shooting in the first two games against the Hornets. Tim Duncan has averaged 19.5 points and 10.5 rebounds in the season series, posting 24 and 11 while shooting 10 of 15 in a 99-95 win at New Orleans in the season opener Oct. 31.

Parker, Duncan and Manu Ginobili, who combined for just 30 points against the Knicks, totaled 55 on 21-of-36 shooting Saturday in a 109-86 home victory over Philadelphia.

After shooting 10 for 38 (26.3 percent) from 3-point range in the first two meetings with New Orleans, the Spurs look for a better shooting performance against a Hornets team that ranks near the bottom of the league in defensive field goal percentage (46.3).

The Hornets (8-25) are 3-13 at home to match Washington for the league's worst mark. New Orleans, though, has gone 3-3 overall since an 11-game losing streak, showing some life since guard Eric Gordon returned to the lineup Dec. 29 following arthroscopic knee surgery.

Gordon has averaged 16.3 points despite shooting 32.6 percent from the floor, helping the Hornets win two of the three games he's been able to play. He made his first start of the season Saturday and his three-point play with 4.7 seconds left in overtime gave New Orleans a 99-96 win at Dallas.

"He is going to get attention and it's going to make my job easier," point guard Greivis Vasquez said. "Having him back is going to help because it will help us get in a rhythm both defensively and offensively."

Vasquez looks to keep his hot hand after averaging 20.0 points on 51.5 percent shooting and 10.5 assists in his last six games.

Rookie Anthony Davis has played well in his first two games against the Spurs with 39 points on 14-of-25 shooting and 18 rebounds, but he's averaged just 7.3 points over his last four contests.

The Hornets rank among the lowest-scoring teams in the NBA (91.7 ppg) and haven't reached 100 in 11 straight games.

The Spurs have won six straight over the Hornets and six of seven in New Orleans.

Gordon carries Hornets to victory over Spurs

Posted Jan 07 2013 11:54PM

NEW ORLEANS (AP) Hornets fans grew restless as guard Eric Gordon sat out much of the early season rehabilitating his injured knee.

A New Year's Day appearance at New Orleans Arena was met with a mixture of cheers as well as jeers.

But Gordon may be turning those dissenters into fans, proving he may just be worth the Hornets nearly $60 million investment.

Gordon scored 24 points, including six consecutive in a critical fourth quarter run, to lead the Hornets to a 95-88 victory over San Antonio on Monday night.

"That's one of the key things I do best when it comes to late-game situations or if anything gets tough," Gordon said. "I like to take guys one on one and I'm able to get a shot off and get a good shot. I look forward to that.

"I love those situations," he said.

Anthony Davis added 17 points, Greivis Vasquez 14 and Ryan Anderson 13 for the Hornets, who have won two consecutive games for the first time since Nov. 2-3, the second and third games of the season.

New Orleans, which snapped a six-game losing streak against San Antonio, has also won three of the four games in which Davis has played since his return in a 98-95 victory at Charlotte on Dec. 29. He sat out a 104-92 loss at Houston on Jan. 2.

The Hornets have held their opponents to less than 100 points in each of their nine wins.

"To hold this team to 88 points is a great sign for our defense," Hornets coach Monty Williams said. "Confidence, to me, comes when you defend the right way, and I thought we did that tonight."

Manu Ginobili scored 21 points to lead the Spurs, who had won eight of their previous nine, dating to a 99-94 victory over the Hornets in San Antonio on Dec. 21.

Tony Parker added 16 points, Tim Duncan 13 and Kawhi Leonard 10 for San Antonio. Duncan was 5 of 14, at one point missing five consecutive shots in the third quarter.

The Spurs committed 19 turnovers, leading to 23 points for New Orleans.

"We played a well-coached aggressive, well-executing team," San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich said. "They did a great job at both ends of the court. They just whipped us."

The Hornets, who grabbed a lead they would not relinquish midway through the first quarter, entered the fourth period up 70-65. Gordon played spectator for the first four minutes. He re-entered the game with 7:41 remaining and immediately made three jumpers, sparking a 6-2 run that gave the Hornets an 84-77 lead with 5:06 left.

He later added another jumper to give the Hornets an 88-79 lead with 3:26 remaining.

"Tonight we collectively played hard for 48 minutes," Williams said. "Even when (the Spurs) made a run, it was one of those runs that scared you a bit, but you knew that with Eric and Greivis playing that way, you had a chance to kind of pull out of it."

Vasquez's steal and subsequent layup gave the Hornets a 90-79 lead with 2:35 left.

"They've got a closer now," San Antonio forward Stephen Jackson said. "(Gordon) took the game over and was going to work at the end of the game, doing what he wanted. He closed the game for them, and that was what they were missing - a closer."

Despite missing eight of his first 11 shots, Gordon scored 12 points in leading New Orleans to a 49-41 halftime lead. Davis, on 5-of-8 shooting, had 10 points in the half.

Both team started slowly with the score tied at 6 with 7:30 remaining in the first quarter. But the Hornets, buoyed by four consecutive free throws by Gordon went on a 10-2 run to take an 18-10 lead with 3:16 left in the period.

Duncan committed three turnovers and two personal fouls in the first 8 minutes.

NOTES: The Hornets signed guard Donald Sloan to a 10-day contract Monday. Sloan, who played in 3 games for the Hornets during the 2011-12 season, has most recently played for the Sioux Falls Skyforce of the NBA Development League. Sloan also appeared in 20 games earlier this season with the Cleveland Cavaliers. . . NBA Hall of Famer Bob Pettit, an LSU standout, was at courtside, sitting next to Hornets and New Orleans Saints owner Tom Benson. Shortly before tipoff Duncan and Parker greeted Pettit.

Notebook: Hornets 95, Spurs 88

Bradley Handwerger, for NBA.com
Posted Mon Jan 07, 2013 11:16 PM - Updated Mon Jan 07, 2013 11:16 PM

THE FACTS: The New Orleans Hornets relied on energy from Eric Gordon and team defense to hold off the San Antonio Spurs 95-88. And for only the second time this season, the Hornets (9-25) have won two games in a row with Monday night's win coming two nights after New Orleans won in Dallas.

The Spurs (27-10), meanwhile, lost for the second time in three games, both coming on the road.

Gordon hit three straight long jumpers in the middle of the fourth quarter to provide cushion for New Orleans. He finished the game with 24 points, including going 6 of 6 from the free-throw line.

But it was New Orleans' defense which gave San Antonio fits all night. The Hornets forced 19 Spurs turnovers, including a season-high 12 steals, and turned those mishaps into 23 points. And rookie forward Anthony Davis harried San Antonio's Tim Duncan enough to make the future Hall of Famer ineffective, going just 5 of 14 for 13 points.

Manu Ginobili led San Antonio with 21 points and Tony Parker added 16.

For New Orleans, Davis put up 17 points and nine rebounds while Greivis Vasquez added 14 points and 11 assists.

QUOTABLE: "We played a well-coached, aggressive, well-executing team. They did a great job at both ends of the court. They just whipped us."
--San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich's opening statement after Monday's loss.

THE STAT: 20-10. That's New Orleans' advantage in second-chance points. New Orleans attacked the basket all night and when the shots didn't fall, a bevy of players were in position to capture the miss and put it back. The Hornets outrebounded San Antonio on the offensive glass 14-9 and outscored the Spurs 46-34 in the paint.

TURNING POINT: The Hornets' held a tenuous lead for much of the game after the third quarter, never quite putting the game out of reach until a big run in the fourth quarter. After San Antonio's Gary Neal hit a jumper to pull the Spurs to 78-75 with 7:29 to go, New Orleans opened the game up with a 12-4 run and never looked back. And Gordon was the instigator. He hit three consecutive shots -- a 17-foot fade away, a 21-foot jumper and a 16-foot fade away -- and the Hornets never led by fewer than seven points the rest of the way.

QUOTABLE II: "It felt like we played 48 minutes and we've really struggled with that with this group. And that was huge. It felt like we were tight together. It felt like this was our group."
-- New Orleans' Ryan Anderson on if Monday night felt for the first time like the game was supposed to feel.

NOT: The Hornets' Anderson has been shooting 44 percent all season. But against San Antonio, he couldn't find his rhythm and finished only 4 of 13 from the floor for 13 points. The team's leader in 3-pointers was 3 of 6 from beyond the arc.

NOTABLE: Monday's loss was the first for the Spurs against the Hornets in seven games. San Antonio still leads the season series 2-1. ... Vasquez's double-double was his 10th of the season. ... Of the Spurs' 10 losses this season, eight have come on the road. ... Popovich told New Orleans' Davis afterwards Monday night that the way the Hornets played was why teams should keep playing hard in spite of rough stretches. Davis said the Spurs coach then wished him good luck the rest of the way.

UP NEXT: For the Hornets, Wednesday vs. Houston, Friday vs. Minnesota, Sunday at Knicks. For the Spurs, Wednesday vs. Lakers, Friday @ Memphis, Sunday vs. Minnesota.

• Spurs: Joseph
• Hornets: Miller

• Spurs: --
• Hornets: --

• Lead Changes: 3
• Times Tied: 4

• Arena: New Orleans Arena, New Orleans, LA
• Officials: #31 Scott Wall, #8 Marc Davis, #50 Olandis Poole
• Attendance: 11599
• Duration: 2:04