Spurs-Timberwolves Preview

By JUSTIN EINHORN
Posted Feb 05 2013 3:44PM

The San Antonio Spurs own a 10-game winning streak and the league's best record as their annual rodeo road trip begins.

The best news, though, is they expect Tim Duncan to play during the trek.

It's uncertain if that will happen for the opener after he suffered a scary-looking injury, but the Spurs still shouldn't expect much trouble Wednesday night with the lowly Minnesota Timberwolves.

Duncan was down for several minutes after Washington's Martell Webster rolled into the back of his legs in the second quarter of Saturday's 96-86 victory. The two-time MVP had to be helped to the locker room.

An MRI on Sunday, though, revealed no structural damage. Duncan suffered only a mild right ankle sprain and is listed as day to day with a sore knee, a problem which caused him to miss the previous four games.

"When you first see it, nothing positive in your mind pops up," guard Gary Neal said. "... But it was nothing serious and Timmy will probably be back in the middle of the road trip."

The 14-time All-Star, however, was shooting jumpers at practice Monday, and the team has yet to say when he is expected to play. One member of the Spurs said he would not be shocked if coach Gregg Popovich played Duncan on Wednesday.

"You can't be surprised of nothing that happens between (Duncan) and Pop," swingman Stephen Jackson said. "... They have a relationship like no other. I wouldn't be surprised. They do a great job of communicating, they've been together for so long. I think they know how each other feel and I think Pop will make the right decision."

This is the first of nine straight road games - broken up by All-Star weekend - while the rodeo takes over the AT&T Center. The Spurs were 8-1 on last year's trip and have never had a losing record on this extended road swing, which they first took in 2003.

"If you know you're winning, it's always fun," Neal said of these treks. "So hopefully we'll be able to get out to a good start against Minnesota on the trip and continue to build from there."

San Antonio (38-11) is riding its fourth double-digit win streak in 13 months but first this season. The 10 opponents on this run have been held to an average of 90.8 points.

Offensively, Tony Parker has keyed the surge. He's been particularly good over the last five games, shooting 65.8 percent while averaging 23.8 points and 9.8 assists.

Parker had 20 points on 10-of-15 shooting in a 106-88 home win over Minnesota on Jan. 13 in this season's only meeting. Duncan had a season-high seven blocks, but even if he doesn't play Wednesday, San Antonio seems to have a good shot at its 19th win in the last 21 meetings.

The Timberwolves (18-27), losers in 12 of 14, haven't defeated the Spurs without Kevin Love since 2007. Love, out with a broken hand, averaged 21.0 points and 15.5 rebounds in two wins over San Antonio last season after Minnesota had lost 16 straight in the series.

The Timberwolves' other starting forward also could be sidelined. Andrei Kirilenko strained his right quadriceps in Monday's 100-98 home loss to Portland and did not return.

Ricky Rubio tied a career high with 14 assists and added a season-best 15 points. Dante Cunningham, 20 of 27 from the field in the last two games, scored a career-high 23 as Minnesota nearly overcame a 19-point deficit in the fourth quarter.

"If we play like that, we can play with anybody," center Nikola Pekovic said.

Green shoots Spurs past Timberwolves 104-94

By JON KRAWCZYNSKI
Posted Feb 07 2013 12:37AM

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) A nationally televised game with Commissioner David Stern in the house, and there sat Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili.

No controversy or fines coming this time. Duncan and Ginobili were both out with legitimate injuries for the San Antonio Spurs, who taught the Minnesota Timberwolves a lesson on how to handle adversity.

Danny Green hit eight 3-pointers and scored a career-high 28 points to help the Spurs to their 11th straight win, 104-94 over the Timberwolves on Wednesday night.

Tony Parker had 31 points and eight assists and Kawhi Leonard added 19 points and 10 rebounds for the Spurs, who kept right on rolling without two of their big three.

"I think they do have a confidence level. The system doesn't change when guys are out," San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich said. "If Tony was out, somebody else would play. We just run the same stuff, we don't change anything. I think they're pretty used to the execution no matter who's on the court. Obviously you've got to make shots and Danny and Kawhi were pretty good at that tonight."

Nikola Pekovic had 21 points and 10 rebounds and Derrick Williams added 15 points and 12 boards for the Timberwolves, who added do-it-all forward Andrei Kirilenko (bruised right quadriceps) to a seemingly endless list of injured players.

Still, the game was tied at 77 with 8 minutes to go, but Green hit two 3s and scored on a putback to put the Spurs back in front for good.

"It came out of nowhere. Sometimes it happens that way," Green said. "I got a little rhythm going, guys started looking for me and they started falling. We needed it."

Unlike the Spurs' game at Miami in November, when Popovich sent Duncan, Ginobili, Parker and Green home early to rest, drawing Stern's wrath, the coach had an excuse this time around. Duncan has a sprained left knee and Ginobili has been bothered by a nagging left hamstring injury.

"Timmy's missed four, five games in a row, Manu's been in and out of the lineup, so we've gotten used to playing without them," Parker said. "Obviously I'd rather have them because it would be a lot easier to have Timmy and Manu, but it definitely helps the other guys."

Whether his big stars have been injured or just needed the night off, the rest of the Spurs have never laid down. With Parker on the throttle and Green hitting every 3-pointer in sight, the Spurs were able to pull away from the Wolves. Green only missed four times in 12 attempts and scored 11 straight points for the Spurs in the fourth quarter.

"You've got to play perfect for 48 minutes to beat that team," Pekovic said.

San Antonio's nine-game road trip began with some good news when there was no structural damage in Duncan's left knee. He was hurt after taking a nasty fall in a game against the Wizards, an injury that first was feared to be season-ending. He is day to day.

"It looked awful," Popovich said before the game. "He just kind of grinded the bones there, bone on bone."

The Spurs improved to 21-1 against losing teams and have not lost a game since Jan. 11 at Memphis in overtime.

J.J. Barea scored 15 points for Minnesota and Mickael Gelabale made a last push to have his second 10-day contract extended into a deal for the rest of the season with 10 points. Ricky Rubio had 11 assists, but was just 3 for 13 from the field.

The injury-plagued Timberwolves (18-28) have won only twice in their last 15 games, with a season that started with playoff aspirations in danger of swirling down the drain.

"We can't worry about who is not here," coach Rick Adelman said. "We have to play with the people we have."

NOTES: The Spurs and Timberwolves are at the forefront of the NBA's international movement. The teams combine to have 13 foreign players on their rosters. At one point in the second quarter, seven international players were on the floor with just three Americans. ... Timberwolves F Kevin Love returned to the team for the first time since having surgery on his right hand Jan. 15. Love is expected to be out until mid-March after breaking two bones in his hand for the second time this season. ... Rubio picked up a technical foul from official Joey Crawford for gesturing after not getting a foul call in the first quarter.

Notebook: Spurs 104, Timberwolves 94

Jim Beilby, for NBA.com
Posted Thu Feb 07, 2013 12:29 AM - Updated Thu Feb 07, 2013 12:29 AM

THE FACTS: The San Antonio Spurs started their nine-game road trip exactly the way they wanted, defeating the Minnesota Timberwolves 104-94 on Wednesday night. Playing without Tim Duncan (sore left knee) and Manu Ginobli (tight left hamstring), the Spurs got their 11th straight win on the back of big production from Danny Green and Tony Parker. Green made a career-high eight 3-pointers (on 12 attempts) and ended up with 28 points. Parker scored 30 or more for the seventh time this season, finishing with 31 points. Nikola Pekovic led Minnesota with 21 points and 10 rebounds and Ricky Rubio continued to look more like the Rubio of last year, dishing out 11 assists. His shooting touch still needs work, however, as he was an anemic 3-for-13 from the floor.

QUOTABLE: "I thought we played pretty well from the most part. We just made too many mental mistakes especially defensively at crucial times in the fourth quarter when they had a couple of guys cut to the basket. ... We are right there with a tie game and two possessions later they go up five and maintain control from there."
-- Minnesota coach Rick Adelman

THE STAT: The game stat sheet doesn't tell the story of this game, as most of the stats are pretty close. You have to look at what the Spurs did at key moments in this game. In the fourth quarter, for example, the Spurs shot 55 percent to the Wolves' 41.7. The Spurs also made all their fourth-quarter free throws, and they moved the ball well down the stretch, accumulating nine fourth-quarter assists -- three times the Wolves' fourth-quarter assist total. While Rubio had a game-high 11 assists, the rest of the Wolves only managed five assists. By comparison, Parker's very respectable eight assists were matched by 16 assists from the rest of his team.

TURNING POINT: The first 3 1/2 quarters were closely fought -- there were nine ties and 21 lead changes. But in the final seven minutes of the game, the Spurs were able to do exactly what they wanted and needed to do and the Wolves were unable to find any consistency. Minnesota led by two with 7:45 to play in the game when Green went on a personal 11-2 run, hitting three 3-pointers and making a layup. Minnesota fought back to within three points, only to see the Spurs make four straight layups, expanding their lead to 11 with 1:21 to play. From that point, the Spurs made their free throws, effectively securing their 11th straight victory.

QUOTABLE II: "I think [we] do have a good confidence level. The system doesn't change when those guys [Duncan and Ginobli] are out. If Tony [Parker] was out, somebody else would play. They just run the same stuff. We don't change anything. I think that they are pretty used to execution no matter who is on the court. They just execute it. Obviously, you have to make shots. Danny [Green] and Kawhi [Leonard] were pretty good at that tonight."
-- San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich

NOTABLE: Wednesday is the first of a nine-game road trip for San Antonio, their annual "Rodeo Road Trip." They will not return home until February 27 .. The Kevin Love factor (or lack thereof) has been on prominent display lately. Despite winning the rebound battle (51-45), a victory assisted by the absence of Duncan, Minnesota has been outrebounded in 12 of its last 15 games after outrebounding 16 of its previous 18 opponents .. Minnesota forward Andrei Kirilenko was presented with the Euroscar European Player of the Year before tonight's game. This award is given to the best European player, regardless of where he plays and is based both on professional and national team performances. This is Kirilenko's first time receiving this honor.

UP NEXT: For the Wolves, Friday vs. New York, Sunday at Memphis, Monday at Cleveland. For the Spurs, Friday at Detriot, Sunday at Brooklyn, Monday at Chicago.

• Spurs: Duncan, Joseph
• Timberwolves: Budinger, Lee, Roy

• Spurs: --
• Timberwolves: Rubio

• Lead Changes: 21
• Times Tied: 9

• Arena: Target Center, Minneapolis, MN
• Officials: #17 Joe Crawford, #7 Kevin Fehr, #61 Courtney Kirkland
• Attendance: 15224
• Duration: 2:18