Spurs-Nets Preview

By ALAN FERGUSON
Posted Feb 09 2013 5:24PM

After enduring a delay in travel, the San Antonio Spurs are hoping to bounce back after having their lengthy winning streak snapped.

They can do that by adding to their recent dominance over the Brooklyn Nets on Sunday night.

The snowstorm that hit the East Coast forced San Antonio (39-12) to spend an extra day in Detroit, where they lost 119-109 on Friday as their 11-game winning streak was snapped.

The Spurs managed to put together that run despite injuries to Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili. A matchup with Brooklyn (29-21) would appear to provide an ideal opportunity to get back on track, as San Antonio has won 18 of 19 over the Nets, but it's uncertain if Duncan or Ginobili will play.

Duncan (knee) has sat out seven of the past nine games and Ginobili (hamstring) has missed three straight.

"Everybody knows that we need our Big Three, but at the end of the day, we've got a job to do with or without them," swingman Stephen Jackson said. "We've got to still do things right, still execute and still be on the same page on defense."

Tony Parker has lifted his game to help fill the void, scoring 31 points in back-to-back contests.

The Spurs didn't need too much help from Duncan and Ginobili in their most recent matchup with the Nets, a 104-73 rout Dec. 31.

San Antonio held Brooklyn to five points in the third quarter of that game, the Nets' fewest in any period in franchise history. Parker led six Spurs in double figures with 20 points.

San Antonio has won eight of nine on the road against the Nets as it heads into its first trip to Brooklyn. The Nets are 18-9 at their new home, though they've dropped two of three there.

Brooklyn has alternated wins and losses in its last six overall and had its worst shooting performance of the season at 32.9 percent in an 89-74 defeat at Washington on Friday. The Nets went 5 of 18 from 3-point range, shot 59.4 percent from the free-throw line and scored 11 points in the second quarter, their fewest in that period this season.

"When you can't make free throws, when you can't make 3-point shots, and you can't make shots in the paint, it's very hard to win," interim coach P.J. Carlesimo said. "To come with that kind of effort in the second quarter, it's inexcusable."

Joe Johnson, who scored 14 points, was the only starter to make at least half his shots. Deron Williams had a team-best 20 points but missed 13 of 20 and Brook Lopez scored 13 while going 3 of 11.

Williams had averaged 25.8 points in a four-game stretch against San Antonio before being held to eight and 3-of-11 shooting in December.

Parker has shot a combined 9 of 24 in his last two road games against the Nets and averaged 12.5 points, 4.6 fewer than his career mark.

Parker, Spurs dominate 2nd half in rout of Nets

By BRIAN MAHONEY
Posted Feb 10 2013 11:47PM

NEW YORK (AP) Tony Parker has been so outstanding lately that Spurs coach Gregg Popovich called it "beyond an All-Star level."

Does that mean All-NBA? Maybe even MVP?

"I think he should be in every conversation for any award that's going to be given," Popovich said. "I don't think that is really tough to see. I mean, there's a group of guys, but he should be in that group as one of the guys that's playing the best in the league."

Parker had 29 points and 11 assists in another brilliant performance without his two sidekicks, and San Antonio dominated the second half to beat the Brooklyn Nets 111-86 on Sunday night.

Two nights after a loss in Detroit ended their 11-game winning streak, the Spurs got back on track quickly behind Parker, who fell short of his third straight 30-point game only because he was so good that he sat out the final minutes of the rout.

Danny Green added 14 points and Tiago Splitter had 13 for the Spurs, who were again without Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili because of injuries as they beat the Nets for the fifth straight time and 19th in the last 20 meetings.

Parker, the Western Conference player of the month in January, may be appreciated more without them, but said he wants them on the floor with him.

"I don't care about getting my due and stuff like that. I'm in San Antonio, they always forget about me, so I get used to it," Parker said. "So I definitely prefer to have Timmy and Manu because that's how you win championships. You need more than one player to win championships. You need a whole team and I prefer winning championships than having my due."

Joe Johnson scored 19 points and Brook Lopez had 18 for the Nets, who were outscored 60-29 in the second half and lost for the sixth time in nine games. Deron Williams finished with 15 points, but was a distant No. 2 when it came to the best point guards on the floor.

"Their execution was excellent. Tony had a very, very good game. But offensively, the push wasn't there in the second half," Nets interim coach P.J. Carlesimo said. "A lot of the things that we did well, we stopped doing. We got very careless with the ball, turning it over, getting stripped, not finishing."

Duncan missed his third straight game due to a sore left knee, while Ginobili was out for the fourth consecutive game with tightness in his left hamstring. Popovich said he would be cautious with the two stars, knowing he needs them later this season.

They're not missing them now - thanks to Parker, who had no turnovers in 35 minutes.

"He's carrying the whole team, especially when Tim and Manu are out. He's doing everything on the court," teammate and fellow Frenchman Boris Diaw said.

Parker had 10 points and four assists in the third quarter, when San Antonio outscored Brooklyn 30-14 to turn a six-point halftime deficit into an 81-71 advantage. He'd had 31 points and eight assists in both of the previous two games, and just missed a fourth 30-point game in his last six.

Getting into the lane with ease and knocking down consecutive jumpers at one point when he didn't, he was 5 of 6 from the floor in the quarter, making any Nets defender look completely overmatched.

The Spurs then put it away early in the fourth. Parker returned from a rest with San Antonio leading by 10 and helped the Spurs run off 10 straight points. Matt Bonner and Diaw made consecutive 3-pointers, Parker added another basket, and Stephen Jackson drove for a layup that made it 95-75 and had the Nets hearing boos in their new home for one of the few times this season.

"I mean, (we) deserve it," Williams said. "These people pay money to come see us play and play better than that. You can't ever be mad at that."

Johnson said the Nets have a problem responding lately when teams seize the momentum.

"I don't know what it is, but you know, it just seems when a team makes a run on us, man it just takes the air out of us," he said. "It shouldn't be that way. We should be able to respond, especially on our floor, but it hasn't been the case."

Carlesimo said his team was lacking the same enthusiasm and confidence it had when he first took over. The Nets got off to a fast start Sunday, but another bad third quarter - though not as bad as the 30-5 whipping the Spurs put on them in San Antonio on New Year's Eve - ruined all they had done well in the first half.

Lopez capped a 10-point first quarter with a jumper with 2.9 seconds left, and the Nets shot 64 percent in the period for a 35-25 lead. The Spurs tightened things up in the second, cutting it to 57-51 at halftime - when Diaw said they got a scolding from Popovich - then surged ahead behind Parker's mastery.

The Spurs improved to 2-1 on their nine-game rodeo road trip, which ties the longest in franchise history.

Notes: The Spurs beat the Nets 104-73 on New Year's Eve in Brooklyn's third game under Carlesimo, an assistant to Popovich in San Antonio from 2002-07. "We kicked his (butt)," Popovich joked before the game. "We just drilled him and we loved it." ... The Nets installed six large-scale photographs of the Black Fives, early 20th century African-American basketball teams, Sunday throughout Barclays Center's main concourse. General manager Billy King presented a commemorative plaque to descendants of the teams, who played from 1904-50, during a halftime ceremony.

Notebook: Spurs 111, Nets 86

Jake Appleman, for NBA.com
Posted Mon Feb 11, 2013 12:03 AM - Updated Mon Feb 11, 2013 12:03 AM

THE FACTS: Even without Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili, the Spurs still used a dominant second half to rout the Nets 111-86 at Barclays Center. Tony Parker carved up the Nets for 29 points and 11 assists, just one helper fewer than the entire Nets team, and six other Spurs scored between nine and 14 points. The Spurs (an NBA-best 40-12) have now won 12 of 13 while the Nets have lost six of nine.

QUOTABLE: "It's us. It's all us. This ain't the first time we've unraveled in the third quarter."

-- Nets forward Gerald Wallace

THE STAT: The Spurs were +24 in points off turnovers.

TURNING POINT: After outscoring the Nets 30-5 in the third quarter of their previous meeting, the Spurs started the same period with a 12-4 run, including 10 in a row, to re-take the lead.

QUOTABLE II: "In the second half we played a lot better defense. We tried to slow down Brook Lopez, and on offense our ball movement was great."

-- Parker

INSIDE THE ARENA: New York Red Bulls Thierry Henry and Tim Cahill attended the game. ... The Nets were booed lustily in the fourth quarter.

ROOKIE WATCH: Nando De Colo did a serviceable job in 12 minutes of action for the Spurs.

NOTABLE: The Nets, who play at the league's slowest pace, gave up 110-plus points for only the fourth time all season. ... The Spurs shot 12-19 (63 percent) from behind the 3-point line, a number of them back-breaking conversions in the second half. ... Lopez, Deron Williams and Joe Johnson combined for 52 of the Nets' 86 points. ... In the debut of the national television New York City doubleheader, both local hosts lost as the Knicks fell to the Clippers in the afternoon.

UP NEXT: For the Spurs, Monday @ Chicago, Feb. 19 @ Sacramento, Feb. 21 @ LA Clippers. For the Nets, Monday @ Indiana, Wednesday vs. Denver, Feb. 19 vs. Milwaukee.

• Spurs: Duncan, Joseph
• Nets: Shengelia

• Spurs: --
• Nets: --

• Lead Changes: 2
• Times Tied: 4

• Arena: Barclays Center, Brooklyn, NY
• Officials: #24 Mike Callahan, #70 Brent Barnaky, #33 Sean Corbin
• Attendance: 17014
• Duration: 2:14