GameNight SpecificsNBA Coverage: Game Info Date: Monday, Nov. 22Time: 8:30 p.m.Location: AT&T Center (San Antonio, TX)Radio: AM 580 WDBO, AM 1270 WRLZTelevision: FSN Florida, NBA TV
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GAME RECAP
SAN ANTONIO (AP) -- Tony Parker had 24 points and 10 assists to help the San Antonio Spurs to their 11th straight win with a 106-97 victory over the Orlando Magic on Monday night.
Manu Ginobili had 25 points for the Spurs, who faced their stiffest test yet put prevailed late for an NBA-best record of 12-1. Dwight Howard had 26 points and 18 rebounds for the East-leading Magic, whose own winning streak ended at four.
Jameer Nelson added 15 points for the Magic.
It is the longest winning streak in nearly three years for the Spurs, who have taken a training-camp goal of a fast start far beyond what they had in mind. The Magic, meanwhile, were perhaps in search of a litmus test after just one of their nine wins this season have come against a team with a winning record.
The Spurs can thank their long-range shooting for keeping this streak going.
San Antonio made 12 of 19 from behind the 3-point line, including all five of their attempts in the fourth quarter. None were bigger than Ginobili's step-back 3-pointer with 2:09 remaining, putting the Spurs ahead for good with 2:09 remaining.
Two turnovers in the next three posessions doomed the Magic, including Nelson inadvertantly kicking a ball out of bounds with 49.5 seconds left.
After 29 lead changes, the Spurs didn't let Orlando ahead again.
"We wanted to give the fans their money's worth," said Spurs forward Matt Bonner, who made all four of his 3-point attempts and finished with 15 points.
Parker was 9 of 15 and his both his 3-point attempts, including a crucial one with under four minutes left in the fourth quarter to put the Spurs briefly up by one.
Tim Duncan added 15 points and George Hill had 10 for the Spurs.
Rashard Lewis scored 14 points for the Magic and was 3-for-3 from behind the arc. J.J. Redick scored 11 points off the bench.
Notes: Howard picked up his fifth technical foul of the season in the first quarter, protesting that officials should've tacked on a foul shot with a lay-in over Duncan. A player gets an automatic one-game suspension after 16 technical fouls. ...The Spurs are 19-4 all-time at home against Orlando.
DENTON'S POSTGAME ANALYSIS
SAN ANTONIO – In a showdown of NBA heavyweights that certainly lived up to its billing, Orlando and San Antonio traded haymakers all night until the Magic finally blinked and the untouchable Spurs kept firing from all corners.
An epic of a game – one that had more of a June feel than a November one -- was ruined for the Magic by two turnovers, a missed 3-pointer and an inability to get defensive stops in the final 2 minutes, 30 seconds of Monday night. Orlando saw a one-point lead dissolve into a frustrating 106-97 loss to San Antonio when it couldn’t show the same grit at the end that if had displayed throughout the back-and-forth basketball battle.
``It just came down to turnovers, and we had too many down the stretch and they capitalized,’’ Magic superstar center Dwight Howard said. ``We had the game and we let it slip out of our hands and we have to learn from that. We can’t allow a team to come back once we have a lead.’’
As has been the case most of the season, the Spurs – owners of the NBA’s best record at 12-1 – proved unbeatable, especially after getting 25 points from Manu Ginobili, 24 points and 10 assists from Tony Parker and 15 points, seven rebounds and four 3-pointers from Matt Bonner. They needed every bit of it, along with some precise execution down the stretch, to defeat a Magic team that wouldn’t go away all night.
``I thought it was a great basketball game and it went right down to the 2-minute mark,’’ Magic coach Stan Van Gundy said. ``We had (Mickael Pietrus’) wide-open 3 (attempt) in transition to go back ahead. But for us to be able and win a game like that against a team like this one the road there are two problems we have to get cured: one is the turnovers. … And the second thing is we have to close down the paint and close out on shooters. We’re just not doing that well, and they shot the ball extremely well. Versus the best teams where you have to keep the ball out of the paint and then close has to improve.’’
Orlando got a monster performance from Howard (26 points, 18 rebounds, three steals and two blocks in 40 minutes) and sufficient support from Rashard Lewis (14 points and three 3-pointers), J.J. Redick (11 points and four assists) and Pietrus (nine points, three 3-pointers and five rebounds). But there was little consolation in a close loss for a Magic team that has expectations of beating the best teams and championship aspirations.
``That’s one of the more frustrating losses, especially with how (the Spurs) have been playing because they shot it fantastic and took care of the ball. We gave ourselves a chance to be in it, but our turnovers and not closing out hurt us,’’ Redick said. ``But we’re not about moral victories and staying close. We want to win every game and have one of the best records in the NBA and to do that we have to win games like this.’’
Here’s a look back at what went right, what went wrong and some final observations from Monday’s showdown of the two teams that entered with the best records in the East and the West:
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