SPURS HEAD COACH GREGG POPOVICH: (When asked how different the Spurs are when Kawhi Leonard is playing…): “Well, we’re trying to make him a defender, a top notch defender that can become ‘All League’ kind of defender like Bruce (Bowen) was.  I think he has got the mentality for it, the intelligence for it.  He just needs the experience.  So we will see how it goes but in that regard he’s doing a good job.  Chip Engelland has done wonders with his shot.  Chad Forcier has been working on his mid-range game.  He’s coming along.  He’s been sitting for a long time.  This is only his second game back.  He’s sort of like a rookie starting over again.  We are happy to see him making the steals that he did and knocking down some shots.”

SPURS GUARD TONY PARKER: (On the record setting three-point shooting from the Spurs…) “It was great ball movement. We shot the ball very well. It was just one of those games where everything we did worked. We will see next week. It is tough to beat a team like that and then we play them next week.”

SPURS GUARD TONY PARKER: (On having Kawhi Leonard back in the rotation…) “It is great. It’s huge. He is a big part of what we do. He played great tonight. He was everywhere. We missed him on the road. Everybody stepped up but after a while it was tough and it showed that we were missing Kawhi.”

SPURS GUARD DANNY GREEEN: (On his hot shooting night…) “Luckily it felt good tonight. Some nights you have it and some nights you don’t. Good thing we had it tonight. Not just myself, but everybody else on the team also stepped up and knocked down some shots. It helped us open up the lead a little bit.”

SPURS GUARD DANNY GREEEN: (On Kawhi Leonard’s impressive defensive performance…) “Kawhi gets in the lanes. He’s got the long arms and big hands. He got a lot of deflections and a lot of hands on balls. He got some fast break dunks for us which opened it up for us a little bit.”

MAVERICKS GUARD DARREN COLLISON: “They (San Antonio) shot lights out. That’s Spurs basketball. We know what they’re about. We just didn’t have our rotations down pat. We’ll work at it.”

The San Antonio Spurs today announced that they have waived guard James Anderson.

Anderson was signed by the Spurs on Nov. 21 and saw action in 10 games, averaging 3.4 points and 1.4 rebounds in 9.4 minutes.

The Spurs this season have a 19-8 record, good for 4th in the Western conference.

The milestone came without fanfare, befitting the low-key superstar who accomplished it.

With a pair of free throws at the 9:15 mark of the third quarter of the Spurs’ loss at Denver on Tuesday, Tim Duncan became the 26th NBA player to reach 23,000 points.

Needing 15 points to hit that plateau, Duncan didn’t stop there. He left the Pepsi Center with his season’s most power-packed box score: 31 points, 18 rebounds, six assists and five blocks.

It was another turn-back-the-clock night in a season full of them for the Spurs’ 36-year-old metronome…

He is one of only six active players to make this list.

– Reported by Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News

The San Antonio Spurs today announced that they have recalled Kawhi Leonard from the Austin Toros of the NBA Development League.

The forward, who has been sidelined with quadriceps tendinitis, left knee since Nov. 17,  was sent to the Toros for a medical rehab assignment on Wednesday.

Prior to the injury, Leonard appeared in nine games for the Silver and Black, averaging 10.6 points, 5.4 rebounds and 2.00 steals in 28.9 minutes.

The San Antonio Spurs today announced that they have assigned Kawhi Leonard to the Austin Toros of the NBA Development League for a medical rehab assignment. Leonard has been sidelined with quadriceps tendinitis, left knee since Nov. 17.

Prior to the injury, Leonard appeared in nine games for the Silver and Black, averaging 10.6 points, 5.4 rebounds and 2.00 steals in 28.9 minutes.

Leonard will practice with the Toros today and then be re-evaluated by team doctors. At that point, a timeline for his return will be determined.

Serge Ibaka ripped away an offensive rebound, got hacked in the process and found his way toward midcourt to flex his muscles in celebration.

Ibaka is a force to be reckoned with, and what better way to show it than by delivering his best game of the season against a rival who had a player take a jab at him on Twitter?

Ibaka tied his career best with 25 points and grabbed a season-high 17 rebounds, and the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the San Antonio Spurs 107-93 Monday night for their 11th straight win…

It was the first meeting for the teams since San Antonio’s Stephen Jackson made a threatening post about Ibaka on Twitter, drawing a $25,000 fine from the NBA…

Jackson just happened to make his return after missing the previous 14 games with a broken right pinkie finger…

The Spurs never found an answer for Ibaka, who had just four points while fighting foul trouble in Oklahoma City’s season-opening loss at San Antonio. He finished 10 for 16 from the field, led the Thunder to a 49-37 rebounding advantage and also blocked three shots…

”It was just another game on the list for us,” said Kevin Durant, who scored 19…

Parker and Nando De Colo had 14 points apiece to lead the Spurs. Manu Ginobili did not play because he bruised his left quadriceps in Saturday’s win at Boston.

Russell Westbrook chipped in 22 points and nine assists and Kevin Martin scored 20 for the Thunder, who had no interest in fanning the flames on the Ibaka-Jackson feud.

– Reported by Jeff Latzke of the Associated Press

The San Antonio Spurs today re-assigned second-year guard Cory Joseph to the Austin Toros, the Spurs’ NBA Development League affiliate.  The assignment is the 53rd of the 2012-13 NBA and NBA D-League seasons, while Joseph is one of 34 NBA players to have been assigned to the NBA D-League this season.

Joseph (6-3, 185) returns to the Toros having played in two games during an earlier assignment when he averaged 12.0 points, 8.0 rebounds, 6.5 assists and 35.5 minutes.

Originally selected by the Spurs with the 29th overall pick of the 2011 NBA Draft out of the University of Texas, Joseph has appeared in nine games for San Antonio this season, averaging 2.1 points, 1.4 assists and 7.2 minutes.

Joseph is expected to join the Toros today and be available tomorrow when the team hosts the Texas Legends at 12 p.m. ET.

Rookie guard Damian Lillard had a career-high 29 points and the Portland Trail Blazers handed the San Antonio Spurs their second straight loss with a 98-90 victory Thursday night.

The Spurs, who have lost only six games this season, trailed by as many as 12 points in the second half but Manu Ginobili’s layup cut the deficit to 89-85. J.J. Hickson answered for the Blazers with a running hook that made it 91-85 with 2:36 left.

Danny Green hit a 3-pointer to pull the Spurs closer again, but Portland clung to the lead and Nicolas Batum—who has been bothered by a sore back— made a 3 that gave Portland a 96-90 advantage with 1:08 left. Batum hit two free throws with 8 seconds to go for the final margin.

It was Lillard’s 13th game this season with 20 or more points. LaMarcus Aldridge added 22 points for the Blazers and Hickson finished with 12 points and 12 rebounds.

Tony Parker had 21 points for the Spurs, who were coming off a 99-96 loss at Utah on Wednesday night that snapped a five-game winning streak…

The Blazers were without starter Wesley Matthews for the second straight game…

– Reported by Anne M. Peterson of the Associated Press

Mo Williams’ 3-pointer at the buzzer [see video] lifted the Utah Jazz to a 99-96 victory over San Antonio on Wednesday night, snapping the Spurs’ five-game winning streak.

Paul Millsap led Utah with 24 points and 12 rebounds, Al Jefferson scored 21 points and Gordon Hayward added 19.

The Jazz trailed by eight with a little more than 4 minutes remaining but fought back. Williams’ winning shot was his only 3 of the night and he finished with eight points on 3-for-9 shooting from the field.

Tim Duncan and Tony Parker each scored 22 points to lead the Spurs, who swept the Jazz out of the playoffs in the first round and had won 11 of the last 12 meetings.

Danny Green’s 19-footer gave the Spurs a 96-94 lead and Millsap tied it with 40 seconds left.

Millsap’s offensive rebound gave the Jazz the final shot. Williams made it and turned and ran toward the other end of the court only to be mobbed by his teammates.

– Reported by Lynn DeBruin of the Associated Press

Charlotte Bobcats coach Mike Dunlap decided to pack the paint Saturday night and make the San Antonio Spurs beat them from the outside.

Danny Green and company did just that.

Green scored a season-high 23 points and the Spurs set a franchise record with 19 3-pointers to hand the Bobcats their seventh straight defeat, 132-102. Green was 7 of 9 from 3-point range and the Spurs shot 56 percent from behind the arc.

Tony Parker had 22 points and nine assists as the Spurs won for the ninth time in 10 games to push their record to 17-4.

Green and Parker were a combined 18 of 22 from the field.

”Tony was driving and the defense was collapsing on Timmy (Duncan), so there were a lot of open shots from the perimeter,” Green said. ”We were driving and kicking and moving the ball. It makes the game a lot easier when you’re making shots. We haven’t been shooting the ball as well lately from the outside so I don’t blame them for trying to do that.” …

Kemba Walker led the Bobcats with 23 points and Gerald Henderson chipped in with 13.

It was San Antonio’s first game with Joey Crawford officiating since a Halloween photo emerged earlier this week on the internet showing Duncan and Parker holding fake guns to the head of a bald man dressed up as Crawford.

– Reported by Steve Reed of the Associated Press

 The San Antonio Spurs today announced that they have recalled guard Cory Joseph from the Austin Toros of the NBA Development League.

Joseph, who has been assigned to the Toros twice this season, has appeared in two games with Austin, averaging 12.0 points, 8.0 rebounds, 6.5 assists and 2.0 steals in 35.5 minutes.

The University of Texas product has appeared in four games this season for the Spurs, averaging 1.8 points and 1.5 assists in 7.8 minutes.

The San Antonio Spurs today announced that they have re-called guard Nando De Colo to the Austin Toros of the NBA Development League.

De Colo was assigned to the Toros on Dec. 2 and finished with 14 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals in Austin’s 97-82 victory over Idaho.

He has appeared in 13 games this season for San Antonio, averaging 2.5 points, 1.4 assists and 1.2 rebounds in 10.4 minutes.

The French native is currently in his first season playing for the Silver and Black. He was selected by the Spurs with the 53rd pick in the second round of the 2009 NBA Draft and spent the past three seasons playing for Valencia of the Spanish ACB League.

Through 17 games, Duncan leads the Spurs in scoring (18.9 points per game), rebounding (10.1) and blocks (2.4), numbers he hasn’t approached since 2008-09.

By modern statistical measures, he is in the nascent throes of the top age-36 season in NBA history, his 27.6 player-efficiency rating challenged only by the 27.1 Karl Malone rang up with Utah in 1999-2000.

Fresh and healthy, Duncan has so resembled his 20-something self that coach Gregg Popovich has had to fight the temptation to give him a 20-something’s workload.

“His condition and age doesn’t change,” Popovich said, offering reasons for keeping Duncan’s minutes managed. “It seems like it has for some magical reason, like there’s some elixir he and Kevin Garnett have found and nobody else.”

– Reported by Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News (Blog)

The San Antonio Spurs today announced that they have assigned guard Nando De Colo to the Austin Toros of the NBA Development League.

De Colo has appeared in 13 games this season for San Antonio, averaging 2.5 points, 1.4 assists and 1.2 rebounds in 10.4 minutes.

The French native is currently in his first season playing for the Silver and Black. He was selected by the Spurs with the 53rd pick in the second round of the 2009 NBA Draft and spent the past three seasons playing for Valencia of the Spanish ACB League.

It’s not very often that Mark Cuban is on the same page with NBA commissioner David Stern.

But the Dallas Mavericks owner said Stern did the right thing Friday in fining the San Antonio Spurs $250,000 for not bringing Tony Parker, Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili and Danny Green to Thursday’s nationally televised game in Miami against the Heat.

Cuban said where the Spurs went wrong is not bringing their marquee players to a game that was shown on TNT. If the Spurs had done the same thing in a game not played on national TV, Cuban said they likely would not have been issued a fine.

“Everybody who planned to watch San Antonio vs. Miami on TNT, we’ve got disappointed customers all over the place,” Cuban said before Saturday’s Mavericks home game against Detroit. “When I say our biggest customer, TV is our biggest customer.

“So I’m not saying San Antonio did the wrong thing. I’m just saying I understand exactly why the league did what they did.”

– Reported by Dwain Price of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram

So that’s what $250,000 worth of rest looks like.

Tony Parker scored 30 points and Tim Duncan had 27 points and 15 rebounds, giving the San Antonio Spurs their money’s worth for the unprecedented fine from the NBA they absorbed for putting rest over the league’s business interests in a 99-95 overtime victory over the Memphis Grizzlies on Saturday night.

Coach Gregg Popovich said before the victory he was ”disappointed” by the $250,000 fine levied by Commissioner David Stern after the Spurs sent Parker, Duncan and Manu Ginobili - three of the NBA’s biggest names - home from a road trip early instead of playing them against LeBron James and the Miami Heat on Thursday in a nationally televised game.

This might ease his frustration. Because chances are Popovich wasn’t second-guessing his decision while watching the 36-year-old Duncan put up his best game this season, Parker eclipsing 30 points for the third time in five games and Ginobili sinking the tying 3-pointer with under a minute left to force overtime…

Marc Gasol led Memphis with 20 points. Zach Randolph had 17 points and 15 rebounds and was one of three Memphis players with double-doubles.

Mike Conley had 18 points and 12 assists, and Rudy Gay had 15 points and 10 rebounds…

The Grizzlies played without Tony Allen for a second straight game because of an injured groin. It’s unclear when their starting shooting guard may return.

– Reported by Paul J. Weber of the Associated Press

The San Antonio Spurs today announced that they have re-assigned guard Cory Joseph to the Austin Toros of the NBA Development League.

Joseph started the season with the Spurs before being assigned to the Toros on Nov. 15.  He was recalled on Nov. 21.  For the season, Joseph has appeared in four games for the Silver and Black, averaging 1.8 points and 1.5 assists in 7.8 minutes.

Last season Joseph had three stints with the Toros, averaging 13.8 points, 5.1 rebounds, 5.1 assists and 1.29 steals in 32.9 minutes in 14 games, helping guide the team to the 2012 NBA D-League championship.

The NBA announced today that the San Antonio Spurs organization has been fined $250,000 for its decision to send four players home prior to the Spurs’ Nov. 29 game in Miami. The Spurs’ actions were in violation of a league policy, reviewed with the NBA Board of Governors in April 2010, against resting players in a manner contrary to the best interests of the NBA.

NBA Commissioner David Stern stated: “The result here is dictated by the totality of the facts in this case. The Spurs decided to make four of their top players unavailable for an early-season game that was the team’s only regular-season visit to Miami. The team also did this without informing the Heat, the media, or the league office in a timely way. Under these circumstances, I have concluded that the Spurs did a disservice to the league and our fans.”

When Gregg Popovich gives his best players a night off to rest, it’s not uncommon for the San Antonio Spurs coach to get letters from upset fans.

This time, he’s going to hear from an upset commissioner - even after Popovich’s short-handed team nearly knocked off the Miami Heat.

Ray Allen’s 3-pointer with 22.6 seconds left gave Miami the lead, LeBron James finished with 23 points and the Heat rallied to beat the Spurs 105-100 on Thursday night - digging deep despite San Antonio’s decision to have four top players resting at home in a move that bothered NBA Commissioner David Stern.

The Spurs played without Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili and Danny Green, all sent back to San Antonio by Popovich, who said the move was in his team’s best interest…

Allen scored 20 points, Dwyane Wade added 19 and Chris Bosh finished with 18 points and 12 rebounds for Miami, now 7-0 at home.

Neal had 20 points for the Spurs. Tiago Splitter scored 18 points, Nando De Colo added 15, Boris Diaw scored 12 and Bonner had 10 for San Antonio, which finished a six-games-in-nine-nights road trip with a 5-1 record. Bonner also had 10 rebounds, one more than he had grabbed all season entering the game…

San Antonio closed the first quarter on a 21-6 run, taking a 27-22 lead after the period, and simply did not go away. The Spurs led by as many as seven at one point, and after James Anderson made a pair of free throws with 0.6 seconds left in the third, San Antonio held a 76-73 lead heading into the final 12 minutes.

– Reported by Tim Reynolds of the Associated Press

The Atlanta Hawks’ Al Horford and the San Antonio Spurs’ Tim Duncan today were named Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week, respectively, for games played Monday, Nov. 19, through Sunday, Nov. 25.

Horford led the Hawks to a 4-0 week, averaging 16.5 points, 9.8 rebounds and 4.5 assists. He recorded a career-high 10 assists on Nov. 21 as Atlanta topped the Washington Wizards 101-100. Horford’s 26-point, 13-rebound double-double in a 101-91 win over the Charlotte Bobcats on Nov. 23 helped the Hawks to improve their road record to 4-2, tops in the conference.

Duncan helped the Spurs to a 3-1 week with averages of 22.0 points, 12.8 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.3 blocks. He posted three consecutive point-rebound double-doubles in games against the Los Angeles Clippers, Boston Celtics and Indiana Pacers. Duncan’s lone game last week without a double-double still showed a balanced stat line of 26 points, six assists, five rebounds and three blocks as the Spurs bested the Raptors 111-106 on Nov. 25 – a game in which Duncan recorded his 2,500th career block.

Other nominees for the Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week were Atlanta’s Jeff Teague, Boston’s Rajon Rondo, Charlotte’s Ramon Sessions, Denver’s Andre Iguodala, Houston’s Chandler Parsons, Memphis’ Rudy Gay, Miami’s Chris Bosh and LeBron James, Oklahoma City’s Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook, and Sacramento’s Tyreke Evans.