San Antonio Spurs Blog – Page 45 – NBA Blog

Suns end Spurs 18-game home winning streak

After a 25-day, nine-game road trip, the San Antonio Spurs were glad to be back in their own building, relaxed and ready to add to their 18-game home winning streak.

Maybe too relaxed.

Jermaine O’Neal had 22 points and 13 rebounds, Wesley Johnson hit a 3-pointer at the end of regulation to force overtime and the Phoenix Suns rallied to upend San Antonio 105-101, stunning a raucous crowd that had begun celebrating midway through the third quarter only to exit in silence.

Tony Parker had 22 points to lead San Antonio, which had not lost at home since Nov. 19 against the Los Angeles Clippers. Tim Duncan had 19 points and 11 rebounds, and DeJuan Blair and Kawhi Leonard added 15 points apiece.

Luis Scola added 15 points and Goran Dragic had 13 points and 13 assists for Phoenix, which snapped a six-game losing streak against the Spurs…

Trailing by 11 points with 11:29 left in the game, the Suns rallied behind O’Neal. The veteran center had 13 points and five rebounds as Phoenix (20-39) outscored San Antonio 33-23 in the fourth…

Dragic and reigning MVP LeBron James of Miami are the only players leading their team in points, assists, steals and free throw attempts.

— Reported by the Associated Press

Tony Parker will not play Sunday vs Suns

Spurs point guard Tony Parker has been ruled out of Sunday’s rodeo road trip finale with a right triceps contusion, the team reported this afternoon.

The All-Star apparently suffered the injury at some point in the Spurs’ 107-101 overtime loss at Golden State on Friday night. Parker scored 18 points in the defeat, his career-best 48th consecutive game in double figures but also his lowest-scoring game since putting up 17 in a Jan. 16 victory over Memphis.

Parker was the Western Conference’s Player of the Month for January, in which he averaged 21.9 points and 7.9 assists and shot 56.3 percent. He has built a solid case to repeat in February, averaging 26.6 points, 8.4 assists and shooting 55.2 percent this month.

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

Warriors rally past Spurs 107-101 in OT

Jarrett Jack had 30 points and 10 rebounds, David Lee added 25 points and 22 boards, and the Golden State Warriors rallied past the San Antonio Spurs 107-101 in overtime Friday night to snap a 16-game losing streak in the series.

Stephen Curry finished with 18 points and six assists to carry the short-sleeve-wearing Warriors from 13 points down in the fourth quarter. Golden State, also playing without center Andrew Bogut hadn’t won against San Antonio since another overtime game at home—all the way back on Jan. 7, 2008.

Danny Green scored 20 points and Tim Duncan had 19 points and 18 rebounds for the NBA-leading Spurs, who had won five straight and 16 of 17 overall. San Antonio fell to 6-2 on its rodeo trip, which ends Sunday at Phoenix.

The Spurs seemed to take control between the third and fourth quarters, breaking away from a tie game with 13 straight points behind Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker Both finished with 18 points, and both disappeared late…

Spurs swingman Stephen Jackson dressed but did not play for undisclosed reasons. He played against the Clippers a night earlier, his first game back since his wife had a miscarriage. Jackson had left the team in Chicago on Feb. 11. … The Warriors are also planning to wear the sleeved jerseys for home games against Houston on March 8 and Chicago on March 15. … The Spurs have won 28 in a row against the Warriors in San Antonio.

— Reported by Antonio Gonzalez of the Associated Press

Kawhi Leonard 3-pointer helps Spurs edge Cavs 96-95

Kawhi Leonard made a 3-pointer with 2.9 seconds remaining to give the San Antonio Spurs a 96-95 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday night.

Leonard’s clutch basket came after Dion Waiters’ jump shot with 9.5 seconds remaining put Cleveland ahead 95-93.

The Spurs, who have won 14 of 15, had stars Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili on the floor together for the first time since Jan. 13.

Kyrie Irving, who was held to a season-low six points, missed a desperation runner from the top of the key as time expired.

Tony Parker led the Spurs with 24 points while Gary Neal scored 15.

Waiters scored 20 points to lead Cleveland, which has dropped three straight after winning a season-high three in a row…

Irving, who rolled his left ankle Monday against Minnesota, was 2 of 15 from the field with seven assists.

Tyler Zeller, who was scoreless in 25 minutes Monday, had 16 points, including 12 in the first half, for Cleveland.

— Reported by the Associated Press

Tony Parker scores 29, short-handed Spurs destroy Nets 111-86

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…

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…

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.

— Reported by Brian Mahoney of the Associated Press

Danny Green, streak shooter extraordinaire

Danny Green entered his second season as a Spurs starter with the goal of establishing more consistency in his shooting stroke. But even now, well past the halfway mark, Green still has no idea what to expect on a nightly basis.

Such was the case Wednesday in frigid Minneapolis, when he torched the Target Center nets for a career-high eight 3-pointers on 12 attempts en route to 28 points.

“It came out of nowhere,” Green told the Express-News’ Jeff McDonald. “Sometimes it happens that way.”

And sometimes it doesn’t. For just as often as Green will have stretches where he seemingly can’t miss, he’ll struggle through slumps where even the most wide-open of looks carom off the rim.

— Reported by Dan McCarney of the San Antonio Express-News (Blog)

Spurs recall center Aron Baynes from D-League

The San Antonio Spurs today announced that they have recalled center Aron Baynes from the Austin Toros of the NBA Development League.

Baynes appeared in two games for the Toros after being assigned to Austin on Feb. 1. He averaged 18.0 points and 9.0 rebounds in 27.5 minutes in his first D-League assignment.

Signed by the Spurs on January 23, Baynes has appeared in two games for the Silver and Black, averaging 3.5 points and 4.5 rebounds in 9.5 minutes.

LeBron James, Tony Parker named NBA Players of Month for January, 2013

Miami Heat forward LeBron James and San Antonio Spurs guard Tony Parker today were named the NBA Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Month, respectively, for games played in January.

James captured his third straight Kia NBA Eastern Conference Player of the Month award by ranking second in the conference in scoring (27.0 ppg), third in field goal percentage (.555), fourth in steals (1.92 spg), fifth in assists (7.2 apg), and 16th in rebounds (8.1 rpg). In January, James scored at least 20 points in 12 games, at least 25 points in seven games and 30 or more points in five games. He became the youngest player in NBA history to reach 20,000 career points when he achieved the feat at Golden State on Jan.16.

Parker helped the Spurs to a 12-3 record in January, tied with the Denver Nuggets for the best mark in the league. He ranked third in the conference in assists (7.9 apg), sixth in scoring (21.9 ppg) and seventh in field goal percentage (.563), scoring at least 20 points in 12 games , including two 30-plus point games. He notched five point-assist double-doubles during the month, including dishing out a season-high 13 assists in a 106-102 win over the New Orleans Hornets on Jan. 23.

Other nominees for NBA Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Month were Brooklyn’s Brook Lopez, Chicago’s Carlos Boozer and Joakim Noah, Cleveland’s Kyrie Irving, Denver’s Danilo Gallinari, Houston’s James Harden, New York’s Carmelo Anthony, Oklahoma City’s Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook, Portland’s LaMarcus Aldridge and Washington’s Emeka Okafor.

Kyrie Irving and Tony Parker named NBA Players of Week

Cleveland Cavaliers guard Kyrie Irving and San Antonio Spurs guard Tony Parker today were named Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week, respectively, for games played Monday, Jan. 21 through Sunday, Jan. 27.

Irving led the league in scoring at 35.7 ppg, guiding the Cavaliers to a 3-0 week. He tallied at least 32 points in all three games, finishing the week with a .612 shooting percentage from the field (41-of-67 field goals) and a .950 shooting percentage from the foul line (19-of-20 free throws). Irving poured in 40 points on 16-of-24 shooting from the field in a 95-90 win over the Boston Celtics on Jan. 22.

Parker led the Spurs to a 4-0 week behind averages of 24.5 points (fourth in the conference) and 9.5 assists (third in the conference). He posted back-to-back point-assist double-doubles on Jan. 23 and 25, in wins over the New Orleans Hornets and Dallas Mavericks. Parker connected on 40-of-66 field goals (.606) on the week, good for eighth best in the West.

Other nominees for the Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week were Atlanta’s Kyle Korver and Josh Smith, Denver’s Ty Lawson, the Los Angeles Clippers’ Blake Griffin, Miami’s LeBron James, Milwaukee’s Ersan Ilyasova, New Orleans’ Ryan Anderson, Oklahoma City’s Kevin Durant and Portland’s Nicolas Batum.

Tony Parker gets stitches, scores 23, helps Spurs beat Mavs

Tony Parker returned from a cut above the same eye he injured in a nightclub incident last summer and scored 23 points to lead the San Antonio Spurs to a 113-107 victory over the Dallas Mavericks on Friday night.

Parker missed about a quarter in the first half when he took three stitches above his left eye after a collision with Elton Brand on a drive. He nearly lost the eye in June when shards of glass embedded in his cornea after he got caught in a bottle-throwing melee in New York.

Tim Duncan stayed home with a sore right knee, but DeJuan Blair made up for his absence by scoring a season-high 22 points.

Rodrigue Beaubois led the Mavericks with a season-high 19 points…

Parker’s head collided with Brand’s arm on a drive early in the first quarter, and no foul was called. Parker stayed down alone under the basket covering his left eye for about 20 seconds during a Dallas possession on the other end. Once play stopped, Parker had to be separated from the referees as he was led to the bench…

Nowitzki finished with 15, and Mayo had 14. Vince Carter scored 17 for Dallas…

Spurs coach Gregg Popovich missed his second straight game because of illness.

— Reported by Schuyler Dixon of the Associated Press