San Antonio Spurs Blog – Page 46 – NBA Blog

Spurs re-assign Cory Joseph to D-League for zillionth time

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

Joseph, who has now been assigned to the Toros four times this season, has appeared in 14 games with Austin, averaging a team-high 20.7 points, 5.9 rebounds, 4.6 assists and 1.29 steals in 39.2 minutes while shooting .465 (100-215) from the field, .442 (19-43) from three-point range and .780 (71-91) from the foul line.

The University of Texas product has appeared in 10 games this season for the Spurs, averaging 1.9 points, 1.3 assists and 1.0 rebounds in 6.8 minutes.

Spurs want to keep R.C. Buford

Speculation that the proposed new owners of the Kings franchise will seek to pry R.C. Buford away from the Spurs when, and if, the purchase is approved and the team moves to Seattle has been met with bemusement within the Spurs’ organization.

A source within the organization said that the Spurs’ general manager “is not going anywhere.

“He loves living in San Antonio and loves what we have built here,” the source said. “You could probably find about 25 of the other 29 franchises that would like to have R.C., so the speculation is understandable, but he’s staying with the Spurs.”

A group led by Seattle hedge fund manager Christopher Hansen and Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer reached an agreement for the transfer of controlling interest in the Kings from the Maloof family.

— Reported by Mike Monroe of the San Antonio Express-News

Tony Parker, Spurs hold off Hawks, 98-93

With Tim Duncan given a night off and Manu Ginobili still out with a hamstring injury, Tony Parker took the lead for the San Antonio Spurs.

Parker had 23 points and 12 assists, and the Spurs held off the short-handed Atlanta Hawks 98-93 on Saturday night for their fourth straight victory.

”Tony is just incredible,” said Spurs coach Gregg Popovich. ”What competitiveness. What a will to win. What a will to carry the team. He’s really fun to watch at both ends of the court. And he’s been doing that all year.”

The Spurs snapped a streak of three straight road losses with their first win away from San Antonio since Jan. 2.

Matt Bonner added 17 points, and Kawhi Leonard and Tiago Splitter each had 14 for the Spurs.

Parker had 10 points in the final period as the Spurs held off the Hawks’ comeback. He was effective with his drives and when setting up Splitter on pick-and-roll plays…

The Hawks announced about 90 minutes before the game that guard Lou Williams faces season-ending surgery for a torn ACL in his right knee. Williams was hurt Friday at Brooklyn and the tear was found when Williams was examined on Saturday by Dr. Michael Bernot in Atlanta…

Josh Smith led the Hawks with 21 points. Kyle Korver, who started at shooting guard, had 19 points and a season-high eight rebounds.

— Reported by Charles Odum of the Associated Press

Warriors continue to lose when playing in San Antonio

It’s been 16 years since the Warriors won in San Antonio. That means Tim Duncan has been a winner in every home game he’s ever played against Golden State, and he wasn’t about to let that change Friday night.

Duncan had 24 points and 10 rebounds, and the Spurs held off Golden State 95-88 on Friday night to extend their home winning streak to 14 games.

The Warriors have lost 28 straight games in San Antonio, the longest current road drought for one NBA team against another.

”Don’t say that. Why do you say that?” Spurs guard Tony Parker said, joking about jinxing the streak. ”We don’t really pay attention to those stats because every year is different, every team is different. Golden State is for real. They are a really, really good team. It’s going to be tough against them.”

The last time the Warriors won in San Antonio was 108-94 on Feb. 14, 1997. Four months later, the Spurs selected Duncan with the top pick in the NBA draft.

Parker added 25 points and eight assists for San Antonio (31-11), an NBA-best 18-2 at home. Tiago Splitter added 19 points and nine rebounds, and Danny Green scored 13.

”It was another tough game with playoff intensity,” Parker said. ”It was very physical and they are a very good team. They are playing very well and they played very hard tonight.”

David Lee had 22 points, Klay Thompson added 21 and Jarrett Jack 20 for Golden State (23-15).

— Reported by the Associated Press

Spurs recall Cory Joseph from D-League again

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 three times this season, has appeared in 14 games with Austin, averaging a team-high 20.7 points, 5.9 rebounds, 4.6 assists and 1.29 steals in 39.2 minutes while shooting .465 (100-215) from the field, .442 (19-43) from three-point range and .780 (71-91) from the foul line.

The University of Texas product has appeared in nine games this season for the Spurs, averaging 2.1 points and 1.4 assists in 7.2 minutes.

Manu Ginobili out 10-14 days

The San Antonio Spurs today announced that Manu Ginobili underwent an MRI this morning that revealed a Grade 1 left hamstring strain. The injury occurred in the second quarter of Sunday night’s game vs. Minnesota.

Ginobili is expected to miss 10-to-14 days.

The 29-11 Spurs are currently the 3rd seed in the Western conference, behind the Clippers at No. 2 and the Thunder at No. 1.

Tony Parker leads Spurs past Timberwolves, 106-88

Tony Parker scored 20 points to lead the San Antonio in a 106-88 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Sunday night, extending the Spurs’ home winning streak to 12 games.

Gary Neal was 3 for 3 on 3-pointers in scoring 15 points for San Antonio, which beat Minnesota at home for the 16th straight time. Tim Duncan added 14 points and nine rebounds and Tiago Splitter had 10 points. Manu Ginobili scored 12 points in the first half before leaving with a strained left hamstring.

J.J. Barea scored 15 points, Nikola Pekovic had 14 and Luke Ridnour 13 for the Timberwolves.

San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich was ejected with 7:22 remaining in the game following a double technical for arguing a foul called against Splitter on Barea. The ejection sparked an 11-0 run for the Spurs, including a dunk and two reverse layups by Splitter.

The Spurs started 3 for 9 from the field with two turnovers in falling behind 16-7. Following a timeout, San Antonio went on a 13-1 run as Minnesota missed 11 shots in a 5-minute drought…

Minnesota F Kevin Love (fractured hand), G Brandon Roy (knee), G Chase Budinger (knee) and Malcolm Lee (knee) did not play. … San Antonio has had 12 different starters this season, the most of any NBA team.

— Reported by Raul Dominguez of the Associated Press

Tony Parker scores 24, Spurs edge banged-up Lakers

Not even a hard-fought loss against a longtime rival did little to brighten the mood of one of the more tumultuous seasons in the storied history of the Los Angeles Lakers.

Tony Parker scored 24 points and the San Antonio Spurs handed the slumping Lakers their fifth straight loss with a 108-105 victory Wednesday night.

Manu Ginobili added 19 points and Tiago Splitter and Stephen Jackson had 14 each for San Antonio (28-10), which has won 11 straight at home. Splitter also had a career-high 14 rebounds.

Kobe Bryant had 27 points, Metta World Peace added 23 and Earl Clark 22 for Los Angeles (15-20). Bryant was 10 for 24 from the field, missing a 3-pointer on his final attempt that would have tied the game. Clark missed a follow-up 3 off a long rebound…

Leonard finished with 11 points, three rebounds, two assists, two steals and one blocked shot in 33 minutes while primarily guarding Bryant and World Peace.

”Kawhi Leonard was the start of the show as far as I’m concerned,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. ”He had a great night and is getting better and better defensively and starting to find his way offensively. I thought that was great.” …

Lakers G Steve Blake (abdominal surgery) missed his 28th game of the season. Howard (shoulder), Gasol (concussion) and Hill (hip) also sat out the game. The Spurs had every player on their current roster active.

— Reported by Raul Dominguez of the Associated Press

NYC Mayor Bloomberg says he pushed Stephen Jackson

Just call him the Knicks’ sixth man.

Mayor Bloomberg put a full-court press on Spurs forward Stephen Jackson before the player left a Knicks game Thursday with a sprained ankle.

The Knicks ended up winning easily, 100-83.

Fans reported Jackson tripped on a waitress, who was crouched on the sidelines with her back to the Madison Square Garden court while serving a drink to the mayor.

“He didn’t fall on her,” Bloomberg revealed yesterday during a press conference in The Bronx dealing with schools. “He came close and I just pushed him a little bit.”

The mayor acknowledged it would be “great for New York” if the Knicks and the Nets made it into the playoffs, but he insisted that fouling Jackson was an instinctive, defensive move and not part of a secret strategy.

— Reported by David Seifman of the New York Post

Eric Gordon carries Hornets to victory over Spurs

Hornets fans grew restless as guard Eric Gordon sat out much of the early season rehabilitating his injured knee.

A New Year’s Day appearance at New Orleans Arena was met with a mixture of cheers as well as jeers.

But Gordon may be turning those dissenters into fans, proving he may just be worth the Hornets nearly $60 million investment.

Gordon scored 24 points, including six consecutive in a critical fourth quarter run, to lead the Hornets to a 95-88 victory over San Antonio on Monday night.

”That’s one of the key things I do best when it comes to late-game situations or if anything gets tough,” Gordon said. ”I like to take guys one on one and I’m able to get a shot off and get a good shot. I look forward to that.

”I love those situations,” he said.

Anthony Davis added 17 points, Greivis Vasquez 14 and Ryan Anderson 13 for the Hornets, who have won two consecutive games for the first time since Nov. 2-3, the second and third games of the season…

Manu Ginobili scored 21 points to lead the Spurs, who had won eight of their previous nine, dating to a 99-94 victory over the Hornets in San Antonio on Dec. 21.

Tony Parker added 16 points, Tim Duncan 13 and Kawhi Leonard 10 for San Antonio. Duncan was 5 of 14, at one point missing five consecutive shots in the third quarter.

— Reported by the Associated Press