San Antonio Spurs Blog – Page 92 – NBA Blog

Nov 17: Spurs 86, Clippers 83

The AP reports: Roger Mason’s 3-pointer with 8.4 seconds remaining lifted the San Antonio Spurs to an 86-83 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers on Monday night for their third straight victory. Mason, who led the Spurs with 21 points, got away from Ricky Davis near the top of the key and had no trouble nailing his third 3-pointer of the game after the Clippers had rallied from an 11-point deficit in the final 6 1/2 minutes.

InsideHoops.com Notes: For the Spurs, Tim Duncan had 20 points, 15 rebounds, 6 assists and 6 blocks. Mason shot 9-of-16 for his 21 points, and no assists. Mike Finley scored 19. George Hill shot 0-of-5 but dished 8 assists. For the Clippers, Cuttino Mobley had 18 points on 18 shots. Chris Kaman shot 8-of-13 for 17 points, 13 rebounds and 3 blocks. Baron Davis shot just 5-of-17 for 11 points and 8 assists. Tim Thomas unleashed a 1-of-7 brickfest off the bench.

Nov 16: Spurs 90, Kings 88

The AP reports: Even without Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker, the San Antonio Spurs are still using the same formula to win games. Michael Finley scored 21 points and Tim Duncan had 20, including two key baskets in the final minute, in the Spurs’ 90-88 victory over Sacramento on Sunday night… Against the Kings, Roger Mason had 18 points, Matt Bonner added 11 and Jacque Vaughn had 10. Yet it was a tenacious fourth-quarter defense that limited the Kings to 5-of-18 shooting and gave the Spurs a 23-16 edge in the decisive final quarter… John Salmons had a season-high 31 points for the Kings, who have dropped two straight. Beno Udrih added 16 points, Quincy Douby had 12 and Brad Miller finished with 10 points and eight rebounds… The Kings continue to play without injured scoring leader Kevin Martin and top reserve Francisco Garcia.

Spurs waive Desmon Farmer and sign Blake Ahearn

he San Antonio Spurs today announced they have signed guard Blake Ahearn. Per club policy terms of the contract were not released. At the same time the team announced that guard Desmon Farmer has been waived.

Ahearn is the first player called up from the NBA Development League in the 2008-09 season. He was in Minnesota’s 2008 training camp where he averaged 7.8 points and 1.2 assists in five games. After being waived by the Timberwolves he joined the Dakota Wizards. Ahearn was in camp with the Wizards prior to signing with the Spurs.

During the 2007-08 season the 6-2, 190-pound, Ahearn appeared in 41 games for the Wizards. He averaged 19.0 points, 3.5 assists and 2.5 rebounds in 29.5 minutes per game. He shot .486 (239-492) from the field, .439 (108-246) from three-point land and .960 (192-200) from the line. Ahearn was named the 2008 D-League Rookie of the Year and earned a spot on the All D-League Second Team.

Ahearn was signed by the Miami Heat on 3/21/08. He spent the remainder of the 2007-08 season with Miami. In 12 games with the Heat he averaged 5.8 points, 1.6 assists and 1.6 rebounds.

Ahearn played his collegiate ball at Missouri State. In four seasons with the Bears, he averaged 13.8 points, 1.8 assists and 1.7 rebounds in 128 games. Ahearn earned First Team All-Missouri Valley Conference honors his junior and senior seasons. For his career Ahearn shot .423 (483-1,142) from the field, .408 (276-676) from three-point range and .946 (435-460) from the foul line. He finished collegiate career as the all-time leading free throw shooter in NCAA Division I history. Ahearn led the nation in free throw shooting his freshman, sophomore, and junior years.

Farmer was signed by the Spurs as a free agent on 9/17/08. He appeared in three games for the Silver and Black, averaging 4.3 points and 2.0 rebounds in 18.0 minutes.

Nov 14: Spurs 77, Rockets 75

The AP reports: Tim Duncan scored 22 points, but his defense helped the Spurs avoid another loss in their injury-plagued early season. Duncan blocked Aaron Brooks’ layup with a second left in the Spurs’ 77-75 victory over the Houston Rockets on Friday night… Rookie George Hill, playing in place of the injured Tony Parker at point guard, added 17 points to help San Antonio—down 14 points with 7:37 to go— improve to 3-5. San Antonio also is awaiting the return of Manu Ginobili from an ankle injury… “This was a game we should have won,” said Tracy McGrady said, who struggled through a 2-for-12 shooting night for seven points… Ron Artest led Houston with 18 points. Brooks, playing at point guard in place of the suspended Rafer Alston, had 14.

Spurs assign Ian Mahinmi to D-League

The San Antonio Spurs announced today that they have assigned center Ian Mahinmi to the Austin Toros, the NBA Development League team owned and operated by the Spurs.

Mahinmi is currently recovering from a sprained right ankle. He will use this assignment to the Toros as an opportunity to get back into basketball shape and complete his rehabilitation.

The 22-year-old Mahinmi is entering his second season with the Spurs. He split the 2007-08 campaign between San Antonio and Austin. Mahinmi started the season in San Antonio, appearing in six games with the Spurs, averaging 3.5 points in 3.8 minutes, before being assigned to the Toros on 11/21.

Mahinmi was named to the 2008 All-NBA Development League First Team. In 46 games with the Toros, he averaged 16.8 points, 8.0 rebounds and 1.70 blocks in 29.6 minutes while shooting .615 (276-449) from the field and .766 (219-286) from the line. Mahinmi ranked 19th in the D-League in scoring, second in field goal percentage, eighth in rebounding and ninth in blocks. For the season Mahinmi posted 16 double-doubles. In four games in the 2008 D-League Playoffs, Mahinmi averaged 18.3 points, 10.8 rebounds and 3.50 blocks in 38.3 minutes.

Mahinmi was selected by the Spurs in the first round of the 2005 NBA Draft with the 28th overall pick. He was signed by the Spurs on 8/23/07 after spending the previous four seasons in the French A League.

Nov 12: Kings 103, Clippers 98

The AP reports: With Kevin Martin sidelined, Beno Udrih knew he had to look to score more than usual… Udrih had a career-high 30 points, five rebounds and seven assists, and the short-handed Sacramento Kings never trailed in beating the Los Angeles Clippers 103-98 on Wednesday night for their first road victory of the season… Sacramento played its second game without Martin, who is out at least a week after spraining his left ankle in a victory over Golden State on Sunday… Brad Miller added 16 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists, Thompson had 16 points and 11 rebounds, and John Salmons scored 13 points for the Kings (4-5), who started the season with four straight road losses by an average of 20 points. They followed that with three wins in four home games before beating the Clippers… Al Thornton led the Clippers (1-7) with 20 points. Ricky Davis scored 12 of his 16 in the fourth quarter, Marcus Camby added 13 points and Baron Davis had 12 points and 11 assists, but shot 4-of-15.

Nov 12: Bucks 82, Spurs 78

The AP reports: Andrew Bogut had 10 points and 17 rebounds, Richard Jefferson scored 16 of his 19 points in the second half and the Milwaukee Bucks held on after a big run to beat Duncan and the San Antonio Spurs 82-78 on Wednesday night… The Bucks, without Michael Redd for the fifth straight game because of a sprained right ankle and in the midst of a three-game losing streak, used a 21-2 run straddling the third and fourth quarters to take control in a game that featured two struggling offenses without some of their biggest stars… The league’s model of consistency (Duncan) had 24 points and scored 14 of the Spurs’ 19 points in the fourth quarter in a rally that fell just short when he missed a “bunny” shot that would’ve tied it with 5 seconds to play.

Bruce Bowen comes off bench

The San Antonio Express-News (Mike Monroe) reports: For the first time since he arrived in San Antonio in 2001, Spurs forward Bruce Bowen did not start a game for which he suited up. Bowen’s response: His best game of the season. Bowen replaced starter Ime Udoka, who started in his spot, with 2:22 remaining in the first period. By the end of Tuesday’s 92-80 victory over the New York Knicks at the AT&T Center, he had scored a season-high 13 points, making all three 3-point attempts in almost 28 minutes on the floor. Bowen, who had started all 555 of his games as a Spur, accepted his removal from the starting unit with equanimity. “As a competitor, you may not want it to happen,” he said. “It’s a matter of just being as professional as you can, and not allowing those things to affect you from the standpoint of not withdrawing from the team.”

Nov 11: Spurs 92, Knicks 80

The AP reports: Even without Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili, the San Antonio Spurs were too much for the New York Knicks. Tim Duncan had 23 points, nine rebounds, and seven assists to lead San Antonio to a 92-80 victory over the New York Knicks on Tuesday night in the Spurs’ first game without Parker… “They’re a tough team regardless,” said Knicks guard Jamal Crawford, who led New York with 28 points… San Antonio held New York to just 38 percent shooting and outrebounded the Knicks 60-48… Rookie George Hill started in place of Parker and scored a season-high 12 points.

Heat gets first win at Spurs since 1996

The South Florida Sun-Sentinel (Ira Winderman) reports: Before Friday night’s 99-83 victory over the Spurs at the AT&T Center, the Heat was 1-20 all-time in San Antonio, with the lone victory 12 years ago. That previous victory came when Heat assistant coach Keith Askins was the team’s starting small forward, when future NBA coaches Avery Johnson and Vinny Del Negro were in the Spurs’ starting backcourt, and when Tim Duncan was still on campus at Wake Forest… This is a game the Heat should have won, even as it redefines itself in the wake of last season’s NBA-worst 15-67 record. With Manu Ginobili still sidelined from preseason ankle surgery and Tony Parker lost in the first quarter with a sprained left ankle, the Spurs were reduced to Duncan and a bunch of fill-ins lacking anything in the way of championship pedigree.