Category: San Antonio Spurs Blog

Spurs blog – San Antonio Spurs blog, with news, rumors and more

Nov 7: Heat 99, Spurs 83

The AP reports: Tony Parker’s encore to 55 was two to four. That’s how many weeks San Antonio is preparing to be without the NBA’s leading scorer after he sprained his left ankle early in a 99-83 loss to Miami on Friday night. Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said the ankle is “pretty swollen.” Tim Duncan found solace that it wasn’t worse. Dwyane Wade, who had 33 points and 10 rebounds for Miami, pitied that “another great player” went down… “I don’t know what it is,” said Duncan, who had 22 points and 11 rebounds but sat most of the fourth quarter… Rookie Michael Beasley added 20 points for Miami and briefly left the game with what the Heat described as a left shin contusion. He later returned to the bench, and the team said X-rays were negative. Roger Mason scored 18 points and Ime Udoka had 14 off the bench in trying to rally the Spurs with Parker out.

Tony Parker could miss 2 weeks

The AP reports: Tony Parker sprained his left ankle and could be out two weeks, and the Miami Heat took advantage of his absence to beat the San Antonio Spurs 99-83 on Friday night… Parker sustained a moderate lateral ankle sprain and will probably be out more than two weeks, said Dr. Paul Saenz, a team physician. An MRI was expected to be performed Saturday.

Nov 5: Spurs 129, Wolves 125 2OT

The AP reports: Tony Parker scored a career-high 55 points, including a 20-footer at the buzzer to force a second overtime, in San Antonio’s 129-125 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday night… Al Jefferson, who had 30 points and 14 rebounds, paused to sit on the scorer’s table before play resumed and just shook his head as if to say, “What more can we do?” … Mike Miller had 12 of his 25 points in the first quarter for Minnesota, which held a nine-point lead twice but lost its edge late in the third while the Spurs closed with a 26-14 run… “I saw it in his eyes, man. I could tell,” said teammate Roger Mason (about Parker), who had 26 points… Parker was 22-of-36 from the field and added 10 assists and seven rebounds.

Nov 4: Mavs 98, Spurs 81

The AP reports: Jason Terry scored 29 points, Dirk Nowitzki added 30 points and the Dallas Mavericks beat San Antonio 98-81 on Tuesday night to send the Spurs to their first 0-3 record in 35 years… Dallas (2-2) also got 14 points from Josh Howard and 10 assists from Jason Kidd. The Mavericks shot 53 percent from the floor compared to 42 for San Antonio. Dallas outrebounded San Antonio 48-38… Tony Parker led San Antonio with 22 points and Tim Duncan scored 19 as the Spurs continue to play without Manu Ginobili. He’s not expected back until December after surgery to repair his left ankle. “Uncharted territory for us,” Duncan said of the 0-3 start.

Oct 31: Blazers 100, Spurs 99

The AP reports: Michael Finley’s shot at the buzzer for San Antonio rimmed out and the Blazers edged the Spurs 100-99 Friday night… Brandon Roy had 26 points and seven assists for the Blazers, who were without 7-foot center Greg Oden, who sprained his right foot in the season opener against the Lakers. Tim Duncan led the Spurs with 27 points and 10 rebounds, while Parker had 24 points and 11 assists… Channing Frye hit a jumper to give the Blazers their biggest lead at 82-72, then followed with a dunk. But Ime Udoka and Mason each answered with a 3-pointer, and Duncan made a layup to narrow it to 84-80 for the Spurs.

Spurs hack-a-Shaq 5 seconds into game

UPDATE: See the video of it here.

The East Valley Tribune (Jerry Brown) reports: With Shaquille O’Neal’s “coward” comment still ringing in the ears of Spurs fans before Wednesday’s game, a reporter asked San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich if he would consider a mock “Hack-a-Shaq” on the first possession of the game to jokingly prove that he wasn’t backing down from his strategy in last year’s playoffs. Popovich stopped. He ran his fingers through his new white beard. And then he started to grin. “You know, that’s not a bad idea now that I think about it. It’s a better suggestion than any of our (assistant) coaches have had all summer,” Popovich said. “I could get a couple of guys in front of me and act like they were holding me back … a typical NBA fight.” Funny guy. He was just kidding, of course. Right? Sure enough, the Suns won the tip and ex-Sun Michael Finley wrapped his arms around O’Neal to stop play five seconds into the game — a nonshooting foul. O’Neal quickly looked over at Popovich, who gave him two thumbs-up and the two shared a laugh. “Classic Pop. I loved it,” Steve Nash said. “It would have been a fine if he didn’t do it.”

Oct 29: Suns 103, Spurs 98

The AP reports: Amare Stoudemire scored 22 points—11 coming on 5-of-5 shooting in the fourth quarter—and four other Phoenix players scored in double figures to help the Suns beat the San Antonio Spurs 103-98 in the regular-season opener for both teams Wednesday night… Tim Duncan and Tony Parker each scored 32 points for the Spurs, who were playing without guard Manu Ginobili who is out until December after ankle surgery. Nash added 13 points and 13 assists for the Suns. Leandro Barbosa had 18 points, Shaquille O’Neal 15, and Grant Hill 13.

Spurs exercise Ian Mahinmi option

The San Antonio Spurs announced today that they have exercised the third-year team option on center Ian Mahinmi’s rookie scale contract. Mahinmi is now signed through the 2009-10 season. Per team policy, financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

“We are very excited about Ian Mahinmi’s development,” said Spurs General Manager RC Buford. “We’ve literally seen him grow up in front of our eyes, since he joined us he’s grown more than an inch and gained over 30 pounds. He is a talented young man who has continued to work hard and improve as a basketball player. Being named to the D-League First Team last season – in his first year in the States – is an indication of what a bright future he has.”

Mahinmi, who turns 22 on November 5, is entering his second season with the Spurs. He split the 2007-08 campaign between San Antonio and the Austin Toros, the NBA Development League team owned and operated by the Spurs. 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. He scored in double figures 38 times, with 20-or-more 17 times and 30-plus four times. Mahinmi scored a season-high-tying 32 points (11-15 FG, 10-16 FT) and grabbed a season-best 17 rebounds vs. Utah on 12/21.

NBA opening night rosters

The NBA’s opening day rosters are official, and now posted on InsideHoops.com.

This evening was the deadline for NBA teams to trim their rosters down to 15 players or less.

The 2008-09 regular season starts Tuesday, October 28. InsideHoops is your online basketball home. We’re pumping out more content this season than ever.

Enjoy the season!