Spurs vs. Thunder Previews

[duncan228]

Oklahoma City (20-53) at San Antonio (48-25) Preview (http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/preview?gid=2009033124&prov=ap)
Game info: 8:30 pm EDT Tue Mar 31, 2009
TV: SPSO, My35
By Anthony Giornalista

San Antonio is the best defensive team in the Western Conference. The Oklahoma City Thunder only appeared to be when they last faced the Spurs.

Struggling to stay near the top of the tightly contested West, San Antonio looks to avenge one of its worst losses of the season when it hosts the Thunder on Tuesday night.

San Antonio (48-25) had a three-game winning streak end with a 90-86 loss to New Orleans on Sunday night, seeing its Southwest Division lead over Houston trimmed to one-half game. Denver also is within a half-game of the Spurs for second place in the West, not to mention Portland, Utah and New Orleans aren’t far behind.

Assuming the Nuggets beat the woeful New York Knicks on Tuesday, San Antonio would fall from the No. 2 seed—a spot it’s held for most of the second half of the season—if it gets stunned by the Thunder again.

Though the Spurs allow a conference-low 93.0 points per game and Oklahoma City (20-53) gives up an average of 103.0, it was the Thunder who had little trouble stopping San Antonio in a 78-76 win on March 16. It was San Antonio’s lowest-scoring game of the season.

Tony Parker was the only consistent offensive threat for the Spurs with 28 points, but he missed a 3-pointer in the closing seconds and his team finished 3-of-19 from beyond the arc.

“I think our defense just won the game for us. I know the Spurs can attest to that,” Thunder forward Kevin Durant said after that victory. “They’ve won a lot of games defensively, and we can learn from a team like them.”

Defense has keyed San Antonio’s current seven-game home winning streak in this series, with the Thunder franchise getting held below 80 points four times.

But the Spurs are looking to bounce back on offense. They shot 40.3 percent versus the Hornets after hitting 50.8 percent and averaging 101.5 points in their previous three games.

“They played more aggressively than we did and they wanted the game more,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said.

Parker led San Antonio with 20 points, Tim Duncan had 19 and Manu Ginobili 17, but they got little help.

Spurs guard Roger Mason had perhaps his worst game of the season, going scoreless in 22 minutes. He was held to eight points in a win over the Los Angeles Clippers on Friday night after averaging 21.0 in his previous two contests.

Ginobili shot 4-for-11 in his third game back from an ankle injury, but the star sixth man had his highest-scoring game after missing more than a month.

Oklahoma City got just 16 points from its bench in a 103-84 loss to Boston on Sunday night. It was the fifth loss in six games for the Thunder, who play five of their final nine against playoff contenders in the West.

Oklahoma City needs one more victory to surpass the franchise’s total from last season in Seattle, when the team went 20-62 to get in position to draft point guard Russell Westbrook fourth overall.

Westbrook is struggling down the stretch but had 23 points against Boston. He averaged 9.0 points and shot 28.1 percent in his previous three games.

The former UCLA standout is averaging 15.7 points on the season, third-best among rookies, but has totaled just 10 in two games against San Antonio.

Notes

Thunder:

Oklahoma City's bench was outscored, 34-10, against Boston. The four players used off the Thunder bench combined to shoot 3-of-18 from the floor. ... F Kevin Durant made Oklahoma City's lone 3-pointer. ... G-F Thabo Sefolosha tied his season high with four blocks. ... The Thunder are 6-30 on the road this season.

Spurs:

San Antonio is 3-4 in its last six road games. ... The Spurs led 47-43 at halftime and went up by six after Tim Duncan's driving layup early in third quarter, but wound up shooting only 26.3 percent (5-of-19) during the period as the lead slowly slipped away.

Team Stat Leaders

Points

Kevin Durant OKC 25.7
Tony Parker SA 21.8

Rebounds

Nick Collison OKC 7.0
Tim Duncan SA 10.6

Assists

Earl Watson OKC 5.6
Tony Parker SA 6.9

Team Comparison
Team Record Standings PF PA Road/Home Streak L10

Oklahoma City 20-53 5th Northwest / 12th West 97.2 103.0 Road 6-30 Lost 3 3-7

San Antonio 48-25 1st Southwest / 2nd West 96.8 93.0 Home 26-11 Lost 1 5-5

[duncan228]

Shaun Livingston called up by the Thunder (http://www.welcometoloudcity.com/)

According to a source close to the team, WTLC has learned that the Oklahoma City Thunder have called up Shaun Livingston. It looks like the Thunder want to take a closer look at what he can do at the NBA level before the season is over. Also, DJ White has been re-assigned to D-League Tulsa, for his second stint with the 66ers.

[TampaDude]

If the Spurs lose to OKC at home, they are in big trouble...

[duncan228]

Tuesday: Thunder (20-53) at Spurs (48-25) (http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/spurs/Tuesday_Thunder_20-53_at_Spurs_48-25.html)
Express-News

Time: 7:30 p.m.
TV: KMYS
Radio: WOAI-AM 1200, KCOR-AM 1350

STARTING LINEUPS
POS - SPURS - THUNDER

PG - 9 Tony Parker (6-2, 8th yr) - 0 Russell Westbrook (6-3, 1st yr)
Parker has scored 10,013 points in his career; Westbrook has scored 1,147.

SG - 8 Roger Mason Jr. (6-5, 5th yr) - 2 Thabo Sefolosha (6-7, 3rd yr)
Sefolosha came up big guarding Parker at the end of March 16 meeting.

SF - 4 Michael Finley (6-7, 14th yr) - 35 Kevin Durant (6-9, 2nd yr)
Sophomore slump? Durant has posted 19 30-point games, after just nine last year.

PF - 21 Tim Duncan (6-11, 12th yr) - 22 Jeff Green (6-9, 2nd yr)
Duncan has been getting his rest lately; Spurs hope it pays off.

C - 15 Matt Bonner (6-10, 5th yr) - 12 Nenad Krstic (7-0, 5th yr)
Bonner ranks fourth in 3-point shooting, even after recent dry spell.

SPURS RESERVES

12 Bruce Bowen (6-7, 13th yr)
20 Manu Ginobili, G, 6-6, 7th yr
90 Drew Gooden, F, 6-10, 8th yr
3 George Hill, G, 6-2, 1st yr
40 Kurt Thomas, C/F, 6-9, 14th yr
5 Ime Udoka, G/F, 6-5, 5th yr
11 Jacque Vaughn, G, 6-1, 12th yr

THUNDER RESERVES

4 Nick Collison, F/C, 6-10, 6th yr
9 Malik Rose, F, 6-7, 13th yr
31 Robert Swift, C, 7-1, 4th yr
25 Earl Watson, G, 6-1, 8th yr
5 Kyle Weaver, G, 6-6, 1st yr
21 Damien Wilkins, G/F, 6-6, 5th yr
8 Chucky Atkins, G, 5-11, 10th yr

COACHES

Spurs: Gregg Popovich
Thunder: Scott Brooks

INJURIES

Spurs: Ian Mahinmi (right ankle surgery) is out. Fabricio Oberto (atrial fibrillation) is day-to-day.

Thunder: Desmond Mason (hyperextended right knee) is out.

PROJECTED INACTIVE PLAYERS

Spurs: Mahinmi, Oberto, Malik Hairston.

Thunder: Mason, D.J. White

NOTABLE

Spurs and Thunder meet for the second time in 15 days. Earlier this month, Oklahoma City overcame a 17-point deficit to beat the Spurs 78-76 at the Ford Center. It marked the Spurs’ lowest-scoring outing of the season. ... Dating to Seattle days, the Thunder have lost six in a row in San Antonio. The club’s last victory here was Dec. 8, 2004.

- Jeff McDonald

[AussieFanKurt]

San Antonio is 3-4 in its last six road games.

excellent counting.

[shelshor]

Referee Assignments
Tue. Mar. 31
Oklahoma City @ San Antonio: S. Corbin, E. Dalen, D. Guthrie

[xtremesteven33]

Spurs are gonna annahialate these guys


:td

[duncan228]

Oklahoma City Thunder (20-53) at San Antonio Spurs (48-25) (http://www.sportsnetwork.com/merge/tsnform.aspx?c=sportsnetwork&page=nba/scores/live/preview.aspx?id=11185)

(Sports Network) - The San Antonio Spurs are inching closer to their third division title in five years, but first must get back in the win column tonight versus the Oklahoma City Thunder at the AT&T Center.

San Antonio holds a slim half-game edge over the Houston Rockets and a 2 1/2- game lead ahead of the New Orleans Hornets in the Southwest Division with nine games remaining in the regular season. The Spurs are also just a half-game in front of both Denver and Houston in the Western Conference standings.

The Spurs had a three-game winning streak come to an end with Sunday's 90-86 loss to the rival Hornets in the Big Easy, as Tony Parker ended with a team- high 20 points and handed out seven assists in a losing effort. Tim Duncan added 19 points and 15 rebounds, while Manu Ginobili had 17 points for San Antonio.

After Tuesday's game versus the Thunder, the Spurs, who are 26-11 as the host this season, will kick off a three-game road trip against Indiana, Cleveland and Oklahoma City.

The Thunder have lost three in a row and will attempt to salvage the finale of a three-game road trip this evening in the Alamo City. They fell to 0-2 on the trek and 6-30 as the guest in 2008-09 following Sunday's 103-84 setback against the defending champion Boston Celtics at TD Banknorth Garden.

Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant netted 23 and 21 points, respectively, for the Thunder, who got 15 points and nine rebounds from Jeff Green. Oklahoma City never was outscored 32-16 in the fourth quarter.

Oklahoma City will open a three-game homestand versus the Blazers, Pacers and Spurs after Tuesday's visit to San Antonio.

The 2008-09 season series between the Spurs and Thunder is tied at a game apiece, but San Antonio is 20-7 in the past 27 matchups between the clubs. The Spurs have won the last seven games as the host versus the Sonics/Thunder.

[Don Quixote]

The Spurs of recent years would pound OKC tonight. But this year's squad won't. Spurs win, in a tight one.

[duncan228]

Thunder notebook: Coach Scott Brooks: Spurs haven’t forgotten Ford Center loss (http://newsok.com/scott-brooks-spurs-havent-forgotten-ford-center-loss/article/3357686?custom_click=lead_story_title)

As the Thunder rolls into San Antonio for the final game of a three-game road trip tonight, coach Scott Brooks is certain the Spurs will have their 78-76 loss to the Thunder on March 16 in the back of their minds.

"They are going to play us tough, and I’m sure that they are going to talk about the game we had on our home floor beating them,” Brooks said.

San Antonio enters tonight’s game with the second-best record in the Western Conference at 48-25. The Spurs won the first meeting in San Antonio, 109-104, on Dec. 14 and are 26-11 inside the AT&T Center.

"We’re looking forward to just getting better,” Brooks said. "Any time you are playing against the best teams in basketball, you pick up things from them.”

POINT GUARDS TORCH THUNDER

Keep an eye on Spurs guard Tony Parker tonight. It was Parker on March 16 who started what has developed into a trend of opposing point guards having their way against the Thunder.

Parker had 28 points with seven assists in the Spurs’ two-point loss to the Thunder inside the Ford Center, missing a potential game-winning 3-pointer in the closing seconds. Since then, Chicago’s Derrick Rose scored 20 of his 25 points in the second half of a 103-96 Bulls win, Utah’s Deron Williams scored 20 of his 24 points in the second half of a 101-94 win, Toronto’s Jose Calderon and Roko Ukic combined for 19 assists in the Raptors’ 112-96 win and Boston’s Rajon Rondo had a game-high 12 assists Sunday.

"In this league, you play against a great point guard on any given night,” Brooks said.

GREEN CALLS CELTICS ‘INSPIRATIONAL’

After playing against the Celtics in Boston for only the second time in his NBA career, forward Jeff Green walked out of TD Banknorth Garden moved by the history of the Celtics’ franchise.

"It’s inspirational,” said Green, who was drafted by Boston on behalf of the Seattle SuperSonics as part of the Ray Allen trade. "It’s where we want to get to. They’ve won championships, and that’s what we want to do. It takes a lot of focus, and we have to play defense. This is our first season, and it’s going to take some time. We have to be patient and continue to work hard to get to the point where the Celtics are at.”

BRIEFLY

Brooks canceled the Thunder’s scheduled practice Monday in Boston before the team flew to San Antonio. ... Forward D.J. White scored six points with one rebound, one assist, one steal and one blocked shot in 11 minutes in the Tulsa 66ers’ 98-91 win over Bakersfield on Sunday night. ... It was his fourth game with Tulsa, which is 3-1 with White in the lineup. The 66ers are 13-32 overall. ... The Thunder enters tonight’s game at San Antonio with a road record of 6-30. ... After missing the March 16 game against the Thunder because of an ankle injury, Manu Ginobili is expected to play tonight. ...The Spurs are 28-10 when their "big three” of Tim Duncan, Parker and Ginobili are in the lineup.

BY Darnell Mayberry

[duncan228]

Just cause I'm rooting for Livingston. To come back from that injury is inspiring. :)

Oklahoma City Thunder signs Shaun Livingston, recalls D.J. White (http://newsok.com/oklahoma-city-thunder-signs-shaun-livingston-recalls-d.j.-white/article/3357798?custom_click=headlines_widget)
By Darnell Mayberry

The Oklahoma City Thunder announced Tuesday that it has signed point guard Shaun Livingston, the former No. 4 overall pick in the 2004 NBA Draft, to a multiyear contract.

Livingston, 23, was originally drafted by the Los Angeles Clippers out of Peoria (Ill.) Central High after accepting a scholarship offer to Duke but deciding to forego college for the NBA.

A former McDonald’s All-American who once drew comparisons to Magic Johnson because of his size, versatility, ball-handling, passing skills and court vision, the 6-foot-7 Livingston is hoping to restore a once-promising career after sustaining a severe knee injury in 2007.

In 149 career games, Livingston holds averages of 7.3 points, 4.7 assists and 3.1 rebounds. His career was derailed when he tore all the major ligaments in his left knee and dislocated his knee cap after landing awkwardly following a layup attempt. Livingston missed the final 26 games of the 2006-07 season and the entire 2007-08 season.

Livingston attempted a comeback at the start of this season with Miami but played only four games for the Heat, averaging 2.3 points in 10.3 minutes. He was traded to Memphis in January but was waived the same day.

Livingston has played with the Tulsa 66ers, the Thunder’s NBA D-League affiliate, since early March, averaging 9.5 points, 6.0 assists, 3.5 rebounds and 29.4 minutes in 11 games.

The Thunder also announced Tuesday that it has recalled rookie forward D.J White from the 66ers. White played in four games over two stints with the 66ers, averaging 14.5 points, 7.5 rebounds and 1.0 assists in 30.8 minutes.

Livingston will wear jersey No. 14.

[mytespurs]

If the Spurs lose to OKC at home, they are in big trouble...
I don't know if the Spurs are in that big trouble but they need to win "winneable games". They need to play better offensively and consistently if they are to make a run towards a championship. They are looking shaky to me right now-hopefully as Gino's legs return and Pop sorts out a rotaton, the Spurs will be on all cylinders come playoff time.

[duncan228]

Thunder at Spurs: Pre-game primer (http://www.dailythunder.com/?p=1706#more-1706)

Thunder (20-53, 6-30 road) at San Antonio Spurs (48-25, 26-11 home)

Offensive Rating: Thunder: 103.1 (28th), San Antonio: 108.2 (13th)
Defensive Rating: Thunder: 109.2 (20th), San Antonio: 103.9 (5th)
Pace: Thunder: 93.6 (8th), San Antonio: 88.5 (26th)

A stat to consider: The Spurs are 28-10 when their “big three” of Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili play. And Ginobili is back and expected to play tonight. Awesome.

We all remember last time, a defining 78-76 win over San Antonio in which OKC shot 36 percent from the field, was outrebounded and trailed at one point by 17 and yet somehow won. In that game all five Thunder starters were minuses while the entire bench was pluses. A strange but excellent win. One big helper in the last game was the Spurs went 3-19 for three. They’re a good shooting team and OKC can’t expect that kind of performance again.

And the Thunder’s going to have to grind another one if they intend to win again. San Antonio is the best defensive team in the league and the OKC offense has sputtered a bit lately. The Thunder hasn’t scored 100 points in 15 games after topping the century mark in seven of 10 before that.

Part of the reason is that Kevin Durant has stalled a bit. In his last two he’s scored 39 points total on 10-28 shooting. Very un-Durantula like. He was an absolute scoring machine before he turned his ankle and I think he’s had trouble re-acclimating himself to the flow of the game a bit while also trying to really focus on his defense. And he’ll have another tough challenge tonight with Michael Finley, Ime Udoka and Bruce Bowen all combining to try and lock him down.

A lot of OKC’s problem is just shot making. Against Boston, Russell Westbrook did an excellent job of setting up teammates for solid looks. They just didn’t make them. And Westbrook will have his hands full again as Tony Parker has scored 50 points in two games against OKC (while Westbrook has 10 total in the two games). Last time, after Parker erupted for a 12 quick points in the third quarter Thabo Sefolosha switched over on him and did an excellent job of locking him down and forcing him into a 1 for 6 finish.

The Spurs are also 26-11 at home while the Thunder are 6-30 on the road. The Spurs need this one to keep pace for the two-seed in the West and the Thunder’s lost three straight. So early returns are looking bad.

[Dex]

:elephant

Payback game!!!!