duncan228
12-14-2009, 12:56 AM
Edit: Headline changed. Twice. :lol
Spurt, swoon, spurt again
Spurs stifle Clippers with finishing kick
Spurs bury Clippers in fourth quarter (http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/Spurs_bury_Clippers_in_fourth_quarter.html)
Jeff McDonald
LOS ANGELES The Spurs walked into a familiar locker room Sunday afternoon, and later walked into a familiar arena.
They were at the Staples Center to play the Clippers, but reminders of the building's other, more high-profile tenants were everywhere mainly the 10 championship banners dangling from the rafters.
Even while in L.A. to face the Clippers, the Spurs couldn't help but think about the Lakers, the team that for much of the past decade has been their purple-and-gold standard.
You always look at the best in your league and say, If we're playing them in the playoffs, how do we match up?' Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. That's where you start.
If Sunday's 115-90 victory said anything, it's that the Spurs remain too much for Los Angeles' other team.
Tim Duncan had 21 points and Manu Ginobili and Richard Jefferson each chipped in 17, as the Spurs won their 14th in a row over the Clippers.
The Spurs (12-9) haven't beaten the Lakers at Staples Center in nearly three years, but the building isn't to blame. Sunday's victory was the seventh in a row over the Clippers (9-13) on the road.
Following the same script as they did against Charlotte two nights earlier run up a large lead, give almost all of it away, then blow out the opponent with a wicked closing kick the Spurs used a 20-4 run that began late in the third quarter to finally stomp L.A.
The Spurs squandered all but seven points of a 25-point first-half lead before turning the game into a rout again. That they could claim their second road win in seven tries with Duncan, Ginobili and Tony Parker shackled to the bench for the entire fourth quarter was but an added bonus.
We can't do that against really good teams, Antonio McDyess said. At the end of the game, it could be a disaster for us.
During opening and closing stretches Sunday, the Spurs looked capable of beating either of the teams that called Staples Center home.
They started the game as hot as they've been all season, on both sides of the floor, shooting 78.9 percent in the first quarter, limiting the Clippers to 36.4 percent, and pushing their lead as high as 17. Four minutes into the second, they were up by 25.
Then came the Spurs' patented third-quarter swoon, about two minutes early.
In the final 1:42 before half, the Spurs committed five consecutive turnovers they had just three to that point that fueled a 12-0 run that brought L.A. within 10.
For the Spurs, it was the kind of disaster that had doomed them in games against a trio of elite opponents earlier this month. It would not doom them against the Clippers.
For one, the Spurs held on to the ball, committing two more turnovers the rest of the way. For two, they played defense, holding L.A. to just 34 second-half points.
DeJuan Blair finished with 14 points and nine rebounds, one of six Spurs in double figures, and was a big part of the late surge the Spurs used to put the game away. When Keith Bogans buried a corner 3-pointer with 8:33 left in the game, the Spurs were ahead 100-79.
We took that punch pretty well, guard George Hill said. We battled back and buckled down.
Maybe the Spurs don't beat the vaunted Lakers playing with fire that way. On Sunday, it was enough for the Spurs to snuff the Staples Center's other home team.
Spurt, swoon, spurt again
Spurs stifle Clippers with finishing kick
Spurs bury Clippers in fourth quarter (http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/Spurs_bury_Clippers_in_fourth_quarter.html)
Jeff McDonald
LOS ANGELES The Spurs walked into a familiar locker room Sunday afternoon, and later walked into a familiar arena.
They were at the Staples Center to play the Clippers, but reminders of the building's other, more high-profile tenants were everywhere mainly the 10 championship banners dangling from the rafters.
Even while in L.A. to face the Clippers, the Spurs couldn't help but think about the Lakers, the team that for much of the past decade has been their purple-and-gold standard.
You always look at the best in your league and say, If we're playing them in the playoffs, how do we match up?' Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. That's where you start.
If Sunday's 115-90 victory said anything, it's that the Spurs remain too much for Los Angeles' other team.
Tim Duncan had 21 points and Manu Ginobili and Richard Jefferson each chipped in 17, as the Spurs won their 14th in a row over the Clippers.
The Spurs (12-9) haven't beaten the Lakers at Staples Center in nearly three years, but the building isn't to blame. Sunday's victory was the seventh in a row over the Clippers (9-13) on the road.
Following the same script as they did against Charlotte two nights earlier run up a large lead, give almost all of it away, then blow out the opponent with a wicked closing kick the Spurs used a 20-4 run that began late in the third quarter to finally stomp L.A.
The Spurs squandered all but seven points of a 25-point first-half lead before turning the game into a rout again. That they could claim their second road win in seven tries with Duncan, Ginobili and Tony Parker shackled to the bench for the entire fourth quarter was but an added bonus.
We can't do that against really good teams, Antonio McDyess said. At the end of the game, it could be a disaster for us.
During opening and closing stretches Sunday, the Spurs looked capable of beating either of the teams that called Staples Center home.
They started the game as hot as they've been all season, on both sides of the floor, shooting 78.9 percent in the first quarter, limiting the Clippers to 36.4 percent, and pushing their lead as high as 17. Four minutes into the second, they were up by 25.
Then came the Spurs' patented third-quarter swoon, about two minutes early.
In the final 1:42 before half, the Spurs committed five consecutive turnovers they had just three to that point that fueled a 12-0 run that brought L.A. within 10.
For the Spurs, it was the kind of disaster that had doomed them in games against a trio of elite opponents earlier this month. It would not doom them against the Clippers.
For one, the Spurs held on to the ball, committing two more turnovers the rest of the way. For two, they played defense, holding L.A. to just 34 second-half points.
DeJuan Blair finished with 14 points and nine rebounds, one of six Spurs in double figures, and was a big part of the late surge the Spurs used to put the game away. When Keith Bogans buried a corner 3-pointer with 8:33 left in the game, the Spurs were ahead 100-79.
We took that punch pretty well, guard George Hill said. We battled back and buckled down.
Maybe the Spurs don't beat the vaunted Lakers playing with fire that way. On Sunday, it was enough for the Spurs to snuff the Staples Center's other home team.