San Antonio (4-1) at Boston (2-2)

[ducks]

San Antonio (4-1) at Boston (2-2)
Preview - Box Score - Recap
Game Info: 7:30 pm EST Fri Nov 11, 2005
TV: FxSW, FxNE Add to Calendar
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The Boston Celtics are still looking for a way to beat Tim Duncan.

Duncan hopes to continue his dominance against the Celtics when the defending NBA champion San Antonio Spurs close out a four-game road trip at the TD BankNorth Garden.

The Spurs head to Boston looking to extend a 15-game winning streak against the Celtics. San Antonio has won 14 in a row against the Celtics since drafting Duncan with the first pick in the 1997 NBA draft, and 21 of the last 22 meetings overall.

San Antonio is off to a fast start with four wins in five games. The only loss came in the opener of the trip, a 103-84 setback at Dallas on Nov. 5.

Point guard Tony Parker is scoring a team-high 22.6 points per game on 58.1 percent shooting, while Duncan has been his usual dominant self.

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The two-time MVP is averaging 22.2 points, 11.6 rebounds and 3.6 blocks per game.

``He gets taken for granted,'' San Antonio coach Greg Popovich said of Duncan. ``We expect it out of him every night. There is not a lot of flash, but he is going to rebound and block shots and play D every single night. He's a very special guy.''

After a poor first half, Duncan scored 15 of his 29 points in the third quarter to help the Spurs take control in Wednesday's 94-86 win over Charlotte.

``We were playing too fast in the first half and making mistakes,'' said Parker, who added 23 points. ``So we decided to get the ball into Timmy because when we do, he is going to dominate inside -- and he did.''

Duncan, who also grabbed 10 rebounds, was hit with a rare technical foul for arguing a call during the first half as the Spurs committed 14 of their season-high 22 turnovers before the break.

Nick Van Exel added 12 points for San Antonio, which was short-handed with guards Michael Finley (groin) and Brent Barry (back spasms) both going on the inactive list before the game. Manu Ginobili, who is also hurting, came off the bench and scored just eight points in 30 minutes.

Boston snapped a two-game losing streak with a 99-98 win over the Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday. Ricky Davis made a jumper as time expired, and Paul Pierce scored 29 points as the Celtics overcame an 18-point deficit.

Davis finished with 18 points and Mark Blount added 17 for the Celtics, who were 7-for-9 from 3-point range.

STANDINGS (through Nov. 10): Spurs - 1st place, Southwest Division. Celtics - 2nd place, 1/2 GB, Atlantic Division.

PROBABLE STARTERS: Spurs - F Bruce Bowen, F Duncan, C Rasho Nesterovic, G Parker, G Van Exel. Celtics - F Pierce, F Raef LaFrentz, C Blount, G Davis, G Delonte West.

TEAM LEADERS: Spurs - Parker, 22.6 ppg and 5.8 apg; Duncan, 11.6 rpg. Celtics - Pierce, 29.8 ppg and 7.8 rpg; Davis, 5.3 apg.

2004-2005 SEASON SERIES: Spurs, 2-0.

LAST MEETING: Dec. 26, 2004. At San Antonio, Parker had 27 points and six assists and Duncan grabbed a team-high 11 rebounds to lead the Spurs to their 15th straight win over Boston.

ROAD/HOME RECORDS: Spurs - 2-1 on the road; Celtics - 2-1 at home.

[ducks]

Nov 9 Coach Gregg Popovich started G Nick Van Exel in place of Manu Ginobili in Wednesday's game against Charlotte. Ginobili, who has been nursing a bruised right quadriceps, scored eight points in 31 minutes. ... G Brent Barry and G-F Michael Finley were both placed on the inactive list. Barry is battling a back strain while Finley has a strained left groin. ... The Spurs on Wednesday signed G Melvin Sanders, who averaged 6.3 points in seven preseason games. With Spurs' summer league team at the Rocky Mountain Revue, Sanders averaged 15.6 points in five games.

[TwoHandJam]

Care to discuss the lineup Pop will go with tonight? Will we see an appearance of Finley? Will Sanders see more time?

I'd like to see us finally clamp down on our turnovers. Boston is a team that records a lot of steals. We are playing with fire every time we're sloppy on the road.

[TwoHandJam]

Geez ducks, you beat me by 1 minute. :rolleyes

Can a mod merge the threads? Kori?

[Manu20]

Spurs @ Celtics
November 11, 2005 | TD Banknorth Garden

http://www.nba.com/spurs/news/gameday_051111.html

Game Plotlines
by Greg Ruder
The San Antonio Spurs continue their five-game road trip tonight with a visit to Boston to take on the Celtics. The Spurs are 2-1 so far on the road trip (4-1 overall), starting with a loss in Dallas and then back-to-back wins in Chicago and Charlotte. On Wednesday night in Charlotte, the Spurs were lead once again by Tony Parker and Tim Duncan while an ailing Brent Barry and Michael Finley did not suit up for the game.

Tony Parker continued to blaze a trail through NBA point guards early this season with 23 points and 6 assists, keeping in line with his season average of 22.6ppg and 5.8apg. Tim Duncan recorded his fifth consecutive double-double to open this season, scoring 29 points and adding 10 rebounds.

Brent Barry is expected to miss the rest of the road trip after he left Monday's game in Chicago with back spasms. Michael Finley is day-to-day with tightness in his left groin. With Manu Ginobili still recovering from a bruised right quadriceps, Nick Van Exel will likely shoulder much of the back-up shooting guard duties. Recently acquired Melvin Sanders may also see some playing time if Boston decides to play a bigger back-court.

Boston enters tonight's game brandishing a 2-2 record after an emotional buzzer-beater from Ricky Davis on Wednesday night propelled the Celtics to their first win since opening night. However, their two losses went down to the final minutes. Last Friday at home against Detroit they lost 81-82 on a buzzer-beater by Richard Hamilton, and then lost by two in overtime (105-107) against the Bobcats in Charlotte on Sunday.

Boston will be looking for their first win at home against the Spurs since January 8th, 1997. Boston has not won in San Antonio since the '89-'90 season. Boston's star forward, Paul Pierce, will be hungry to continue his hot start against one of the top rated defenses in the league for the past several years.

One Key: Nick Van Exel
With Brent Barry out and Michael Finley questionable for tonight's game, look for Van Exel to see a lot of playing time. He has struggled at times early this season while he learns the offense, but he continues to grow and find his place in the offense. Look for him to pick up some of the scoring duties as well. He is currently 3rd on the team in 3pt accuracy behind only Bruce Bowen and Brent Barry, respectively.

One Threat: Paul Pierce
Pierce has kicked off his 2005-2006 campaign with career numbers in scoring (29.8ppg - Tied for 2nd in the league) and rebounding (7.8rpg) thus far this season, showing he is valuable on both ends of the floor. Granted, it is early in the season, but look for him to attack the basket and find his shots. He is willing and able to take the ball inside and get to the free-throw line, as 43 of his 119 total points this season have come at the charity stripe. Slowing down Pierce is a must if the Spurs want to come out of this game with their third straight victory.

[Duncanoypi]

I think Finley wil play...

[boutons]

I bet Michael doesn't play until next week earliest. Pop sounded real scared by a groin strain, which can go on for weeks or months, can be very tough injury to recover from.

[Mavs<Spurs]

Where's Chumpdumper or SolidD or Kori?

I want to know who we are starting and if Finley will be playing?

What about Manu?

Can I get some help here?

Also, what are your opinions about Boston?

Thank you.

Young, athletic team, dumped off Walker (good in some ways), Jefferson and Pierce and Ricky Davis.

I would hope that we would win, but we did not look good against the Bobcats. Let's pick it up tonight because while Boston is not a great team, they are not a bad team and they are certainly better than the Bobcats (no disrespect to them, they have some good pieces- Omeka is terrific, Brevin is pretty decent). We will have to play a little bit better than we did against Charlotte to beat the Celtics.

Maybe Spurs by 5. If we win, that means Tim and Tony have to step up because we are running low on scoring options with Ginobili and Finley and Barry all injured, whether they play or not. NVE needs to step up for us, give us 12-15 points.
Horry needs to put up 10 and Nazr/Rasho also needs to put up 10 points for us. If Manu plays (probably a bad idea imo), maybe he can give us 10.
Tim and Tony have to give us at least 45. This team is a team that Tony should be able to score on (although so far he has scored on everybody).
Thank you. Spurs 97-Celtics 92.

We're not playing well even though our record is good. However, I am optimistic about what we will look like in June. We are clearly the deepest team in the league. We have lots of offensive weapons now. We have veterans to help support us. We just need some time to gel together, for NVE and Michael and Oberto to get familiar with our schemes and sets and defense and offense and feel comfortable playing together. Pop also needs to set the rotation. Although our defense has lacked on this road trip, I believe that it will be there in June.

While we may have our ups and downs, judging from our recent play, I am confident about June. It is a tradition for us to start slow and finish strong. You can't argue with tradition.

:fro