Chicago (4-5) at San Antonio (10-2)

[ducks]

Chicago (4-5) at San Antonio (10-2)
Preview - Box Score - Recap
Game Info: 8:30 pm EST Fri Nov 25, 2005
TV: CSNC, FxSW Add to Calendar
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The Spurs look to extend their winning streak to six games and sweep their season series with the Chicago Bulls when the teams meet at the SBC Center.

Tim Duncan notched his NBA-leading 10th double-double by halftime on his way to 19 points and 12 rebounds as the visiting Spurs routed the Golden State Warriors 113-89 on Wednesday.

"A good all-around game," San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich said. "At both ends of the court, I thought we probably played our finest game of the season so far. It was a bad combination for Golden State because I think they just had a bad night."

Besides the solid play of Duncan, San Antonio may credit its 10-2 start to the play of Tony Parker. The Spurs point guard scored 26 points on Wednesday and leads the team with 21.8 per game, marking the best scoring start of his NBA career.

Parker had 22 points and nine assists to lead San Antonio to a 104-95 overtime victory over the Bulls at the United Center on Nov. 7. Parker scored eight of his 22 points in the extra period, including the game-winning shot.

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San Antonio, one of five teams remaining that has yet to lose at home, now faces a Chicago team coming off its first road win of the season.

The Bulls snapped a three-game losing streak with a 96-93 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday. Chris Duhon scored 21 points and Michael Sweetney added 20.

Chicago opened its annual western road swing with three straight losses before Sunday's win. The Bulls are 2-41 in their yearly trip, which coincides with the circus taking over the United Center.

"When the circus is in town, we're the circus on the road," Chicago center Tyson Chandler said. "It's about time we got a win."

Chicago, looking to get back to .500, ends its six-game trip at Houston on Saturday.

STANDINGS (through Nov. 24): Bulls - 5th place, 4 1/2 GB, Central Division. Spurs - 1st place, Southwest Division.

PROBABLE STARTERS: Bulls - F Andres Nocioni, F Darius Songaila, C Chandler, G Kirk Hinrich, G Duhon. Spurs - F Bruce Bowen, F Duncan, C Rasho Nesterovic, G Manu Ginobili, G Parker.

TEAM LEADERS: Bulls - Hinrich, 15.2 ppg; Chandler, 10.0 rpg; Duhon, 6.3 apg. Spurs - Parker, 21.8 ppg and 5.7 apg; Duncan, 12.0 rpg.

SEASON SERIES: Spurs, 1-0.

LAST MEETING: Nov. 7, 2005; Spurs, 104-95, OT. At Chicago, Duncan had 24 points and 16 rebounds to lead San Antonio.

ROAD/HOME RECORDS: Bulls - 1-4 on the road. Spurs - 5-0 at home.

Updated on Friday, Nov 25, 2005 6:59 am EST

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Team Comparison
Team Record Standings PF PA Road/Home Streak L10
Chicago 4-5 5th Central / 9th East 94.0 97.6 Road 1-4 Won 1 4-5
San Antonio 10-2 1st Southwest / 1st West 98.3 89.6 Home 5-0 Won 5 8-2
Chicago Notes
Nov 21 The Bulls improved to 1-4 on the road this season with their exciting comeback win over the Lakers on Sunday night. ... F Luol Deng scored 14 of their 24 bench points, making 5-of-10, shots and added six rebounds in nearly 33 minutes. ... C Tyson Chandler had six points and a season-high 15 rebounds. His biggest play came when he blocked Lakers rookie center Andrew Bynum with under one minute remaining. ... G Ben Gordon had just six points in 19 minutes. ... The Bulls held a 38-20 edge in the paint and a 16-6 edge in second-chance points.


San Antonio Notes
Nov 24 The Spurs looked very much like the best team in the NBA on Wednesday, leading by as many as 36 points in their rout of the Warriors. San Antonio set season highs in points, baskets (45) and assists (31). and nearly grabbed twice as many rebounds (52-27) as Golden State. ... F Bruce Bowen scored all of his season-high 12 points from the arc, making 4-of-5 3-pointers. ... C Nazr Mohammed took advantage of some extra playing time late to record a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds.

[spurs_2108]

I'll be there...

[TDMVPDPOY]

This will be an easy win for us, unlike last time at chicago where we played shit and need OT to take them out made them look like they can stick with us.....this will be a 15pts win.

[Spurzilla]

Chicago Tribune
NBA BULLS BITS

Parker gives defense fits

BY MARLEN GARCIA
Published November 25, 2005

LINK (http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/basketball/bulls/chi-0511250227nov25,1,7406708.story?coll=chi-sportsbulls-hed)

The Spurs' Tony Parker has given the Bulls almost as many fits as Tim Duncan has in recent years.

Stopping Parker, or at least keeping him from penetrating often, will keep Chris Duhon and Kirk Hinrich, among others, busy Friday night.

"It's a team thing," Duhon said. "It's going to be up to the perimeter players and big [guys] to keep him out of the paint."

The last time the teams met, on Nov. 7, Parker scored twice on driving layups and drew fouls to go 4-for-4 from the free-throw line--and that was just in overtime of the Spurs' 104-95 victory.

He finished the game with 22 points.

"We had a hard time stopping him," coach Scott Skiles said. "Having said that, he does it against everyone.

"He's going to penetrate some, but you can't let him get right to the rim where he can either score or you collapse so far, then he kicks out to people."

Comparison study

Though the Bulls are struggling with their shooting--they rank 26th at .415--they have been respectable from three-point range. They rank fourth with a percentage of .394.

"We're losing games by fouling, you could make that case, and by not making routine two-point shots," Skiles said.

"Our long-range game has been pretty reliable."

Quotable

Duhon, asked if assistant coach Pete Myers, who played eight seasons in the NBA, had acted as a stand-in for the Spurs' Parker in recent Bulls practices:

"That's Tony Parker 30 years from now if you go with Pete."

[Spurzilla]

Chicago Tribune

Chandler facing double trouble

Coming off best game of year, Bulls' center to meet Duncan, Yao

By Marlen Garcia
Tribune staff reporter
Published November 25, 2005

LINK (http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/basketball/bulls/chi-0511250230nov25,1,5112942.story?coll=chi-sportsbulls-hed)

Everyone will know this weekend whether Tyson Chandler truly has broken out of his slump.

There may be no greater test than facing the Spurs' Tim Duncan and then the Rockets' Yao Ming in back-to-back games Friday and Saturday nights.

The Bulls' center played his best game of the year Sunday against the Lakers, coming up with big blocks and 15 rebounds as the Bulls snapped a three-game losing streak.

Some more promising news on Chandler came later in the week.

"He's played as well in the last two practices as he has played all year," coach Scott Skiles said after a spirited Wednesday scrimmage at the Berto Center. "I hope size won't be an issue."

Chandler played well in an overtime loss to the Spurs early this month at the United Center. He showed no fear against Duncan and had a respectable result: 11 points and 12 rebounds.

Conversely, Duncan has been unstoppable. In his last three games against the Bulls, the two-time Most Valuable Player has averaged 22.3 points. He rejected six shots in their first meeting this season.

"We try to limit his touches," Chandler said. "He's so fundamentally sound, he's going to get a good shot. We have to try to make it tough on him."

Chandler won't be asked to handle Duncan alone.

"Those guys aren't stopped by one person anyway," Skiles said. "We need Tyson to rebound and defend the basket for us and run the floor. He did all three of those things for us the other night. If he does that, he's a big factor."

Skiles has gone out of his way to calm Chandler, publicly and in one-on-one talks with the 23-year-old.

The emergence of Michael Sweetney, who had double-doubles in his last three games, can relieve some of the pressure Chandler places on himself.

"I knew it was a matter of time for him to get adapted to the system," Chandler said.

Sweetney's play is critical because he is the Bulls' only low-post threat. Othella Harrington has at times provided big baskets but is a role-player at best. Darius Songaila has improved slightly since he was pulled from the starting lineup, but Tim Thomas is unlikely to play soon. Malik Allen, whom the Bulls signed in the summer, has the most room for improvement.

"At some point Malik's going to get a chance, and then it will depend on how he plays," Skiles said. "Malik hasn't done anything to hurt himself. We just feel like the other guys have played a little bit better. I don't have any fear of putting Malik out there."

The time is right for Chandler to create a niche, as he did last season off the bench.

On an individual basis, the departure of Eddy Curry and Antonio Davis probably affected Chandler more than any other Bull.

The sizable contract he signed in the off-season only heightened expectations.

"Tyson's coming off a good game," Skiles said. "Hopefully he can start stringing them together."

[howard2]

Daily Herald
By Mike McGraw
Nov 25, 2005
Link: Daily Herald.com (http://www.dailyherald.com/sports/bulls.asp?id=125384)

Bulls hope to keep closing gap on Spurs

About seven years ago, the Bulls and San Antonio changed directions like two dynasties passing in the night.

The Spurs have won three NBA championships since Michael Jordan left the Bulls in 1998. So it’s no surprise that the rebuilding-era Bulls are 1-13 against San Antonio and carry a nine-game losing streak in the series heading into tonight’s game at the SBC Center.

On the other hand, the Bulls have a two-game streak of being competitive against the Spurs.

On Nov. 7 at the United Center, the Bulls took San Antonio to overtime before losing 104-95.

Last season on March 4, the Bulls rallied from a 17-point deficit and led by 2 points with less than two minutes remaining but eventually lost on the road 102-99.

Tonight’s game against the defending champs is the first of back-to-back games in Texas, with a trip to Houston following on Saturday.

“What I like about us is we’re in games and we’re competing and we’ve won some close games, which is always a positive sign,” Bulls general manager John Paxson said. “We don’t seem to give up, even when we’re down.”

The Spurs (10-2) pose plenty of problems with power forward Tim Duncan and Argentinean shooting guard Manu Ginobili. But point guard Tony Parker might be the team’s most valuable player this season.

Parker is San Antonio’s top scorer at 21.8 points per game and is shooting 56.6 percent, amazing for a high-scoring point guard. In a blowout win at Golden State on Wednesday, Parker scored 26 points in 26 minutes.

“He’s having an all-star season,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said in the San Antonio Express-News. “He’s been great all year long.”

In the win at Chicago earlier this month, Parker scored 8 of the Spurs’ 13 points in overtime and was unstoppable when he drove to the basket.

“That pretty much cost us the game here. We had a hard time stopping him,” Bulls coach Scott Skiles said. “He’s going to penetrate some, but you can’t let him get right to the rim where he can either score or you collapse so far, then he kicks out to people.

“You’ve got to try to corral him a little bit higher than that. It’s difficult to do, but that will be a big key to the game. Duncan’s tough and those other guys are good, but you can’t let Parker just continue to penetrate your defense like that or it’s a long night.”

Parker grew up in France, but younger brothers T.J. and Pierre both played basketball at Lisle High School. Parker’s father, Tony Sr., played at Loyola University before embarking on a pro career in Europe.

This weekend also should be a good test for center Tyson Chandler to see if he can build off last Sunday’s 15-rebound performance against the Los Angeles Lakers. Chandler will have to guard Duncan and Houston’s 7-foot-6 center Yao Ming.

“Tyson’s coming off a good game,” Skiles said. “Hopefully he can start stringing them together. He’s played as well the last two days in practice as he has all year.”

The Rockets (3-9) have been reeling with Tracy McGrady sidelined by a sore back. McGrady has missed Houston’s last three games and six overall this season. The Rockets are 0-6 when he doesn’t play.

McGrady still is listed as day to day, so his availability for Saturday’s game is unknown. When McGrady first injured his back Nov. 4, he was expected to miss three weeks, but he came back after three games. So it seems likely the Rockets’ star will take more time off to try to ensure there are no more relapses.

Tonight’s tipoff
Bulls vs. San Antonio Spurs at the SBC Center
When: 7:30 p.m.
TV: Comcast SportsNet
Radio: WMVP 1000-AM

Update: The Spurs (10-2) have recorded 5 wins in a row, the latest a 113-89 thumping of Golden State on Wednesday. … Point guard Tony Parker (21.8 points, 5.7 assists) is San Antonio’s top scorer, followed closely by Tim Duncan (21.5 points, 12.0 rebounds). … The Spurs have won 15 straight regular-season home games dating to March 12 and have a nine-game winning streak against the Bulls. … San Antonio leads the league in field-goal percentage at .481.

Player to watch: Backup center Nazr Mohammed, who will be a free agent next summer, scored 15 points and hit 7 of 8 shots in the Spurs’ 104-95 overtime win at the United Center on Nov. 7.

Next: Saturday at Houston, 7:30 p.m.

[RobinsontoDuncan]

"oooooopppppppssss you mean we actually have to play basketball against the lowly bulls coach?"

Rasho to Pop.

"sorry about the loss pop"

All the rest of the lazy bastards