Spurs thumbnails (vs Boston)

[howard2]

The Boston Globe
Dec 9, 2005
Link: Boston Globe (http://www.boston.com/sports/basketball/celtics/articles/2005/12/09/spurs_thumbnails/)

Spurs thumbnails

When/where: Tonight, 8:30 p.m., SBC Center, San Antonio, Texas.

Records: San Antonio is 15-3 (first in the Southwest Division); Boston is 8-10 (second in the Atlantic Division).

Scoring: Tim Duncan 21.2, Tony Parker 20.5, Manu Ginobili 15.2

Rebounds: Duncan 12.1, Ginobili 4.6, Rasho Nesterovic 4.4

Assists: Parker 6.1, Duncan 3.3, Ginobili 3.1

Head to head: San Antonio won the first of two meetings, 103-82, at the TD Banknorth Garden

Miscellany: San Antonio holds a 16-game winning streak over the Green dating back to the pre-Duncan Spurs of 1996 . . . The Celtics are looking to win back-to-back games for the first time this season after a 101-87 win over the Hornets Wednesday night in Oklahoma City . . . The Spurs are one of six teams with two players averaging more than 20 points . . . Parker is shooting .552 from the field, best among starting point guards . . . Spurs coach Greg Popovich has the fourth-highest winning percentage (.665) of all time among coaches with a minimum of 200 victories.

[howard2]

ESPN.com
Dec 9, 2005
Link: ESPN (http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/preview?gameId=251209024)
Boston (8-10) at San Antonio (15-3) 8:30 pm EST

SAN ANTONIO (Ticker) - The San Antonio Spurs have had their way with the NBA for a majority of the last decade. The Boston Celtics know this far too well.

The Spurs go for their 17th straight win over the Celtics when the teams square off Friday.

San Antonio's winning streak over Boston is the NBA's longest current streak for one team over another. The Spurs, who have posted 11 of those wins by at least 10 points, have not tasted defeat against the Celtics since January 8, 1997.

Even more impressive, the Spurs have not lost at home to the Celtics in 15 games since a setback on February 14, 1990.

San Antonio enters with a season high-tying five straight wins following its 98-84 victory over Miami on Wednesday. Tim Duncan paced the Spurs with 28 points, 16 rebounds and four blocks.

Fellow All-Star Manu Ginobili bounced back from a season-low four points Monday vs. Orlando to pour in 27 against the Heat.

Boston, which is 2-1 on its current five-game road trip, is coming off Wednesday's 101-87 triumph over the New Orleans Hornets. Paul Pierce and Ricky Davis were, as usual, the offensive stars for the Celtics, scoring 28 and 26 points, respectively.

Al Jefferson added 16 points and nine rebounds off the bench for Boston, which has scored at least 100 points in four of its last five games.
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Today's Line
FAVORITE OPEN CUR UNDERDOG O/U
SAN ANTONIO -12 12 BOSTON 191

[howard2]

Boston Herald
By Mark Murphy
Dec 9, 2005
Link: Boston Herald (http://celtics.bostonherald.com/celtics/view.bg?articleid=116262)

Easy to remember Alamo City woes

SAN ANTONIO — The Celtics last won here in the Alamo City on Valentine’s Day, 1990.

The C’s Big Three were still on the floor, but entering their twilight in the 106-95 win. David Robinson was in his second season.

The game was played in the long-since-demolished HemisFair.

Paul Pierce was 12. Al Jefferson was 5, and Gerald Green 4. Doc Rivers was still the Hawks’ point guard.

Ancient history, to be sure.

And so the Celtics try to break the longest losing streak they have against a particular opponent tonight. Overall they have lost 16 straight games to the defending NBA champs, but on the road, the mark is almost as bad. The Green have lost their last 14 visits to this quaint city of canals.

If there is a bright side to this dour past, it lies in the fact that after three games of a harrowing road swing through New York, Texas and Oklahoma, the Celtics are 2-1.

On one hand, this trip was front-loaded with the lightest opposition — the Knicks, Rockets and Hornets.

On the other hand, building up momentum before tonight’s game in San Antonio, as well as tomorrow’s in Dallas, is clearly a good thing.

“You certainly don’t want to go into the toughest game on the schedule coming off a loss,” Paul Pierce said of the chief benefit of Wednesday’s 101-87 win over the Hornets in Oklahoma City.

“We’re playing the two toughest teams on this trip on two straight nights,” he said. “Two of the toughest teams in basketball. We’ve been able to have some success on this trip, so we have to take advantage of this.”

But the Celts have also picked a tough night to try and put together their first two-game winning streak of the season.

Bench (im)presses
It may have only been one game, but the Celtics arguably saw something blossom on their bench Wednesday night.

The combination of Mark Blount (19 points) and Jefferson (16) helped the Celtics reserves outscore their Hornets counterparts by a 39-17 margin.

This work from the Blount/Jefferson tandem gave the C’s their most impressive post attack of the season, with Pierce and Ricky Davis feeding off that success on the perimeter.

Though tonight’s matchup against one of the best defensive front lines in basketball will severely test that concept, Danny Ainge liked what he saw against a Hornets team that lacked a true center.

“There’s a better mix of veterans and youth that way,” Ainge said of bringing Blount off the bench next to Jefferson. “And then Kendrick (Perkins) gets the benefit of playing with the starters.” . . .

There really is a statistic for everything. After studying the game tape, Rivers and his coaching staff determined that of 42 opportunities to set a pick over the first three quarters of Tuesday’s loss in Houston, “we were 0-for-42.”