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Congrats to Pop. He also becomes just the seventh coach to coach his first 1,000 games with one team.The Spurs’ Gregg Popovich will become the 24th coach in league history to reach 1,000 games Monday.
San Antonio (44-21) at Oklahoma City (18-48) Preview
Game info: 8:00 pm EDT Mon Mar 16, 2009
TV: My35, SPSO
By Matt Beardmore
While their chances of taking over the top spot in the Western Conference are slim, the San Antonio Spurs aren’t overlooking the value of the No. 2 seed.
The Spurs try for their fifth win in six games Monday night when they face an Oklahoma City Thunder team that’s seeking its fourth consecutive victory at home.
San Antonio (44-21) is well behind the Los Angeles Lakers for the No. 1 seed in the conference, but increased its lead over Houston for the second spot to 2 1/2 games with Saturday’s 88-85 road win over the Rockets.
“Overall, that was a big win for us,” point guard Tony Parker said. “Definitely a playoff atmosphere, playoff intensity. We’re battling to try to keep that second place and I think it’s huge for us to have that home-court advantage, at least until the conference finals.”
Parker scored the Spurs’ final nine points and finished with 28 for the Southwest Division leaders, who improved to 35-4 when leading entering the fourth quarter.
Tim Duncan posted his fourth consecutive double-double with 15 points and 12 rebounds. He also had four assists, three coming on Parker’s final three field goals.
“They were pressuring me, and I told TD, ‘Take a look on the back door,’” Parker said.
Parker, averaging 26.7 points and 7.3 assists in his last six games, had 22 points and seven assists in a 109-104 win over Oklahoma City on Dec. 14.
Duncan had 20 points and 12 rebounds in that victory as the Spurs hung on after nearly letting a 26-point first-half lead slip away.
San Antonio remains one of the league’s top defensive teams, allowing 93.4 points per game. In their last 17 games, the Spurs have given up more than 100 points four times.
They’ll be facing an Oklahoma City club that hasn’t reached 100 in its last eight contests, averaging 94.4 points during that stretch.
The Thunder, however, have leading scorer Kevin Durant back in the lineup after the second-year forward missed seven games from Feb. 28-March 11 with a sprained right ankle. Durant made his return Saturday, going 9-of-20 from the field and scoring 22 points in a 106-95 loss at Phoenix.
“I felt good,” said Durant, scoring 25.9 points per game. “I was a little winded at first, but when I got my second wind, I was all right.”
Durant had 28 points and 13 rebounds in the Dec. 14 loss in San Antonio.
Oklahoma City (18-48) has dropped two in a row overall, but returns to the Ford Center where it’s won a season-best three straight. The Thunder, though, will likely have to do a better job taking care of the ball against the Spurs.
“We turned it over just too many times … That’s not going to get it done on the road,” interim coach Scott Brooks said after his team had 22 turnovers versus the Suns.
The Thunder are committing an NBA-worst 16.7 turnovers per game.
Jeff Green recorded his 12th double-double of 2008-09 with 17 points and 10 boards against Phoenix. He scored a season-high 33 points in the Thunder’s first game versus San Antonio this season.
The Spurs’ Gregg Popovich will become the 24th coach in league history to reach 1,000 games Monday. He’s 676-323 since taking over for the fired Bob Hill 18 games into the 1996-97 season.
Notes
Spurs:
The Spurs increased their lead to 2 1/2 games over the Rockets (43-25) for the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference. ... F Drew Gooden provided a big boost off the bench, finishing with 13 points and four rebounds.
Thunder:
F Kevin Durant returned and scored 22 points in 39 minutes. ... G Russell Westbrook scored 20 points and added seven assists. ... Game was tied after three quarters but Phoenix outscored the Thunder 34-23 in the final 12 minutes. ... Thunder bench was outscored, 44-13.
Team Stat Leaders
Points
Tony Parker SA 21.2
Kevin Durant OKC 25.9
Rebounds
Tim Duncan SA 10.7
Jeff Green OKC 7.1
Assists
Tony Parker SA 6.7
Earl Watson OKC 5.6
Team Comparison
Team Record Standings PF PA Road/Home Streak L10
San Antonio 44-21 1st Southwest / 2nd West 97.4 93.4 Road 21-12 Won 1 6-4
Oklahoma City 18-48 5th Northwest / 12th West 97.9 103.4 Home 13-20 Lost 2 5-5
Congrats to Pop. He also becomes just the seventh coach to coach his first 1,000 games with one team.The Spurs’ Gregg Popovich will become the 24th coach in league history to reach 1,000 games Monday.
I am VERY excited about this game. While I have attended many Spurs games, this will be my 3 year old daughter's very first. We watch a lot of the games on the tube (thanks to the NBA League Pass), but this will be our first time watching "the real game" (as my daughter would put it).
She LOVES Tim Duncan (in large part because she still takes a bath with the TD Celebriduck that I bought her) and will be wearing her authentic TD jersey on Monday. I'm sure that there will be plenty of Spurs' faithful cheering at the game, but none louder than the three of us (okay, maybe just two since my wife will find it easier to contain herself).
I hope you all have a great time Kindergarten Cop. Your daughter must be adorable in that jersey.
Thank you very much duncan228! She does look adorable - I'll post pics soon. I have to admit though, that with the price of authentic jerseys - I had to buy it a bit big. She is at the stage in which she LOVES dresses, so she calls it her "jersey dress".
this would be a game i would like td to go off early and blow them away and rest starters
Wouldn't that be nice.
malik rose looms biatches
That sounds kind of creepy.
but I hope you both have a good time.
Monday: Spurs (44-21) at Thunder (18-48)
Express-News
Time: 7 p.m.
TV: KMYS, NBATV
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 averaging 25.1 points, 7.3 assists in eight games in March.
SG - 8 Roger Mason Jr. (6-5, 5th yr) - 2 Thabo Sefolosha (6-7, 3rd yr)
Sefolosha has played his way into starting lineup after deadline trade from Bulls.
SF - 4 Michael Finley (6-7, 14th yr) - 35 Kevin Durant (6-9, 2nd yr)
Finley averaging 11.8 points in March; Durant averaged 30.6 in February.
PF - 21 Tim Duncan (6-11, 12th yr) - 22 Jeff Green (6-9, 2nd yr)
Green scorched Spurs for 33 points in December meeting, still a season high.
C - 15 Matt Bonner (6-10, 5th yr) - 12 Nenad Krstic (7-0, 5th yr)
Krstic enjoying breakthrough after returning to the NBA in December.
SPURS RESERVES
12 Bruce Bowen, F, 6-7, 13th yr
90 Drew Gooden, F, 6-10, 8th yr
1 Malik Hairston, G, 6-6, 1st yr
3 George Hill, G, 6-2, 1st yr
7 Fabricio Oberto, C/F, 6-10, 4th yr
40 Kurt Thomas, C/F, 6-9, 14th yr
5 Ime Udoka, G/F, 6-5, 5th yr
THUNDER RESERVES
4 Nick Collison, F/C, 6-9, 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, 6-7, 5th yr
8 Chucky Atkins, G, 5-11, 10th yr
COACHES
Spurs: Gregg Popovich
Thunder: Scott Brooks
INJURIES
Spurs: Ian Mahinmi (right ankle surgery) and Manu Ginobili (stress reaction, right ankle) are out.
Thunder: Desmond Mason (hyperextended right knee) and D.J. White (jaw surgery) are out.
PROJECTED INACTIVE PLAYERS
Spurs: Ginobili, Mahinmi, Vaughn
Thunder: Mason, White
NOTABLE
Thunder are bringing up the rear in the Northwest Division, but don’t expect Spurs to take them lightly. OKC gave them all they could handle in December meeting at the AT&T Center, which the Spurs won 109-104. ..... Durant returned to the lineup Saturday in Phoenix after missing seven games with an ankle sprain. OKC was 5-2 in his absence. ..... Spurs are 1-1 in Oklahoma City, having faced the Hornets there twice in 2005-06 after Hurricane Katrina.
- Jeff McDonald
That sounds kind of creepy.
Thank you.but I hope you both have a good time.
OKC Thunder has to keep its stars
The Spurs Model: There’s a financial blueprint for keeping star players
By Darnell Mayberry
The issue is still three years away, but the question of how will the Thunder manage to retain young guns Kevin Durant, Jeff Green and Russell Westbrook is one that is already being asked.
For the answer, look no further than the San Antonio Spurs, who visit the Ford Center tonight for the first time this season.
The Thunder would like to duplicate several aspects of the Spurs organization, particularly their championships and community-oriented philosophy. But nothing will be more vital to Oklahoma City’s future than pulling off what San Antonio has done to hang on to its All-Star trio of Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili.
The Spurs have reached the point Oklahoma City is aiming to be in 2012-13, not in terms of on-the-court success but with regard to salary-cap structure.
San Antonio currently has more than $42 million of its $70 million payroll committed to Duncan ($20.5 million), Parker ($11.5 million) and Ginobili ($9.9 million). No other Spurs player is earning more than veteran forward Kurt Thomas’ $4.2 million.
It’s a financial model that can be found throughout the league. The Boston Celtics have a similar structure, but the Spurs are the best example because of the way they’ve built from the ground up similar to the Thunder’s current stage.
Getting there takes careful management of the cap, financial restraint and a heap of patience. But the Thunder is ahead of schedule in reaching that destination and retaining its talented young threesome.
Like San Antonio, Oklahoma City will benefit from drafting its young nucleus. NBA rules permit teams to offer its own free agents longer and more lucrative contracts than any other team.
Durant and Green will be the first to receive contract extensions, both of them kicking in before the start of the 2011-12 season. The Thunder currently has only $7 million in fourth-year team options pending for that season, going toward Westbrook and D.J. White. The earliest Westbrook can sign an extension is just before the start of the 2011-12 season, with the new contract kicking in during the 2012-13 year.
Of the trio, Durant is certain to receive the maximum contract allowed under NBA rules, and Green and Westbrook would likely fall in the Parker/Ginobili range.
Convincing the main cogs to stick around figures to be the easy part for Oklahoma City. Locating and landing the bargain-priced role players is where it’ll get tricky.
ill be at wwe raw tommorow night at the at&t center
go spurs go
we'll be chanting that during the boring matches like past years
Durant will be a tough cover
For us to win, the bench needs to step up. The Thunder starters are not chopped liver.
I have a feeling this will be a harder game than i think it will be.
For the Thunder to improve, they need to get rid of all their overpaid bench players.
I think this could be a tough game. Defense is more the key than the offense when it comes to high flyers like Green and Durant. Westbrook is no slouch either. Not a team to overlook. I think Tony is gonna go off. They have no one to guard him.
This is what Parker is capable of when he is the focal point of the offense and has his game working. Right now, I'd say Parker is playing like a Top 3 point guard.Parker, averaging 26.7 points and 7.3 assists in his last six games
But of course, everybody still thinks he's not good enough to touch Christ Paul or Deron Williams.
(That was a typo, but I can't resist a good Freudian slip when I see one)
Popovich to reach milestone in Spurs' tilt with Thunder
(Sports Network) - The Southwest Division-leading San Antonio Spurs hope to finish a quick two-game road swing in perfect fashion on Monday, when they take on the Oklahoma City Thunder at the Ford Center.
The Spurs won a huge game over the second-place Rockets in Houston on Saturday. Tony Parker scored 28 points, including San Antonio's final nine, to lead the Spurs past the Rockets, 88-85.
The Spurs now lead the Rockets by 2 1/2 games in the division and four games in the loss column.
Michael Finley totaled 17 points and hit five three-pointers for the second straight game for the Spurs, who have won four of their last five overall and are now a solid 21-12 on the road. Tim Duncan amassed his forth consecutive double-double with 15 points and 12 rebounds in the win.
Meanwhile, highly-regarded Spurs coach Gregg Popovich will become just the 24th coach in NBA history to mentor his 1,000th game tonight. Popovich is an imposing 676-323 since taking over for the fired Bob Hill 18 games into the 1996-97 season.
The Thunder, who are opening up a three-game homestand, are coming off a 106-95 loss in Phoenix on Saturday. Leandro Barbosa scored 12 of his 22 points in the fourth quarter in that one, as the Suns put the brakes on an ugly six-game losing streak with a 106-95 win over Oklahoma City.
Thunder star forward Kevin Durant returned from a seven-game absence due to an ankle injury to post a team-high 22 points.
Russell Westbrook's 20 points, six rebounds and seven assists were overshadowed by his eight turnovers for the Thunder, who went 5-2 without Durant in their lineup.
Oklahoma City, which is 13-20 at home this season, has won three straight as the host and will finish its current homestand with games against Chicago and Utah.
San Antonio has two straight and eight of its past nine meetings with the Oklahoma City/Seattle franchise, including a 109-104 win in the Alamo City in December.
Then you do not want to know what I do with my TD celebriduck.That sounds kind of creepy.
Referee Assignments
Mon. Mar. 16
San Antonio @ Oklahoma City: K. Mauer, D. Collins, D. Guthrie
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