San Antonio (44-28) at New Jersey (9-64)
Game info: 7:30 pm EDT Mon Mar 29, 2010
TV: FSSW, YES
By Matt Beardmore
Coming off victories over two of the Eastern Conference’s top contenders, the San Antonio Spurs may deserve a reprieve.
They’re likely to get one in the form of the NBA-worst New Jersey Nets.
Surging San Antonio goes for its 15th straight victory over the woeful Nets Monday night at IZOD Center.
Winners of 12 of their last 16, the Spurs (44-28) are currently tied with Oklahoma City and percentage points ahead of Portland for sixth place in the West. They’ve surged despite the fact that star guard Tony Parker has missed the 12 last games with a broken hand.
Manu Ginobili has filled in admirably as a starter, averaging 24.2 points. He scored 30 in Friday’s 102-97 victory over NBA-best Cleveland, then had 28 points and seven assists Sunday night to help San Antonio open this two-game trip with a 94-73 rout of Atlantic Division-leading Boston.
“He’s basically taken over the team,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. “He’s been the same Manu we’ve had when we won championships. Without Tony, it’s really important for somebody to step up, and he’s done it.”
The Nets (9-64) need only one victory in their final nine games to avoid matching the 1972-73 Philadelphia 76ers for the worst record in NBA history, but that win doesn’t appear likely to come against San Antonio. New Jersey has dropped 14 straight in this series since a 91-82 home win Nov. 13, 2002. Led by Ginobili’s 21 points and Tim Duncan’s 14 points and 17 rebounds, the host Spurs defeated New Jersey 97-85 on Jan. 10.
The Nets had won consecutive games - both at home - for the first time all season, but saw their bid for a three-game winning streak end Saturday when they totaled 37 first-half points en route to a 106-83 loss at Chicago.
“We just did not come out to play tonight,” interim coach Kiki Vandeweghe said. “We didn’t have the energy we the past few games. We didn’t have the drive or the intensity. Everybody struggled. I don’t think there was too many exceptions tonight.”
Despite the back-to-back road games, fatigue shouldn’t be an issue for Duncan in Monday’s matchup against Nets center Brook Lopez. The San Antonio star played only 27 minutes in the win over the Celtics, finishing with eight points with nine rebounds.
Duncan, who is seven points shy of passing Mitch Richmond (20,497) for 33rd all-time, had 27 with nine boards and eight assists in the Spurs’ last visit to New Jersey - a 108-93 victory Feb. 10, 2009.
Spurs forward Richard Jefferson, who posted his second double-double of the season Sunday with 16 points and a season high-tying 11 rebounds, looks for another big game on his former home court. After New Jersey dealt him to Milwaukee prior to last season, Jefferson averaged 28.0 points and 8.0 boards in two visits to IZOD Center in 2008-09.
Lopez had 28 points and 11 rebounds in the Jan. 10 loss in San Antonio. He’s averaging 20.3 points and 7.7 boards in three career games versus the Spurs.
*********************
Team Stat Leaders
Points
Tim Duncan SA 18.2
Brook Lopez NJ 19.0
Rebounds
Tim Duncan SA 10.2
Brook Lopez NJ 8.8
Assists
Tony Parker SA 5.7
Devin Harris NJ 6.9
They can't let their guard down tomorrow, they gotta keep this momentum going...
^ Yes they do. And as I said in another thread, don't rest anybody. People can get rest once the game is in under control, just as Tim did tonight in Boston. Don't relax because it's New Jersey.
Referee Assignments
Mon. Mar 29
San Antonio @ New Jersey: Bavetta; Bennie Adams; Haywoode Workman
Manu needs to be under 25 minutes.
Good lord, this team is too bad for me to worry about the Spurs slipping up against them.
Which is exactly why I'm worrying about the Spurs letting one slip.
Streaking Spurs aim to continue dominance over Nets
The suddenly streaking San Antonio Spurs shoot for their 15th straight win over the woeful New Jersey Nets at IZOD Center tonight.
The Spurs are coming off their second straight win over an Eastern Conference power last night in Boston. Manu Ginobili scored 28 points and dished out seven assists in that one, as San Antonio limited the Celtics to just 30 points in the second half in a surprising 94-73 rout at TD Garden.
Richard Jefferson totaled 16 points and 11 rebounds for the Spurs, who not only held Boston to a season-low in scoring, but moved into a tie with Oklahoma City for the sixth spot in the Western Conference, percentage points ahead of eighth place Portland.
Those three teams are all seemingly headed to the playoffs as ninth-place Memphis has fallen 6 1/2 games off the pace. The Grizzlies have just nine games left to make up the difference.
George Hill scored 15 for the Spurs, who were coming off a win over Cleveland, the East's top seed, and have won 12 of their last 16 overall.
"We are very steady now, as I said we are hustling a lot," Ginobili said of the team's defense. "We have guys going hard to the rebounds. We know better what to do, when to do it. That's a big key, at the beginning we were kind of confused and weren't executing well and now we are just following the game plan better."
The Nets, meanwhile, couldn't follow up on their lone winning streak of the season in their last outing on Saturday. Chicago rookie Taj Gibson scored 14 of his career-high 22 points in the first quarter in that one, as the Bulls destroyed the Nets, 106-83, at the United Center.
Terrence Williams paced New Jersey with 16 points and six boards off the bench as the Nets failed in their first chance to break free of the Sixers' all-time NBA-worst record of 9-73. New Jersey now has nine games left to earn its 10th win of the season.
Jarvis Hayes finished with 14 points in defeat. The Nets had won two in a row for the first time this season prior to Saturday's loss.
"These are games when you take your lumps and whatever lessons you learn from them and move on," said Nets coach Kiki Vandeweghe. "We did not come to play tonight. We didn't have the energy we've had the past few games."
New Jersey hasn't beaten San Antonio since a 91-82 home win back on Nov. 13, 2002, and the Spurs are aiming to sweep the home-and-home season series for a seventh straight year tonight.
Manu not playin... out due to lower back spasms
this game will see if mason still has his head up his ass or not....
would like to see RJ penetrate alot for his points same with ghill3, Blair to run wild down low with the pansy Nets frontline
This needs to be Timmy's game. He hardly played last night. And with Manu out Timmy needs to be the focus of the offense, just like the old days.
Spurs vs. Nets: No letdowns
by Andrew A. McNeill
48 Minutes of
The San Antonio Spurs have won three of five games going into tonight’s game with the New Jersey Nets. Considering the Spurs’ winning percentage under Gregg Popovich is .671 and the type of compe ion San Antonio faced in the previous five games, the Spurs’ level of play appears close to where it should be in late March.
And so the Spurs goal for tonight’s game against the Nets should be simple: crush them. Blow them out of the water early, rest the vets and play the kids. Simple as that.
Keep reading →
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