Tim Duncan

Duncan perfect from the field, nets 21 points, Spurs top Grizzlies 105 98

Tim Duncan was perfect from the floor on a night when his team showed plenty of flaws.

Duncan shot 8-for-8 and scored 21 points, helping the San Antonio Spurs beat the Memphis Grizzlies 105-98 on Wednesday despite blowing a 19-point third-quarter lead.

``We really let them get back in the game,'' said Duncan, who went 5-of-10 from the foul line.

Duncan also grabbed nine rebounds for the Spurs, who have won five straight. Michael Finley had a season-high 20 points, Tony Parker added 18 points and 10 assists, and Bruce Bowen had 13 points _ including 3-of-3 shooting from three-point range in the fourth quarter.

The Spurs were up by 19 points early in the third, but their cushion slipped away and Memphis briefly took the lead in the fourth.

``They really caught fire in the third quarter,'' San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich said. ``We were able to get it done.

``So they did a good job when it mattered.''

The game was tied 90-90 with less than six minutes to go before a bucket by Pau Gasol put Memphis up by two. The teams then traded baskets _ a three-pointer for the Spurs and a bucket for the Grizzlies _ before Francisco Elson's jump shot with 4:16 left put San Antonio ahead for good, 95-94.

The Grizzlies' Mike Miller scored all but two of his 22 points in the second half. He was followed by Gasol with 16 points and Hakim Warrick and Chucky Atkins with 11 points apiece.

It was the second game in a row that the Spurs squandered a big lead and allowed their opponent to go ahead in the fourth quarter.

On Saturday at home against Philadelphia, the Spurs gave away a 17-point third-quarter advantage and allowed Philadelphia to take a lead late in the fourth. Only eight late points from Manu Ginobili, who had 12 points against Memphis, saved the game for San Antonio.

``We've been here before,'' Finley said. ``We've let good leads slip away.

``We were able to sustain offensively through working together and defensively by being committed and making them make tough shots. They missed them, we made them, and we got the win.''

The Spurs (20-6) own the NBA's best record. They have won five in a row overall and six straight at home.

The Grizzlies fell to 6-20.

``Defensively we made things happen, we got some deflections, we had some steals, we had some stops and then we got out and ran,'' Memphis coach Mike Fratello said. ``All of a sudden we are back here smelling it.

``We were close enough. It was back and forth for a while.''

The Spurs were ahead 62-46 at halftime, but Memphis went on a run in the third quarter that was capped by Miller's three-pointer, tying the game 71-71 with 3:38 left.

Finley then answered with a three-pointer of his own to start a 10-0 run for the Spurs, who ended the period up 82-76.

``We are a team that's going to keep fighting and scrapping. We were a little disappointed in the first half with our effort,'' Miller said. ``We played a lot harder in the second half. We were able to get out, run a little bit, get a few easy buckets and that helps against a defence like that.''

With 7:35 left in the second quarter, Atkins got two technicals and was ejected for yelling at an official after he was called for an offensive foul. About 30 seconds later, Dahntay Jones also got called for a technical.

``You can't have everybody get bent out of shape,'' Fratello said. ``You can't hurt your team because you get so frustrated and get yourself thrown out of the game.''

Parker got a technical in the first quarter.

Notes: It was Gasol's fourth game back after missing the first 22 this season with a broken left foot. The injury was sustained in the world championship this summer . . . The Spurs are 15-1 when scoring 100 or more points . . . The Grizzlies have lost eight of 10.

Duncan scores 24 points to lead Spurs to 95 82 victory over Timberwolve

Gregg Popovich politely asked the San Antonio Spurs to turn up the defensive intensity in the second half against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday night.

They listened to their coach, holding the Timberwolves to a season-low 26 points over the final 24 minutes in a 95-82 victory.

``I just asked the guys if it wasn't that much of a problem or an inconvenience if they picked up the pressure and played a little more aggressively,'' Popovich said, recounting his halftime speech. ``That might be a good idea.''

The Timberwolves committed 17 turnovers in the second half against the suddenly defensive-minded Spurs.

``He asked us, `Please, guys. It's a great opportunity to go play harder,' '' Spurs guard Manu Ginobili said. ``He's always so polite.''

Tim Duncan, who said ``we really appreciate it and responded to'' Popovich's talk, scored 24 points and Tony Parker added 23 points for San Antonio.

Kevin Garnett and Mark Blount each had 19 points for Minnesota. Randy Foye added 15 points for the Timberwolves and Garnett grabbed 12 rebounds.

``I thought we had an excellent game in the first half,'' Timberwolves coach Dwane Casey said. ``In the second half they turned up the juice and we didn't respond.

``That is the best pressure I've seen all year.''

Still, Duncan saw the glass half-empty.

``More important than the defensive effort in the second half was the lack of defensive effort in the first half,'' he said. ``We were horrible in the first half.

``We put ourselves in a hole.''

Aside from being plagued by turnovers, Minnesota went 1-of-11 from three-point range. And Garnett only scored two points _ both free throws _ in the second half.

``They were double-teaming him. Crowding him,'' Casey said. ``They did a great job of getting the ball out of our offensive point guards' hands.''

The Spurs used a 10-2 run to get within 56-48 at halftime. More than halfway through the third quarter Minnesota had scored just one point and the Spurs were within one.

A three-pointer by Brent Barry gave the Spurs a 70-69 lead and a three-pointer by Parker made it 73-71.

The 15 points scored by Minnesota in the third quarter were a season low, but the mark dropped 12 minutes later.

The Timberwolves had scored just five points three-fourths of the way through the final period. Parker and Duncan combined for 12 points in the quarter, one more than Minnesota managed in registering a new season low.

``We live and learn from these things,'' Garnett said. ``I'd rather it happen now than later.''

Notes: The Spurs have won six straight home games against Minnesota . . . The Timberwolves and Spurs meet again Jan. 3 in Minnesota . . . The Timberwolves are back at .500 (10-10) . . . The Spurs are now 17-6 . . . Minnesota G Mike James fouled out in the fourth quarter with just four points.

Tim Duncan's 25 points enough to power Spurs past Bobcats 96 76

It was a strange sight: Tim Duncan missing dunks.

Three times he tried to slam it over Emeka Okafor and three times the ball clanged off the back rim _ all in the first quarter.

But it didn't take long for him to break out of his funk.

Duncan shook off the slow start to score 25 points and the San Antonio Spurs avenged a surprising home loss to Charlotte with a 96-76 win over the Bobcats on Wednesday.

``It was frustrating. I got everything at the rim that I wanted but I couldn't finish,'' Duncan said. ``I played through that, was able to get some touches in the fourth quarter and got those to go down for me.''

Manu Ginobili came off the bench to score 13 points for the Spurs, who won their third straight game.

As was the case two days earlier, the Spurs got payback for a loss from earlier in the season. But unlike San Antonio's 40-point win over Golden State, the Bobcats put up a fight until Brevin Knight was ejected in the third quarter for picking up two technical fouls.

Charlotte, which won in San Antonio 95-92 in overtime three weeks ago, led by seven in the first quarter, when Duncan shot 4-for-11. But San Antonio recovered and took an 11-point second-quarter lead.

Duncan scored 11 points in the fourth, when the Spurs built as much as a 22-point lead.

``He played it a little differently with Emeka's defence,'' Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. ``He started to face him up a little bit more. He did a much better job at reading the defence.''

Sean May scored 18 points, Gerald Wallace had 15 and Raymond Felton added 13 points and nine assists for the Bobcats, who failed to win consecutive games for the first time this season.

Rookie Adam Morrison continued to struggle, scoring four points on 1-of-10 shooting. He's 2-for-15 from the field in the past two games.

Felton's three-pointer put Charlotte ahead early 22-15, in part because Duncan struggled against Okafor, who also blocked one of Duncan's shots in the lane in the quarter.

``He was right at the rim, he just missed some dunks,'' Popovich said. ``Other than that he was trying to go over Emeka a little bit too much while he was getting bodied.''

The Bobcats' good fortune didn't last. They committed turnovers on five straight possessions and missed seven of their first nine shots to start the second as the Spurs took the lead for good. Ginobili's two free throws put the Spurs up 48-37.

Little-used Walter Herrmann hit a three-pointer in Charlotte's half-closing 5-0 run to make it 48-42, but the Argentina native struggled to defend his fellow countryman Ginobili.

``That's his guy. They played together, so obviously he knew something about him,'' Bobcats coach Bernie Bickerstaff said of Ginobili. ``That's the thing with this team. They find a mismatch and they go. Against a team like that you almost have to play perfect.

It was real simple. San Antonio came to prove a point.''

It didn't help that Knight was ejected for picking up two technicals in a one-minute span early in the third quarter. Referee Tony Brothers hit him with the second technical _ Knight's sixth of the season _ when he threw a towel at the beginning of a timeout. Knight wasn't in the locker-room for comment after the game.

``Anytime you lose your starting point guard it's a big blow,'' Wallace said. Ginobili's three-point play and Brent Barry's three-pointer in an 8-0 run put the Spurs up 68-53 late in the third quarter, and the Bobcats were finished against the balanced Spurs, who placed five players in double figures.

``They take Robert Horry, who's old as dirt, and they put him in a ball screen and you have to make a decision,'' May said. ``Are you going to stop Tony Parker from getting a layup or Robert Horry from hitting that three? They just put you in a tough position.''

Notes: Bobcats G Matt Carroll sat out with a sprained right elbow and is expected to miss 5 to 10 days. ... The Spurs are 8-1 against teams with below .500 records, with the lone loss being to Charlotte. ... Bobcats C Ryan Hollins is averaging 12.2 points and 9.8 rebounds in four games with Fort Worth of the NBDL.