Spurs-Nuggets Preview

By MATT BEARDMORE
Posted Feb 23 2012 2:44AM

The San Antonio Spurs' lengthy winning streak came to an abrupt end as coach Gregg Popovich gave two of his best players the night off.

Denver Nuggets coach George Karl can't wait to get some of his top players back in the lineup.

With Tim Duncan and Tony Parker expected to return to the starting five on Thursday night, San Antonio will cap off its annual rodeo trip trying to head into the All-Star break on a positive note as it faces the banged-up Nuggets.

Winners of an NBA season-high 11 consecutive games, the Southwest Division-leading Spurs (23-10) were routed 137-97 by Portland on Tuesday. Duncan and Parker watched from the bench because Popovich wanted his two veterans to get some rest during a stretch of three games in four nights.

The result was the Spurs' most lopsided defeat since a 111-69 loss at Chicago on March 5, 1997. San Antonio is still second in the Western Conference, three games behind Oklahoma City.

"One loss isn't going to do anything to us so we're just going to keep moving on," rookie swingman Kawhi Leonard said Tuesday after posting team highs with 24 points and 10 rebounds.

The Spurs conclude their nine-game trip with their lone visit to Denver. San Antonio will be without Manu Ginobili (oblique) and Tiago Splitter (calf), who are both expected to be sidelined for a couple of weeks.

The Nuggets (18-16) have their own injury concerns.

With leading scorer Danilo Gallinari out the last nine games with a sprained left ankle and not expected back until after the break, Denver could also be without point guard Ty Lawson (sprained left ankle), forward Nene (strained calf) and backup swingman Rudy Fernandez (strained lower back) on Thursday.

The trio did not play Wednesday when Denver lost for the 11th time in 15 games, 103-95 to the Los Angeles Clippers.

"We had a lot of young guys out there, and (Clippers guard Chris Paul) found a lot of easy shots and made them," Karl said of the All-Star scoring 36 points against his team.

Trying to win their third straight at home before the All-Star break, the injury-riddled Nuggets could use continued production from rookie forwards Kenneth Faried and Jordan Hamilton. Faried is scoring 10.8 points per game with 7.8 rebounds over the last six contests, while Hamilton posted season highs with 18 points and seven boards at Los Angeles.

Nuggets guard Arron Afflalo is averaging 22.3 points over the last three games. He finished with 12 in a 121-117 loss at San Antonio on Jan. 7.

Spurs swingman Danny Green scored a career-best 24 in that contest, while Parker and Richard Jefferson added 19 apiece in the Spurs' best offensive performance of the season.

The Nuggets shot 56.8 percent as Gallinari had 31 points and Lawson added 20 and 10 assists.

It was the highest-scoring regular-season contest between the former ABA teams since a 131-111 Spurs home win on April 22, 1993.

San Antonio has surrendered 100 or more points in a season-high four consecutive games, but the Nuggets have hit 40.2 percent of their shots in each of the last two games after failing to convert a field goal in the final 7:26 on Wednesday.

Denver won 115-112 in the Spurs' last visit to the Mile High City on March 23, snapping a three-game home losing streak and five-game overall skid to San Antonio.

Blair scores 28 as Spurs beat Nuggets 114-99

By PAT GRAHAM
Posted Feb 24 2012 12:36AM

DENVER (AP) The San Antonio Spurs may be the hottest team that nobody's talking about.

Between the Miami Heat winning eight in a row and Jeremy Lin guiding the resurgent New York Knicks, the Spurs have slipped under the radar.

And that's just fine with them. They'll just silently go about their business of winning, where it seems like a new player steps up each night.

DeJuan Blair was in the starring role Thursday as he tied a career high with 28 points and grabbed 12 rebounds, helping the Spurs beat the injury-riddled Denver Nuggets 114-99 to wrap up a nine-game road swing.

The Spurs have won 12 of their last 13 heading into the All-Star break and lead the Southwest Division by three games over the defending champion Dallas Mavericks.

So, where's the national love for the Spurs?

"It's been the same way for 15 years," coach Gregg Popovich said. "I don't even think about it."

Nor does anyone else on his team.

"We let the hyped people get the hype," Blair said.

This is a team that's racing to the beat of Tony Parker. His ability to draw defenders certainly opened things up for his teammates as Tim Duncan added 18 points and Richard Jefferson hit 5 of 7 3-point attempts and scored 17.

Parker had his sixth double-double this season, winding up 16 points and 12 assists.

"The best I've ever seen Tony Parker orchestrate a game," Nuggets coach George Karl said. "He was really great with his decisions and his passing."

The Spurs finished their rodeo road swing with an 8-1 mark. In all, the team spent 17 days away from home and logged 7,941 miles. The nine straight games away tied a franchise record.

Corey Brewer scored 23 points for the banged-up and beleaguered Nuggets, who have lost 12 of their last 16 to drop out of the playoff picture. The loudest cheer of the night came when rookie Kenneth Faried slammed home a pass from Andre Miller midway through the third quarter. That cut the Spurs' lead to 24 points.

It was simply that kind of night for Denver.

Duncan and Parker were back in the lineup after Popovich elected to rest them in a lopsided 137-97 loss in Portland on Tuesday.

While most of the Spurs receive a break, Parker will head to the All-Star game as a reserve. He will be making his fourth appearance, joining George Gervin, David Robinson and Duncan as the only San Antonio players to be picked at least that many times.

Parker is in the midst of another strong season, averaging nearly 20 points and eight assists.

Before the game, Karl was asked what his team's focus would be against the Spurs.

"Parker," he said, with little hesitation.

But the problem Thursday was perimeter defense as the Spurs hit 13 3-pointers and shot 48 percent from the field.

"A rough night," Brewer said.

San Antonio led by as many as 28 points in the second half and looked to be headed toward a rout. Duncan even took a seat on the bench, figuring his night was finished.

When the Nuggets pulled within 12 points with 6:42 remaining, Popovich quickly summoned Duncan back into the game.

From there, the Spurs pulled away again. Blair hit four straight free throws to silence the threat.

Blair was a dominant presence down low, hitting 12 of 21 shots.

"He finds a way to score," Duncan said. "He's like a magnet to that ball - he goes and gets it. It's just about getting his opportunities and he got a lot of opportunities tonight and he'll finish them. He'll put them in."

The Nuggets showed their fatigue early on, falling behind 26-7 midway through the opening quarter. The team arrived back in town late Tuesday night after a 103-95 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers.

This has been an injury-filled season for the Nuggets. They were without speedy point guard Ty Lawson (left ankle), big man Nene (calf strain) and leading scorer Danilo Gallinari (left ankle).

Although they were supposed to have Rudy Fernandez back on the court, he ended up missing his fourth straight game with a strained lower back.

The All-Star break couldn't come at a better time for the Nuggets.

"We need a couple of days," Brewer said. "We're let down because we're a little beat up. But mentally, we're good. As a team, we're going to be just fine. We know we have a lot of guys out and we're getting guys back. We're going to be ready to make our second-half run."

Same with the Spurs, and they really don't care if anyone's paying attention.

"That's a question from every year. I really don't care where the radar is," Duncan said. "I don't watch radar. We just play games and we'll figure out where we are at the end of the year."

NOTES: The Nuggets wore retro uniforms, leading Karl to suggest that maybe the league should look into using striped basketballs in team colors. "It would be fun," he said. "But I think that's too out there." ... Miller finished with 20 points, while G/F Jordan Hamilton had an interesting stat line - no points and nine boards. ... Spurs F Kawhi Leonard (calf) didn't play in the second half. ... The Spurs were missing Manu Ginobili, who's out with a strained left oblique. The team is 17-8 this season in Ginobili's absence.

Notebook: Spurs 114, Nuggets 99

Posted Friday February 24, 2012 12:26AM

By Michael Kelly, for NBA.com

THE FACTS: DeJuan Blair tied a career high with 28 points and added 12 rebounds, Tim Duncan had 18 points and nine rebounds and the San Antonio Spurs raced out to a big lead early and held on to beat the Denver Nuggets 114-99 on Thursday night.

Richard Jefferson had 17 points and eight rebounds and Tony Parker had 16 points and 12 assists for the Spurs, who have won 12 of 13 and went 8-1 on their nine-game, 17-day road trip.

Corey Brewer had 23 points, Andre Miller had 19 and Arron Afflalo scored 19 for the injury-depleted Nuggets, who have lost 12 of their last 16.

QUOTABLE: "Considering what they had to go through, not just with injuries but the schedule they just had, having to play tonight, it wasn't a fair fight."
-- Spurs coach Gregg Popovich, on the Nuggets.

THE STAT: San Antonio came out firing from 3-point range and it punished the Nuggets in the first half behind the arc. The Spurs hit 9 of 18 from there in the first 24 minutes while the Nuggets were 2-for-9.

TURNING POINT: The Spurs took advantage of Denver's lack of energy in the first quarter. Leading 7-6, San Antonio went on a 19-1 run to put this one on ice early. The lead grew to as much as 28 in the first half and the Nuggets had no answer for anything the Spurs did. Later, after the Nuggets cut the Spurs' lead to 12 midway through the fourth quarter, the Nuggets had a chance to get the lead under 10 but missed five straight shots and the lead grew to 17 again.

QUOTABLE II: "We didn't scare them. We almost scared them."
-- Nuggets coach George Karl, on his team's comeback in the second half.

HOT: Blair was dominant all game. He hit 8 of 10 shots in the first half and finished the game 12-for-21 from the field. He did his damage inside, using his wide body to outmuscle the Nuggets underneath. His rebound and putback with 2:42 left in the third stopped a Denver 10-0 run that had cut the leads to 18 and gave the crowd some life.

QUOTABLE III: "It was great to have Tony and Tim back. We fed off of them -- or they fed off of me today."
-- Blair

NOT: The Nuggets have gone from the surprise team of the NBA at the beginning of February to an also-ran in the playoff race. Injuries have hurt them, but not taking care of the home court could come back to haunt them in April.

FANTASY SPOTLIGHT: Parker continues to put together a career season. In his last four games he is averaging 25.8 points and 11.8 assists -- all Spurs wins.

INSIDE THE ARENA: Former Nuggets players Fatty Taylor and Chuck Williams -- players from the ABA days -- presented the game ball before tip. The Nuggets wore their throwback uniforms in honor of their ABA history.

GOOD MOVE: Popovich had his two stars, Duncan and Parker, on the bench for a long stretch of the first half while Blair and Danny Green did the heavy lifting on offense. They combined for 27 of the Spurs' 65 points at intermission.

BAD MOVE: Nuggets rookie Jordan Hamilton had a breakout game against the Clippers on Wednesday but couldn't duplicate it against San Antonio despite having wide-open looks. Even with his inaccuracy Hamilton kept shooting -- and missing. He finished 0-for-7 from the field.

QUOTABLE IV: "We need to get some guys out of the training room and back on the court so we can be the team we started off the season as."
-- Nuggets forward Al Harrington.

NOTABLE: The Nuggets are 9-8 at home this season. Last year they lost eight home games total. ... Denver's 15 points in the first quarter and 39 points in the first half tied a season low in both categories. ... The Spurs had six players in double figures.

UP NEXT: For the Spurs, Wednesday vs. Chicago, Friday, March 2 vs. Charlotte, Sunday, March 4 vs. Denver. For the Nuggets, Wednesday vs. Portland, Friday, March 2 @ Houston, Sunday, March 4 @ San Antonio.

• Spurs: Ford, Ginobili, Splitter
• Nuggets: Nene

• Spurs: --
• Nuggets: --

• Lead Changes: 0
• Times Tied: 0

• Arena: Pepsi Center, Denver, CO
• Officials: #10 Ron Garretson, #11 Derrick Collins, #72 J.T. Orr
• Attendance: 18875
• Duration: 2:02