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San Antonio Spurs News

Parker on brink of assists milestone
February 4
San Antonio Express-News
 
"Enjoying a career season distributing the basketball, Spurs point guard Tony Parker has moved within striking range of passing Avery Johnson as the Spurs' leader in career assists. With seven assists in the Spurs' 93-81 victory over the Hornets on Thursday, Parker has 4,468 for a Spurs career that began in 2001. That is six shy of Johnson's mark of 4,474, established in 10 seasons in silver and black that stretched from the 1990-91 season through 2000-01. Parker is averaging 7.9 assists per game, a career high. The timing of Parker's arrival after the Spurs made him the 28th pick in the 2001 draft made it impossible for him not to immediately understand Johnson's legacy. "When I first"
Spurs preparing for Thunder storm
February 4
San Antonio Express-News
 
"Gregg Popovich fussed with a lock on the door that separates his postgame interview room from the Spurs locker room. The pregnant pause inspired a final shouted inquiry from the back of the media pack that had interrogated him after his team's Thursday night victory over the Hornets at the AT&T Center. "What about the Thunder on Saturday night?" As he pulled a curtain over the jamb so the door wouldn't lock behind him, Popovich stuck his head back in the room. He summarized the challenge the Spurs face tonight against Oklahoma City, the team with the NBA's best record, in what will be their last game at home for 25 days. "I don't think they've lost a game yet, have they?" he said. The door"
New Orleans Hornets succumb late to Spurs, lose 93-81 in San Antonio
February 3
New Orleans Times-Picayune
 
"As the San Antonio Spurs opened the fourth quarter Thursday night with four quick points to take a seven-point lead, the biggest of the game at the time, Hornets forward Jason Smith called his team together after a timeout and implored them to hold it together. "Defense!" Smith yelled. "Defense!" It wasn't enough, as the Spurs blew open what had been a back-and-forth game for three quarters, winning 93-81 over New Orleans, sending the Hornets to their 19th defeat in the past 21 games."
Duncan no All-Star? Don't tell the Hornets
February 3
San Antonio Express-News
 
"When the Spurs played the Hornets in New Orleans on Jan. 23, a well-rested Tim Duncan turned back the clock and authored his best game of the season, a 28-point burst of energy punctuated by a game-winning hook shot. Facing the Hornets again Thursday, this time after a hard win over Houston the night before, Duncan proved he can still dominate a game while weary. In 22 minutes and 28 seconds, he produced an extraordinarily efficient 19 points and nine rebounds, helping the Spurs secure a 93-81 victory. When Duncan wasn't torturing the shorthanded Hornets in the post, backup big man Tiago Splitter was doing the same, making 7 of 9 shots and scoring 16."
Baby steps leading to better Spurs defense
February 3
San Antonio Express-News
 
"One of the biggest concerns that Gregg Popovich had throughout the early part of the season was his struggling defense. At one point, Popovich ripped his current players for the worst defensive effort during his coaching tenure. And that might have been the case when the Spurs were singed for 58.2 percent in an earlier loss to Miami, 50.6 percent and 55.7 percent in losses to Houston and 50.6 percent to lowly New Orleans. That game might have been the low point as they allowed the Hornets to top 100 points for the first time all season in a narrow two-point victory."
Kenyon Martin cleared to return to NBA
February 2
Yahoo! Sports
 
"In a surprising turn of events, the governing body of international basketball – FIBA – has granted free agent Kenyon Martin his letter of clearance to immediately return to the NBA, league sources told Yahoo! Sports. Martin has visited with several teams interested in signing him, including Atlanta on Thursday, and will huddle with agent Andy Miller in New York over the weekend to reach a decision. The Los Angeles Clippers and Miami Heat are leaders for Martin, but the Hawks, Lakers, New York Knicks and San Antonio Spurs remain in pursuit of him. New York has faded from contention in recent weeks, sources said, because of more pressing guard needs."
Blame the refs? Not until Rockets learn to play defense for four quarters
February 2
Houston Chronicle
 
"Since the Rockets cannot – no matter what they do or how hard they try or how much wish they could – change the charging call against Courtney Lee or several others they still can't believe, there is a little matter of those 60 second-half Spurs points. They can't do anything about that, either, but they do play the Suns, who put up 120 on Wednesday, on Friday. They face the Timberwolves, who whipped them on Monday, the next night. They go to Denver and Portland where the home teams are rolling. If they can't find a way to stop somebody, games won't be coming down to a call or two very often. The defense made huge strides, at least for awhile, on Wednesday. The improvements were not"
Duncan experiences huge flashback
February 2
San Antonio Express-News
 
"Tim Duncan hit a right-handed hook on Samuel Dalembert. A few minutes later, he opted for the left. Later, he spun Jordan Hill into oblivion on the low block, cleaned up a misconnected alley-oop attempt and dunked home a pass from Gary Neal. By the time Duncan's third-quarter trip through time was finished Wednesday, giving the kind of stretch his younger teammates might have read about in their history books, the Spurs had climbed out of a 19-point hole against Houston, on their way to a 99-91 victory. For Duncan, the most memorable moment of a memorable night happened before the third quarter even began. "I was just happy to be on the floor, honestly," Duncan said."
Why the defensive switch on Kevin Martin changed the game
February 2
San Antonio Express-News
 
"After Kevin Martin blistered the Spurs for 21 points in the first half on an assortment of jumpers, Gregg Popovich had seen enough. The Spurs coach changed his defensive strategy with the idea of forcing Martin to drive more after the break. A rotation of fresh defenders was employed, with Danny Green and Gary Neal getting most of the work. "A guy like that, once he gets going, you have to throw different things at him," Green said. "We had multiple guys guarding him. All you can do is to try to deny him catching it. And when he catches it, just be annoying so he doesn't get rhythm and make shots. Luckily, he cooled down when we needed him to.""
Bonner on the boards: A rare double-figure night for the Red Rocket
February 2
San Antonio Express-News
 
"Matt Bonner could joke after the game about his unusually strong rebounding game Wednesday night. Bonner grabbed 10 rebounds to lead the Spurs in their 99-91 victory, including five in their second-half rally. "That's how sad it is, I can't even remember the last time I had double-figure rebounds," Bonner said. "You'll have to look that up.""
Russell reborn — Duncan relies on his ground game
February 2
San Antonio Express-News
 columnist Buck Harvey
""You play differently when you get older," Kevin McHale was saying before the game. You can walk differently, too. Wednesday night, as McHale approached a ref with a complaint, or circled his Rockets for a timeout, he limped on the damaged ankle that sped his retirement as a player. This time McHale, one of the best power forwards in NBA history, was talking about the best. He was saying Tim Duncan plays differently now, and this is the way it's always been. "If not," McHale said, "Bill Russell would still be winning championships.""
Will we see Tim Duncan play Thursday night?
February 2
San Antonio Express-News
 
"Gregg Popovich has thrown down the gauntlet, telling anyone who would listen that he plans regular rests for Tim Duncan as part of his lockout schedule strategy. The only problem might be that the 35-year-old Duncan still prefers playing a lot more than sitting on the bench and practically vowed to play Thursday night against New Orleans. By looking at the substitution patterns after the Spurs' 99-91 victory over Houston Wednesday night, it appeared that Duncan might be ripe for a night off against the Hornets and Emeka Okafor Thursday night."
Spurs have important homework assignment
February 1
San Antonio Express-News
 
"Unlike many of his NBA counterparts, Spurs point guard Tony Parker admits to looking at the standings almost every day. What he's seen so far in this topsy-turvy, lockout-truncated season has shocked him. Lose in overtime in Dallas, drop from third in the Western Conference to ninth. Win the next night in Memphis, jump from ninth to sixth and one game out of fourth. What the turbulence has taught him is, this season more than most, the standings watching that has become part of his daily routine is an exercise in futility."
Grizzlies misplace grind, grit against Spurs
January 31
Memphis Commercial Appeal
 columnist Geoff Calkins
"The first question was about effort. "Did you see effort out there?" said Grizzlies head coach Lionel Hollins. Well, no. Unless you count the fat dancing guy. But, then, he brings it every night. Unlike the suddenly soporific Griz. Remember when this team prided itself on work? Remember when they called FedExForum the Grind House? "When we give effort, it's just for a few seconds," said Hollins. The Never Mind House, anyone?"
Spurs deal sluggish Grizzlies their fourth straight loss, 83-73
January 31
Memphis Commercial Appeal
 
"When the locker room door finally opened, Tony Allen had a blank look on his face, a statistical report in his hand and was the only Grizzly sitting at his cubbyhole. The rest of Allen's teammates were in the showers, trying to wash away an 83-73 loss to the San Antonio Spurs that drew boos from the FedExForum crowd Monday night and led to a lengthy players-only meeting. The topic of discussion was effort in yet another lethargic showing as the Grizzlies' losing streak swelled to four games."
Spurs' energy jolts Grizzlies
January 31
San Antonio Express-News
 
"Less than an hour before tipoff Monday night at the FedEx Forum, Matt Bonner gingerly made his way from the visitors' locker room and headed down the corridor toward the floor. He looked like a man in need of a massage, an Advil and a nap, in some order. After playing a key role in the Spurs' marathon bench run a night earlier in Dallas, Bonner admitted to being spent even before the game in Memphis began. The effect of the lockout schedule? "Nah," the 31-year-old sharpshooter said. "I'm just a year older.""
Ginobili working with surgically repaired left hand
January 31
San Antonio Express-News
 
"For much of the Spurs' past few road trips, Manu Ginobili has been a ghost. Still recovering from a broken left hand suffered Jan. 2 in Minnesota, the Spurs' All-Star guard has been mostly hidden from public view, save for a few appearances behind the bench in street clothes. Though still a few weeks away from returning to the court, Ginobili is out of his post-surgery splint and has been cleared to do some basketball work with his repaired hand. "He's shooting mid-range shots, lefty," coach Gregg Popovich said Monday. "He'll be cleared to go one-on-one in a week or so.""
Why Monday's bounceback victory was so big
January 31
San Antonio Express-News
 columnist Tim Griffin
"A night after the Spurs' most excruciating loss of the season, the team rebounded Monday night with a workmanlike victory like we've seen so often over the years. There wasn't a lot of flash and dash in the Spurs' 83-73 victory over Memphis. I'm betting it was exactly the kind of game that Gregg Popovich savors the most when he's alone in his library quietly breaking down game films of his favorite "Pounding the Rock" victories over the years. The Spurs didn't flounder after their loss Sunday night in Dallas. They jumped on the Grizzlies early and cruised to a double-digit lead by midway in the second quarter and didn't look back."
Spurs return to their defensive roots in suffocating victory at Memphis
January 31
San Antonio Express-News
 
"It used to be the foundation on which the Spurs' dynasty was built. The Spurs' defensive prowess has been spotty, to say the least, throughout this season. But for at least one night, the Spurs played defense like back in the glory days in their 83-73 victory over Memphis Monday night. The Spurs limited Memphis to 37 percent and only 50 points through three quarters in the convincing victory."
Spurs' bench nearly steals one
January 30
San Antonio Express-News
 
"As soon as the ball left his hand, Danny Green had a plan. It is one he lifted from one of the most painful chapters of Spurs history, from a player who made a similar shot facing similar odds nearly eight years ago. Even before Green pulled a Derek Fisher — swishing a turnaround jumper that appeared to give the Spurs a breathtaking buzzer-beating victory over Dallas — he had mapped his escape from the American Airlines Center. "I was going to run out of the gym, just like Derek did," said Green. "I said, 'Guys, let's go. Let's get the heck out of here.' "Nobody wanted to follow my lead.""
Sunday's loss will hurt more later for Spurs
January 30
San Antonio Express-News
 
"The Spurs' hardest week of the season to date started Sunday night in a bad way. After struggling down the stretch against Minnesota Friday night, the Spurs almost stole a victory at Dallas thanks to a dramatic bench performance before falling 101-100 in overtime. As much as the Spurs might feel good about the bench's effort, the realization that games against Memphis, Houston, New Orleans and Oklahoma City loom in the next six days remains daunting. Sunday night might be a moral victory for some, but the Spurs still lost to a division foe and their most bitter rival to boot. They fell out of first place in a game where they limited Dirk Nowitzki to 10 points on 5-for-14 shooting and"
Mavs-Spurs: Dirk's return, blown leads and a Mavs OT win
January 30
Fort Worth Star-Telegram
 
"In this condensed, 66-game season, the Dallas Mavericks aren't too concerned about style wins. They just want to get them any way they can. The Mavs blew an 18-point third-quarter lead to the San Antonio Spurs on Sunday, then had to rally from a nine-point deficit to eke out a 101-100 win in overtime at American Airlines Center. The victory enabled the Mavs (13-8) to move into sole possession of first place in the Southwest Division for the first time this season. But the Mavs, who were 0-3 to start this season, don't feel like they're holding down the pole position. "You've got to be careful of watching the standings," said Jason Terry, who scored a season-high 34 points. "If you lose"
Bowen as busy, and defensive, as ever in retirement
January 29
San Antonio Express-News
 
"In the more than two years since Bruce Bowen retired from the NBA, he's learned something interesting about life. Knowing how to play defense still comes in handy. Bowen, who often left the likes of Steve Nash, Kobe Bryant and Ray Allen feeling like birthday piñatas during a blue-collar career on the court, has in the months since dealt with divorce, the failure of a headline business and hard lessons about some friends and family reluctant to follow him out of the professional spotlight. "I had a lot of relationships that have been severed because I'm no longer a basketball player," said Bowen, 40. "I think one of the most disappointing things for athletes is to be around people and it"
Pop to Spurs' Blair: 'Just be who you are'
January 29
San Antonio Express-News
 
"For Spurs center DeJuan Blair, the American Airlines Center will always be home to fond memories. At All-Star Weekend here in 2010, he had 22 points and a record 23 rebounds in the rookie-sophomore game, punctuating his performance with a dunk off the backboard glass. Later that year, with Tim Duncan sitting out the final game of the regular season, Blair detonated for 27 points and 23 rebounds in a loss at Dallas. Somewhere deep inside him, Blair believes, the free-spirited player responsible for those moments still exists. "I've just got to find him," Blair said. "Be DeJuan Blair again.""
Spurs' Anderson gets taste of NBA business
January 28
San Antonio Express-News
 
"James Anderson has appeared in just 41 games since the Spurs made him the 20th pick of the 2010 NBA draft. So Anderson was disappointed, but not surprised, when Spurs general manager R.C. Buford informed him this week the team would not be picking up his third-year option for next season. "I kind of had a feeling," Anderson said before shootaround Friday morning at the Target Center. "I hadn't played enough games to prove myself yet. They made a decision. It happens." By declining Anderson's $1.56 million option, the Spurs haven't necessarily severed ties with the 22-year-old guard, who was the 2010 Big 12 Player of the Year at Oklahoma State. Anderson will become an unrestricted free"
Shooting touch abandons Spurs
January 28
San Antonio Express-News
 
"When Dr. James Naismith invented the game of basketball more than a century ago, he took pains to hang his peach baskets at both ends of the court. This "two ends to a basketball game" thing is a phenomenon the Spurs would be wise to remember the next time they venture outside the AT&T Center. With rare exception on the road, when the Spurs' offense has been on, the defense has been off. When the defense is on, the offense gives Naismith's inaugural game an aesthetic run for its money. It didn't take coach Gregg Popovich long to determine which end was the culprit in the Spurs' 87-79 loss at Minnesota on Friday. "If we're on the road, and we hold somebody to 87 points, I think you've got a"
Sources: 5 teams eye Kenyon Martin
January 28
ESPN.com
 
"The Miami Heat, San Antonio Spurs, Los Angeles Clippers, Atlanta Hawks and New York Knicks are pursuing free-agent forward Kenyon Martin, according to league sources. Martin has spoken with executives from each of the clubs and is hoping to make his decision next week. The veteran of 11 NBA seasons will be eligible to sign and begin playing with a team as soon as the Xinjiang Guanghui Flying Tigers complete their season in the Chinese Basketball Association. Martin signed a $2.6 million deal with Xinjiang during the lockout, but left the team in late December in hopes of returning to the NBA. The CBA's rules, however, prohibit him from joining an NBA team until Xinjiang's season ends,"
Ginobili's injury hasn't broken Spurs' resolve
January 27
San Antonio Express-News
 
"As the Spurs' charter flight lifted off from Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport late on the night of Jan. 2, uncertainty was in the air. In the back of the team plane, All-Star guard Manu Ginobili sat with his newly broken left hand in a splint. His fifth metacarpal had been fractured in a 106-96 loss to Minnesota hours earlier. A timetable for his return was unknown. Meanwhile, the remaining Spurs braced for unseen turbulence ahead. "Very pensive," is how forward Matt Bonner described that flight back to Texas. "Obviously, there was that kind of unknown question mark.""
Spurs to honor ABA history with Dallas jerseys
January 27
San Antonio Express-News
 
"The Spurs will be among nine NBA franchises who will honor the rich history of the American Basketball Association as part of the NBA's Hardwood Classics series during the next several weeks. The Spurs will wear vintage Dallas Chaparrals jerseys and warmups for three games — Feb. 11 at New Jersey, Feb. 18 at L.A. Clippers and March 31 when they host the Indiana Pacers. I'm just curious why they won't be wearing ABA San Antonio Spurs jerseys from the franchise's history rather than one representing a team from Dallas."
Popovich, Spurs get points across
January 26
San Antonio Express-News
 
"For much of the season, Tony Parker has been waiting for coach Gregg Popovich to lose it. Game in and game out, win or lose, good play or poor, Mount Popovich would not erupt. Not like it used to in its magma-spewing heyday. "As he gets older and drinks more wine, he gets more patient," Parker said. Wednesday night, with a lead against Atlanta growing tenuous and the Spurs sleepwalking out of the halftime locker room, Popovich's patience finally wore out, and Parker finally got his explosion."
Spurs' 'Fantastic' bench leads victory over Hawks
January 26
San Antonio Express-News
 
"The Spurs' bench again stepped up in a big way when it was most needed Wednesday night. After the starters struggled to hold a lead early into the second half, Spurs coach Gregg Popovich didn't hesitate to pull them. "Our bench was fantastic," Popovich said. "A number of people came into the game and played good solid basketball both at the defensive and offensive ends. I was really pleased with the bench." That effort helped boost the Spurs to a convincing 105-83 victory over Atlanta, which came into the game as one of the league's hottest teams."
Parker makes a pass at perfection
January 25
San Antonio Express-News
 
"For Tony Parker, the nightly marching orders from Spurs coach Gregg Popovich are as simple as they are impossible. "He wants me to be perfect," Parker said. Popovich does not dispute this depiction of what he demands from his 29-year-old point guard. "He's constantly in the area of getting hounded by me," Popovich said. "He scores and I want assists. He assists, I tell him, 'You gotta score.'" Monday in New Orleans, in a 104-102 victory the listing Spurs absolutely had to have, Parker came as close to perfection as he ever could. Using a prolific mixture of passing and scoring, Parker turned in a game for the annals, registering 20 points and a career-best 17 assists, becoming the second"
New Orleans Hornets fall to the San Antonio Spurs 104-102
January 24
New Orleans Times-Picayune
 
"Unable to win on their homecourt in almost a month, the Hornets blew an opportunity to end the slide against the San Antonio Spurs when forward Carl Landry missed a last-second 3-point attempt just before time expired. It left forward Trevor Ariza shaking his head in disgust and Hornets Coach Monty Williams unable to find relief after suffering a tough 104-102 defeat Monday night in front of 12,599 at the New Orleans Arena."
Desperate times call for 'Twin Towers,' zone
January 24
San Antonio Express-News
 
"Gregg Popovich lamented last week that the lack of practice time resulting from the lockout had made him drastically alter his coaching plans from a typical season. When asked about emplying a zone defense with his current group, Popovich chuckled at the thought. Something happened Monday night. Maybe it was New Orleans' blistering start that saw the Hornets hit nine of their first 12 shots. Or the fact that his defense needed a spark from somewhere. Whatever the reason, Popovich pulled a zone defense out of his bag of tricks. That shift was enough that the Hornets cooled down a little."
Why even TD needs an occasional night off
January 24
San Antonio Express-News
 
"Tim Duncan could joke about wondering about playing into another fourth quarter again. But after watching the Spurs captain take over in a vintage fourth-quarter performance Monday night, he probably shouldn't worry too much. The Spurs still have a lot of work left for their best inside player. Duncan's game-winning 13-foot running hook shot with 1.4 seconds left gave them a tough 104-102 victory over New Orleans. Gregg Popovich made the smart move of benching Duncan in the team's loss at Houston Saturday night. It was a move he had to make to rest Duncan's 35-year-old body."
Parker stands up — Spurs' one constant
January 24
San Antonio Express-News
 columnist Buck Harvey
"A career high in assists. Afterward, a heating pad on his sore back. Tony Parker had never looked so much like Steve Nash, had he? Parker laughed. "If I could finish my career that way, like Steve," he said, "I'd sign up right now." Parker said this the way the relieved do. Tim Duncan sits out a game to rest, and Manu Ginobili won't return until February, and Parker keeps grinding. He's closer to today's Nash than he wants to admit, propping up an ordinary team, and Monday was another example in a recent string of them."
Duncan, Parker boost Spurs over Hornets
January 24
San Antonio Express-News
 
"Tim Duncan paused before leaving the court at New Orleans Arena, waiting a beat to savor the incredible thing that had just transpired in the Spurs' 104-102 victory over the Hornets. For starters, he was actually on the floor in the fourth quarter. "It was nice to be on the floor, it was nice to make some shots," Duncan said. "It was nice to get a win on the road. All in all, a nice night." Duncan made sure of that, throwing in a running hook shot over Emeka Okafor with 1.4 seconds to go for the winning basket Monday, as the Spurs escaped New Orleans with their second road win of the season. He finished with 28 points for his highest-scoring night in more than a year, while Tony Parker"
Spurs patient with youngsters
January 23
San Antonio Express-News
 
"Nearly a month into this stranger-than-fiction post-lockout season, Spurs coach Gregg Popovich has come to appreciate the upside of guiding the youngest team he's ever had. "We've actually got a guy who can dunk now," Popovich joked after a recent shootaround. "He did it today in practice, and three of us just about fell over." In the four-plus years since their last NBA championship, the Spurs have evolved from old, veteran and savvy to young, nimble and callow. Once playfully derided by their coach as "older than dirt," the Spurs start a 20-year-rookie at shooting guard (Kawhi Leonard) and a 22-year-old at center (DeJuan Blair)."
Shorter season could save several coaches
January 22
San Antonio Express-News
 columnist Mike Monroe
"Less than a month into the season a majority of teams already have played 25 percent of their schedules. Time flies when you're playing back-to-back-to-back. Except for the bizarre dismissal of Paul Westphal in Sacramento just seven games into the season, the coaching carousel hasn't begun to turn, and there is no doubt the no-time-to-think season is playing a role. If things are going so badly for an owner to ponder a change on the bench, will a new coach have time to effect real change when there's no real opportunity to practice? Knicks fans who chanted "Fire D'Antoni" and "Phil Jackson" from the rafters during New York's loss at home to the Bucks should consider what their team might"
Popovich defends Duncan decision
January 22
San Antonio Express-News
 
"Not one to look a gift DNP in the mouth, Kevin McHale wasn't complaining when Spurs coach Gregg Popovich gave Tim Duncan a night off Saturday at the Toyota Center. But he also wasn't surprised. "Coach Popovich has such a good feel for those guys," said McHale, the Rockets' first-year coach. "He's been around Timmy his entire career. I think sometimes you sense in players something they don't sense in themselves." Even after the Spurs lost a close one in Houston, 105-103, without Duncan or injured guard Manu Ginobili, Popovich didn't regret to playing with a second All-Star tied behind his back. Truth be told, Popovich had been trying to sit the Duncan for about a week, only to be rebuffed"
Duncan-less Spurs falter at end
January 22
San Antonio Express-News
 
"It cannot be said Gregg Popovich did not know what he was doing. He knew by sitting All-Star forward Tim Duncan on Saturday, a night after the Spurs suffered their first home defeat of the season, he was inviting a losing streak. Popovich didn't care. With an eye cast toward the future more than the present or past, the 35-year-old Duncan got his first night off this season in what became a 105-102 loss at Houston. "This is his fourth game in five nights, and he probably shouldn't be playing four games in five nights if I want him at the end of the year," Popovich said. "So, we bite the bullet." In the end, the Spurs very nearly bit the Rockets."
Duncan sees much of fourth from bench
January 21
San Antonio Express-News
 
"Tim Duncan started the fourth quarter of Friday's game against the Sacramento Kings at the AT&T Center on the bench, watching a Spurs' lineup that included four reserves whittle away at the lead the Kings had held since the first minute of the game. He stayed there until the final 5.5 seconds of what became an 88-86 loss, the Spurs' first at home this season. Coach Gregg Popovich said it had nothing to do with managing the minutes of his oldest player in a compressed schedule. "No," Popovich said, "the group that was out there was blitzing and doing a great job. They got us back in the game and got us a six-point lead at one point." When Duncan finally returned, after Popovich called a"
Kings put blemish on Spurs' home record
January 21
San Antonio Express-News
 
"For the second game in a row, the Spurs found themselves needing a must-have basket late in the fourth quarter, and for the second game in a row, coach Gregg Popovich called timeout to set something up. For the second game in a row, Popovich put the ball in Danny Green's hands and, for the second game in a row, asked him to be Manu Ginobili and create a play with Tim Duncan. Unlike in Orlando, where Green found Duncan for the tying layup, this time Green lofted a floater over the Sacramento defense. When the ball fell short of everything Friday, sealing an 88-86 loss to the Kings that was the Spurs' first at the AT&T Center this season, it felt like the opposite of déjà vu. "Pop trusted me"
Spurs' gunners vow to keep firing
January 20
San Antonio Express-News
 
"In the game's most pivotal moment, the score tied in overtime and 39 seconds to go, Spurs coach Gregg Popovich drew up a play to free guard Gary Neal for a 3-pointer. This would not have been a surprise last season, when Neal emerged from nowhere to become one of the NBA's brightest shooting stars. Wednesday in Orlando, with Neal having clanged 16 of his past 18 threes and all four attempts on this night, the scribbles on Popovich's grease board came with a side shot of blind faith. "They're your shooters," Popovich said. "You've got to stick with them.""
Jason Terry smacks Spurs and their easy early schedule
January 20
San Antonio Express-News
 
"Spurs Nation has developed a well-known antipathy over the years for Dallas guard Jason Terry. Maybe it was the well-time groin shot he delivered to Michael Finley in the 2006 playoffs. Or it might be his on-the-court bravado. But it's clear that Terry is one of the players that Spurs Nation clearly loves to boo — and boo often — during his trips to the AT&T Center. Terry will likely earn a few more catcalls during his next trip to San Antonio on March 23 after his recent comments made to Dallas radio station KTCK. (Hat tip to Dallas Morning News/Project Spurs.com)"
Orlando Magic come up just short in overtime loss to San Antonio Spurs
January 19
Orlando Sentinel
 
"Stan Van Gundy plopped down into his chair for his postgame press conference and groaned. This loss hurt. If just one or two little things had gone differently, the Orlando Magic could have beaten the San Antonio Spurs on Wednesday night. Instead, the Magic lost 85-83 in overtime. Van Gundy blames himself for not making key adjustments quickly enough. Von Wafer missed a foul shot that would have tied the game late in the extra period. And although J.J. Redick swished a potential game-winning 3-pointer at the end of overtime, he released the ball just a fraction of a second after the final buzzer."
Spurs find way to clear roadblock
January 19
San Antonio Express-News
 
"Dwight Howard snagged the rebound and swung the ball to J.J. Redick, only one of the purest shooters on the planet, who prepared to line up the game-winning 3-pointer from the top of the key. Watching all this unfold from under the Amway Arena basket Wednesday, with visions of another Spurs road loss dancing in his head, Tim Duncan recalls having one distinct thought. "Holy crap," Duncan said."
It wasn't pretty, but the Spurs won't complain
January 19
San Antonio Express-News
 
"For much of Wednesday's game, it appeared that neither Orlando nor San Antonio had much impetus to win their game. A litany of missed shots, turnovers and all-around sloppy play didn't make for a very spectator-friendly contest. But after escaping with a wild 85-83 overtime victory, the Spurs probably don't care. Their first road victory of the season showed the kind of clutch late play which has been the hallmark of the franchise during its dynasty — even if hadn't been seen at all in an embarrassing loss at Miami the previous night."
Why Green's value can't be seen on box score
January 19
San Antonio Express-News
 
"Danny Green's statistical line Wednesday night showed a miserable offensive effort that he probably would like to forget. Green missed all six shots from the field, hit two foul shots to account for two points, two assists, a steal and a blocked shot in the Spurs' 85-83 overtime victory at Orlando. But the biggest reason the Spurs were able to escape with their first road victory of the season came from a defensive play by Green that might be the most critical play to this point of the season."