GAME THREAD: GAME THREAD: NBA: SAN ANTONIO (8-2) at ATLANTA (3-6)

NBA: SAN ANTONIO at ATLANTA

<div class="pre">NBA SAN ANTONIO 95
ATLANTA 83 1:04 LEFT, 4TH QTR</div>

 

NBA: SAN ANTONIO at ATLANTA

<div class="pre">NBA SAN ANTONIO 95
ATLANTA 83 FINAL</div>

 

NBA: SAN ANTONIO at ATLANTA

<div class="pre">NBA FINAL 1ST 2ND 3RD 4TH TOTAL
--- --- --- --- -----
SAN ANTONIO 29 32 22 12 95
ATLANTA 20 24 21 18 83 FINAL

HIGH SCORERS: SAS - TONY PARKER 31, MANU GINOBILI 19, TIM
DUNCAN 13
ATL - JOE JOHNSON 20, MARVIN WILLIAMS 16, AL
HORFORD 11</div>

 

NBA: SAN ANTONIO at ATLANTA

<div class="pre">** CONFIRMED **
NBA
SAN ANTONIO 95
ATLANTA 83 FINAL</div>

 

By Phil Foley
PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer


ATLANTA (Ticker) - The San Antonio Spurs showed the youngAtlanta Hawks exactly what it takes to play championship-caliberbasketball.


Tony Parker scored a season-high 31 points and Manu Ginobiliadded 19 to lead the defending champion Spurs to a 95-83 winover the Hawks on Tuesday.


San Antonio has been the closest team the NBA has had to royaltythis side of the millennium, making the playoffs in each of thelast seven seasons and winning the NBA title in three of them.

Meanwhile, Atlanta has been the poster child for futility,failing to make the playoffs since the 1998-1999 campaign - thelongest stretch of futility in the league.


It didn't take long for the Spurs to impose their will on theHawks.


San Antonio roared out to a 29-17 lead with 1:15 remaining inthe first quarter behind seven points from two-time MostValuable Player Tim Duncan before extending the lead to as manyas 18 in the second quarter.


Parker dominated the quarter, tallying 17 of his 31 pointsagainst an undermanned Hawks team which was missing four of itsfive point guards. The 2007 Finals MVP, who finished ablistering 7-for-9 from the field in the quarter, scored atwill, in the post or on the perimeter against a lethargicAtlanta defense.


When the 25-year old Frenchman wasn't finding the hoop, he wasdishing the ball with authority, recording a team-high nineassists, including a pretty fast-break pass to Ginobili with6:18 remaining in the third quarter to give the Spurs a 72-52lead.


Duncan added 13 points, seven rebounds and dished six assistsand Francisco Elson and Michael Finley had 10 points each forSan Antonio, which never trailed and led by as many as 24 in thesecond half.


Atlanta used a 16-2 run bridging the third and fourth quartersto cut the lead to 85-75 on Joe Johnson's 10-foot turnaroundjumper with 6:43 remaining against San Antonio's second unit,but was unable to get the game under double digits.

The Spurs, who won 58 games last season, made sure that Atlantadid not duplicate the success they had here against the 60-winPhoenix Suns and Washington Wizards.


The frugal Spurs defense, which allowed the second fewest pointsper game at 88.9 coming into this one, held Atlanta to just42.3 percent (33-for-78) from the field, forced 10 turnovers,and made the Hawks look more like team that has failed to makethe playoffs since Bill Clinton occupied the Oval Office thanthe club that won seven of eight games in the preseason.

One of the few bright spots for Atlanta was the play of forwardJosh Smith, who passed the legendary Dominique Wilkins for fifthplace on the Hawks all-time blocks list with 590. Smith, whotallied a career-high 38 points in Atlanta's loss to Milwaukeeon Saturday, finished with 11 points, two blocks and fiverebounds.


Johnson led the Hawks with 20 points and Marvin Williams added16 for Atlanta, which has dropped four of its last five games.

 

NBA: SAN ANTONIO at ATLANTA

<div class="pre">SAN ANTONIO (95) AT ATLANTA (83)

SAN ANTONIO

REBOUNDS
PLAYER POS MIN FGM-FGA FTM-FTA OFF-DEF-TOT AST PF ST TO PTS
====== === === ======= ======= =========== === == == == ===

B BOWEN F 32:38 1-3 0-0 1 4 5 2 2 1 2 2
T DUNCAN F 32:46 5-12 3-4 3 4 7 6 3 0 3 13
F OBERTO C 23:59 5-7 0-1 4 6 10 1 3 0 0 10
M FINLEY G 32:03 4-9 0-0 0 2 2 1 2 0 1 10
T PARKER G 33:37 13-20 4-4 0 2 2 9 0 0 2 31
E GINOBILI 25:57 7-11 3-4 1 3 4 0 0 2 3 19
M BONNER 21:41 1-5 0-0 3 3 6 1 2 0 0 3
J VAUGHN 14:23 0-2 2-2 0 0 0 2 1 0 0 2
F ELSON 12:43 1-2 0-0 0 1 1 0 3 1 2 2
I UDOKA 8:40 1-4 0-0 0 2 2 0 1 0 1 3
D WASHINGTON JR 1:33 0-1 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
B BARRY DNP - COACH'S DECISION

TOTALS 240:00 38-76 12-15 12 27 39 22 17 4 15 95
(.500) (.800) TEAM REBS: 5 TOTAL TO: 15 (16 PTS)

ATLANTA

REBOUNDS
PLAYER POS MIN FGM-FGA FTM-FTA OFF-DEF-TOT AST PF ST TO PTS
====== === === ======= ======= =========== === == == == ===

M WILLIAMS F 35:32 7-13 2-2 1 5 6 2 1 4 1 16
J SMITH F 30:30 3-16 5-6 1 4 5 1 4 1 5 11
Z PACHULIA C 11:57 2-6 2-4 1 1 2 1 0 0 0 6
J JOHNSON G 44:01 9-20 2-2 1 4 5 3 1 0 2 20
A JOHNSON G 40:54 1-5 0-0 1 3 4 7 2 0 0 2
J CHILDRESS 32:58 3-7 3-4 4 1 5 0 0 0 1 9
A HOFORD 28:44 5-8 1-2 2 6 8 1 4 0 1 11
S WILLIAMS 5:46 1-1 1-2 0 1 1 0 1 0 0 3
M WEST 8:05 2-2 1-2 2 1 3 0 6 2 0 5
S JONES 1:33 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
L WRIGHT DNP - STRAINED RIGHT HAMSTRING
T LUE DNP - GROIN PULL

TOTALS 240:00 33-78 17-24 13 26 39 15 19 7 10 83
(.423) (.708) TEAM REBS: 10 TOTAL TO: 13 (14 PTS)

SAN ANTONIO 29 32 22 12 - 95
ATLANTA 20 24 21 18 - 83

BLOCKED SHOTS: SAN ANTONIO - M FINLEY 2, T DUNCAN. ATLANTA - J SMITH 2,
M WILLIAMS 2, A HOFORD.
3-PT. FIELD GOALS: SAN ANTONIO 7-17 (.412), T DUNCAN 0-1, M FINLEY 2-
6, T PARKER 1-1, E GINOBILI 2-3, M BONNER 1-2, I UDOKA 1-3, D WASHINGTON JR 0-
1. ATLANTA 0-8 (.000), J SMITH 0-1, J JOHNSON 0-3, A JOHNSON 0-3, J CHILDRESS 0-
1.
TECHNICAL FOULS: NONE.
FLAGRANT FOULS: NONE.
OFFICIALS: JOE CRAWFORD, RODNEY MOTT, RON OLESIAK.
A - 17,025. T - 2:10.</div>

 

NBA: SAN ANTONIO at ATLANTA

<div class="pre">SAN ANTONIO (95)

fg ft rb
min m-a m-a o-t a pf tp
B Bowen 32:38 1-3 0-0 1-5 2 2 2
T Duncan 32:46 5-12 3-4 3-7 6 3 13
F Oberto 23:59 5-7 0-1 4-10 1 3 10
M Finley 32:03 4-9 0-0 0-2 1 2 10
T Parker 33:37 13-20 4-4 0-2 9 0 31
E Ginobili 25:57 7-11 3-4 1-4 0 0 19
M Bonner 21:41 1-5 0-0 3-6 1 2 3
J Vaughn 14:23 0-2 2-2 0-0 2 1 2
F Elson 12:43 1-2 0-0 0-1 0 3 2
I Udoka 8:40 1-4 0-0 0-2 0 1 3
D Washington Jr 1:33 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
B Barry DNP - COACH'S DECISION

______________________________________________________
TOTALS 240:00 38-76 12-15 12-39 22 17 95
______________________________________________________

Percentages: FG-.500, FT-.800. 3-Point Goals:
7-17, .412 (T Duncan 0-1, M Finley 2-6, T
Parker 1-1, E Ginobili 2-3, M Bonner 1-2, I
Udoka 1-3, D Washington Jr 0-1). Team
Rebounds: 5. Blocked Shots:3 (M Finley 2, T
Duncan). Turnovers:15 (T Duncan 3, E Ginobili
3, B Bowen 2, T Parker 2, F Elson 2, M
Finley, D Washington Jr, I Udoka). Steals: 4
(E Ginobili 2, B Bowen, F Elson).


ATLANTA (83)

fg ft rb
min m-a m-a o-t a pf tp
M Williams 35:32 7-13 2-2 1-6 2 1 16
J Smith 30:30 3-16 5-6 1-5 1 4 11
Z Pachulia 11:57 2-6 2-4 1-2 1 0 6
J Johnson 44:01 9-20 2-2 1-5 3 1 20
A Johnson 40:54 1-5 0-0 1-4 7 2 2
J Childress 32:58 3-7 3-4 4-5 0 0 9
A Hoford 28:44 5-8 1-2 2-8 1 4 11
S Williams 5:46 1-1 1-2 0-1 0 1 3
M West 8:05 2-2 1-2 2-3 0 6 5
S Jones 1:33 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
L Wright DNP - STRAINED RIGHT HAMSTRING
T Lue DNP - GROIN PULL

______________________________________________________
TOTALS 240:00 33-78 17-24 13-39 15 19 83
______________________________________________________

Percentages: FG-.423, FT-.708. 3-Point Goals:
0-8, .000 (J Smith 0-1, J Johnson 0-3, A
Johnson 0-3, J Childress 0-1). Team Rebounds:
10. Blocked Shots:5 (J Smith 2, M Williams 2,
A Hoford). Turnovers:10 (J Smith 5, J Johnson
2, J Childress, M Williams, A Hoford).
Steals: 7 (M Williams 4, M West 2, J Smith).

-------------------------------------------
SAN ANTONIO 29 32 22 12 - 95
ATLANTA 20 24 21 18 - 83
-------------------------------------------

Technical fouls: None.
Flagrant fouls: None. A: 17,025. T: 2:10.
Officials: Joe Crawford, Rodney Mott, Ron
Olesiak.</div>

 

By Phil Foley
PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer


ATLANTA (Ticker) - The San Antonio Spurs showed the youngAtlanta Hawks exactly what it takes to play championship-caliberbasketball.


Tony Parker scored a season-high 31 points and Manu Ginobiliadded 19 to lead the defending champion Spurs to a 95-83 winover the Hawks on Tuesday.


Behind 21 points from Parker, San Antonio jumped out to a 61-44halftime lead and never let the Hawks get margin under doubledigits.


Parker dominated the second quarter, tallying 17 of his 31points against an undermanned Hawks team which was missing fourof its five point guards.


The 2007 NBA Finals Most Valuable Player, who finished ablistering 7-for-9 from the field in the quarter, scored atwill, in the post or on the perimeter against a lethargicAtlanta defense.


"I was just trying to be aggressive," Parker said. "I didn'tshoot well the last two games. I was just trying to get arhythm."


"He did what he does well - get in the paint and make plays,"Atlanta guard Joe Johnson said. "He had a bunch of layups. Hewas real tough."


When the 25-year old Frenchman wasn't finding the hoop, he wasdishing the ball with authority, recording a team-high nineassists, including a pretty fast-break pass to Ginobili with6:18 remaining in the third quarter to give the Spurs a 72-52lead.


"He's the MVP of the playoffs last year," Hawks coach MikeWoodson said. "He's a solid point guard. He had his waytonight. We had no answer."


"He got in a little streak in the second quarter, getting to therim every time and finishing," Ginobili said. "We knew he wascapable of doing that."


San Antonio has been the closest team the NBA has had to royaltythis side of the millennium, making the playoffs in each of thelast seven seasons and winning the NBA title in three of them.

Meanwhile, Atlanta has been the poster child for futility,failing to make the playoffs since the 1998-1999 campaign - thelongest stretch of futility in the league.


It didn't take long for the Spurs to impose their will on theHawks.


San Antonio roared out to a 29-17 lead with 1:15 remaining inthe first quarter behind seven points from two-time MVP TimDuncan before extending the lead to as many as 18 in the secondquarter.


"This team and Boston, by far, were the toughest teams we'veplayed," Hawks rookie forward Al Horford said. "They came outand played solid on defense and executed on offense. That's thereason why they are the world champions."


With the Spurs staked to a large second-quarter lead, Atlantapublic address announcer Ryan Cameron asked the crowd to waivethe night's free giveaway: spirit flags emblazoned with a Hawkslogo.


Quite fittingly, the flags were predominately white - themilitary color of surrender.


Duncan added 13 points, seven rebounds and dished six assistsand Francisco Elson and Michael Finley had 10 points each forSan Antonio, which never trailed and led by as many as 24 in thesecond half.


Atlanta used a 16-2 run bridging the third and fourth quartersto cut the lead to 85-75 on Joe Johnson's 10-foot turnaroundjumper with 6:43 remaining against San Antonio's second unit,but was unable to get the game under double digits.

The Spurs, who won 58 games last season, made sure that Atlantadid not duplicate the success they had here against the 60-winPhoenix Suns and Washington Wizards, something Duncan and histeammates were well aware of.


"We knew that Atlanta had beaten some good teams here," Duncansaid. "We had to respect that. The way you do that is to comein and give a good effort and not let them outwork you."

The frugal Spurs defense, which allowed the second fewest pointsper game at 89.9 coming into this one, held Atlanta to just42.3 percent (33-for-78) from the field, forced 10 turnovers,and made the Hawks look more like team that has failed to makethe playoffs since Bill Clinton occupied the Oval Office thanthe club that won seven of eight games in the preseason.

"Everyone should look at the way they defend," Horford said."There's a reason they won last year. The running style maylook good, but defense wins championships."


One of the few bright spots for Atlanta was the play of forwardJosh Smith, who passed the legendary Dominique Wilkins for fifthplace on the Hawks all-time blocks list with 590. Smith, whotallied a career-high 38 points in Atlanta's loss to Milwaukeeon Saturday, finished with 11 points, two blocks and fiverebounds.


Johnson led the Hawks with 20 points and Marvin Williams added16 for Atlanta, which has dropped four of its last five games.

 

NBA: SAN ANTONIO at ATLANTA

<div class="pre">SAN ANTONIO (95) AT ATLANTA (83)

SAN ANTONIO

REBOUNDS
PLAYER POS MIN FGM-FGA FTM-FTA OFF-DEF-TOT AST PF ST TO PTS
====== === === ======= ======= =========== === == == == ===

B BOWEN F 32:38 1-3 0-0 1 4 5 2 2 1 2 2
T DUNCAN F 32:46 5-12 3-4 3 4 7 6 3 0 3 13
F OBERTO C 23:59 5-7 0-1 4 6 10 1 3 0 0 10
M FINLEY G 32:03 4-9 0-0 0 2 2 1 2 0 1 10
T PARKER G 33:37 13-20 4-4 0 2 2 9 0 0 2 31
E GINOBILI 25:57 7-11 3-4 1 3 4 0 0 2 3 19
M BONNER 21:41 1-5 0-0 3 3 6 1 2 0 0 3
J VAUGHN 14:23 0-2 2-2 0 0 0 2 1 0 0 2
F ELSON 12:43 1-2 0-0 0 1 1 0 3 1 2 2
I UDOKA 8:40 1-4 0-0 0 2 2 0 1 0 1 3
D WASHINGTON JR 1:33 0-1 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
B BARRY DNP - COACH'S DECISION

TOTALS 240:00 38-76 12-15 12 27 39 22 17 4 15 95
(.500) (.800) TEAM REBS: 5 TOTAL TO: 15 (16 PTS)

ATLANTA

REBOUNDS
PLAYER POS MIN FGM-FGA FTM-FTA OFF-DEF-TOT AST PF ST TO PTS
====== === === ======= ======= =========== === == == == ===

M WILLIAMS F 35:32 7-13 2-2 1 5 6 2 1 4 1 16
J SMITH F 30:30 3-16 5-6 1 4 5 1 4 1 5 11
Z PACHULIA C 11:57 2-6 2-4 1 1 2 1 0 0 0 6
J JOHNSON G 44:01 9-20 2-2 1 4 5 3 1 0 2 20
A JOHNSON G 40:54 1-5 0-0 1 3 4 7 2 0 0 2
J CHILDRESS 32:58 3-7 3-4 4 1 5 0 0 0 1 9
A HOFORD 28:44 5-9 1-2 2 6 8 1 4 0 1 11
S WILLIAMS 5:46 1-1 1-2 0 1 1 0 1 0 0 3
M WEST 8:05 2-2 1-2 2 1 3 0 6 2 0 5
S JONES 1:33 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
L WRIGHT DNP - STRAINED RIGHT HAMSTRING
T LUE DNP - GROIN PULL

TOTALS 240:00 33-79 17-24 13 26 39 15 19 7 10 83
(.418) (.708) TEAM REBS: 11 TOTAL TO: 13 (14 PTS)

SAN ANTONIO 29 32 22 12 - 95
ATLANTA 20 24 21 18 - 83

BLOCKED SHOTS: SAN ANTONIO - M FINLEY 2, T DUNCAN. ATLANTA - J SMITH 2,
M WILLIAMS 2, A HOFORD.
3-PT. FIELD GOALS: SAN ANTONIO 7-17 (.412), T DUNCAN 0-1, M FINLEY 2-
6, T PARKER 1-1, E GINOBILI 2-3, M BONNER 1-2, I UDOKA 1-3, D WASHINGTON JR 0-
1. ATLANTA 0-8 (.000), J SMITH 0-1, J JOHNSON 0-3, A JOHNSON 0-3, J CHILDRESS 0-
1.
TECHNICAL FOULS: NONE.
FLAGRANT FOULS: NONE.
OFFICIALS: JOE CRAWFORD, RODNEY MOTT, RON OLESIAK.
A - 17,025. T - 2:10.</div>

 

NBA: SAN ANTONIO at ATLANTA

<div class="pre">SAN ANTONIO (95)

fg ft rb
min m-a m-a o-t a pf tp
B Bowen 32:38 1-3 0-0 1-5 2 2 2
T Duncan 32:46 5-12 3-4 3-7 6 3 13
F Oberto 23:59 5-7 0-1 4-10 1 3 10
M Finley 32:03 4-9 0-0 0-2 1 2 10
T Parker 33:37 13-20 4-4 0-2 9 0 31
E Ginobili 25:57 7-11 3-4 1-4 0 0 19
M Bonner 21:41 1-5 0-0 3-6 1 2 3
J Vaughn 14:23 0-2 2-2 0-0 2 1 2
F Elson 12:43 1-2 0-0 0-1 0 3 2
I Udoka 8:40 1-4 0-0 0-2 0 1 3
D Washington Jr 1:33 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
B Barry DNP - COACH'S DECISION

______________________________________________________
TOTALS 240:00 38-76 12-15 12-39 22 17 95
______________________________________________________

Percentages: FG-.500, FT-.800. 3-Point Goals:
7-17, .412 (T Duncan 0-1, M Finley 2-6, T
Parker 1-1, E Ginobili 2-3, M Bonner 1-2, I
Udoka 1-3, D Washington Jr 0-1). Team
Rebounds: 5. Blocked Shots:3 (M Finley 2, T
Duncan). Turnovers:15 (T Duncan 3, E Ginobili
3, B Bowen 2, T Parker 2, F Elson 2, M
Finley, D Washington Jr, I Udoka). Steals: 4
(E Ginobili 2, B Bowen, F Elson).


ATLANTA (83)

fg ft rb
min m-a m-a o-t a pf tp
M Williams 35:32 7-13 2-2 1-6 2 1 16
J Smith 30:30 3-16 5-6 1-5 1 4 11
Z Pachulia 11:57 2-6 2-4 1-2 1 0 6
J Johnson 44:01 9-20 2-2 1-5 3 1 20
A Johnson 40:54 1-5 0-0 1-4 7 2 2
J Childress 32:58 3-7 3-4 4-5 0 0 9
A Hoford 28:44 5-9 1-2 2-8 1 4 11
S Williams 5:46 1-1 1-2 0-1 0 1 3
M West 8:05 2-2 1-2 2-3 0 6 5
S Jones 1:33 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
L Wright DNP - STRAINED RIGHT HAMSTRING
T Lue DNP - GROIN PULL

______________________________________________________
TOTALS 240:00 33-79 17-24 13-39 15 19 83
______________________________________________________

Percentages: FG-.418, FT-.708. 3-Point Goals:
0-8, .000 (J Smith 0-1, J Johnson 0-3, A
Johnson 0-3, J Childress 0-1). Team Rebounds:
11. Blocked Shots:5 (J Smith 2, M Williams 2,
A Hoford). Turnovers:10 (J Smith 5, J Johnson
2, J Childress, M Williams, A Hoford).
Steals: 7 (M Williams 4, M West 2, J Smith).

-------------------------------------------
SAN ANTONIO 29 32 22 12 - 95
ATLANTA 20 24 21 18 - 83
-------------------------------------------

Technical fouls: None.
Flagrant fouls: None. A: 17,025. T: 2:10.
Officials: Joe Crawford, Rodney Mott, Ron
Olesiak.</div>

 

NBA: SAN ANTONIO at ATLANTA

<div class="pre">NBA SAN ANTONIO AT ATLANTA
NOTE: RESENDING BOX TO CORRECT FIELD GOAL ATTEMPTS FOR
HORFORD.</div>