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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME FLOW
SAN ANTONIO (AP) -- The Spurs' defense put the offense in
position to win.
| | The twin towers held Ruben Patterson to eight points, and the Sonics to 77. |
David Robinson's dunk with 27.8 seconds remaining capped a game-ending, eight-point run Tuesday night that led San Antonio over the Seattle SuperSonics 79-77.
"The best part of the game is that both teams battled it out,"
Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. "You had two good teams going
against each other. Late in the game when we were down, a lot of
teams would have packed it in, but we didn't. The resolve we showed
was great."
After Robinson missed two free throws with 9.7 seconds left,
Seattle had a chance to send the game into overtime, but Gary
Payton missed an off-balance jumper as time expired.
"It came down to the last minute," said Tim Duncan, who had 22
points and 10 rebounds for San Antonio. "We struggled a little bit
during the fourth quarter, but we found a way to get it done."
Seattle trailed 61-56 at the start of the fourth quarter, then
rallied to take a 73-71 lead with 4:38 to play on consecutive
3-pointers by Brent Barry.
Shammond Williams capped a 10-0 Seattle run with a jumper, giving the SuperSonics a 77-71 lead with 3:20 to play.
San Antonio tied it at 77 on two baskets by Robinson and a bank
shot by Duncan with 55.7 seconds remaining. Seattle went scoreless
for the final 3:20.
"This was one of those nights we lost the game, but I was proud
of our effort," Seattle coach Paul Westphal said. "We put
ourselves in a position to win this game, we just couldn't make
baskets near the end of the game."
Robinson had 19 points and 11 rebounds for San Antonio. Vin
Baker led Seattle with 18 points, while Payton scored 17 and had 16 rebounds.
The Spurs led by as many as nine points in the first half and
led 46-45 at the break. Duncan and Baker each scored 14 points in
the first half. Payton had 11 points and 10 rebounds.
Leading 51-47 early in the third quarter, San Antonio went on a
7-0 run. The Sonics were held to 11 third quarter points.
Game notes San Antonio improved to 20-4 at the Alamodome this season.
... It was the 100th meeting between San Antonio and Seattle, with
the SuperSonics holding a 51-49 lead in the series, including a 2-1
this season.
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ALSO SEE
NBA Scoreboard
Seattle Clubhouse
San Antonio Clubhouse
RECAPS
Toronto 109 Atlanta 88
New Jersey 131 Boston 113
San Antonio 79 Seattle 77
Houston 91 Cleveland 83
Phoenix 94 Vancouver 76
Sacramento 119 Chicago 80
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