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  Thursday, Dec. 9 8:30pm ET
Duncan scores career-high 42
 
  RECAP | BOX SCORE | GAME FLOW

SAN ANTONIO, Texas (AP) -- Tim Duncan was unstoppable.

Duncan scored a career-high 42 points as the San Antonio Spurs snapped a three-game losing streak with a 99-91 victory over the Vancouver Grizzlies on Thursday night.

Tim Duncan
Tim Duncan had the most-prolific scoring night of his young career, with 42 points.

"He's a handful," said Grizzlies forward Shareef Abdur-Rahim, who led his team with 30 points. "In a lot of ways, he carried them through this one himself. He's a bad boy."

David Robinson added 19 points for the Spurs, who extended their home winning streak to 22.

Duncan, whose previous high was 39 points on April 1 against the Grizzlies, gave the Spurs their biggest lead at 93-83 on two free throws with 2:37 left.

"Usually when someone scores this many points, there are 15 assists to go with it," Spurs guard Avery Johnson said. "But he pretty much did this all by himself."

Othella Harrington added 18 points and Mike Bibby 14 for the Grizzlies, playing for the first time since snapping a 30-game road losing streak Tuesday night at Dallas.

San Antonio never trailed after Duncan dunked off an alley-oop pass from Johnson to snap a 61-61 tie with 2:28 left in the third.

Duncan, who played all the way until leaving to a standing ovation with 27.1 seconds left, went 15-of-22 from the field and 12-of-14 at the foul line. He also led the team with 14 rebounds.

"Offensively, there isn't a better big man in the league," Harrington said. "There is not a lot of flash in his game, but he plays with a lot of fundamentals. He keeps the ball in the air, puts it on the floor and shoots it well."

San Antonio, the NBA's top 3-point shooting team, missed its first seven 3-pointers before Jaren Jackson connected to put the Spurs ahead 70-65 in the final minute of the third quarter. Jackson added another 3-pointer early in the fourth to increase San Antonio's lead to 78-69.

Game notes
San Antonio is 9-0 at home, 6-6 on the road. ... Johnson was honored before the game for becoming the Spurs' career assist leader. Johnson surpassed Johnny Moore in Tuesday night's game at Indiana. He has 3,873. ... Vancouver led at the end of the first quarter for only the fourth time this season and at halftime for just the fifth time. ... Robinson needs 14 points to reach the 17,000-point plateau. ... San Antonio forward Jerome Kersey missed his ninth straight game with a sprained left ankle.
 


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RECAPS
San Antonio 99
Vancouver 91

Phoenix 99
Washington 85

Portland 90
Minnesota 86