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Sunday, Dec. 3 3:30pm ET
Duncan tallies season-high 30 points

RECAP | BOX SCORE | GAME FLOW

VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) -- Now that he no longer worries about his left leg, Tim Duncan can concentrate on his game.

Stromile Swift
Spurs forward Tim Duncan, left, and the Grizzlies' Stromile Swift fight for a loose ball.
Duncan scored a season-high 30 points Sunday and the San Antonio Spurs romped to 97-79 victory over the Vancouver Grizzlies.

"I found my shot in the second half. I had an opportunity to put a couple up and they went for me. I feel a lot better," Duncan said.

The 7-foot center tore cartilage in his left knee last season that sidelined him until play began this fall. While he has played in all of San Antonio's 15 games this season, he was still worried about the leg.

"We're lucky to have him," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said of Duncan. "He's just beginning to get into a flow. He's just beginning to believe in his leg, get his quickness back and his timing back, and that's sure nice to see."

It was the first time a Spurs player had scored 30 points this season. Duncan also secured his 14th double-double in 16 games with 10 rebounds.

"I'm a little better every day," Duncan said. "I'm getting back to 100 percent and I'm hoping to stay there."

Sean Elliot tied his season high with 19 points, including five 3-pointers, for San Antonio, while David Robinson had 11.

"Sean's been huge all around, especially on the defensive end," said Duncan. "He's been working really hard. And he's been hitting the open shots."

"I've always felt like I can shoot the ball well from beyond the arc," said Elliott. "I'm getting some good looks and I understand the offense better than, say, three or four years ago. Also, the guys know where I'm at. They call me The Roach because I'm always in the corner. They find me in the corner and they know that I'm there."

Shareef Abdur-Rahim had 16 points and 11 rebounds and reserve Grant Long tied a season high with 16 points as the Grizzlies lost their second straight home game.

The Spurs had lost their previous two games and won for just the third time in eight road games this season.

"We have not played well on the road," Popovich said. "We've been great at home and we've been poor on the road, very honestly. So it was nice to put it together."

San Antonio closed the game with a 15-5 run in the last 5:36.

The Spurs were outrebounded 31-16 in the first half and had no offensive rebounds. It was the first time in Grizzlies history an opponent was shut out on the offensive boards in a half.

San Antonio regrouped in the third period, holding a 20-4 rebounding edge. By game's end, the two teams each had snared 41 rebounds.

"They were very aggressive to the boards and we weren't," Robinson said about the Grizzlies' first half. "We weren't as active. I thought the first five minutes of the game we started out pretty active, but then it slowed down. We're such a big team that it seems that we would get there, but we'd end up standing a lot watching each other. In the second half the activity was a lot better."

The Grizzlies dropped to 6-11, going 2-9 in their last 11 games.

"When you start to struggle, you start to think about it a lot and you just have to let it start falling," said Grizzlies point guard Mike Bibby, who shot just 3-for-11 with nine points and six assists.

The Grizzlies went 3-for-15 to start the second quarter and were down 31-23 with 5:11 left in the half. But they outscored the Spurs 11-4 and drew to 35-34 after two periods.

Game notes
The Spurs hold a 18-3 overall advantage over the Grizzlies, including the last 13 games against Vancouver. San Antonio has won the last eight games in Vancouver. ... Vancouver shot 38.8 percent for the game and the Spurs shot 54.7 percent.
NBA Scoreboard

San Antonio Clubhouse

Vancouver Clubhouse

RECAPS
Boston 96
LA Clippers 87

Milwaukee 92
Indiana 80

San Antonio 97
Vancouver 79

Detroit 93
Washington 87

Phoenix 84
Portland 79

Seattle 118
Golden State 102

LA Lakers 99
Dallas 97

AUDIO/VIDEO
video
 The Spurs' Antonio Daniels finds Tim Duncan for the jam.
avi: 427 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1

 Antonio Daniels steals the ball and takes it the distance.
avi: 507 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1


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