RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME FLOW
SAN ANTONIO (AP) -- For the first time in 10 days, the San
Antonio Spurs left a game feeling good.
San Antonio head coach Gregg Popovich was beaming Tuesday night
after his Spurs ended a four-game losing streak with a 110-77
victory over the Vancouver Grizzlies.
Tim Duncan collected 23 points and nine rebounds to lead the
Spurs to their 14th straight win over Vancouver.
"It was nice to win one," Popovich said. "That's obviously
the best thing about this evening. It just proves this is a simple
game. If we play game defense the way we practice, we can win. If
not, we are just another Joe Blow on the street. Tonight, we played
defense from the beginning and continued through the whole game."
The Grizzlies, losers of five straight overall and 10 straight
on the road, reached a new low in a couple of ways. The final score
and halftime deficit were both new lows for the season.
"We didn't do anything right tonight," Vancouver head coach
Sidney Lowe said. "Defensively, we didn't look good and
offensively, we couldn't hit shots.
"I want our guys to feel the pain and the embarrassment (of a
loss like this) and not want to ever (let) that happen again. I
think you have to take games like this and use it as a motivating
factor to get going."
An Alamodome crowd of 14,764 saw the homestanding Spurs never
trail, jumping out to an early seven-point lead when Duncan hit a
15-foot jumper with 9:52 showing for a 9-2 advantage. A dunk by
Samaki Walker gave San Antonio its largest lead of the quarter,
28-20.
San Antonio broke the game open in the second quarter,
outscoring Vancouver 32-16 to open a 60-38 lead at intermission.
Vancouver was outscored 14-2 in the first 5:35 of the quarter,
falling behind 43-24 with 5:35 left.
San Antonio, which placed six players in double-figures, enjoyed
a 38-point lead twice in the third quarter, the last time at 81-43
with 3:10 left.
"I think we were inconsistent in our effort," said forward
Shareef Abdur-Rahim, who finished with 12 points and five rebounds.
"We really embarrassed ourselves. We have to make better plays;
play with more energy and be more consistent (with) the total
game."
Samaki Walker collected 16 points and 13 rebounds off the bench
for the Spurs, who also got 16 points from guard Antonio Daniels
and 14 from center David Robinson.
"It's real important to have guys who can step in and play
well," Walker said. "The season only gets tougher as it wears on.
It's real important to have depth.
Michael Dickerson had 16 points and Mike Bibby added 13 points
for the Grizzlies.
Game notes Malik Rose started in place of Ira Newble at small forward.
Rose had missed the last seven games due to a sore right hip...
Reserve forward Danny Ferry sported a plastic mask to protect his
broken nose. Ferry sustained the injury after catching an elbow to
the face by Samaki Walker at practice on Monday.
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ALSO SEE
NBA Scoreboard
Vancouver Clubhouse
San Antonio Clubhouse
RECAPS
Boston 83 Atlanta 82
Washington 97 Charlotte 95
Orlando 116 Toronto 111
Philadelphia 114 Dallas 98
Milwaukee 105 New York 91
Minnesota 82 Phoenix 73
Seattle 91 LA Lakers 80
Portland 104 Chicago 100
San Antonio 110 Vancouver 77
Denver 105 Houston 100
Utah 100 Golden State 78
Sacramento 130 New Jersey 104
FROM ATHLETESDIRECT
Mike Bibby Official Site
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