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By KATE HEDLIN
Posted Dec 14 2010 2:04PM The San Antonio Spurs have the NBA's best record, but they aren't likely to take their next opponent for granted. The Spurs look to close out a perfect six-game homestand Wednesday night when they host the Milwaukee Bucks, who shocked another of the league's top teams in their last game. San Antonio (20-3) extended its winning streak to five games with a 95-78 victory over Portland on Sunday. It was the fourth straight double-digit win for the Spurs, who held the Trail Blazers to 37.9 percent shooting and outscored them 22-7 at the foul line. The Spurs' recent games have been so lopsided that Tim Duncan hadn't played in the fourth quarter in any of the previous three contests. Duncan had eight points, 13 rebounds and four assists in 28 minutes Sunday. The 34-year-old is averaging a career-low 28.7 minutes. "As the minutes continue to drop and I'm not in the fourth quarter, I'm going to become unbearable on the bench and pretty much annoy (coach Gregg Popovich) to the point where that he has to put me in," Duncan said. "That's my goal." With the season starting so well for the Spurs, there's plenty of light-hearted joking. They are holding opponents to 87 points in the last four games and offensively are getting plenty of contributions. George Hill scored a season-high 22 points Sunday while rookie Gary Neal had 11 in 19 minutes off the bench. Popovich still sees room for improvement despite his team's stellar play. "Right now there are about 10 to 15 teams that are doing a better job defensively than we are," he said. "So we have to pay attention to it." One of the teams that is giving up fewer point than the Spurs is the Bucks (10-13), who will be trying for a season-high fourth straight win Wednesday. Milwaukee is allowing 93.2 points per game this season. "It's a big game," Spurs forward Antonio McDyess said. "You don't want a letdown. We're doing pretty well so far in not letting up. ... With Milwaukee coming in, we want to put that game away." The Bucks ended Dallas' 12-game winning streak with a 103-99 road victory Monday. Brandon Jennings had 23 points and 10 assists, helping Milwaukee rally from a 20-point second-quarter deficit. The Bucks had lost five in a row on the road and were 2-8 away from home entering the game. "We're starting to play better basketball," said Andrew Bogut, who had 21 points and 14 rebounds. "We're starting to buy into what the coaches want us to do, what we need to do to win games. It's nice to have that feeling after a game like this and win a game on the road." The Bucks' schedule doesn't get any easier with their next five games against Western Conference opponents, including a visit by Utah on Saturday and a road game against the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday. Milwaukee is 3-8 against teams from the West. Continued strong play from Bogut would certainly help the Bucks. After missing five games with a back injury, he's averaging 20.8 points, 15.6 rebounds and 3.4 blocks in the last five games. The Spurs swept the season series against the Bucks last season, and have won six of eight at home.
Copyright 2010 by STATS LLC and Associated Press. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of STATS LLC and Associated Press is strictly prohibited Copyright 2010 by STATS LLC and Associated Press. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of STATS LLC and Associated Press is strictly prohibited
Ginobili hits at buzzer, Spurs beat Bucks 92-90
Posted Dec 16 2010 1:05AM SAN ANTONIO (AP) Manu Ginobili learned his lesson about driving to the basket against the NBA's leading shot blocker. So instead of going at Andrew Bogut with the clock winding down, the San Antonio guard settled for a fallaway jumper. Smart decision. Ginobili scored the last of his 26 points as time expired, lifting the Spurs over Milwaukee 92-90 on Wednesday night for their sixth consecutive victory. Ginobili hit a 17-footer from the left elbow over the outstretched arm of Luc Mbah a Moute, who missed a shot that would have given Milwaukee the lead seconds earlier. "I had the opportunity, the trust of my teammates that I could hit the shot," Ginobili said. "Most of the time, it doesn't go in. It's not a high-percentage shot but I'm glad we won." Ginobili had been denied twice by Bogut - who leads the league in blocks at 2.88 per game - in the fourth. So with the final seconds ticking away, Ginobili dribbled to his left and pulled up. He scored the final six points for San Antonio. The Spurs improved their NBA-best record to 21-3 and stayed unbeaten against Eastern Conference teams. They also wrapped up a 6-0 homestand. "Manu hit a (heck) of a shot to pull it out for us," San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich said. Chris Douglas-Roberts had 21 points and Drew Gooden added 20 for the Bucks, who also marveled at Ginobili's game-winner - even though coach Scott Skiles said the Argentine got away with traveling. "It was great D. (Mbah a Moute) made him travel. We just looked at it about five times," Skiles said. Mbah a Moute said he did everything he could defensively. "I knew they were going to him," he said. "He likes to go left. He went left, I cut him off, he stepped back and made the shot." Milwaukee couldn't pull off its second upset in a row after ending Dallas' 12-game winning streak Monday. San Antonio led by double digits for most of the third, but Milwaukee went on a 12-4 run and Brandon Jennings hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer to cut the deficit to eight. Gooden scored 13 of Milwaukee's first 17 points in the fourth and a tip-in off Jennings' miss to tie the game at 90 with 47 seconds left. Bogut had two of his seven blocks on consecutive Spurs possessions late in the fourth, leading to Gooden's basket that tied it. But Tim Duncan grabbed the rebound of Moute's miss and immediately called timeout to set up Ginobili's game-winner. Skiles and the Bucks sounded more disappointed with their final possession than Ginobili's shot. Skiles said the play was drawn up to get Bogut the ball in the post, but that broke down when Gooden couldn't get the big man the entry pass. Instead, Jennings forced a pass to Mbah a Moute on the baseline with the shot clock winding down. The jumper missed, and Duncan corralled it. "I tried to tip it," Gooden said. "I should have grabbed it." Gooden opened the fourth with seven straight points, including a bank shot off Jennings' pass that helped spark Milwaukee's rally. Duncan finished with 13 points and a season-high seven blocks, while Tony Parker scored 16 and Richard Jefferson added 11 points for San Antonio. Jennings had a scare just before halftime, when he came down awkwardly on a layup attempt with Parker defending. The second-year guard immediately grabbed his left knee and was attended to on the Bucks' sideline, but he returned to start the third. Ginobili led the charge in the opening quarter by scoring six points to help build a 17-6 lead that prompted Milwaukee coach Scott Skiles to call a timeout. The Bucks managed to regroup, with Bogut hitting back-to-back shots to get Milwaukee back in rhythm. Douglas-Roberts hit a 3 and converted a three-point play to cut the San Antonio lead to 25-20 after the first quarter. NOTES: Spurs F/C Tiago Splitter left in the third with a bruise on his right side. He is day-to-day.
Copyright 2010 by STATS LLC and Associated Press. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of STATS LLC and Associated Press is strictly prohibited Copyright 2010 by STATS LLC and Associated Press. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of STATS LLC and Associated Press is strictly prohibited
Además, Ginóbili fue el goleador del partido con 26 tantos, tras haber jugado 30 minutos. De esta forma, San Antonio Spurs es el equipo que tiene el mejor récord de triunfos desde que empezó la temporada de la NBA, con un total de 21 partidos ganados y solo tres perdidos.

El inicio del partido fue favorable a San Antonio, ganaba los dos primeros cuartos, pero los Bucks ganaron el tercero y último cuarto, aunque no les alcanzó para la victoria.

Los Bucks no contaron en el partido con el argentino Carlos Delfino, Chris Douglas-Roberts fue el goleador de su equipo con 21 tantos, seguido por su compañero Drew Gooden con 20.

Por el lado de los Spurs, después de Ginóbili, Tony Parker obtuvo 16 puntos, y Tim Duncan 13 puntos, el brasileño Tiago Splitter solo jugó 4 minutos y obtuvo dos puntos.