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San Antonio (33-15) at Boston (42-10)
The San Antonio Spurs will have a well-rested lineup when they visit the defending NBA champions.
With four of their top five scorers having not played in five days, the Spurs will look to end a three-game losing streak against the Boston Celtics as the last two NBA champions meet on Sunday.
San Antonio (33-15) hasn’t played since a 104-96 loss to Denver on Tuesday in which Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, Michael Finley and Manu Ginobili all sat out after the Spurs’ stars played heavy minutes in an overtime win at Golden State the night before.
While Duncan, Parker and Finley were just getting extra rest, Ginobili had the night off because of a bruised hip. Coach Gregg Popovich said he expects Ginobili to play against the Celtics (42-10).
The Spurs, who have completed two games of an eight-game road trip, hope the extra layoff will help them hand Boston just its second loss in 15 games.
“I think it was a good decision for us,” Duncan said Friday. “Hopefully it pays off for us.”
San Antonio has lost three straight to Boston after winning the previous 18 matchups. Duncan, who the Spurs took with the first pick of the 1997 draft after winning the lottery over the Celtics, had won all 17 career games versus Boston before March 17, 2007.
Duncan and the Spurs will need to be at their best on Sunday against the surging Celtics. The defending NBA champs, who have the third-best record in the league behind the Los Angeles Lakers and Cleveland Cavaliers, rebounded from their one-point overtime loss to the Lakers on Thursday with a 110-100 win over the New York Knicks on Friday.
Paul Pierce scored 26 points, Ray Allen added 22 and Kevin Garnett had 15 points and 11 rebounds in his second game back after missing the previous two with the flu. Boston rallied after being down by four points at the end of the third quarter.
“It was a big win,” said Pierce, who is averaging 28.0 points in the last four games. “I thought we were mentally and physically drained coming into this game, especially after the tough loss. It took us a while. We got off to a slow start, but this team continues to find ways to win.”
The Celtics, who are holding opponents to 92 points per game—second-fewest in the NBA—have given up 100 in five of their last seven games. Their defense might have a better showing against the Spurs. Neither Boston nor San Antonio has broken 100 points in the last four matchups between the two.
Pierce and the Celtics are 24-3 at home this season, with all three losses coming against teams from the Western Conference (Denver, Houston and the Lakers) by an average of 4.7 points.
“It’ll be a good challenge for us,” San Antonio’s Roger Mason said.
Mason led the Spurs with 26 points on Tuesday as San Antonio had its four-game winning streak snapped. The Spurs had also won eight of their previous nine.
While Popovich was looking to give his players some needed rest during the extended road trip, he’s hoping the time off didn’t slow down Ginobili’s recent surge. Ginobili, who missed the first month of the season because of an ankle injury, is averaging 15.8 points this season after a career-best 19.5 in 2007-08. He’s averaging 28.0 points in his last three games, going 35-of-36 at the free-throw line during that stretch.
“In a season where I’m not shooting well, I need to get some easy baskets,” said Ginobili, who scored a season-high 32 points on Monday against the Warriors.
The San Antonio Spurs will have a well-rested lineup when they visit the defending NBA champions.
With four of their top five scorers having not played in five days, the Spurs will look to end a three-game losing streak against the Boston Celtics as the last two NBA champions meet on Sunday.
San Antonio (33-15) hasn’t played since a 104-96 loss to Denver on Tuesday in which Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, Michael Finley and Manu Ginobili all sat out after the Spurs’ stars played heavy minutes in an overtime win at Golden State the night before.
While Duncan, Parker and Finley were just getting extra rest, Ginobili had the night off because of a bruised hip. Coach Gregg Popovich said he expects Ginobili to play against the Celtics (42-10).
The Spurs, who have completed two games of an eight-game road trip, hope the extra layoff will help them hand Boston just its second loss in 15 games.
“I think it was a good decision for us,” Duncan said Friday. “Hopefully it pays off for us.”
San Antonio has lost three straight to Boston after winning the previous 18 matchups. Duncan, who the Spurs took with the first pick of the 1997 draft after winning the lottery over the Celtics, had won all 17 career games versus Boston before March 17, 2007.
Duncan and the Spurs will need to be at their best on Sunday against the surging Celtics. The defending NBA champs, who have the third-best record in the league behind the Los Angeles Lakers and Cleveland Cavaliers, rebounded from their one-point overtime loss to the Lakers on Thursday with a 110-100 win over the New York Knicks on Friday.
Paul Pierce scored 26 points, Ray Allen added 22 and Kevin Garnett had 15 points and 11 rebounds in his second game back after missing the previous two with the flu. Boston rallied after being down by four points at the end of the third quarter.
“It was a big win,” said Pierce, who is averaging 28.0 points in the last four games. “I thought we were mentally and physically drained coming into this game, especially after the tough loss. It took us a while. We got off to a slow start, but this team continues to find ways to win.”
The Celtics, who are holding opponents to 92 points per game—second-fewest in the NBA—have given up 100 in five of their last seven games. Their defense might have a better showing against the Spurs. Neither Boston nor San Antonio has broken 100 points in the last four matchups between the two.
Pierce and the Celtics are 24-3 at home this season, with all three losses coming against teams from the Western Conference (Denver, Houston and the Lakers) by an average of 4.7 points.
“It’ll be a good challenge for us,” San Antonio’s Roger Mason said.
Mason led the Spurs with 26 points on Tuesday as San Antonio had its four-game winning streak snapped. The Spurs had also won eight of their previous nine.
While Popovich was looking to give his players some needed rest during the extended road trip, he’s hoping the time off didn’t slow down Ginobili’s recent surge. Ginobili, who missed the first month of the season because of an ankle injury, is averaging 15.8 points this season after a career-best 19.5 in 2007-08. He’s averaging 28.0 points in his last three games, going 35-of-36 at the free-throw line during that stretch.
“In a season where I’m not shooting well, I need to get some easy baskets,” said Ginobili, who scored a season-high 32 points on Monday against the Warriors.
