spurs squeak by clippers, win rare close game

chris kaman is making tim duncan look human? i couldn't see the game
because fox owns rights to show clippers games in so-cal (and cox
doesn't carry FSN2). anyway, it looks like on the bad side, tim duncan
is in a funk. on the good side, spurs win anyways (best start ever at
32-9). that was their 4th win in close games out of 9.

dave


http://www.sportsline.com/nba/gamecenter/recap/NBA_20050119_LAC@SA

Spurs' improved free throw shooting earns win on several fronts

Jan. 20, 2005
SportsLine.com wire reports

SAN ANTONIO -- On a normal night, Chris Kaman might have risked a foul
on Tony Parker as the San Antonio Spurs guard drove toward the basket
in the final seconds against the Los Angeles Clippers.

The Spurs are erratic from the free throw line most nights, but on
Wednesday, they had made 16 of 18, so Kaman pulled back.

The decision was the wrong one, as Parker banked in a layup high off
the backboard with 7.8 seconds left to give San Antonio an 80-79 win.

"I moved at the last second," said the 7-foot Kaman, who bumped bodies
with the 6-foot-3 Parker on the game-winning play. "It was a call on my
part, it wasn't really a mistake. It was just unfortunate he got the
shot off."

The Clippers took a 79-78 lead with 19 seconds remaining on a pair of
free throws by Bobby Simmons. On the next possession, the Spurs' Manu
Ginobili curled around the lane and passed to Parker in the left
corner.

Parker, who finished with 25 points, faked a 3-pointer to get Simmons
off his feet and then drove baseline.

"I wanted to shoot the 3, but they came so fast that I pump-faked and
it was wide open," he said.
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On Kaman's reaction, Parker said, "I think I came too fast for him. He
had no chance."

The Clippers' final inbounds play went to Elton Brand, who backed Tim
Duncan in a couple of steps before his turnaround jumper went off the
right side of the rim. The ball bounced around before Ginobili grabbed
the rebound as time expired.

"I had a good look at it ... I just needed to make the play," said
Brand, who had 14 points and 18 rebounds. "It was good defense (by
Duncan), but I thought I had a chance."

Ginobili, who missed Monday's win over Washington with a thigh bruise,
scored 13 points. Duncan had 12 points and 14 rebounds for San Antonio,
which improved the NBA's best home record to 21-1.

San Antonio's victory, combined with Phoenix's 88-79 loss to Memphis,
gives the Spurs the NBA's best record at 32-9. The Spurs meet the Suns
in Phoenix on Friday night before playing in Sacramento on Sunday.

"We'll have to hit the boards and shoot the ball better than we did
tonight if we want to win those games," San Antonio coach Gregg
Popovich said.

The Spurs shot 39.7 percent while holding the Clippers to 35.1 percent.
Los Angeles outrebounded San Antonio 62-44.

Kaman scored 21 points and grabbed 14 rebounds for Los Angeles, which
lost its third straight game. Corey Maggette had 20 points for the
Clippers.

Parker scored 15 of his points in the third, including his team's final
eight points of the quarter as the Spurs built a 65-55 lead going into
the fourth. That lead grew to as many as 13 before the Clippers went on
an 11-0 run led by Kaman and Maggette.

San Antonio made six of its first seven shots, three of them by Duncan
inside, but then missed seven of its next eight. Los Angeles also
started slowly.

Trailing by six late in the second quarter, the Clippers went on a 12-5
run to end the half.

Kaman tied the score at 37 on a dunk after he rebounded his own miss
with about a minute left. Parker hit an 18-footer with nine seconds on
the clock to put San Antonio ahead by one, but Simmons followed with a
long jumper at the buzzer to make it 41-40 Clippers.

Notes

* The Spurs' record is the team's best ever at the midpoint of a
season.
* Duncan is averaging 13.7 points in his past three games, about
eight points under his season mark.
* Robert Horry left the game in the third quarter with a dislocated
right kneecap.
* Kaman is averaging 14.2 points in the past six games, better than
twice his season average.
* The Clippers play Thursday in Dallas. The game will end their
third back-to-back series in nine days.

AP NEWS
The Associated Press News Service

Copyright 2004-2005, The Associated Press, All Rights Reserved


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San Antonio's Manu Ginobili doesn't look like he's bothered by his
thigh bruise. (AP)


Scoreboard
Final 1 2 3 4 T
L.A. Clippers 19 22 14 24 79
San Antonio « 21 19 25 15 80
LAC:C. Kaman 21 Pts
LAC:E. Brand 18 Reb
LAC:R. Brunson 4 Ast SA:T. Parker 25 Pts
SA:T. Duncan 14 Reb
SA:T. Parker 7 Ast

PLAYERS OF THE GAME
San Antonio Los Angeles

T. Parker
C. Kaman
Pts Rebs Ast Pts Rebs Ast
25 2 7 21 14 2

Los Angeles Clippers
STARTERS M FG FT TR A PF PTS
C. Kaman, C 41 8-19 5-8 14 2 4 21
B. Simmons, SF 40 3-7 4-5 8 3 2 10
E. Brand, PF 39 4-18 6-9 18 4 4 14
C. Maggette, SG 37 7-16 5-5 5 0 3 20
R. Brunson, PG 30 2-6 2-2 0 4 0 8
BENCH M FG FT TR A PF PTS
Q. Ross, SG 19 0-2 0-0 2 1 4 0
D. Martin, PG 18 1-5 0-0 0 2 1 2
Z. Rebraca, C 16 2-4 0-0 2 0 2 4
M. Moore, C Did Not Play
M. N'diaye, C Did Not Play
L. Chalmers, PG Did Not Play
K. Kittles, SG Did Not Play
Totals 27-77 22-29 49 16 20 79
35.1% 75.9%
Complete Box Score

San Antonio Spurs
STARTERS M FG FT TR A PF PTS
T. Duncan, PF 37 5-16 2-3 14 3 2 12
T. Parker, PG 36 11-16 3-3 2 7 2 25
B. Bowen, SF 34 2-8 1-2 7 0 2 5
M. Ginobili, SG 30 3-10 7-7 2 3 5 13
R. Nesterovic, C 22 1-3 0-0 5 0 5 2
BENCH M FG FT TR A PF PTS
B. Barry, SG 25 3-7 3-3 2 3 2 10
R. Horry, PF 15 2-6 0-0 2 0 3 4
B. Udrih, PG 12 1-4 0-0 0 4 0 2
T. Massenburg, C 11 1-3 0-0 2 0 4 2
M. Rose, PF 11 1-3 0-0 3 1 0 2
D. Brown, SG 7 1-2 0-0 0 0 0 3
M. Wilks, PG Did Not Play
Totals 31-78 16-18 39 21 25 80
39.7% 88.9%