Spurs 96 Bobcats 76

Spurs-Bobcats PreviewBy AMY JO WALKER
STATS Writer
December 05, 2006


The San Antonio Spurs avenged a rare loss with their most lopsided win of the season in their last outing. Now they'll get the chance to do it again when they visit the Charlotte Bobcats on Wednesday.

The Spurs (13-5) have lost to just five teams this season, but got a little payback Monday with a 129-89 rout of Golden State, which came away with a 111-102 win over them a week earlier.

San Antonio scored its most points in a regulation game Monday since a 129-99 victory over the Warriors on Feb. 26, 1995, and set season highs in margin of victory, field goals made (49) and assists (37).

Reserve guard Brent Barry scored 18 points to lead a 75-point bench effort and was one of eight Spurs in double figures.

``Whether you win by a lot or a little bit, you come out tonight and you're able to rest a little bit and you beat a team that's beaten you in the regular season,'' Spurs forward Tim Duncan said. ``That's a good win for us.''

The Spurs have another opportunity for one of those wins when they meet the Bobcats, who beat them 95-92 in overtime on Nov. 15. That was San Antonio's lone loss in a stretch of 10 games from Nov. 5-22, and its first in the series between the teams.

The Spurs took the first four matchups by an average of 18.0 points, but Charlotte has played well against some of the better teams in the NBA this season. Along with their win over San Antonio, the Bobcats (5-12) have also defeated Cleveland and topped Detroit 97-89 on Sunday, snapping the Pistons' eight-game winning streak.

``One of the things is we get up for it. And then a lot of it also has to do with the mentality of the team coming to play us,'' said Bobcats guard Brevin Knight, who had a season-high 14 assists against Detroit. ``You come in and see our record and you think you can turn it off and on, but we're going to battle you.''

Emeka Okafor led Charlotte with 18 points Sunday, but the reserves did most of the damage as Sean May (17 points), Matt Carroll (16) and Derek Anderson (11) all scored in double figures.

Carroll missed practice Tuesday with a sprained right elbow and will probably be sidelined Wednesday.

``If I had to say right now, I think I am out,'' he said. ``It's disappointing. I can't straighten my right arm, so it's not helping me to shoot too much.''.

Anderson is averaging 8.3 points in three games since signing with Charlotte on Nov. 28. The veteran guard posted 15.5 points in starting all 82 games for San Antonio in the 2000-01 season.

``There's no substitution for experience at playing on this level,'' Bobcats coach Bernie Bickerstaff said of Anderson. ``I think people underestimate that just because he's a journeyman, he's a role player.''

Rookie Adam Morrison, Charlotte's second-leading scorer with 15.0 points per game, had a season high-tying 27 points in last month's win over the Spurs.

He'll look to duplicate that success as the Bobcats try to win back-to-back games for the first time this season. They are playing the second in a tough four-game homestand that also includes matchups with Houston and Phoenix.

The Spurs opened a franchise-best 7-0 on the road, but have dropped their last two there and are trying to avoid a third straight defeat away from home for the first time since April 13-20, 2005.

San Antonio's Manu Ginobili returned to the court Monday, recording six points and nine assists in 16 minutes after missing the previous four games with a lower back contusion.

ooh this game otta be exciting.

http://community.woai.com/blogs/point/archive/2006/12/05/1116110.aspx

Is Revenge a Motive?

The Spurs have their ....ahem, long awaited rematch with the Charlotte Bobcats tomorrow. The Bobcats beat the Spurs in San Antonio on November 15th. Which leads me to this question...is revenge a motive for a team like the Spurs when they are playing a team so obviously beneath them? Not to say the Bobcats aren't talented. With Emeka Okafor, Adam Morrison, and Raymond Felton, the team has a good young core of talented players. And they've beaten some of the league's best, including San Antonio and Detroit. But they're obviously not a team that's going to contend for a title yet. Do you think the Spurs players are embarrassed by their loss of a few weeks ago, and really want to prove themselves? Or are they just going out to win another basketball game tomorrow night, and not really thinking about the loss in the middle of last month? I don't know the answer, but if the Spurs come out with a lackluster effort, we all know that this young team from Charlotte can beat them.

The question of revenge being a factor against a team like Charlotte is a decent question. However, I can guarantee you that while the team would never call it "revenge", they will definitely have the loss to the Bobcats in mind. They don't want to get swept by a lottery team.

Revenge!!

Spurs win!

As the San Antonio Spurs enter the Bobcats arena, they will only be there for one thing, and one thing only a win. The Spurs will even play more harder since they know the Bobcats are a young basketball team. Adam Morrison, Emeka Okafor, Reymond Felton, Sean May and Gearlad Wallace are just a few Bobcats that are good, but we should not respect them. We shuold respect them as a young and talented team, but the Spurs know they are still better and look to get the job done!!!

I don't think revenge is the motive here. Its the Spurs job go out every game with the intent of winning it by the biggest point spread possible. I'm sure the mindset will be to play well and WIN the game. It doesn't matter that its the Bobcats and they beat us a couple of weeks ago. I look for an exciting game with the Spurs coming out on top.

Well, this is the most I've watched of a Spurs game so far - lol, been a bit busy lately.

Very exciting, Barry and Manu are looking so good. Just saw Horry miss again, but enjoying his very active play in the 3rd.

Yes... Revenge and keeping a good record - both great reasons for a win!

GO SPURS! 77-66 keep it up guys!

Great Game!!!!

Gotta watch more of these!

Good win Spurs.

Spurs 96 at Bobcats 76
Recap| Game Trax | Box Score | Play by Play | Depth Chart | Head-to-Head

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) - It was a strange sight: Tim Duncan missing dunks.

Three times he tried to slam it over Emeka Okafor and three times the ball clanged off the back rim - all in the first quarter.
But it didn't take long for him to break out of his funk.

Duncan shook off the slow start to score 25 points and the San Antonio Spurs avenged a surprising home loss to Charlotte with a 96-76 win over the Bobcats on Wednesday.

"It was frustrating. I got everything at the rim that I wanted but I couldn't finish," Duncan said. "I played through that, was able to get some touches in the fourth quarter and got those to go down for me."

Manu Ginobili came off the bench to score 13 points for the Spurs, who won their third straight game.

As was the case two days earlier, the Spurs got payback for a loss from earlier in the season. But unlike San Antonio's 40-point win over Golden State, the Bobcats put up a fight until Brevin Knight was ejected in the third quarter for picking up two technical fouls.

Charlotte, which won in San Antonio 95-92 in overtime three weeks ago, led by seven in the first quarter, when Duncan shot 4-for-11. But San Antonio recovered and took an 11-point second-quarter lead.

Duncan scored 11 points in the fourth, when the Spurs built as much as a 22-point lead.

"He played it a little differently with Emeka's defense," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. "He started to face him up a little bit more. He did a much better job at reading the defense."

Sean May scored 18 points, Gerald Wallace had 15 and Raymond Felton added 13 points and nine assists for the Bobcats, who failed to win consecutive games for the first time this season.

Rookie Adam Morrison continued to struggle, scoring four points on 1-of-10 shooting. He's 2-for-15 from the field in the past two games.

Felton's 3-pointer put Charlotte ahead early 22-15, in part because Duncan struggled against Okafor, who also blocked one of Duncan's shots in the lane in the quarter.

"He was right at the rim, he just missed some dunks," Popovich said. "Other than that he was trying to go over Emeka a little bit too much while he was getting bodied."

The Bobcats' good fortune didn't last. They committed turnovers on five straight possessions and missed seven of their first nine shots to start the second as the Spurs took the lead for good. Ginobili's two free throws put the Spurs up 48-37.

Little-used Walter Herrmann hit a 3-pointer in Charlotte's half-closing 5-0 run to make it 48-42, but the Argentina native struggled to defend his fellow countryman Ginobili.

"That's his guy. They played together, so obviously he knew something about him," Bobcats coach Bernie Bickerstaff said of Ginobili. "That's the thing with this team. They find a mismatch and they go. Against a team like that you almost have to play perfect.

It was real simple. San Antonio came to prove a point."

It didn't help that Knight was ejected for picking up two technicals in a one-minute span early in the third quarter. Referee Tony Brothers hit him with the second technical - Knight's sixth of the season - when he threw a towel at the beginning of a timeout. Knight wasn't in the locker room for comment after the game.

"Anytime you lose your starting point guard it's a big blow," Wallace said.

Ginobili's 3-point play and Brent Barry's 3-pointer in an 8-0 run put the Spurs up 68-53 late in the third quarter, and the Bobcats were finished against the balanced Spurs, who placed five players in double figures.

"They take Robert Horry, who's old as dirt, and they put him in a ball screen and you have to make a decision," May said. "Are you going to stop Tony Parker from getting a layup or Robert Horry from hitting that 3? They just put you in a tough position."

NotesBobcats G Matt Carroll sat out with a sprained right elbow and is expected to miss 5 to 10 days. ... The Spurs are 8-1 against teams with below .500 records, with the lone loss being to Charlotte. ... Bobcats C Ryan Hollins is averaging 12.2 points and 9.8 rebounds in four games with Fort Worth of the NBDL.

Way to go Spurs!!

It's good to see the Spurs play well as a team.And It is much better with Manu's minutes raising with every game.

But what about Duncan's rebounds? Has he not going to grab at least 10 every game?

Was a good game, love the Bowen interview at the end from Sean

Yeah, Sean asked Bruce whose hair he liked better, his or Adam Morrison's.

Bruce: 'Ah, Sean, they're paying you all that money to ask THAT?'