Spurs trounce Clippers, 94-86

<!--EZCODE BOLD START--><strong>By Johnny Ludden </strong><!--EZCODE BOLD END--> <br>
<!--EZCODE LINK START--><a href="http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/spurs/story.cfm?xla=saen&xlb=211&xlc=912837">San Antonio Express-News</a><!--EZCODE LINK END--> <br>
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Web Posted : 01/05/2003 8:39 PM <br>
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LOS ANGELES – Having just wrapped up his postgame radio interview Sunday afternoon, Tony Parker walked across the hall to the Spurs' locker room only to find the entrance locked.<br>
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While his teammates showered and dressed, Parker, still in uniform, stood outside incessantly banging on the door.<br>
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"Open up!" Parker shouted, continuing to pound away until a team official finally granted his requested.<br>
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He wasn't the only one feeling shut out. About two hours earlier, the Spurs frustrated the Los Angeles Clippers into missing 30 of their first 39 shots before grinding out a 94-86 victory in front of a national Telemundo audience and a Staples Center crowd of 17,158.<br>
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While the Spurs started their three-game West Coast trip with a victory, the Clippers, who were briefly booed off the court in the first quarter, lost for the sixth consecutive game. With Tim Duncan and David Robinson combining for eight of the team's 11 blocks and Manu Ginobili adding some spirited defense in the final quarter, the Spurs (21-13) limited the Clippers (12-22) to 33.7 percent shooting.<br>
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"We don't have a lot of guys who can score," Parker said, "so if we don't play good defense we're going to have a hard time winning games."<br>
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The Spurs got enough scoring on Sunday. Parker had 26 points, 11 of which came in the final quarter, to go along with his six assists and five rebounds. Duncan added 24 points, 14 rebounds, six assists and five blocks. The Spurs also got 13 points out of Bruce Bowen, who continued his timely shooting, and 12 from Stephen Jackson.<br>
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"We've had to search for guys who can put the ball in the hole," said Spurs coach Gregg Popovich, who became the ninth-fastest coach to reach 300 wins Sunday. "It was good to find some tonight." With 48 points in the last two games, Parker might be the closest thing the Spurs have to a secondary scorer. The Spurs have not lost in the nine games in which he has at least 20.<br>
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On Sunday, he coolly swished a 3-pointer with 2:44 left after Los Angeles had closed within five.<br>
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"Tony's one of the guys who has to be that for us because he has the ability," Popovich said. "It doesn't matter if he's 31 years old or 20 like he is, he's in that position. Other guys besides Tim have to score."<br>
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Neither team did much of that in a ghastly first half that saw the Spurs emerge with a 37-36 lead. "It's very simple," Clippers coach Alvin Gentry said. "You can't win shooting 33 percent."<br>
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Though the Clippers shot just 30.2 percent in the first half, the Spurs barely led because they gave up 10 points off 10 turnovers.<br>
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"It was ugly, but the defense was still very good," Robinson said. "At halftime we talked about not letting the defense slip at all and going ahead and making some shots for a change."<br>
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Bowen helped solve the Spurs' shooting troubles. He hit back-to-back 3-pointers – one from each corner -- in the middle of the third quarter to give the Spurs a much-needed seven-point cushion. He hit two more jumpers in the final quarter to help preserve lead.<br>
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"I just feel comfortable out there," said Bowen, who ranks third in the league in 3-point shooting, having made 14 of his 26 attempts in the last seven games.<br>
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Parker also now appears equally at ease at the free-throw line. He made 8 of 10 foul shots in the final 5:22 to help hold off the Clippers. For the season, he is shooting 72.5 percent at the lane, a noticeable increase from the 58.3 percent he was making through the first 21 games.<br>
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"That's something I really want to improve because earlier I showed the people a bad image of me," Parker said. "I can shoot better than that on free throws."<br>
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With his foul shots continuing to fall and a much-need win on the road secured, Parker left the court Sunday lacking just one necessity. A key.<br>
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jludden@express-news.net<br>
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01/05/2003 <br>
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<p></p><i>Edited by: <A HREF=http://pub61.ezboard.com/bsanantoniospurs62937.showUserPublicProfile?gid=blondie4spurs>Blondie4Spurs</A>  <IMG HEIGHT=10 WIDTH=10 SRC="http://homepage.eircom.net/~bray/em/orose.gif " BORDER=0> at: 1/5/03 9:47:29 pm<br></i>

I had NO CLUE that the game was @ 12:30!! Damn, I was watching the Steelers vs. Browns game. My Spurs Calendar said it was @ 7:30! Dang...<!--EZCODE EMOTICON START :rolleyes --><img src=http://www.ezboard.com/image/emoticons_classic/eyes.gif ALT=":rolleyes"><!--EZCODE EMOTICON END--> <p><!--EZCODE CENTER START--><div style="text-align:center"><!--EZCODE LINK START--><a href="http://www.SpursCentral.com"><!--EZCODE IMAGE START--><img src="http://www.imagemagician.com/images/spursfan78852/sa_pride1001.jpg "/><!--EZCODE IMAGE END--></a><!--EZCODE LINK END--></div><!--EZCODE CENTER END--><br>
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<!--EZCODE CENTER START--><div style="text-align:center"><!--EZCODE LINK START--><a href="http://www.SAHoops.net"> Sprewell turns, shoots at the buzzer, And the Pride of the great Lone Star State, The San Antonio Spurs are NBA Champions.--Jay Howard, '99 NBA Finals Game 5 vs. Knicks</a><!--EZCODE LINK END--></div><!--EZCODE CENTER END--></p><i></i>

Great game!<br>
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Tony was impressive...not just on offense but he also shut down Ander Miller... Way to go Tony!! <p> <br>
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The Steelers/Browns game wasn't bad either. Nor was the second game. Amazing football games! <p></p><i></i>

I am really happy right now about how Tony Parker is playing. He just needs to be that <!--EZCODE BOLD START--><strong>consistent</strong><!--EZCODE BOLD END--> second scorer the Spurs need so badly. And Tim Duncan, of course, is great as usual. He keeps putting up monster stats, and the whole country is so used to it, they don't get too excited about it anymore. That's a nice problem to have. He is definitely into back to his normal MVP self.<br>
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The person I am most excited about/for is Manu Ginobili. It looks like he is pretty much recovered from his ankle injury (I hope). I hope there is no more swelling and that he can play on back-to-back nights no problem. He played great for the Spurs in the 4th quarter. Just like in that first Lakers game, he was the key to victory against the Clippers, getting steals, skying for rebounds, great passes, and those highlight dunks which came at crucial times. He played great defense on Maggette. I sure hope he can keep up the good work and have a long stretch without reinjuring the ankle so he can regain his confidence fully. If that happens, I have no doubt he will be explosive and help the Spurs get wins they otherwise would have lost or struggled in.<br>
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GO SPURS GO!! <p></p><i></i>

<!--EZCODE BOLD START--><strong>AUDIO/VIDEO</strong><!--EZCODE BOLD END--><br>
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<!--EZCODE IMAGE START--><img src="http://espn.go.com/i/m.gif"/><!--EZCODE IMAGE END--> <!--EZCODE BOLD START--><strong>San Antonio vs. LA Clippers</strong><!--EZCODE BOLD END--><br>
Tim Duncan had his 25th double-double of the season as the Spurs beat the Clippers 94-86.<br>
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Very bizarre football games...two blowouts on Saturday and two historical nailbiters on Sunday. Weird! <p><!--EZCODE CENTER START--><div style="text-align:center"><!--EZCODE LINK START--><a href="http://www.sahoops.net/"><!--EZCODE IMAGE START--><img src="http://groups.msn.com/_Secure/0RwC7BM4UPN4vSzvW7PLtkWgZAuhj38V0TWfeUgTe5oMC4wVam*gsnDSWBHC8gBmc*VJHFg2ilkI*7kxgMXbp5uqYP9JIkWMH8B4h4FlPcaI/GD-final.jpg"/><!--EZCODE IMAGE END--></a><!--EZCODE LINK END--></div><!--EZCODE CENTER END--> </p><i></i>