Spurs escape 21-point hole for 12th NBA win in a row

Manu Ginobili scored 26 points, 14 of them in the fourth quarter, and the NBA-leading San Antonio Spurs rallied from a 21-point deficit to defeat Minnesota 113-109 in over-time.The Spurs won their 12th game in a row on Wednesday, improving to 13-1 and stretching their Southwest division lead over New Orleans to two games. The Timberwolves, the NBA's youngest team, fell to 4-12 with a 13th loss in a row to the Spurs."I thought there was no chance we were going to win it," Ginobili said. "We were down 20, nothing was falling, we're not playing with the kind of aggressiveness and energy that you need to overcome a deficit like that."I thought it was going to be a loss. Then slowly, very slowly, we started to recover. "San Antonio, which began the night leading the NBA with a 44-percent accuracy rate from 3-point range, went 2-for-19 from beyond the arc before finally hitting stride by sinking six 3-pointers in the fourth quarter.The Spurs' Gary Neal was fouled on a 3-point shot with 16.2 seconds to play in the fourth quarter and sank all three of his free throws to pull San Antonio level at 106-106 and force over-time.Matt Bonner sank a 3-pointer with 49 seconds remaining in over-time to give the Spurs their first lead of the game and the visitors held off Minnesota down the stretch to secure the comeback triumph and keep the win streak going."I don't even notice it," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said.

"Every game is a game and we don't even think about it. We'll lose our share. It will end like every other streak."The Spurs have not lost since falling to New Orleans in their second game of the season."Our guys showed really good perseverance and that it's a 48-minute game," Popovich said. "If you just keep chugging, something can happen for you and it worked for us. We're thrilled with the victory."San Antonio's Richard Jefferson scored 19 points and Frenchman Tony Parker added 18 points and six assists for the Spurs, who also had nine points and 13 rebounds from Tim Duncan.Kevin Love scored 32 points and grabbed 22 rebounds for Minnesota, which also had 22 points, eight rebounds and five blocked shots from Darko Milicic, who said a third squandered fourth-quarter lead has become a mental problem."The few games that we lost, it kind of got in our heads," Milicic said. "We're thinking too much. We're just not enjoying playing basketball in the fourth quarter. It's kind of like we're scared to win. I don't know why."

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Cavaliers RIght Back On The Court In San Antonio Against Spurs

Eric Gay - AP

3 days ago: San Antonio Spurs' Tony Parker, left, of France, talks with teammate Manu Ginobili, of Argentina, prior to the team's NBA basketball game against the Chicago Bulls, on Wednesday, Nov. 17, 2010 in San Antonio. Less than four years after a storybook wedding in Paris, Eva Longoria filed court papers Wednesday to divorce Parker, citing irreconcilable differences. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

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Cavaliers face a red-hot Spurs team that has won 9 straight games.

 

 The sizzling San Antonio Spurs shoot for their 10th consecutive win Saturday when they entertain the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Alamo City.

Tim Duncan became the Spurs' all-time NBA scoring leader with 19 points on Friday, while Tony Parker added 24 points and seven assists to help San Antonio defeat Utah, 94-82, at EnergySolutions Arena.

Duncan, who became the franchise's centerpiece after being selected first overall in the 1997 draft, needed only 13 points to pass David Robinson. Robinson, who played alongside Duncan for his final six seasons, recorded 20,790 points in 987 games for the Spurs. Duncan also played in his 988th game to pass Robinson for the team record, and pulled down 14 rebounds.

"It was a great win for us. It was not particularly pretty, kind of ups and down but great defensively and great to get that kind of milestone behind me," Duncan said. "It means a whole lot. More than anything it's a bragging right. I'm going to stick it to him a little bit. He started my career with me. It's been a long career so far. It's just great."

George Gervin is the franchise's all-time scoring leader, including ABA games, with 23,602 points.

Manu Ginobili added 15 points while DeJuan Blair and Richard Jefferson each had 11 for the red-hot Spurs, who are off to the best start in franchise history at 10-1 and are riding their longest winning streak since taking 11 straight from Feb. 11-March 6, 2008.

The Cavaliers, meanwhile, opened up a tough three-game road trip last night by falling to a 10-1 Hornets team in New Orleans. David West scored 34 points and grabbed 11 rebounds in that one as the Hornets built a big lead early before holding on for a 108-101 win.

Antawn Jamison scored 20 points and grabbed 11 rebounds for Cleveland, which had a three-game win streak against the Hornets snapped. Jamison, by making three three-pointers, also became the third player in NBA history to record 7,000 rebounds, 900 three-pointers and 17,000 total points, joining Scottie Pippen and Dirk Nowitzki.

Friday also marked the return of former Cavs head coach Byron Scott to the Big Easy. Scott served as the head coach in New Orleans from 2004-09. He was fired last season after the club got off to a 3-6 start last season.

"I am very proud of our guys," Scott said. I thought we showed a lot of character tonight. We showed a lot of fight. We got down by 18 or 19 and we didn't mail it in. We kept playing and got it to a point in time that if we get a couple of breaks here and there we had an opportunity."

The Cavs, who will also visit Indiana on their trek, have won seven of nine over the Spurs but that was with superstar LeBron James, who is now with Miami.

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