Spurs Win 15th Straight, Lead NBA by Three Games
The NBA Southwest division has been dominated by the ageless San Antonio Spurs. The Spurs on Wednesday night won their 15th straight game by defeating the Denver Nuggets 108-103.
With the win, the Spurs moved 6 ½ games ahead of the second place Houston Rockets and 12 games in front of the third place Memphis Grizzlies. The Spurs are an impressive 32-10 in the conference.
In the Western Conference standings, the Spurs are 3 games in front of the second place Oklahoma City Thunder and 5 ½ games in front of the third place Los Angeles Clippers.
The win on Wednesday was not the best played of the previous 14 consecutive wins, but it did not matter it was a win. The Spurs nearly blew a lead of 24 points during the second half.
Tim Duncan, as he has for it seems like decades, led the Spurs in scoring on Wednesday with 29 points. The veteran big man added 13 rebounds while handing out 5 assists.
Manu Ginobili, Tony Parker and Tiago Splitter each scored 10 points for San Antonio as it raised its record to 55-16, the best in the NBA.
Parker said after the game the Spurs lost focus with a large lead, missing layups and other easy shots. He also praised the Nuggets for their energy and fight.
The Spurs led 63-43 at the half after having 19 assists and hitting 24 of their 42 shots.
The Nuggets were led by the 25 points of Aaron Brooks and 24 from Kenneth Faried. The Nuggets outscored the Spurs by 14 points during the last 11 minutes of the game after the Spurs held a 19-point lead during the first stages of the last quarter.
Duncan showed why he has done so well in his long career. He scored 10 of his team’s final 11 points including a jumper with 30 seconds to play to give the Spurs an eight-point lead.
Duncan finished 12 for 20 from the floor including hitting 4 of 5 down the stretch.
Austin Day a forward for San Antonio has become one of the fan’s favorites receiving a huge ovation that was only second to Ginobili’s when entering the game in the late changes of the first quarter.
After seeing action on average for just 2.3 minutes over a four game stretch since his acquisition from the Toronto Raptors, Daye has 22 points over 29 minutes to lead the Spurs in scoring on Monday in a 113-91 win over the hapless Philadelphia 76ers.
Matt Bonner a Spurs forward sat out his second consecutive game due to a strained right calf. It was the ninth game Bonner has missed this season due to an injury.
The Spurs have just 11 games left in the regular season schedule. San Antonio leads the league by three games over the Oklahoma City Thunder. If the Spurs can clinch the league’s best record, they will enjoy home court advantage throughout their conference playoff schedule and in the NBA Finals if they were to make it that far.
