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San Antonio Spurs 111, Indiana Pacers 98
San Antonio, TX Jan. 6 / Brett Dvorak -- When it mattered most, Tim Duncan
delivered. Duncan wore out the Pacers on both ends of the floor; scoring eighteen of his team high 27 points in the second
half. Defensively he held Jermaine O’Neal to one basket over the final ten minutes as the Spurs cruise by the Pacers
111-98.
With Duncan playing a career low in minutes, it has allowed other Spurs to take turns being the go to guy, and tonight was
no exception as Tony Parker, the bench, and Manu Ginobili took turns being the lead scorer. Make no mistake though, at
crunch time, everything runs through number twenty-one.
After being held to nine first half points by the tandem of O’Neal and Jeff Foster, Duncan started the second half
aggressively, scoring the team’s first five points of the half. Duncan finished the quarter with ten points but got help as
Parker chipped in seven points in the quarter. The Spurs used crisp ball movement and precise passing, going on a 19-6 run
to open their largest lead of the night (79-63).
O’Neal was a one man show for the Pacers, scoring their first eight points of the half, and fourteen of his game high 32
points in the quarter, but it was during the ensuing timeout that Pacers coach Rick Carlisle went to a zone defense, hoping
to slow down this hard charging train. It worked as the Spurs looked a little confused offensively, allowing the Pacers to
sneak back into the contest. With help from rookie David Harrison (5 points) the Pacers ended the quarter on a 15-5 run,
cutting the Spurs lead down to six points entering the final quarter.
“They fought great,” Said Duncan when talking about the game. ”Jermaine was really good tonight. He made a lot of tough
shots on us, just relentless. They’re a very tough team and we knew they would grind the whole way through.”
On the Spurs first possession of the fourth quarter Ginobili stepped behind the three-point line and calmly drained a three
pointer. After that Ginobili deferred back to Duncan who once again went to work, scoring on three of the Spurs next four
possessions against Foster as the lead was built back to double digits.
"Jeff (Foster) always plays me very well," Explained Duncan. "We play during the summer and he's used to everything I do, so
I knew it would be a challenge."
With the lead seemingly in hand, it was time to focus on the defense and shutting down O’Neal. After scoring the Pacers
first points of the quarter, O’Neal was held to just one basket the remainder of the game. O’Neal finished the night
making just twelve of thirty from the floor, included in those misses were a pair of spectacular blocks; the first coming by
Robert Horry on an attempted dunk, and the second by Duncan in the low post. Duncan blocked three of his five shots in the
quarter, as the Pacers would end the game missing nine of their final eleven shots.
With the game almost in hand, Ginobili connected on one final three pointer and three free throws, finishing his eleven
point fourth quarter.
Early on it was all Parker, all the time. Coming off a game in which he needed to score just two points, Parker came out,
penetrating and prodding the Pacers defense for twelve first quarter points on five of six shooting. Parker and Horry
combined for all thirteen points during a 13-2 run that gave the Spurs a 29-20 lead. The lead would have been much larger if
not for six turnovers that lead to easy baskets for Indiana. O’Neal did his best to keep the visitors close, scoring ten
points, but the Pacers trailed 31-24 after one quarter.
O’Neal started the second quarter on the bench, but last years slam dunk champion Fred Jones connected for back to back
three pointers, cutting the Spurs lead to just one point. Both baskets came on assists from Jamaal Tinsley. The former Iowa
State standout tried to go back at Parker in the second quarter, using a strength advantage in the low post to muscle his
way to seven points in the quarter. Tinsley’s only three pointer of the night gave the Pacers a 46-45 lead.
The lead wouldn’t last long as Bruce Bowen connected just twenty seconds later for a three pointer of his own, sparking a
10-0 run, giving the Spurs a lead it would not relinquish. Horry played a strong first half for the foul plagued Rasho
Nesterovic, coming off the bench to score ten points in the half. Rookie Beno Udrih also played a strong half, chipping in
seven points of his own as the Spurs took a 57-51 lead to the locker room.
The Pacers trailed despite out shooting the home team 54% to 51%, but were out rebounded by twelve in the half and twenty
for the game. At one point late in the game, the Spurs actually had as many offensive rebounds as the Pacers had
rebounds.
When asked about being out shot, Parker replied; “We’re not playing Spurs defense. O’Neal is running inside and Tinsley is
doing whatever he wants. So we had to play better defense.”
In addition to his 27 points, Duncan added 12 rebounds and 5 blocked shots to the cause. Parker scored seventeen of his 26
points in the opening half, and added 6 assists and 5 rebounds. Ginobili (18 points), Bowen (11 points), and Horry (10
points) were the other Spurs reaching double figures. The 34 points by O’Neal paced Indiana, while Tinsley added 18 points
and 8 assists. San Antonio product Jeff Foster chipped in 12 points and Reggie Miller scored eight of his 11 points in the
final quarter.
The Spurs improve their record to 27-7 while continuing to have the best home record in the NBA at 16-1.
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