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San Antonio Spurs 92, Boston Celtics 84
Boston, Nov. 19 / Wire Reports --
Tim Duncan and the San Antonio Spurs appear to be toying with the Eastern Conference.
Duncan scored 26 points and the Spurs turned it on in the fourth quarter for the second straight night in a 92-84 victory
over the Boston Celtics, their sixth straight win.
On Thursday in Philadelphia, the Spurs squandered an early double-digit lead and found themselves trailing as the fourth
quarter began. They simply took their play to another level, putting together a 12-1 run that gave them permanent control
of the game.
It was more of the same against the Celtics, who held a 64-51 lead with 3 1/2 minutes left in the third quarter. San
Antonio picked up its defense and limited Boston to 10 points over the next 12 minutes, turning what appeared to be a loss
into a breeze.
After scoring 33 points in the fourth quarter Thursday, the Spurs scorched the Celtics for another 33 in the final period of
this one. Duncan scored six points in a decisive 13-0 surge midway through the quarter.
Manu Ginobili made three 3-pointers in the fourth quarter and scored 21 points for the Spurs, who have won their last 14
meetings with the Celtics, a streak that has become known as "The Curse of Tim Duncan."
In 1997, the Celtics had a 36 percent chance of winning the draft lottery and getting Duncan, clearly the best player coming
out of college that year. Instead, the Spurs won the lottery and have parlayed Duncan's dominance into two NBA
titles.
Notoriously a slow-starting team, San Antonio is 8-1 for the first time since 1981.
Paul Pierce scored 25 points for the Celtics, who have lost two in a row following a three-game winning streak.
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