Charlotte Bobcats vs San Antonio Spurs
8:30 PM ET, March 19, 2011
AT&T Center, San Antonio, TX
The San Antonio Spurs bounced back from their most lopsided loss of the season with one of their most impressive wins. Less than 24 hours later, they'll have to guard against a letdown.
The Spurs have lost just once at home since December and twice in their history against the Charlotte Bobcats, dominant stints they'll look to continue Saturday night at the AT&T Center.
San Antonio (55-13) has a record that's six games ahead of their next-closest pursuer, but the past two weeks have raised major questions regarding its claim as the NBA's best team. The Spurs trailed by as many as 32 in a 99-83 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers on March 6 -- their first at home since Nov. 26 -- and were embarrassed 110-80 on Monday in Miami.
That left plenty of time for coach Gregg Popovich to fire up his team prior to Friday's visit to Dallas, and San Antonio played like an inspired group. Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili and Tim Duncan combined for 80 points and the Spurs won 97-91, taking a big step toward clinching the Southwest Division by pulling 7 1/2 games ahead of the Mavericks.
"When you have Pop in your ear for three days, it can be a long three days," said Parker, who had 33 points. "In the film sessions we talked about not playing physical, not playing with intensity or playing good defense. Tonight we wanted to make sure we stayed in front of people and made sure their shots were hard."
The Spurs have lost just once at home since December and twice in their history against the Charlotte Bobcats, dominant stints they'll look to continue Saturday night at the AT&T Center.
San Antonio (55-13) has a record that's six games ahead of their next-closest pursuer, but the past two weeks have raised major questions regarding its claim as the NBA's best team. The Spurs trailed by as many as 32 in a 99-83 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers on March 6 -- their first at home since Nov. 26 -- and were embarrassed 110-80 on Monday in Miami.
That left plenty of time for coach Gregg Popovich to fire up his team prior to Friday's visit to Dallas, and San Antonio played like an inspired group. Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili and Tim Duncan combined for 80 points and the Spurs won 97-91, taking a big step toward clinching the Southwest Division by pulling 7 1/2 games ahead of the Mavericks.
"When you have Pop in your ear for three days, it can be a long three days," said Parker, who had 33 points. "In the film sessions we talked about not playing physical, not playing with intensity or playing good defense. Tonight we wanted to make sure we stayed in front of people and made sure their shots were hard."
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