Official Spurs at Nets Game Thread (Sun 7:00)

[Eddy from Austin]

7:00 PM
TV: FSN, ESPN

San Antonio (39 - 12)


at

Brooklyn (29 - 21)

• The Spurs have won four in a row, as well as 18 of their last 19 games versus the Nets.

Spurs-Nets Preview

By ALAN FERGUSON
STATS Writer

(AP) -- After enduring a delay in travel, the San Antonio Spurs are hoping to bounce back after having their lengthy winning streak snapped.

They can do that by adding to their recent dominance over the Brooklyn Nets on Sunday night.

The snowstorm that hit the East Coast forced San Antonio (39-12) to spend an extra day in Detroit, where they lost 119-109 on Friday as their 11-game winning streak was snapped.

The Spurs managed to put together that run despite injuries to Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili. A matchup with Brooklyn (29-21) would appear to provide an ideal opportunity to get back on track, as San Antonio has won 18 of 19 over the Nets, but it's uncertain if Duncan or Ginobili will play.

Duncan (knee) has sat out seven of the past nine games and Ginobili (hamstring) has missed three straight.

"Everybody knows that we need our Big Three, but at the end of the day, we've got a job to do with or without them," swingman Stephen Jackson said. "We've got to still do things right, still execute and still be on the same page on defense."

Tony Parker has lifted his game to help fill the void, scoring 31 points in back-to-back contests.

The Spurs didn't need too much help from Duncan and Ginobili in their most recent matchup with the Nets, a 104-73 rout Dec. 31.
San Antonio held Brooklyn to five points in the third quarter of that game, the Nets' fewest in any period in franchise history. Parker led six Spurs in double figures with 20 points.

San Antonio has won eight of nine on the road against the Nets as it heads into its first trip to Brooklyn. The Nets are 18-9 at their new home, though they've dropped two of three there.

Brooklyn has alternated wins and losses in its last six overall and had its worst shooting performance of the season at 32.9 percent in an 89-74 defeat at Washington on Friday. The Nets went 5 of 18 from 3-point range, shot 59.4 percent from the free-throw line and scored 11 points in the second quarter, their fewest in that period this season.

"When you can't make free throws, when you can't make 3-point shots, and you can't make shots in the paint, it's very hard to win," interim coach P.J. Carlesimo said. "To come with that kind of effort in the second quarter, it's inexcusable."

Joe Johnson, who scored 14 points, was the only starter to make at least half his shots. Deron Williams had a team-best 20 points but missed 13 of 20 and Brook Lopez scored 13 while going 3 of 11.

Williams had averaged 25.8 points in a four-game stretch against San Antonio before being held to eight and 3-of-11 shooting in December.

Parker has shot a combined 9 of 24 in his last two road games against the Nets and averaged 12.5 points, 4.6 fewer than his career mark.

[Eddy from Austin]

Spurs 102
Nets 91