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SAN ANTONIO -- The San Antonio Spurs lamented the decline of the Los Angeles Lakers before playing their longtime rival. Packers #44 Jersey . Then, they went out and dominated them. Danny Green had 15 points and the Spurs won their ninth straight, defeating the Lakers 119-85 on Friday night for their largest victory over Los Angeles. "They just took it to us," Los Angeles coach Mike DAntoni said. "To be able to guard them, you have to make multiple efforts. It might be eight times you have to stop something in the half court. They are going to keep moving the ball until they find something good. We just did not have the intensity or wherewithal to hang in there. "They carved us up pretty good." It certainly was unlike the classic down-to-the-wire showdowns the teams have had during the last several years. San Antonio never trailed after the opening four minutes, allowing coach Gregg Popovich to limit his starters and Manu Ginobili to an average of 17 minutes. The Spurs had five reserves score in double-figures, led by Matt Bonners 13 points and 10 rebounds. Marco Belinelli and Aron Baynes scored 12 points each, Cory Joseph added 11 points and Jeff Ayres had 10 points. Ginobili and Tony Parker each had seven points in 14 minutes and Tim Duncan had nine points in 15 minutes. "Its great," Parker said. "We want to keep our legs fresh -- big picture, the playoffs. At this time of the season, if we can have games like that, its great." San Antonio (49-16) maintained the leagues best record ahead of Indiana and Oklahoma City, who are both 48-17. "They are playing really, really, really well," DAntoni said. "That is probably the best we have seen all year." Pau Gasol had 18 points and 11 rebounds in 26 minutes and Jodie Meeks had 15 points for Los Angeles (22-44), which has lost five of six. The Lakers suffered their most lopsided defeat to the Spurs since a 135-103 loss on Feb. 22, 1977. And it came eight days after their worst loss of this season, 142-94 to the Clippers. "This season has been rough in many, many ways and many aspects, and disappointing," Gasol said. "I agree its one of the worst seasons as far as collective results and record. Especially when youre a franchise like the Lakers, you dont expect to have a season like this." Baynes running, one-handed dunk on Wesley Johnson gave San Antonio its largest lead at 86-51 lead with 3 minutes remaining in the third. "Great hands in the lanes, good defence, good rotations," Duncan said. "Weve beat some pretty good teams here in the last couple of games and we came in here, we had to respect them. We did just that from the go and got a lead and stuck with it." Green scored all of his points on 3s, going 5 for 8 from beyond the arc. He hit back-to-back 3s, giving San Antonio a 70-38 lead 3 minutes into the third. Los Angeles was shooting 17 per cent from the field 2 minutes into the second quarter, going 4 for 24, and finished the game at 34 per cent. Struggling to hit jumpers, the Lakers drives into the paint proved just as formidable. Green and Kawhi Leonard each had two blocks in the first 4 minutes and Tim Duncan picked up two blocks over the following 4 minutes. While injuries to key players like Kobe Bryant and Steve Nash have limited the Lakers, Gasol said the teams struggles go beyond its health. "We will try to watch some tape of how San Antonio plays and try to emulate them a little bit," Gasol said. "Try to get to the paint and make that right pass, keep the ball moving, find the open guy, not force stuff and not try to win it on your own, you know, basics." After a sluggish start for both teams, San Antonio went on a 20-2 run beginning midway through the opening quarter to take a 29-12 lead with 1:35 remaining. Normally one of the leagues weaker rebounding teams, San Antonio set season highs in total rebounds (64) and offensive rebounds (18). The Spurs entered the game 17th in the league in rebounding at 42.6 and were tied for 26th in offensive rebounding at 9.0. NOTES: Gasol said he is happy for former Lakers coach Phil Jackson, who will be announced as the New York Knicks team president Tuesday. "It will be interesting to see how involved and what kind of decisions hes going to make and what kind of relationship hes going to have with the coaching staff and players," he said. "Hopefully, Ill talk to him and he can explain it to me a little bit." When told the Knicks were over the salary cap, Gasol, an impending free agent, said: "Thats a shame." ... Los Angeles was without Bryant (fractured left knee), Nash (nerve root irritation), Nick Young (sore left knee) and Jordan Hill (sore right knee). ... Parker was dumbfounded when official James Williams called a blocking foul on him, shrugging his shoulder and repeating, "What did I do?" Williams, fellow official Ken Mauer and Duncan all chuckled at Parkers protest considering the Spurs were leading 77-47 at the time. ... Despite having a roster minus most of their biggest stars, the Lakers still received thunderous boos during introductions. Aaron Rodgers Packers Jersey . The London club made the announcement in a statement, naming the German as its new manager on an 18-month contract. While Fulhams statement failed to mention Meulensteens fate, the Dutchman later told BBC Radio 5 that he had been relieved of his duties at Fulham. Morgan Burnett Packers Jersey . Marian Gaborik had two goals and an assist and Martin Jones made just 17 saves to record his fourth shutout of the season as the Kings snapped a three-game losing skid with a 3-0 victory over the lowly Oilers on Thursday. MILWAUKEE -- Seemingly cruising to a blowout victory, the Indiana Pacers let off the gas -- and let the Milwaukee Bucks back in the game. In the end, Paul George, David West and Lance Stephenson were enough to put away the Bucks. George scored 32 points and West tied a season high with 30, helping the Pacers hang on to beat the Bucks 110-100 on Saturday night. "Our focus wasnt where it should have been," West said. "But we made enough plays down the stretch to win the game. They came out hot in the third quarter and had us on our heels." Stephenson added 24 points, nine rebounds and eight assists for the Pacers, who had lost three of their previous five games. Stephenson scored seven straight points to open the fourth quarter. He, George and West combined to score 33 of the Pacers 35 points in the fourth. "He kept delivering so we kept going to him," Pacers coach Frank Vogel said of West. "And when they double him, we made them pay from the 3-point line. He was pretty special tonight, and Paul was Paul, and Lance took advantage of their two point-guard lineup and had a really strong night." Brandon Knight scored 30 points for Milwaukee, including 20 in the first half. Khris Middleton added 13 for the Bucks, who had to take solace in fighting back from a 22-point, first-half deficit against one of the leagues elite teams. "Thats, in my opinion, a top-two team in the NBA," Knight said. "And for us to not give in, not to lay down, means a lot for our team. Because there have been times throughout the season when weve laid down when we get down 20." With the Pacers leading by seven at the end of the third quarter, Stephenson opened the fourth with a pair of inside scores and a 3-pointer, extending the lead to 82-68. Milwaukee kept the game close into the final minutes, but West hit a jumper with 48 seconds left to help put away the game. "Defensively, just had breakdown after breakdown right when I thought when the game was within striking distance," Bucks coach Larry Drew said. "But against good teams, you cant make those kind of mistakes." Indiana led by as many as 22 points in the ffirst half, and by 12 at halftime, largely because of their defence. Packers #67 Jersey. Knight shot 8 for 14 from the field in the first half for Milwaukee, and the rest of the Bucks shot a combined 7 for 27. But a quick 11-2 run by Milwaukee to begin the third quarter cut the lead to three. "Were a veteran group and they are a young team," George said. "But leads dont last. Weve been in this position before where weve been up early and teams have been able to come back. Thats an area where weve got to improve. Once we get up big weve got to be able to maintain that lead or push it further." The Pacers were without deadline-day acquisition Evan Turner, who was back in Indianapolis getting a physical exam. Turner is expected to join the team on Sunday. Vogel acknowledged that it was difficult for the team to part ways with popular veteran Danny Granger, who was sent to Philadelphia in the deal for Turner. Vogel addressed it with the team on Friday. "We had a good, I think, team strengthening meeting yesterday before practice," Vogel said. The Bucks managed to work in guard Ramon Sessions and forward Jeff Adrien, two players they acquired from Charlotte before Thursday afternoons trade deadline. Adrien contributed right away, scoring twice and throwing an alley-oop to Giannis Antetokounmpo for a dunk in his first four minutes on the floor. He finished the night with 11 rebounds in 18 minutes, providing the Bucks a much-needed physical presence. "Youre not going to intimidate this kid, hell stand toe-to-toe," Drew said. "I told him I didnt care if he fouled out. I wanted him to be physical and be who he is." NOTES: Milwaukee guard Nate Wolters left the game with a sprained left ankle. ... Vogel said the teams trainer has "just killed" centre Andrew Bynum with conditioning work, and Bynum has responded well. Bynum hasnt played since falling out of favour in Cleveland, getting traded to Chicago and being released. ... The Bucks had a "Y2K night" promotion, including a halftime concert by rap artist Coolio and a guest appearance by iconic player Glenn "Big Dog" Robinson. Cheap Jerseys ' ' ' |
