San Antonio Spurs bag 11th-straight with a win over Orlando Magic
San Antonio Spurs guard Manu Ginobili knew that they needed to beat a title contender to prove that they are for real, and they accomplished that goal when they bagged their 11th-straight
victory with a 106-97 win over the Orlando Magic on Monday 22 November.
Ginobili led the Spurs’ attack with his 25 points and nine assists, while Tony Parker scored 24 points and dished out 10 assists, helping the Spurs sustain their best start in franchise history.
“The first five, six games were not against great teams,” said Ginobili, whose team current holds the best record in the NBA. “But now we've beat Utah, Phoenix and now Orlando at home, which
is always a tough matchup for us.”
Tim Duncan also a had a decent game as the veteran power-forward finished with 15 points and four rebounds, while Matt Bonner added 15 points and seven boards, highlighted by his perfect
4-for-4 clip from beyond-the-arc.
“Matty's been on fire,” said Parker on Bonner. “We've been shooting the ball well. Ball movement has been good. Everyone's taking good shots.”
With the Magic leading by one point, 95-94, with 2:30 left in the game, Ginobili converted a huge three-pointer that gave the Spurs a 97-95 lead heading into the final two minutes of the
game. The Magic failed to recover as Jameer Nelson committed two crucial turnovers down the stretch. The Spurs capitalized, holding the Magic scoreless before Dwight Howard’s dunk with only 19.6 seconds left in the game.
“I have to do a better job, especially with the ball in my hand,” said Nelson on his two costly turnovers in the final two minutes. “I have to do a better job getting us shots. They made
some three-pointers. When you don't get a shot up when I turn the ball over, it's tough.”
Two-time and reigning defensive player of the year, Howard, had a big night as he scored 26 points and grabbed 18 rebounds. Nelson finished with 15 points and five assists, while Rashard
Lewis chipped in 14 points on 3-for-3 shooting from three-point region, but they could not overcome their sloppy plays in the final quarter.
“I thought it was a great basketball game that went right down to the two-minute mark,” said Magic head coach Stan Van Gundy. “For us to win a game like that against a very good team on the
road there are two things that have been regular problems for us. One is turnovers. The second thing is we have to close down the paint and closed down the shooters.”
Vince Carter missed the final six minutes of the game for the Magic after hurting his knee, but the Magic declined to give an official report on the injury after the game.
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