San Antonio Spurs go 4-0 for the first time; Rout Indiana Pacers 101-79: NBA Recap
San Antonio Spurs crushed Indiana Pacers 101-79 to go 4-0 up for the first time ever in their club’s 40-year history, here on Monday at AT&T Center.
Spurs showcased their depth on the night and two of their players got double digit scoring figures off the bench. They got off to a 4-0 start, but two back to back layups and a foul by Tony Parker allowed Pacers to make it 6-4.
Spurs found their momentum immediately afterwards though; two three pointers in quick succession from Boris Diaw and Stephen Jackson got them to 22-12. Pacers went on a 6-0 run to cut the Spurs lead to 18-22 but two free throws
and a last second layup from DeJuan Blair left them trailing by 26-18 at the end of the first quarter.
San Antonio started the second quarter in style going for an 11-0 run to jump to 37-18 which put them firmly in control of the game. There was no looking back for Spurs as they carried on their domination of the game till the end
of the game. They were enjoying a comfortable 20 point lead at the halfway mark of the second quarter. Pacers came out of their slumber for a while and reacted with a 9-0 run to end the second quarter at 38-47.
A three pointer by Daniel Green started the proceedings for the third quarter. Pacers managed to cut the lead to 12 points at 46-58. A Tim Duncan dunk shot and a Blair layup made it 66-49 for the Spurs. Pacers tried hard to slash
the deficit and a last minute 3 pointer by D.J. Augustin ended the third quarter at 60-73.
If there were any hopes of an Indiana comeback, they were soon diminished as Spurs made a 10-0 run early in the fourth quarter to make it 85-64. Pacers responded with a 5-nil period but it was just too little too late as the damage
had already been done by the Spurs, won the game comfortably by a margin of 22 points to go 4-0 up this season.
"We caught a break tonight. Without (Danny) Granger, their team loses their spacing and their ability to hang tough in certain periods of the game when he would keep them in the game. I thought our defense was very good tonight.
It was impressive." Spurs coach Gregg Popovich expressed his views after the game.
Gary Neal came off the bench to score 17 for the Spurs which included 8-of-10 from the field. Tim Duncan put up 14 points along with 11 rebounds. DeJuan Blair scored 14 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, going 6 out of 8 from the
field.
George Hill led the Pacers scoring, finishing off with 15 points and 6 assists whereas Paul George chipped in with 14 points.
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