LOS ANGELES, 20 November 2004 — The streaking San Antonio Spurs showed they don’t need speedy point guard Tony Parker to score to be at their best when they have Tim Duncan.
Duncan scored a season-high 34 points and grabbed 13 rebounds as the Spurs rolled to their fifth straight victory, with an 88-80 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers on Thursday night.
“It’s almost like you take Tim for granted like David (Robinson’s) games used to be,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said about the league’s two-time Most Valuable Player. “He’s going to get points, he rebounds, he blocks shots, he changes shots, (and) he plays defense on people. He just played a great all-around game in that sense. He really put it on his shoulders, showed some great leadership and brought his team around.”
Parker missed his only two field goal attempts and came up empty on a pair of free throws. But the young Frenchman collected eight rebounds and handed out six assists in 33 minutes, in directing the Spurs (7-1) to their best start in 13 seasons.
“It was just the flow of the game,” said Parker, who was shutout for just the second time in 242 career games. “I didn’t have a lot of opportunities. I was trying to move the ball and trying to get it inside.”
Argentine ace Manu Ginobili picked up the slack with 17 points and nine assists, while Rasho Nesterovic added 16 points and 11 rebounds as San Antonio stopped a four-game slide at Philadelphia with its first win since Nov. 22, 1999.
Allen Iverson scored 24 points while reserves Kyle Korver and Corliss Williamson added 17 and 15 respectively for Philadelphia, (4-5), which had won three of its last four games.
“We did some good things, but got off to a slow start obviously,” Sixers coach Jim O’Brien said. “We just didn’t have what it took in the fourth quarter.”
In an early match-up between two of the league’s division leaders, the Sixers dug themselves into an early hole. They scored team-low six points in the opening quarter to trail by 14 after missing 22 of 25 shots.
“We had great looks at the basket early and dug ourselves a hole that we climbed out of,” O’Brien added.
The Sixers recovered and climbed to 40-33 by half-time, and led 59-55 after three quarters.
Philadelphia took its last and largest lead after rookie Andre Iguodla split a pair of free throws with 10:54 remaining. San Antonio, however, went on a 14-3 run to take the lead for good. Brent Barry capped the surge hitting back-to-back jumpers for a 71-65 advantage with just over 6 1/2 minutes to play. A three-point play by Iverson cut it to 82-78 with 1:36 left. But Duncan responded with a running, one-handed jumper from the baseline and the Sixers never got closer than four points.
Knicks 93 Rockets 92: Jamal Crawford banked in a 3-pointer at the buzzer, lifting the visiting Knicks to a stunning victory over the slumping Rockets. Kurt Thomas had 23 points and 14 rebounds, while Crawford finished with 19, including five 3-pointers for New York, (3-4), which overcame an 11-point fourth-quarter deficit for it first road win of the season.
Thomas hit a jumper with 26.8 seconds left to pull the Knicks within 92-91. Houston’s Tracy McGrady missed a driving lay-up from the right side with 2.9 ticks left, and Thomas grabbed the rebound. After a timeout, Crawford took an in-bounds pass from Penny Hardaway, and kissed a wide-open 3-pointer off the glass as time expired. McGrady had 24 points, while Yao Ming added 23 points and 11 rebounds for Houston, (4-6), which fell for the fourth time in the last five games.
Cavaliers 106 Bobcats 89: LeBron James scored 19 points, including a sensational crowd-pleasing dunk to break open the game in the second quarter, carrying the Cavaliers to their fifth straight victory. Jeff McInnis had 18 points, while Zydrunas Ilgauskas added 16 for visiting Cleveland, (5-3), which moved two games over .500 for the first time since 1999. Jason Kapono led expansion Charlotte, (1-6), with 16 points against his former team.
