Spurs go 2-0 up on Thunder

SAN ANTONIO: The San Antonio Spurs continued their perfect run in the playoffs, marching to a record-breaking 20th straight win as they fended off Oklahoma City Thunder 120-111 to take firm control of the Western Conference Finals.
The top-seeded Spurs surpassed the 2001 Los Angeles Lakers’ 19-game winning streak from the regular season into the playoffs, taking a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven series on the back of four-game sweeps of the Jazz and the Clippers.
The 1971-72 Lakers hold the longest winning streak of 33 games in the regular season.
Tony Parker exploded for 34 points and eight assists, sixth man Manu Ginobili netted 20 to follow up his 26-point effort in the series opener, and San Antonio treated their fans to yet another triumph since their last loss on April 11.
However, the Spurs seemed less than satisfied with their latest success and coach Gregg Popovich could be seen yelling at Parker in the third quarter even with his team up 16.
“He’s been yelling at me for 11 years,” Parker told reporters after making 16 of his 21 shots. “We were playing sloppy and OKC (the Thunder) came back on us. He wanted to make sure I kept pushing the ball.”
Kevin Durant scored 31 points and James Harden put up 30 for the Thunder, who squandered a nine-point lead in the fourth quarter of Game 1 but were behind all night in Game 2.
The visitors trailed by as much as 22 points in the third quarter before trimming the deficit to six in the fourth, only for the veteran Spurs to deliver the knockout punch.
Ginobili drained a clinching three-pointer with 1:29 left to establish a 10-point advantage, letting out an intense scream to signal the triumph.
“We fought hard but it was too big of a deficit,” Harden said. “We can’t put ourselves in that situation.”
Having lost only one game from the first two rounds of the playoffs, the Thunder will hope to claw back into the series in Game 3 on Thursday when they head home to Oklahoma City.
Del Negro retained as Clippers coach
Meantime, exercising their NBA contract option, the Los Angeles Clippers retained Vinny Del Negro as coach for the 2012-2013 season, the club announced.
No terms of the deal were announced, but the move had been expected after the Clippers, long-time losers, went 40-26 in a season shortened by a 2011 money dispute between players and club owners.
The Clippers finished just behind the Los Angeles Lakers in the Pacific division in the regular season but eliminated Memphis in the first round before being swept out of the playoffs by the San Antonio Spurs in the second round.
FROM: AGENCIES
Massachusetts-born Del Negro, 45, went 32-50 in the previous season. He has also spent two years as coach of the Chicago Bulls and compiled a career NBA coaching record of 154-158 over four years. He played 14 NBA seasons from 1988 through 2002.