



Four Spurs over 17 points ignite win over Nets; Parker, Farmar ejected after fist fight
Preview | Recap | Game Info | Full Play-by-Play | Boxscores (NJN :: SAS)
SAN ANTONIO, February 25 -- The two small forwards wanted to guard each other in the final moments -- Carmelo Anthony on Corey Maggette and vice-versa. It had to end like that. “I didn't even ask,” Maggette said. “I just told Manu to go somewhere else.” Maggette scored 18 points and grabbed five rebounds to help the San Antonio Spurs to a 108-104 victory over the new-look New Jersey Nets. The Spurs (41-17) moved 1 and a half games behind the Lakers (43-16) in the race for the West's best record. “It's an important win for us,” said Manu Ginobili, who was guarding Anthony in the third quarter but moved to Anthony Morrow in the fourth. “We need to be a great team at home to have a better seed for the playoffs.” Ginobili scored 19 points, four assists and eight rebounds. Tim Duncan had 19 points and nine rebounds staying perfect from the field (8-of-8 field goals), dominating in the first half, scoring 12 points on 6-of-6 shooting as the Spurs built a 56-54 advantage. San Antonio increased its lead to 14 points in the third quarter before a 14-2 run helped New Jersey pull within 68-66. Morrow hit three consecutive jumpers in the spurt, ending the night with 11 points.
Anthony finished the game with a a game-high 36 points, 22 in the first half, but he shot 2-of-9 from the field when Maggette was defending him. “If you want to win, you have to be able to defend the best player on the opposing team,” Duncan said. “Corey didn't have any flaws on that.” The Spurs responded in the fourth period with a 10-0 run as Duncan ignited it with an up-and-under and Ginobili capped it with a pair of free throws, increasing the lead to 82-70 with 2:03 left. New Jersey then closed to 99-96 on a 3-pointer by Sasha Vujacic, who scored 9 points off the bench. But DeJuan Blair converted two freebies and Larry Hughes added a dunk in the final 15 seconds to seal the win. “We're just trying to get good momentum going heading into the playoffs,” said Blair, who scored 17 points, his best scoring output since February 3 (21 points against the Lakers). “We definitely need to turn it up in the next couple of games to keep our leads. We can't let this happen in May.” Hughes and George Hill added nine points apiece off the bench for San Antonio. When the final buzzer sounded, Maggette mooched some popcorn from a man in courtside seats after a whistle from the referees and the whole arena chanted his name; his wide array of dunks drew tons of “Oohhs” and “Aahhs” from the crowd. “A dunk contest invitation? That's something I would certainly look at,” said Maggette, who participated in the event in 2001.
The loss was the fifth in six games for New Jersey, which is at the 10th seed in the East, struggling to stay in the playoff race. It's clear that the team needs some time to mold after the big trade with Denver in the deadline. “Those are the kind of words that make your heart drop,” said Brook Lopez, who finished with 19 points and a season-high 18 rebounds. “One of the things you shoot for, is making the playoffs. When that doesn't happen, it's a huge disappointment. March is just around the corner, we need to bounce back if we want the eighth seed.” Troy Murphy had 15 points and eight rebounds, making 7-of-9 shots. Chauncey Billups posted six points but 13 assists, 3-of-10 from the field. Jordan Farmar was held scoreless, but the true embarassment for Farmar was his fist fight with San Antonio's Tony Parker (who shot 1-of-9 for 5 points). With 5:47 left in the game, and the Spurs leading 94-90, the game turned ugly when Farmar and Parker became tangled up in a fastbreak. Farmar knocked Parker to the floor with his right elbow, then glared down at him. When Parker stood to face Farmar, the Nets guard threw a punch with his right hand and connected with a solid blow. Parker recovered and also threw a punch at him. Both were immediately ejected and are most certain to get suspensions from the league. “I'm not going to back down from anybody,” Parker said. “I don't care who you are.”











- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Video Music :: Zeph & Azeem • “Come One, Come All”
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -





