San Antonio (29-16) at Indiana (19-29)
Game Info: 7:00 pm EST Tue Feb 5, 2008
TV: FSSW, FSIN
By DAN PIERINGER, STATS Writer
Last season, the San Antonio Spurs struggled at the beginning of their annual rodeo road trip before finishing strong to launch an extended playoff push.
They hope a win over one of their top Western Conference rivals can turn this trip around and propel them to a similar run.
After snapping a season-high three-game losing streak with a win over a potential title contender, the Spurs look to build on that victory as they visit the struggling Indiana Pacers on Tuesday.
San Antonio (29-16) has been mediocre over the last eight weeks, going just 12-13 since its 17-3 start, including their first 0-3 stretch of the season from Jan. 26-29. They were blown out by New Orleans at home, then lost to Utah and Seattle in the first two games of the road trip they take every season when the rodeo takes over AT&T Center.
However, San Antonio might get a boost of momentum from its 84-81 victory at Phoenix on Thursday. The Suns entered that game with the best record in the West and the highest-scoring offense in the league, but the Spurs held them to a season-low point total while limiting them to 38.0 percent shooting -- their second-worst performance of the season.
That defensive effort made up for San Antonio's own offensive struggles in the first half. Manu Ginobili was held scoreless in the opening two quarters, while Tim Duncan had just six of his 16 points before intermission.
"We should have been behind by a lot more at the half," said Duncan, who also finished with 17 rebounds and a season high-tying seven assists. "But we gave ourselves a chance with our defense."
The Spurs hope that victory is the beginning of an extended surge like the one they put together last season. After losing four of the first six games of their rodeo trip, they won the last two to begin a 13-game win streak and a 25-6 finish to the regular season en route to their fourth NBA title in nine years.
San Antonio hopes to take advantage of Indiana (19-29), which has tied a season high with six straight losses. The Pacers haven't lost seven in a row since their 11-game skid from Feb. 23-March 14 last season.
Link- http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/preview?gid=2008020511
Not a good game day thread, but it wasn't my turn i was just online for a few minutes seeing whats up and im headed out. I figured i'd make a thread for people who visit to talk about the game.
