Spurs outlast Celtics in potential NBA finals preview

The San Antonio Spurs placed so much value on their Sunday road contest against the Boston Celtics that they basically tanked their previous game to better prepare for it.  Four of their five starters sat out last Tuesday’s loss in Denver—including Tim Duncan who hadn’t missed a game in two seasons—giving the NBA’s oldest team a full week to rest before their game against the defending champs.  It paid off, with the Spurs using a last minute 11-0 run to pull away at the end of the game for a 105-99 victory.

Tim Duncan and Matt Bonner each scored 23 points, with 13 and 8 rebounds respectively to lead the Spurs.  Manu Ginobili scored 19 off the bench for San Antonio, with Roger Mason also scoring in double digits for the Spurs with 11 points.  The Celtics were led by 26 points and 12 boards from Kevin Garnett, 19 points and 8 rebounds from Paul Pierce and 18 points from Ray Allen.  Tony Allen scored 11 for the defending champs off the bench.

After the game, Spurs’ coach Greg Popovich suggested that the long break between games was crucial for his team:

"It's hard for the oldest team in the NBA to feel fresh. It was a beautiful win for us, against the NBA champions and on the road makes it even sweeter."

Manu Ginobili concurred with his coach’s assessment:

"If I would have played in Denver, I wouldn't have been this fresh for sure. It was very important for us to get rest a couple of days."

Lost amid the hype surrounding the Lakers, Celtics and Cavs, the Spurs have very quietly been creeping up the Western Conference standings.  Sunday’s win was their 9th in 11 games and improved their record to 34-15 overall with a solid 16-8 mark on the road.

Boston now faces a doubly tough challenge, with a six game Western road trip on deck.  Making it more difficult, they face the task of maintaining momentum with the All Star Break scheduled for the middle of their already tough scheduling stretch.  Paul Pierce spoke about the challenge facing the team over the next couple of weeks:

"We've got a tough task in front of us, going on the road for the next couple of weeks, and we've got to make up some ground. We have our work cut out for us. This is a big road trip for us."

The Celtics will play in New Orleans on Wednesday and Dallas on Thursday, with their road trip resuming a week from Thursday against the Utah Jazz in Salt Lake City.  The Spurs are in the midst of an eight game road swing of their own, with games Tuesday and Wednesday in New Jersey and Toronto closing out their action prior to the All Star Break.  They’ll resume play a week from Tuesday against the New York Knicks in Madison Square Garden.