Duncan, Bowen headline NBA All-Defensive Team

May 1, 2007 - 11:54 AM NEW YORK (Ticker) - Tim Duncan and Bruce Bowen have been members of the NBA's All-Defensive Team as long as they have been teammates on the San Antonio Spurs.

Duncan and Bowen headlined the 2007 All-Defensive Team announced Monday and were joined by Defensive Player of the Year Marcus Camby.

It was the 10th consecutive selection for Duncan, the most among active players. He has been a First Team choice seven times.

Bowen earned his seventh straight selection, the last four as a First Team member. He was a Second Team choice in 2000 with Miami before signing with San Antonio as a free agent.

In balloting of NBA coaches who were not allowed to select players from their team, Bowen received 19 first-team votes and 42 points. Duncan received 16 first-team votes and 36 points.

Together, Duncan and Bowen helped the Spurs hold opponents to a league-best 90.1 points per game and a .433 field-goal percentage, which ranked third in the league. San Antonio has finished in the top five in both categories in each of Duncan's 10 seasons.

Thanks to their stifling defense, the Spurs are leading the Denver Nuggets, 3-1, in their first-round playoff series. Bowen has done his part, helping contain four-time scoring champion Allen Iverson.

"Bruce is a very good defender," San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich said. "As I said before, we are not going to stop people like Iverson, he's a great player. But we hope at the end of a game that he's worked hard to get what he does end up with.

"And I thought (Bowen) and Tony (Parker) both were spending time trying to guard him and they are working very hard and using most of their energy trying to guard him. And they are doing a decent job."

Camby, the center for the Nuggets, received 11 first-team votes and 34 points as he supplanted Chicago's Ben Wallace, the First Team center for the last five years. It was the third selection and initial First Team honor for Camby, who led the NBA in blocks per game.

The First Team guards were Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers and Raja Bell of the Phoenix Suns. Bryant received 14 first-team votes and 32 points while Bell garnered seven and 25.

It was the seventh selection and fifth First Team honor for Bryant. Bell was chosen for the first time in his career.

The Second Team was comprised of Wallace, forwards Kevin Garnett of Minnesota and Tayshaun Prince of Detroit, and guards Jason Kidd of New Jersey and Kirk Hinrich of Chicago.

Garnett received his eighth straight selection and Prince was chosen for the third straight year. Kidd has been honored nine straight times and Hinrich was a first-time choice.