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Healthy Spurs beat down Warriors

Dec 7, 2008 - 6:30 AM SAN ANTONIO (Ticker) -- For an old and decaying squad, the San Antonio Spurs sure look young and fresh.

Tim Duncan had 20 points and 13 rebounds as the Spurs continued to relish their roster at full strength, posting a 123-88 victory over the Golden State Warriors on Saturday.

Tony Parker had 17 points and eight assists and Manu Ginobili added nine and seven for the Spurs, who improved to 3-2 since the reunion of their star trio.

"I was pleased with the focus tonight," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. "We maintained our aggressiveness and energy the entire game. We played good team defense and shot the ball well. It was a good combination, and we got the win."

It was the sixth win in the last eight games for the San Antonio, which started both halves on fire, outscoring Golden State, 74-39, in the first and third quarters combined.

Those certainly aren't the exploits of a team - a four-time champion in the last decade, by the way - that many had written off both prior to the season and after a rocky first month.

However, Ginobili does not want to be quick about making any sort of judgment about his squad.

"It's kinda early still," he said. "We're going to be able to tell more about this team after 50 or 60 games. We've got talent."

But the Spurs did well to stay afloat without Ginobili, who suffered a severe ankle injury while playing for Argentina during the Beijing Olympics this past summer.

Parker also missed some time with an injured ankle, sitting out just as he grabbed the NBA's scoring lead after a 55-point performance against the Minnesota Timberwolves on November 5.

Two days later, a hobbled Parker tried to come off the bench but could score just four points in San Antonio's 99-83 loss to the Miami Heat - perhaps the low point of the season for the Spurs.

"At the beginning of the season, and for some parts of last season, we struggled to score, so it's really good to see the team scoring 120," Ginobili said. "I guess (Popovich) is very happy about that."

Those troubles seem to be well in the past after Saturday's drubbing of Golden State, which was totally out of sync from the opening tip.

"Well, that was just a good old-fashioned (butt-kicking)," Warriors coach Don Nelson said.

Jamal Crawford was the lone starter in double figures with 12 points for the anemic Warriors, who shot 37 percent (31-of-83) from the field en route to their seventh straight loss on the road.

Captain Stephen Jackson scored just six points in 14 minutes for the Warriors, who have lost eight in a row overall.

"A game like this you simply just have to flush it down the toilet," Crawford said. "When you lose by 40 points, the next game can't come fast enough. We just have to try to bounce back and get ready for Oklahoma City (on Sunday)."