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Spurs commence road trip in New York

Jan 4, 2011 - 4:18 PM (Sports Network) - The sizzling San Antonio Spurs open up a three-game road trip in Gotham Tuesday night when they square off with the resurgent New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden.

The Spurs won their fourth consecutive game and improved to an NBA-best 29-4 on Saturday when Tim Duncan finished with 21 points and nine rebounds, George Hill contributed 16 points off the bench, and San Antonio topped Oklahoma City 101-74 at AT&T Center.

Tony Parker notched a double-double with 14 points and 10 assists and DeJuan Blair added 12 points and nine rebounds for San Antonio, which has won four straight overall, 14 of its last 15 and is now a gaudy 19-2 on its home floor.

"We got beat by the best team in basketball," Thunder head coach Scott Brooks said. "They handed it to us pretty fair and square."

Manu Ginobili added nine points and seven assists in the victory as San Antonio captured its 12th straight win in the Alamo City.

"Great team defense," Hill said. "It's tough guarding (Russell) Westbrook and [Kevin] Durant. They have a lot of things they can do, but I think today everyone was mentally tough. I think the team defense overall was great."

San Antonio, which is 10-2 on the road, will also face Boston and Indiana on its trek. The Spurs didn't win their 30th game last season until Feb. 11. Meanwhile, the last team to win 30 of its first 34 contests was the 2007-08 Boston Celtics, who went on the win the NBA championship that season.

The Knicks, on the other hand, snapped a two-game skid by taking the opener of a brief two-game homestand on Sunday when Amare Stoudemire led a balanced attack with 26 points and eight rebounds, as New York outlasted the Indiana Pacers, 98-92.

"This was huge," Stoudemire said. "This was a big game for us. Indiana is right behind us as far as the playoff race, so it was important for us to get this win."

Danilo Gallinari netted 19 points before leaving in the third quarter with a left knee injury for the Knicks, who won for only the third time in their last eight overall and improved to 9-7 at Madison Square Garden. Raymond Felton ended with 14 points in the victory.

An MRI on Monday confirmed Gallinari sprained the knee and the Italian sharp- shooter, who is averaging 15.3 points, 4.5 rebounds and 1.8 assists in 33 games this season, is expected to miss two-to-three weeks of action.

The Spurs have won nine of their last 10 meetings with the Knicks and have swept the home-and-home season series between the two clubs in four of the previous five seasons.