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Ginobili and Spurs crush Pelicans

Nov 26, 2013 - 5:24 AM San Antonio, TX (SportsNetwork.com) - Manu Ginobili only played 19 minutes but racked up 16 points, six assists and five rebounds as the San Antonio Spurs rolled to a 112-93 drubbing of the New Orleans Pelicans to tie the best start in franchise history.

The Spurs shot 54 percent from the floor, had seven players score in double figures and led by as many as 32 en route to matching the 2010-11 club's 13-1 start in convincing fashion.

Tony Parker and Marco Belinelli each netted 14 points, Boris Diaw added 13 and Patty Mills checked in with 12 in the rout.

"We played good D, and we made shots at the same time. That's a good combination," Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich said.

Ryan Anderson paced the Pelicans with 17 points, but a 38-percent shooting effort put the club's three-game winning streak in the rearview mirror.

The Pelicans nearly overcame an 11-0 run in the first quarter and pulled within 27-24 heading into the second, but the Spurs took control shortly thereafter and never looked back.

A Tiago Splitter three-point play extended San Antonio's lead to 43-30 midway through the second, and Tim Duncan's hoop and free throw made it a 20-point game, 57-37, in the final minute of the half.

San Antonio scored 11 of the first 13 points after the break for a 68-42 cushion, and it was a laugher from there.

"San Antonio is a playoff-tested team, a Finals-tested team. We want to get to that level," Pelicans center Jason Smith said. "We're still learning. We have to fine tune some things, but tonight we just didn't have it."

The Spurs rested their starters in the fourth quarter with a matchup against another Western Conference power, the Oklahoma City Thunder, scheduled for Wednesday.

Game Notes

The Pelicans have dropped six in a row on the road against the Spurs ... Ginobili and Belinelli each made four 3-pointers ... New Orleans shot 2-of-15 from behind the arc ... The Pelicans' starting backcourt -- Eric Gordon and Jrue Holiday -- combined to shoot 8-of-26 (31 percent) for 16 points.