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Ginobili sharp off bench as Spurs wallop Bucks

Nov 12, 2007 - 5:06 AM By Brian Guerra PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer

SAN ANTONIO (Ticker) -- Manu Ginobili scored 21 points off the bench as the San Antonio Spurs never gave the Milwaukee Bucks a chance in their 113-88 rout on Sunday night at the AT&T Center.

Though the game was tied at 10-10 early in the first quarter, Michael Finley - who finished with 17 points - hit two straight 3-pointers as the Spurs went on a 9-0 run. Milwaukee never challenged San Antonio the rest of the way.

Ginobili admitted that he and his teammates didn't even pay attention to their big lead.

"We started hot tonight making all of our shots," Ginobili said. "We tried not to look up at the scoreboard, and just wanted to keep playing our basketball."

Tim Duncan did not play in the fourth quarter, but he had another efficient night with 16 points on 5-of-7 shooting and 10 rebounds. He even made all six of his free throws.

But the night belonged to Ginobili, who made the most out of his 19 minutes. He shot 6-of-8 from the field and continued to pace the Spurs offensively.

"It's very repetitive, isn't it? I just hope we never take it for granted," Popovich said.

He came off the bench for just the final two minutes of the first quarter but managed to score seven points, including a buzzer-beater.

With time running down in the first, Ginobili - off-balance and stepping between Bucks defenders Michael Redd and Michael Ruffin - hit a last-second 3-pointer that gave the Spurs a 36-24 lead.

Redd was outspoken about the team's winless record away from home.

"I hate it. I'm not happy at all," Redd said. "This is not good. I'm not going to settle for a 30-point loss against San Antonio.

"At the same time, I know it's early in the season, and we have an opportunity to get right, but I'm not going to settle for losing. I'm not content with losing. My tolerance for losing is low, and I want to win."

The Bucks struggled mightily in the second quarter thanks to San Antonio's defense, which limited Milwaukee to 14 points on 27 percent shooting in the period.

"They're a tough team. They wouldn't be world champions, numerous world champions, if they weren't a good team," Bucks forward Desmond Mason said. "Those guys have been together a long time, and they stick to the game plan. To come in here and beat them is always going to be tough, but we could have brought a better effort tonight."

Francisco Elson's 16-foot jump shot with 4:39 left in the quarter capped an 11-0 run and gave the Spurs a 56-31 lead.

The Spurs shot 67 percent from the field in the first half to take a 65-38 lead into the break. In the second half, San Antonio led by as many as 40 points but eventually took its foot off the gas and cruised to the win.

With 3:31 left in the third and the Spurs up 89-51, Duncan was able to enjoy the rest of the win from the bench.

"We came out with a lot of energy, and I think we caught Milwaukee on a bad night for them," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. "It's a combination that hits all of us each year, where one teams plays really well, and the other team has a really off night - and it ends up like it did tonight."

Mo Williams scored 17 points for the Bucks, who are 0-4 on the road under first-year coach Larry Krystkowiak. Redd added 14 points but was not sharp from the field - needing 10 foul shots to accumulate his point total.