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Ginobili, Spurs go for sixth consecutive win

Feb 25, 2008 - 3:52 PM Atlanta (22-31) at San Antonio (37-17) 8:30 pm EST

SAN ANTONIO (Ticker) -- The defending NBA champion San Antonio Spurs simply waited until the second half of the season to play their best basketball.

The red-hot Spurs host the Atlanta Hawks on Monday looking for their 10th win in 11 games.

San Antonio, which went through an 11-13 stretch from mid-December until the end of January, has matched its season high of five consecutive wins.

The Spurs pulled into a tie for the Southwest Division lead with New Orleans on Saturday with a 98-89 win over the Hornets.

Manu Ginobili has been on fire of late for San Antonio, averaging 34.4 points, 6.6 rebounds and 6.6 assists in the Spurs' five-game run.

"(Spurs players) know what the situation is going down the stretch with so many great teams in the West," coach Gregg Popovich said. "You can end up first through ninth as far as seeding goes. You can't really decide that you're going to turn it on a little bit later, it's got to be turned on now."

The Hawks have lost seven of eight games, including three of four since acquiring point guard Mike Bibby from Sacramento during last weekend's All-Star break.

Atlanta, 7-20 on the road, has won only one of the first five games on its current six-game road trip.

San Antonio has won 15 of the last 18 games between the teams.