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Duncan, Ginobili help Spurs outlast Warriors

Feb 3, 2009 - 7:42 AM OAKLAND, California (Ticker) -- Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili made sure February started the way January ended for the San Antonio Spurs.

Duncan and Ginobili scored 32 points apiece as the Spurs escaped with a 110-105 victory over the Golden State Warriors on Monday.

A veteran forward, Duncan poured in 17 points in the first quarter and Ginobili contributed 17 of his own in the third for San Antonio, which earned its fourth straight win after closing January with the best record in the NBA during the month (12-3).

"A lot of credit to Golden State, they played one heck of a game," Duncan said. "They got us in a hole and found a way to fight back. I fouled out in the overtime ... we made some big plays.

"Manu was great all night getting to the basket, drawing fouls, putting pressure on Golden State and just an all-around good effort."

Ginobili's brilliant performance in the second half helped San Antonio overcome a double-digit deficit before Duncan sealed the win early in the extra session.

"It was a wonderful win for us," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. "I thought the guys hung in really tough playing a 48-minute game and did a great job. I thought everyone was fantastic when Tim Duncan fouled out. Nobody missed a beat. We just kept playing, and Manu and Tony (Parker) took over, and mostly defensively we made stops.

"We had a good fourth quarter defensively, and that is what allowed us to get back in the game. Stephen Jackson was great for them tonight but, in the fourth quarter, we were good defensively, and that fueled our offense."

The Warriors carried a four-point lead into the locker rooms and Jackson scored 16 points in the third, hitting all six of his shots from the field, pushing the lead to 73-62 on a fadeaway jumper with 5:15 left in the period.

However, Golden State went scoreless for nearly three minutes as the Spurs used an 11-0 run to pull within three points with 2:47 left in the quarter.

"We were aggressive on (Jackson), who was really killing us those first three quarters and we started blitzing him or making him work harder for every shot," Ginobili said. "I really don't know how we won this game with 20 turnovers and not shooting well. But it happened. We fought through it and so we are happy. It was a tough win."

Despite Ginobili's outburst in the third, San Antonio trailed 79-75 entering the final quarter.

"We played our butts off to not get them," Jackson said. "They had 39 points on us in the third quarter last time, they're a good third-quarter team. Coach kept telling us to get off to a good start in the third and make them call the first timeout. We did that. We started with a lot of energy and played the way we needed to in the third quarter."

The Warriors quickly expanded the bulge to 12 points in the fourth, opening the session with

a 10-2 run. Corey Maggette started the run with consecutive jumpers before C.J. Watson scored the next six points.

Much like in the third, Golden State failed to continue the momentum, going scoreless for 5:51 in the fourth as the Spurs pulled within two points before tying the game on a pair of free throws by Ginobili with eight seconds remaining in regulation.

Duncan scored the first five points of the extra session before fouling out with 3:17 to play.

"I think when (Duncan) fouled out there was only three minutes to go so you can only do so many things," Ginobili said. "We knew that Tony and me were going to have the ball more but there was not too much time to change our mindset, so it just happened and we fought through it."

But after Andris Biedrins' hook shot pulled the Warriors back within three points, Ginobili pushed San Antonio's advantage to 102-97 with a running jumper before making a steal on the other end that led to a fast break, which Roger Mason finished with a layup.

"The game was right there," Warriors forward Ronny Turiaf said. "It's a tough pill to swallow to use a cliche for an example. It's tough because we put ourselves in position to win the basketball game and have them gain the momentum in a play like this takes the wind out of us. I mean it took the wind out of me for sure."