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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Spurs roll past Pacers for 3rd straight, 99-81

Associated Press

Hawaii news photo - The Honolulu Advertiser

Tim Duncan

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SAN ANTONIO — Tim Duncan and Tony Parker never left the bench in the fourth quarter. After five games in seven days, the rest was welcomed.

So was a lopsided win.

Duncan scored 27 points and grabbed 10 rebounds and Manu Ginobili scored 26 before San Antonio sat its stars in a 99-81 win over cold-shooting Indiana last night.

The Spurs' third straight win kept them in the familiar position of first place in the Southwest Division at the halfway mark of the season. They emerged from a busy stretch 4-1, with a win over the Los Angeles Lakers, getting routed at Philadelphia and a couple close victories at Chicago and Charlotte.

Against the struggling Pacers, there was room to relax.

"We're not used to games like this," Ginobili said. "I don't know how many times it's happened this year. But we are very glad that we did have one."

Danny Granger had 17 points for the Pacers, who shot 37 percent from the field and scored their second-fewest points in a game this season. Indiana entered ranked third in the league in scoring.

Duncan notched his 27th double-double and didn't play in the fourth quarter. Neither did Parker, who scored 13 points and had seven assists.

"We haven't played our best and we still have a pretty good record," Spurs guard Roger Mason said. "We can get better and we're going to continue to do so."

The Spurs led 53-40 at halftime. The lead stretched to 24 in the third quarter and ballooned to as much as 29 by the fourth quarter.

Hawks 105, Bulls 102: Mike Bibby scored nine of his season-high 31 points in the final five minutes, and visiting Atlanta used a 7-0 run to turn a 93-92 deficit into a 99-93 lead it never lost in completing a three-game season sweep of Chicago.

Nuggets 118, Kings 99: Linas Kleiza scored 27 points, Chauncey Billups had 22 and host Denver outscored Sacramento 71-44 in the second and third quarters to pull away.

Jazz 112, Timberwolves 107: Mehmet Okur scored 22 points and hit consecutive 3-pointers for a 103-97 lead with 1:57 left, helping host Utah rally from a 96-87 deficit to defeat Minnesota for its seventh straight home victory.

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