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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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 GAME FLOW
SAN ANTONIO (AP) -- Tim Duncan has had an easy time against the
overmatched Boston Celtics frontline this season.
|  | | Jerome Kersey and San Antonio made Eric Williams and the Celtics look small with a blowout win Friday. |
Duncan scored 22 of his 30 points in the second half as the
Spurs beat the Celtics 103-94 Friday night. He had 31 points and 15
rebounds in a 121-98 victory at Boston on Nov. 24.
"The guys played great defense tonight. It was one of our
better games," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. "We kept people
off the free throw line and made them make jump shots, rather than
getting an easy layup. I'm very pleased with that."
The Spurs, who have won three straight games, connected on 42 of
54 free throw attempts in a foul-plagued game that saw Boston
commit 37 fouls. Eric Williams, Tony Battie and Calbert Cheaney all fouled out and Antoine Walker was ejected with a little more than five minutes remaining.
"We had some easy jumpers that would not go down for us tonight
that we should have made," Boston coach Rick Pitino said. "We
struggled to score tonight."
San Antonio held a double-digit lead for the entire second half
until a 16-6 Boston run against the Spurs reserves forced Popovich to put Duncan and center David Robinson back into
the game with 1:13 to play. Duncan hit four free throws in the final
minute to seal the win.
"Boston had nothing to lose," Duncan said. "We put a lot of
our guys in an odd situation. We had a big lead and they were
pressing."
The Spurs' biggest lead was 19 on three occasions before Boston
fought back behind Dana Barros, who led the team with 18 points.
Battie added 16, Walter McCarty 15 and Adrian Griffin 13.
"It was a rough night," said Williams. "We had to battle back
in the second half. They were able to hold us off at the end so you
have to give them credit."
Boston lost its fourth in a row and for the eighth time in nine
road games this season after keeping it close until San Antonio
went on a 26-9 run in the last four minutes of the first half and
first four of the third period.
Chucky Brown had 13 for San Antonio while Robinson and Mario
Elie added 12, although Elie did not play in the fourth quarter and
Robinson played just 73 seconds.
Duncan carried San Antonio in the first half as the only player
for either team in double figures, including 10 of 12 at the foul
line while Boston shot only four as a team. Duncan also finished
with 16 points.
Walker, Boston's leading scorer with Paul Pierce on the injured
list, had a miserable night, scoring just eight points and was
2-for-13 from the floor. Walker entered the game with an 18.9
average.
Walker and San Antonio's Malik Rose were ejected with 5:23 left
in the game when they began jawing at each as they went down the floor.
Game notes
The Celtics lost their ninth straight game in San Antonio,
where they have not won since Valentine's Day, 1990. None of the
current Boston players were in the NBA then while four Spurs were
in the league, none in a San Antonio uniform. San Antonio is the
oldest team in the league with 10 players in their ninth year or
longer. Boston has two. ... San Antonio has now won 24 of its last
25 in the Alamodome. ... Boston center Vitaly Potapenko sat out his
third straight game with a right calf strain.
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ALSO SEE
NBA Scoreboard
Boston Clubhouse
San Antonio Clubhouse
RECAPS
Indiana 89
Utah 74
Philadelphia 77
Chicago 74
Charlotte 99
Cleveland 86
Orlando 112
Toronto 98
LA Lakers 97
Minnesota 88
San Antonio 103
Boston 94
Phoenix 110
Portland 102
LA Clippers 92
Golden State 91
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