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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME FLOW
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- Tim Duncan was stunned to learn he beat
out Kevin Garnett for a starting spot on the Western Conference
All-Star team.
|  | | Tim Duncan shows Greg Ostertag and the Jazz what happens to those who stand in his way. |
After the week he's had, he should have seen it coming.
Duncan had 33 points and 10 rebounds and Derek Anderson added 22
points as the San Antonio Spurs beat the Utah Jazz 99-86 Saturday.
Duncan was coming off a 36-point, 21-rebound performance in San
Antonio's 97-91 victory at Sacramento on Thursday. He kept it going
against the Jazz by scoring 13 points in the first quarter.
"I felt good coming out of the gate," Duncan said. "I'm not
really an early-part-of-the-game guy, but it felt good today.
Things went down for me early and we just kept rolling along."
Duncan, the co-MVP of last year's All-Star game, beat out
Garnett out by about 93,000 votes for the second forward spot in
this year's game.
"Wow. Garnett?", he said with a pause. "It's absolutely
surprising. I didn't expect it at all. I had an up and down start
to the season. It's all about the fans. I want to say thanks to the
fans."
It was a matchup of the teams sitting atop the Midwest Division,
but the Spurs showed they're simply the better squad, winning their
third straight over the Jazz this season.
"They beat us in our building and they took the 3-0 lead,"
Utah coach Jerry Sloan said. "They have the tiebreaker now, if it
comes down to that. There's a good chance we won't be there for the
tiebreaker if we play like that."
Terry Porter scored a season-high 17, and David Robinson and
Steve Kerr each scored 10 for the Spurs, who have won five of their
last six against Utah.
Karl Malone led the Jazz with 19 points, with nine in the fourth
quarter when Utah trailed by double digits. Donyell Marshall scored
18, Bryon Russell had 14 and Danny Manning 10 but Utah shot 38
percent.
Duncan had 20 points in the first half. When the Jazz tried to
shut him down with double teams after the break, San Antonio did a
great job of rotating the ball to find an open shooter.
"As simplistic as it sounds, winning tonight had a lot to do
with hitting open shots," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said.
The Spurs led 75-62 going into the fourth quarter and quickly
stretched the lead on consecutive 3-pointers by Kerr and Anderson,
forcing a Utah timeout less than two minutes into the period.
But it really was over in the first half after San Antonio raced
to an 18-6 lead through the first seven minutes, putting the Jazz
on their heels almost from the opening tip.
"We stunk. That's about it," Utah center Olden Polynice said.
Malone shot 0-for-7 from the floor in the first half, scoring
all eight of his points on free throws. John Stockton, playing in
his 1,300th game, was 1-for-4 on field goals as the Jazz shot 30
percent and trailed 54-42 at the break.
"I didn't play well and maybe as a team we didn't play well,"
Malone said. "It's the same old story. When I don't play well, we
don't get opportunities."
The Spurs have handled the Jazz easily this season, winning
86-79 after leading by as much as 19 points during a November
victory in San Antonio. Last month, the Spurs won 91-83 at the
Delta Center.
In those two losses, Utah shot 38 percent from the floor and 63
percent at the line.
"If it looks easy, it's not," Duncan said. "They're a
hard-banging team, a disciplined team that runs their offense over
and over again, like they're beating on a nail over and over
again."
San Antonio won even after losing Antonio Daniels to a sprained
left knee and Samaki Walker to a sprained right ankle in the
victory over Sacramento. Sean Elliott and Avery Johnson also are on
the injured list.
"The injuries have hurt us, but guys who got the opportunity
have stepped up and done a great job," Porter said. "In the end,
this is just going to make us better."
It doesn't add up well for the Jazz if they hope to successfully
defend last season's Midwest Division championship. Utah couldn't
slow Duncan, who scored on Malone, Polynice and anyone else who
tried to defend him.
"This is the best two games Tim's had back-to-back, and they
have come against strong opponents," Porter said. "Chris Webber
and Karl Malone are pretty good power forwards in their own
right."
Game notes
NBC analyst Peter Vecsey, labeled "a player-hater" by
Malone, was booed when the network television feed went on the
Delta Center's jumbo screens before tipoff. ... Talk about taking
one for the team _ Popovich was hit in the groin by an errant
basketball in the first half. ... The Jazz went 6-2 during their
eight-game homestand, the longest in franchise history.
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ALSO SEE
NBA Scoreboard
San Antonio Clubhouse
Utah Clubhouse
RECAPS
San Antonio 99
Utah 86
Toronto 90
Chicago 80
Minnesota 93
Portland 80
Miami 81
Orlando 59
Houston 110
Charlotte 97
Atlanta 101
Cleveland 90
Washington 89
Phoenix 82
Detroit 108
Milwaukee 103
Denver 102
Dallas 100
Seattle 106
New Jersey 97
Sacramento 101
LA Clippers 89
FROM
ATHLETESDIRECT
Karl Malone Official Site
Bryon Russell Official Site
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