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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME FLOW
SAN ANTONIO (AP) – The San Antonio Spurs had little interest in
relishing their latest accomplishment -- clinching homecourt
advantage throughout the Western Conference playoffs.
|  | | Denver's Ryan Bowen, far right, swats the ball from Tim Duncan as Dan McClintock looks on. |
Moments after their 111-95 rout of the Denver Nuggets on
Saturday night, the NBA-leading Spurs were looking ahead.
"Every team is a bear," said David Robinson, who had 25
points, 12 rebounds and seven blocks in San Antonio's sixth win in
seven games. "It's like playing a second-round matchup in the
first round."
All playoff-bound teams in the West except Minnesota have
winning percentages of at least .620. The Timberwolves, the Spurs'
likely first-round opponent, are averaging .582.
"Seeing the road ahead gets you on your toes," Robinson said.
Meanwhile, the Spurs snapped Denver's three-game winning streak
and improved the NBA's best record to 57-23.
In front of a sellout Alamodome crowd of 34,397, the Spurs
dominated from start to finish with seven dunks by Robinson and a
total of 11 3-pointers, four by Sean Elliott.
"Sean shot the ball incredibly tonight," said Tim Duncan, who
had 11 points and 15 rebounds. "We were getting a lot of open
looks because they were double-teaming (me)."
Derek Anderson had 20 points for San Antonio.
The Nuggets, playing without their top two players, managed to
hold Duncan to just four points in the first half. Guarded by Raef
LaFrentz and Kevin Willis, Duncan never even got a shot off in the
second quarter.
"He's like Joe Montana," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said of
Duncan's limited shots. "He can either be a scorer or a
quarterback. When he's a quarterback, he's an even better
basketball player than scorer."
San Antonio opened with 14 straight points sparked by Robinson's
first dunk less than a minute into the game.
After the Nuggets closed to 21-16, Terry Porter and Anderson
each hit 3-pointers and Elliott nailed back-to-back 3s to go up
33-22.
San Antonio led by as many as 17 in the first half. When Denver
narrowed it to 59-52 early in the third period, Porter nailed
another 3.
Then Robinson went to work.
He hit two free throws, then slapped down LaFrentz's shot on the
other end. He kept getting in LaFrentz's way under the basket
before racing to the other end for dunks.
"The thing about them is they play well together," LaFrentz
said. "They play team basketball and they have Tim and David. So
when you beat one, you have the other right there ready to block a
shot. That makes it tough underneath and a tough matchup
defensively."
George McCloud, who was coming off a season-high 24 points
Friday night in a win over Golden State, led Denver with 23 points.
Ryan Bowen and Anthony Goldwire each added 12.
The Nuggets lost their first of four games played without
Antonio McDyess, who has missed a total of nine games in the last
six weeks with a dislocated left kneecap. Nick Van Exel is out for
the season with a lower back strain and foot injury.
"We just hung around and hung around, withstood their run and
got back into the game, cutting it to single digits at one point,"
McCloud said. "But tonight, San Antonio showed why they're the
favorite and have the best record in the league. They're a complete
team."
Game notes
Both the Spurs and Nuggets close out their seasons with
back-to-back games Tuesday and Wednesday. The Spurs play at
Portland and Seattle, the Nuggets at the Lakers and at home against
Sacramento. ... San Antonio and Denver split their season series
2-2. ... The Spurs' 11 3-pointers tied a season high set in a win
at Atlanta on March 22.
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ALSO SEE
NBA Scoreboard
Denver Clubhouse
San Antonio Clubhouse
RECAPS
Detroit 129
Atlanta 124
Milwaukee 112
Toronto 86
San Antonio 111
Denver 95
Houston 100
Vancouver 95
LA Clippers 106
Golden State 94
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