Spurs-Warriors Preview

By NOEY KUPCHAN
Posted Apr 26 2012 2:26AM

With the top seed in the Western Conference locked up, the San Antonio Spurs decided resting their three best players was more important than trying to make a run at the league's top seed.

Fortunately for them, they remain in contention thanks to terrific efforts from a pair of their reserves.

Needing a 15th consecutive victory over the Golden State Warriors and an unlikely loss from the East's best team to secure home-court advantage throughout the playoffs, visiting San Antonio will again be without Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili and coach Gregg Popovich on Thursday night.

The Spurs (49-16) enter the last day of the regular season tied with Chicago for the league's best record. With the Bulls owning the tiebreaker, San Antonio needs a win and a Chicago loss to Cleveland to lock up the NBA's top overall spot.

Despite Duncan, Parker, Ginobili and Popovich all having been sent home earlier in the day, the Spurs managed to pull out a 110-106 road victory over Phoenix on Wednesday. Patty Mills posted a career-high 27 points and Tiago Splitter scored 26 for the Spurs, winners of nine straight and 23 of their last 26.

"It's one of those funny situations, end of the season and resting guys," Mills said. "As crazy as it is, it does make a lot of sense. I thought for the main guys to go back and recharge the batteries before the playoffs, that's a chance to give the other guys a great opportunity."

Since falling 130-121 in overtime at Golden State on Jan. 7, 2008, San Antonio has outscored the Warriors by an average of 17.2 points during its 14-game winning streak in the series. San Antonio cruised to a 120-99 win at Oracle Arena during the most recent meeting April 16.

Two nights after snapping an eight-game skid with a 93-88 win at Minnesota, the Warriors got back to their losing ways during Tuesday's 83-81 defeat to New Orleans. Rookie forward Chris Wright was called for goaltending with just two seconds remaining as Golden State fell to 5-21 over its last 26 games.

"I thought it was a layup that possibly he was going to make anyway, but you never know," Wright said. "I just tried to get the block on the last play and help my team anyway I could. It's heartbreaking still, even though it's the (second-to-last) game of the season, I really hate losing."

Golden State (23-42) owns the eighth-worst record in the league but has to finish in the bottom seven to keep its protected 2012 first-round pick - acquired by Utah in a previous trade. If the Warriors lose Thursday, they are guaranteed to finish tied with either New Jersey (22-43) or Toronto (22-43) - who square off in their season finale - for the league's seventh-worst record. The NBA would then hold a drawing Friday to determine draft position.

After sitting out the last seven games, David Lee will have surgery Thursday to repair a torn abdominal muscle. Lee was averaging team highs of 20.1 points and 9.6 rebounds.

Stephen Curry, who appeared in just 26 games this season, underwent successful arthroscopic surgery on his right ankle Wednesday. Recently acquired Andrew Bogut is scheduled to go under the knife Friday for his fractured left ankle.

Short-handed Spurs beat Warriors 107-101

Posted Apr 27 2012 2:11AM

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) For the second straight night, Patty Mills showed San Antonio he's capable of scoring in bunches.

The timing is good, too, with the Spurs racing into the postseason as the top seed in the West - even though Mills will be back in a reserve role.

On a night San Antonio played without its top three players and coach Gregg Popovich, Mills looked a lot like the player many have compared to Spurs teammate Tony Parker.

While Parker joined Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili back in San Antonio to rest for the playoffs, Mills had career highs of 34 points and 12 assists to help the short-handed Spurs beat the Golden State Warriors 107-101 on Thursday night.

"Chances don't come up very often where you send your three big dogs back to San Antonio," Mills said. "I was very pumped to have this opportunity. I felt very comfortable to just slide in there and take it on with both hands."

DeJuan Blair had 22 points and 13 rebounds, and James Anderson added 19 points for San Antonio (50-16), which finished with the best record in the Western Conference despite having one of the league's oldest rosters.

The Spurs host Utah in the first round of the playoffs beginning Sunday and head into the postseason on quite a roll. They've won 10 straight and 21 of 23 overall, even though Popovich has been resting his starters for much of the past two weeks.

Popovich wasn't at the game in Golden State but had to have liked what he saw from Mills.

Mills scored 14 points in the first quarter, then made three key baskets in the final four minutes, including a clinching 19-foot fadeaway jumper with 14 seconds left to help San Antonio sweep the three-game series.

Mills' big night came 24 hours after he set his previous career high of 27 points in the Spurs' 110-106 win over Phoenix.

"For some of us, we weren't as familiar with him," said San Antonio assistant Mike Budenholzer, who coached in place of Popovich. "To see it firsthand, he's been pretty impressive. He's helped us down the stretch for the last two or three weeks."

Now the Spurs can turn their attention to the postseason and a march toward a fifth NBA title.

Golden State, on the other hand, is focused on the draft lottery.

The Warriors (23-43) tied New Jersey for the seventh-worst record in the NBA. A draw will be held Friday to determine which team gets the higher seeding. In Golden State's case, it could mean the difference between retaining its first-round pick in the draft or losing it to the Utah Jazz.

"Now that it's over, you've got to look at it that way," Golden State coach Mark Jackson said. "But in the middle of it we were trying to win. The process is now over and we're pulling for a high pick."

The Warriors, decimated by injuries, were also short-handed and became the first NBA team in modern history to start five rookies in one game.

Already missing point guard Stephen Curry (ankle surgery), forward David Lee (abdominal surgery) and center Andrew Bogut (ankle), Golden State also held out forward Dorell Wright (right ankle sprain), center Andris Biedrins (mild concussion) and guard Nate Robinson (hamstring) in the finale.

Jackson, who played 17 seasons in the NBA, might have been tempted to suit up, so thin was the Warriors' roster.

Instead, he fielded a unit of guards Klay Thompson and Charles Jenkins, forwards Chris Wright and Jeremy Tyler, and Mickell Gladness at center. Thompson, Jenkins and Tyler are all Warriors draft picks, while Wright was a training camp invitee and Gladness joined the team after signing a 10-day contract earlier this month.

According to the Elias Sports Bureau, which has been tracking the stat since the 1970-71 season, it's the first time an NBA team has started five rookies in a game.

Chris Wright led Golden State with 25 points and eight rebounds, while Thompson scored 17 points.

With all of the inexperience on the court - San Antonio started four players with two years or less in the NBA - the game got sloppy at times.

The lack of experience didn't bother Golden State's youngsters early on.

All five rookies played the entire first quarter and helped the Warriors overcome an early seven-point deficit to take a 29-27 lead.

"Us rookies, it's going to pay dividends for how much we played throughout the season," Thompson said. "Chris Wright got his opportunity tonight and ran with it."

Thompson made a 3-pointer that put Golden State up 44-41 midway through the second, then Gladness later hit a one-handed runner in the lane to make it 52-47.

Mills, who had 14 points in the opening period, pulled the Spurs within 54-53 at halftime after making a 20-foot jumper at the buzzer.

San Antonio came back behind Mills and led for most of the third quarter but couldn't shake the Warriors until late in the fourth quarter.

Notes: Lee underwent successful surgery earlier Thursday in Philadelphia to repair torn abdominal and abductor muscles. The injury sidelined Lee for the Warriors final eight games. He will be restricted from on-court activities for 4-6 weeks. ... Despite its troubles on the court, Golden State finished with the third-highest average attendance in franchise history (18,858). ... A Warrior fan was given the opportunity to win $1 million at the end of the third quarter but the man, an Oakland citizen, missed the shot from three-quarters court.

Notebook: Spurs 107, Warriors 101

Posted Friday April 27, 2012 2:01AM

By Geoff Lepper, for NBA.com

THE FACTS: Patty Mills set career highs with 34 points and 12 assists for his first NBA double-double and the San Antonio Spurs beat the Golden State Warriors 107-101 Thursday to close the regular season on a 10-game winning streak.

The Spurs (50-16), who finished the year on a 38-7 run, swept their season-ending, all-road back-to-back despite letting Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker stay home from the trip. San Antonio had already clinched the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference and will face Utah in a first-round playoff series beginning Sunday.

DeJuan Blair had 22 points and 13 rebounds for the Spurs, who reached 50 wins for the 13th consecutive season, a league record.

Chris Wright, an undrafted rookie making his first NBA start, scored 25 points with eight rebounds -- both career highs -- to lead the Warriors. Golden State became the first NBA team to start five rookies -- Wright, Mickell Gladness, Charles Jenkins, Klay Thompson and Jeremy Tyler -- since at least the 1970-71 season, when Elias Sports Bureau began tracking the stat. All five of the rookies scored in double figures.

With the loss, the Warriors (23-43) dropped into a tie for the seventh draft slot with Toronto. The teams will have a random drawing Friday to see who gets the No. 7 spot and who gets No. 8. The drawing is critical to Golden State because if the Warriors' first-round pick is No. 8 or worse, it must be given to Utah to complete a trade from 2008.

QUOTABLE: "That's one they won't put in the Hall of Fame, I'm sure."
-- San Antonio assistant coach Mike Budenholzer, who was filling in for head coach Gregg Popovich. Popovich stayed behind with Duncan, Ginobili and Parker to prepare for the postseason.

THE STAT: The high-flying Wright may have had only 12 field goals on the season before Thursday, but he went 11-for-14 against the Spurs, with seven of those being dunks.

TURNING POINT: Mills dropped back-to-back 3-pointers midway through the fourth quarter to break open what had been a 95-all tie. San Antonio never looked back.

HOT: Mills, a product of nearby St. Mary's College, topped his hours-old career high of 27 points -- set in Phoenix on Wednesday -- with another standout performance in place of Parker. Mills dropped 14 points in the first quarter, then came on strong in the fourth with 12 points to

QUOTABLE II: "It was such a rare opportunity. Chances don't come up very often where you send your three big dogs back to San Antonio. I was very pumped."
-- Patty Mills

BAD (BUT GOOD) MOVE: Although the Warriors steadfastly maintained they weren't tanking over the last few weeks, Golden State's substitution pattern certainly had the effect of blunting the team's attack Thursday. Coach Mark Jackson benched his starting backcourt of Thompson and Jenkins -- who combined for 33 points and 13 assists through three periods -- for the final 12 minutes, and the Warriors could manage only 19 points in that time, helping seal the result. If Golden State had beaten the Spurs, they would have had a roughly 10 percent chance of keeping their first-round pick (by jumping into the top three). If the Warriors can win their random drawing Friday, that number jumps to approximately 72 percent.

ROOKIE WATCH: Gladness had career highs in points (14), rebounds (nine) and minutes (39) for the Warriors.

NOTABLE: In addition to Duncan, Ginobili and Parker, starting small forward Kawhi Leonard was also held out. Starting shooting guard Danny Green and key big man Tiago Splitter played less than eight minutes and were shut down at halftime. . . . James Anderson, taking over for Leonard, had 19 points and seven boards for the Spurs. . . . Mills, who didn't join San Antonio until March 27 after starting the season in China, became just the 13th NBA player to go for a 30-point/10-assist game this season.

• Spurs: Duncan, Ginobili, Parker
• Warriors: Bogut, Curry

• Spurs: --
• Warriors: --

• Lead Changes: 11
• Times Tied: 11

• Arena: ORACLE Arena, Oakland, CA
• Officials: #10 Ron Garretson, #47 Bennie Adams, #73 Tre Maddox
• Attendance: 18124
• Duration: 2:09