(Sports Network) - The San Antonio Spurs return home with a five-game winning
streak Wednesday night when they look for some revenge against the New Orleans
Hornets.
The Spurs swept both of the games on their two-game road trip, besting the
Atlanta Hawks on Saturday night, then defeating the Philadelphia 76ers, 90-85,
on Monday.
The Sixers built a seven-point lead into the fourth quarter after the Spurs
were up by as many as 17 in the second stanza. San Antonio brought back its
varsity group and ended the game with a 15-3 run to get the victory.
The Spurs held the Sixers to one point over 13 possessions in the final frame
and collected their NBA-best 33rd win. Oklahoma City also has 33 wins.
"We finally got stops at the other end," Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich said.
"We were fortunate to get the win."
Tim Duncan led the way with 24 points and 17 rebounds. Tiago Splitter also had
a double-double with 10 points and 12 rebounds. Tony Parker scored 20 points
in the victory and Kawhi Leonard added 16.
The Spurs fell to the Hornets in New Orleans on Jan. 7. That night, four Spurs
scored in double figures, but San Antonio only shot 28.6 percent from beyond
the arc.
That victory played a huge part in the Hornets' recent turnaround. They've won
seven of their last nine, including two in a row on the road.
Since Eric Gordon returned from a knee injury, the Hornets are 8-4 and Gordon
leads the team in scoring at 17.4 ppg.
On Monday, New Orleans toppled the visiting Sacramento Kings, 114-105. They
had a 25-point halftime lead and played sloppy in the second half, but held on
for the victory.
"We got a win and that is the most important thing obviously," said Hornets
coach Monty Williams. "We didn't like the sloppy play in the second half, but
I am not going to dwell on that. There are things that happened in the game
that we will try to correct tomorrow in practice. The good thing is our guys
felt badly about it and that is something that shows character."\
Ryan Anderson came off the bench with 27 points on 7-for-14 shooting from the
3-point line.
Greivis Vasquez had 19 points and 11 assists. Gordon chipped in 16 and rookie
Anthony Davis, who stepped on a ref's foot and tweaked his leg, and Al-Farouq
Aminu both cracked the 10-point mark.
Davis declared himself ready for Wednesday night immediately after Monday's
win.
"It's fine," he said.
The Spurs are 18-6 in their last 24 against the Hornets and New Orleans has
won only twice in San Antonio since the 2007-08 season.
The Sports Network