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The San Antonio Spurs are now 2-1 on the rodeo road trip and 42-8 on the season after defeating the Sacramento Kings 113-100 last night.
Although the Spurs had just played in a down-to-the-wire thriller against the Lakers the night before, there was no apparent rust as the Spurs got out to a big lead early and left the Kings trailing the rest of the game.
The Spurs taking control early in the game allowed Spurs coach Gregg Popovich to limit Tim Duncan’s minutes.
Duncan played just under 13 minutes, which left plenty of playing time for rookie Tiago Splitter, who has been struggling as of late.
With the added playing time, Splitter did not disappoint, finishing the game with 16 points and nine rebounds in just under 28 minutes on the floor. Splitter also provided an exclamation point with a thunderous dunk to end the Kings 18-5 third quarter rally.
Tony Parker, who struggled just two games ago against Portland, was the catalyst against the Lakers and he lead the attack against the Kings, finishing with 25 points and seven assists.
Also finishing in double figures for the Spurs were Richard Jefferson (16), Duncan (12), DeJuan Blair (10) and George Hill (10). The Kings were lead in scoring by guards Tyreke Evans and Beno Udrih, who scored 25 and 18 points respectively.
The Spurs are now back home for a three-day break before they head East. They’ll play their next four games in a five-night span, starting with Detroit on Tuesday.
Quoteable
“Tony has been playing at an All-Star level all season. On another team he would be averaging 25 points a game.” -Richard Jefferson
Hit the jump to read what other sites had to say about the game as well as a fantasy focus and more.
In Black and White
Tiago, TP made sure that the Kings’ trap wasn’t sprung (San Antonio Express-News)
Spurs cruise past Kings (Sacramento Bee)
Spurs Blitzkrieg Takes Out Sacramento Early, Kings Lose 113-100 (Sactown Royalty)
Fantasy Focus
Over the last two games, Tony Parker is averaging 23 points on 20 of 34 from the field. He was also a perfect two-of-two from beyond the arch against the Kings. While his assist average his dipped a bit over the season, he’s making it up in the scoring and field goal percentage categories and if he didn’t have enough fire in his belly chasing after another title, his All-Star snub should provide at least a little extra fuel.
The Four Factors