Spurs' Ginobili and Parker spoil Hornets' homecoming
Los Angeles (dpa) - The New Orleans Hornets returned home for some rare home cooking, but the San Antonio Spurs left them with a bad belly ache.
Argentine Manu Ginobili scored 24 points and Frenchman Tony Parker had 19 points and eight assists as the visiting Spurs devoured the injury-depleted Hornets 103-77 on Thursday night.
"The San Antonio Spurs are one of the best teams in this league, if not the best," Hornets coach Byron Scott said. "You've got to play nearly perfect basketball to beat them. They're not going to beat themselves."
Tim Duncan had a quiet game with 11 points and nine rebounds, but sat out the final quarter of the laughter as the Spurs (18-6) won for the seventh time in eight games overall, while improving their league-best road record to 10-3.
Rasual Butler scored 17 points and Desmond Mason added 16 and nine rebounds for the Hornets (10-11), who have dropped eight of 10 after an 8-3 start.
Nearly 17 months ago, the Hornets were forced to temporarily relocate to Oklahoma City for most of their 41 home games after the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina. They continue to play there, except for six contests in the New Orleans Arena. In a vote of confidence, team owner George Shinn has pledged the Hornets will return to "The Big Easy" for good for the 2007-08 campaign.
With 15,000 fans on hand - 3,000 less than a sellout - to cheer their beloved Hornets, the Spurs didn't have the same warm and fuzzy feeling against an injury-depleted squad, which was without injured starters Peja Stokavic, David West, top reserve Bobby Jackson, along with flu-ridden Tyson Chandler.
"That's the toughest part of the game," Ginobili said. "When there are so many players not playing, you cannot relax and not play so hard. We talk about it and we try to do the best job possible without thinking of who is playing or not."
Despite playing their fourth game in five nights, Ginobili kick-started the Spurs with 11 points, including eight in the first four minutes, en route to a 29-22 lead after one. He had 16 by halftime and Parker added 10, carrying the visitors to a 53-42 cushion.
Parker had nine points and Ginobili had eight after three as the Spurs opened an 85-62 advantage en route to the easy victory.
Elsewhere: Golden State Warriors 109, Houston Rockets 107: Baron Davis buried a 3-pointer with 1.2 seconds left, lifting the Warriors to a dramatic victory over the visiting Rockets.
Davis' heroics spoiled a monster effort by China's Yao Ming, who led Houston with season-highs of 38 points and 18 rebounds.
After Mike Dunleavy's three-point play drew the Warriors to within 107-106 with 29 seconds left, Yao missed at the other end. Davis grabbed the rebound with nine seconds left and dribbled up court before launching the game-winner from the top of the key.
"I caught the ball and saw Yao Ming shadowing me down the floor," said Davis, who finished with 34 points and eight assists. "I knew I had a lot of time, but I had good rhythm and I shot it and I had confidence."
Following a pair of timeouts, Yao got the ball but his desperation 3-point heave fell well short as the final buzzer sounded.
The Warriors received 17 points from Monta Ellis and Latvian Andris Biedrins added 15 off the bench.
Luther Head had a season-high 26 points and Rafer Alston added 19 for the Rockets (14-8), who were without six-time All-Star Tracy McGrady (back spasms) for the second straight game
Elsewhere: Charlotte Bobcats 99, Orlando Magic 89: Sean May poured in a career-high 31 points and rookie Adam Morrison broke out of a 4-of-34 shooting slump with 22 points as the host Bobcats beat the turnover-happy Magic to stop a four-game losing streak.
Emeka Okafor had 13 points and 10 rebounds for the Bobcats (6-16), who shot just 41 per cent from the field, but forced 23 turnovers, accounting for 22 points to move out of the Eastern Conference basement.
Keyon Dooling scored 20 points and rookie backup guard Travis Diener added 16 off the bench for the Magic (15-10), who surrendered the best record in Eastern Conference after losing for the six time in the last eight games following a 13-4 start.
Orlando played without injured starters Grant Hill (knee tendinitis), Jameer Nelson (strained right groin) and Hedo Turkoglu (sprained right ankle), while backup guard Keith Bogans (sprained right ankle) is also sidelined. // © 2006 DPA
- NBA Top 10 Plays of 2009 Season (video)
- U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame Class of 2009 Announced
- Marbury's father dies after game
- Chicago teen dies after basketball game
- Basketball, NBA: Iverson gets the love, Kings get the win
- Billups hits bullseye late, Pistons throttle Cavs
- Spurs' Ginobili and Parker spoil Hornets' homecoming
- Federer to put on Valentino
- Monica Bellucci's kiss is good addition to the 2006 Golden Ball
- Nostradamus predicts Spain as the winner of World Cup 2006
- Italian football: Leaders Inter Milan struggle to beat promoted Atalanta
- Sharapova doesn’t know her “boyfriend’s” birth date
- Draw Results and Favorites: 2006 FIFA World Cup
- Arsenal warning for semi-final
- Beckham comes to America: a red-letter day for Galaxy, MLS and US soccer
- Steaua Bucharest vs Standard Liege: 2 - 2
- Moldova's Squad Against Norway and Italy: October 8, 12