Gregg Popovich may be the only guy who can stop the San Antonio Spurs right now.
If the Spurs coach had his way, this franchise-record winning streak would probably already be over. His players don’t see it quite the same way.
Tony Parker scored 22 points, Boris Diaw added 14 and the Spurs earned their 18th consecutive NBA win by handing the Indiana Pacers their worst home loss of the season, 103-77, on Monday.
“We just wanted to continue to do what we’ve been doing, which is push the ball and play at a high pace and share the ball,” Parker said. “It’s nice to have the record in San Antonio, but it still doesn’t mean anything if you don’t win it all.”
A year ago, the Spurs fell short in Game 7 of the NBA Finals at Miami.
This year, San Antonio seem to be surging at just the right time. The Spurs, with a 58-16 record, haven’t lost since February 21 at Phoenix and surpassed their previous best run on the 18th anniversary of their only other 17-game winning streak by beating the NBA’s best home team on their own court.
If Popovich had his way, this talk would likely be over.
His players don’t believe their coach will allow the streak to continue much longer, especially if the Spurs can clinch the NBA’s best record with games to spare. They lead Oklahoma City by 3 1/2 games in the Western Conference and have six more wins than the Pacers and seven more than the Heat with eight to play.
“I think he’ll be happy if we lose anytime soon,” Parker said, laughing before explaining that Popovich might end it himself. “I’m pretty sure because he’s going to rest like half of the team.”
On Monday, Tim Duncan went 3-of-10 from the field and Manu Ginobili managed only six points and two assists in 16 minutes. The Spurs still routed a team that had been No 1 in the East all season. Indiana trails two-time defending champion Miami by percentage points for the top spot in the Eastern Conference.
“We’ll worry about a couple of things, staying healthy, finishing the season strong and hopefully going into the playoffs with the confidence we’re playing with now,” Duncan said.
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