{"id":364383,"date":"2011-04-03T19:36:22","date_gmt":"2011-04-03T19:36:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ghanamma.net\/2011\/04\/03\/spurs-snap-6-game-skid-eliminate-suns-ap\/"},"modified":"2011-04-03T19:36:22","modified_gmt":"2011-04-03T19:36:22","slug":"spurs-snap-6-game-skid-eliminate-suns-ap","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/04\/03\/spurs-snap-6-game-skid-eliminate-suns-ap\/","title":{"rendered":"Spurs snap 6-game skid, eliminate Suns (AP)"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

SAN ANTONIO (AP)\u2014George Hill<\/a>(notes)<\/a><\/span> scored 29 points and the San Antonio Spurs<\/a>
\nstopped the longest skid of Tim Duncan\u2019s<\/a>(notes)<\/a><\/span> career, beating up the Phoenix Suns<\/a>
\n114-97 Sunday and ending a six-game losing streak.<\/p>\n

It was a cathartic rout for San Antonio after going winless for two weeks
\nand squandering a once-comfortable lead atop the Western Conference. The win
\nkept the Spurs at least 1 1\/2 games ahead of the surging Los Angeles Lakers<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Aaron Brooks<\/a>(notes)<\/a><\/span> and Channing Frye<\/a>(notes)<\/a><\/span> had 14 points apiece for the Suns. The loss
\nguaranteed Phoenix will miss the playoffs for the second time in three seasons.<\/p>\n

Matt Bonner<\/a>(notes)<\/a><\/span> added 16 points and 11 rebounds for San Antonio (58-19), which
\nremains the NBA\u2019s winningest team but lost its air of dominance during the
\nlongest slide of Duncan\u2019s 14-year career.<\/p>\n

It came at a costly time.<\/p>\n

San Antonio led the Lakers by seven games following its last win March 21.
\nWhat followed was Duncan missing four games with a bum ankle, the Spurs choking
\naway games late and jeopardizing the No. 1 seed that had looked all but certain.<\/p>\n

Steve Nash<\/a>(notes)<\/a><\/span> stayed in Phoenix to finish getting over the flu. Between the
\nSuns missing their leading scorer and the Spurs desperate for a win, Phoenix
\ncoach Alvin Gentry had a bad feeling about this blowout even before it started.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s going to be really important that we hang in early, because they\u2019re
\ngoing to try and knock you out of the box. They know how important this game
\nis,\u201d Gentry said.<\/p>\n

Phoenix didn\u2019t hang in. And the Spurs knocked them out all right.<\/p>\n

The Suns trailed by as many as 31 points, and San Antonio\u2019s 70 first-half
\npoints were two shy of its most in a half this season. Hill scored 24 of those,
\ntying the most points in a half for a Spurs player all season.<\/p>\n

Richard Jefferson<\/a>(notes)<\/a><\/span> added 12 points and was the only Spurs starter in
\ndouble-figures.<\/p>\n

Jared Dudley<\/a>(notes)<\/a><\/span> had 12 points and 10 rebounds, and Vince Carter<\/a>(notes)<\/a><\/span> also scored 12
\nfor Phoenix.<\/p>\n

The Spurs have five games remaining, including three against teams out of
\nthe playoff race (Sacramento, Utah and Phoenix again.) The others are at Atlanta
\non Tuesday\u2014and at the Lakers a week later, a game that could decide the No. 1
\nseed.<\/p>\n

Although the loss officially eliminated Phoenix from the playoff chase, the
\nSuns essentially saw their postseason hopes vanish during a miserable March.
\nPhoenix went 5-11 last month and has lost 10 of its last 14 games.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s been a steep fall for the team that reached the Western Conference
\nfinals last season and took the Lakers to six games. But an overhauled roster
\nnever made a late, long winning surge as did Suns teams in previous years.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been a tough year,\u201d Gentry said before tipoff. \u201cWe haven\u2019t been
\nable to put together a string of wins like we\u2019ve had the six years. \u2026 We were
\nable to get separation or get back in. But we just haven\u2019t been able to do that
\nthis year.\u201d<\/p>\n

Notes: Gentry said Nash could return before Phoenix\u2019s next game at Chicago
\non Tuesday. \u2026 The longest losing skid for the Spurs previously in the Duncan
\nera was four games \u2026 After the Suns swept the Spurs from the West semifinals
\nlast season, the Spurs will try to sweep this year\u2019s season series April 13 in
\nthe regular-season finale.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p>\n

Read More:
\nSpurs snap 6-game skid, eliminate Suns (AP)<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

SAN ANTONIO (AP)\u2014 George Hill (notes) scored 29 points and the San Antonio Spurs stopped the longest skid of Tim Duncan\u2019s (notes) career, beating up the Phoenix Suns 114-97 Sunday and ending a six-game losing streak. It was a cathartic rout for San Antonio after going winless for two weeks and squandering a once-comfortable lead atop the Western Conference<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-364383","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard"],"yoast_head":"\nSpurs snap 6-game skid, eliminate Suns (AP) - Ghanamma.com<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/04\/03\/spurs-snap-6-game-skid-eliminate-suns-ap\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:title\" content=\"Spurs snap 6-game skid, eliminate Suns (AP) - Ghanamma.com\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:description\" content=\"SAN ANTONIO (AP)\u2014 George Hill (notes) scored 29 points and the San Antonio Spurs stopped the longest skid of Tim Duncan\u2019s (notes) career, beating up the Phoenix Suns 114-97 Sunday and ending a six-game losing streak. 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