NBA News: Ginobili Explodes as Spurs Down Kings; Gay, Cousins & Thomas All Score At Least 20
Manu Ginobili scored 28 points off the bench while Tony Parker added 22 points as the San Antonio Spurs buckled down the Sacramento Kings 112-104 on Sunday at the AT&T Center.
The Argentine came up with one of his finest performance this season as he shot 9-for-16 from the field and connected 4 of his 9 shots behind the three-point line. The Spurs also got steady contribution from Parker (also with 7 assists) and the ageless Tim Duncan, who racked up 17 points and 13 rebounds in 33 minutes of action.
The Kings, on the other hand, leaned on the production of their new 'Big Three' as Rudy Gay (24 points), DeMarcus Cousins (29 points) and Isaiah Thomas (27 points) accounted for more than half of their team's point output.
After the game, Gay admitted that they did their best to keep the game tight until the end, but the Spurs experience in close situation was simply hard to deny.
"It just showed their experience," Sacramento forward Rudy Gay said via ESPN. "They're a great team, that's the reason their record is like it is year after year. Because they are great, they play great together. They know where they want the ball and they get it there exactly where they want it."
San Antonio head coach Greg Popovich did not forget to recognize another stellar game from Ginobili, who averaged at least 17 points over the last five games.
"He's stronger this year than he's been in several years," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said via ESPN. "Both the rest and weightlifting he did all summer. He feels real confident and good about his body. He had two days of rest before tonight's game and it showed. His legs were great and he was very energetic."
The Spurs improved to 24-7 to keep them in the upper echelon of the Western Conference while the Kings dropped to 9-20 in the season.