Bench providing sweet relief

--San Antonio's bench scored 50 points, nearly half of the overall total, in beating New Jersey. Spurs coach Gregg Popovich wasn't surprised.

"The bench has sustained us all year," he said. "It's why we've kept our head above water. Our entire bench has been fantastic. Tim Duncan has played fewer minutes this season than he ever has. He understands what we're doing. It's not so much because he's older, I guess it is partially, but I want him ready for the playoffs.

"I'm not too concerned about record, but we need him in the playoffs. You never know what fate will do. Limiting Tim's minutes will give us a legitimate shot at keeping him healthy for the playoffs. Tony Parker has a lot more minutes than usual, but the bench has been terrific."

--The Spurs' defense has been a big part of the current seven-game winning streak. San Antonio was only allowing opponents to score about 86 points per game in the six wins leading up to Saturday.

The Spurs did another defensive number on New Jersey, limiting the Nets to 40.2 percent shooting in the 103-89 victory.

QUOTE TO NOTE
"We were sad when he went out, but now he's back and helped us with the young guys, and down the road it makes our bench a lot deeper because a lot of guys can play. It was definitely good having him back. Just seeing him in uniform is just great." -- Guard Tony Parker, on the return of Manu Ginobili.

Copyright (C) 2012 The Sports Xchange. All Rights Reserved.