MILWAUKEE, March 1 (AP) -- Manu Ginobili scored 30 points and converted a three-point play with 8.5 seconds left to give San Antonio a 96-94 victory Saturday night over the Milwaukee Bucks, the Spurs' eighth straight victory.
The Spurs seemed in control until the Bucks mounted an 11-3 run late in the fourth, capped by Charlie Bell's driving layup that gave the Bucks a 94-93 lead with 20 seconds left.
Ginobili hit a 17-footer with Bell flying at him and then sank a free throw with 8.5 seconds left for a 95-94 lead
Bell had one last chance, but lost the ball in traffic on the Bucks' next possession. Tony Parker, who scored 26 points, grabbed the ball and was fouled. He made one free throw. After a Bucks' timeout, the Bucks worked the ball to Michael Redd who was fouled on a drive to hoop. He missed the first throw and the second on purpose. It almost worked, but Andrew Bogut missed on the putback and the defending NBA champions had a victory.
The Spurs remain the top seed in the Western Conference and are now a game ahead of New Orleans in the Southwest Division.
Parker had his best scoring night since returning Feb. 21 after missing nine games with left ankle inflammation. He shot 11 for 16 in his fifth game back from the injury.
Full AP recap
Postgame News and Notes
The starting point guards for both clubs reached double-figures in the first quarter. Mo Williams led the Bucks with 11 points on 4-4 FG while Tony Parker led the Spurs with 10 on 5-6 FG. Milwaukee led after one quarter 28-27, taking the lead on two Williams free throws at 0:07.7 in the quarter.
The Spurs went on a 10-2 run from 6:20 of the first quarter to 3:23 of the frame. Tony Parker tallied eight of the points. The Bucks answered with a 10-3 run in the final 2:12 of the first quarter to lead 28-27 at the end of the quarter. Mo Williams scored six of the 10 points.
San Antonio averaged just 12.8 turnovers coming into this game (fourth in the NBA), but had 10 turnovers at the 6:19 mark of the second quarter.
San Antonio’s 11th turnover came at 3:12 of the second quarter. They did not commit their 12th until 8:22 of the fourth quarter. For the game, they had 14.
An 8-0 run from 4:56 to 2:13 in the second quarter gave Milwaukee a nine-point lead at 47-38. The Bucks led 51-47 at the break.
The Bucks Mo Williams received two technical fouls at 7:32 of the third quarter and was ejected from the game. The score was 58-51 when Williams left the game. San Antonio outscored Milwaukee 22-10 through the rest of the quarter – including a 15-0 spurt from 4:34 to 1:28.
A Charlie Bell layup gave the Bucks a 94-93 lead with 20.1 seconds remaining in the game. It was Milwaukee’s first lead since 3:02 of the third quarter.
Manu Ginobili responded with a jumper to give the lead back to the Spurs (95-94) with 13.2 remaining. San Antonio held on for a 96-94 win from there.
Tonight’s game marked just the third time this year that the Bucks have opened a back-to-back set at home. After tonight’s loss they are 1-2 in those tilts.
Andrew Bogut finished with 17 points and 15 rebounds, his team-leading 27th double-double of the season. Bogut has recorded 16 of those double-doubles in 2008 and four in his last six contests.
The Bucks failed to reach 100 points for the first time in seven games and became the sixth consecutive foe that the Spurs have held under 100.
The Spurs have now won eight games in a row and 12 of their last 13.
Milwaukee is now 4-6 in games decided by three or less.
The Bucks ended play against the Southwest Division with a 3-7 record. They have just four games remaining against the Western Conference (Minnesota, Portland, Seattle and Utah).
The Spurs swept the Bucks for just the second time in the last nine seasons. San Antonio is 8-10 against Milwaukee over that span.
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GAMEDAY ARCHIVE
Click "play" on the video player to the right to watch exclusive locker room video from tonight's loss to the Spurs. Or use the links below to watch and listen to archived video and audio.
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Locker room: Desmond Mason & Michael Redd
Postgame: Larry Krystkowiak
Game highlights
1Q: Rim Rockers
For exclusive locker room video from tonight's game, check out the AT&T Multimedia Vault!
Larry Krystkowiak
(On Michael Redd’s free throws at the end of the game…)
“There are a lot of missed shots throughout the course of the game. Those are the ones that might be under the microscope. Certainly we had to miss the second one on purpose. It worked pretty well and Andrew (Bogut) got a tipped missed basket. There were a lot of opportunities along the way. It didn’t come down to those free throws. There were plenty of opportunities on both sides of the basketball.”
(On the various combinations of players on the court tonight…)
“San Antonio played small. They had (Michael) Finley playing the four at one point. We matched up accordingly with them and managed to make enough plays. I thought Bobby (Simmons), after having not played in a couple of games, responded real well. Defensively I thought we did an adequate job. We just didn’t quite score enough points.”
(On defending Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili tonight...)
“I thought we did a nice job on Duncan. I thought Andrew did a nice job. We played him straight up inside. That was a pretty quiet 30 points for Ginobili. He’s one heck of a player and it certainly hurt us tonight.”
Michael Redd
(On his free throws to end the game…)
“We had plenty of chances to lose that game and to win that game. Unfortunately, I missed a free throw.”
(On playing a close game against a good Spurs team…)
“It’s indicative of how we’ve been playing as of late, especially at home. We feel like we can beat anybody at home, it just didn’t happen tonight.”
Desmond Mason
(On playing tough against the defending NBA champions…)
“It does hurt a little bit, knowing that we had the opportunity to win this game. There were many opportunities for us to win and there were many opportunities for us to lose this game and just quit and give up, but we continued to play. (San Antonio) is a good team. For us to come out and bring the energy we did, I think it speaks a lot about the direction this team is trying to get to. We’ve been on a roller coaster ride all season with that. Here at home recently we’ve been playing with a lot of energy and a lot of passion and that’s what’s important.”
(On the third quarter…)
“They just made plays. They made plays on the offensive end, they got stops, and they kind of picked the pressure up a little bit. The third quarter is where they really try to do their damage. They come out of the locker room and really try to jump on teams. I think we just stayed focused and poised and kept fighting to give ourselves a chance at the end of the game.”
(On the talent of the Spurs…)
“That’s why I think they win championships. They have guys who step up and make plays and they’re a very unselfish team. That’s the type of team that the majority of the teams in the NBA want to be like. For us to come out and play the way we played today and the way we’ve been playing recently, it speaks volumes about our team.”
Photos by Gary Dineen (NBAE/Getty Images)
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