Tim Duncan played 36 minutes and recorded his 26th double-double of the season, hanging 28 points and 19 rebounds on the Dallas Mavericks in a 92-91 win that clinched a playoff berth and gave the Spurs their 14th consecutive 50-win season, an NBA record.
Duncan downplayed his performance as nothing special, saying "I wasn't trying to feel anything. I was just trying to get in there where I fit in, and play as hard as I could. I got some shots to drop and was being aggressive on the boards as best I could." His modesty can't hide what the numbers show, however. Duncan remains a model of consistency as does his team, which has kept rolling along for the most part despite losing All-Star point guard Tony Parker to a sprained ankle earlier this month.
Manu Ginobili's slump continued Thursday night with a nine-point, 2-of-9 performance but he was picked up by reserve guard Gary Neal who poured in 16 off the bench on 6-of-13 shooting. Dirk Nowitzki led the Mavericks with a double-double of his own-21 points on 6-of-16 shooting with 11 rebounds.
When asked what the 50-win season record means to Duncan, he replied "Consistency. Which is awesome. We've had guys come in and out of here. Teams have changed year in and year out and we're in this position. Obviously, it's been a while since we've won the championship but we want to get back to that."
The Spurs are currently the top seed in the Western Conference, one and a half games ahead of Kevin Durant and the Oklahoma City Thunder. Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich had good news for Spurs fans before the win over Dallas as well, telling reporters that Parker may return sooner than initially projected. "I hope I'm not being too hopeful, but I think it will be shorter than two weeks." He said Parker has been participating in light shooting drills.
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