Spurs Show Celtics What They Missed in a Very Big Way

When he took over at Boston last May, Coach Rick Pitino said he hoped to get the chance to draft Tim Duncan.

On Friday, Pitino could only watch helplessly as the player he wanted helped the San Antonio Spurs to a 101-86 victory over Pitino’s Boston Celtics.

“We got physically dominated tonight,” Pitino said. “We were not able to handle their big people down low in the paint. Physically we just don’t match up well against Robinson and Duncan.”

David Robinson had 34 points and 13 rebounds, going over 15,000 points in his career, and Duncan, the rookie from Wake Forest, added 23 points, 15 rebounds and eight blocks.

“They are both great players, and they’re probably our biggest strength right now,” Coach Gregg Popovich said after the Spurs’ seventh consecutive victory. “They work well with the team and each other. They complement and take advantage of each other’s strengths.”

The Celtics, limited to 41.6% shooting, had a four-game winning streak ended. Antoine Walker led Boston with 21 points and Ron Mercer added 18.

“Every game you play, you’re not going to face two big guys like that,” Walker said. “We were prepared to be overmatched tonight, but we thought we could use our quickness to overcome it. We play these guys twice a year and next time it will be a different story.”

With his 13th point in the second quarter, Robinson topped 15,000 for his career, good for No. 78 on the NBA scoring list.

“It’s a great milestone,” Robinson said. “Right now my eyes are set for some greater heights.”

Milwaukee 99, Atlanta 94--The Bucks prevented the Hawks from setting an NBA record for consecutive overtime victories behind 14 points and 16 rebounds from Tyrone Hill at Milwaukee.

The Hawks had won 11 consecutive overtime games, a streak that dated back to the 1994-95 season. It tied the record set by San Antonio from Nov. 13, 1979, to Feb. 8, 1983.

Hill had nine of his rebounds on the offensive end for the Bucks, who extended Atlanta’s losing streak to four games.

Minnesota 116, New Jersey 96--Stephon Marbury bowed to the crowd as he exited the court after keying a 16-0 fourth-quarter run at Minneapolis.

Marbury walked to the end of the floor and bowed to the fans after scoring six of his 22 points and forcing Sam Cassell to foul out during the deciding run.

The Timberwolves scored a team-record 46 points in the fourth quarter.

Cassell, who led all players with 31 points and 13 assists, was called for charging and then fouled Marbury on the other end of the floor in a nine-second span during the Timberwolves’ rally.

Indiana 107, Orlando 81--Rik Smits took advantage of the absence of Rony Seikaly and scored 15 of his 20 points in the first quarter as the Pacers cruised at Indianapolis.

Smits, guarded by Danny Schayes in the first quarter because Seikaly was out because of flu, made nine of 12 shots in the first half and wasn’t needed after the middle of the third quarter.

Indiana shot 72% in the first half and 63% for the game and led by as much as 32 points in winning its eighth consecutive home game. It was the fifth loss in a row for the Magic.

Washington 97, Dallas 95--Calbert Cheaney had a key steal and layup with 10 seconds left at Dallas as the Wizards won their sixth in a row and extended the Mavericks’ losing streak to 11.

Cheaney paced the Wizards with 21 points, followed by Juwan Howard and Tracy Murray with 20.

Miami 88, Detroit 74--The Heat extended its record three-point streak to 320 games, making nine three-point baskets to beat the Pistons at Auburn Hills, Mich.

Voshon Lenard, Jamal Mashburn and Tim Hardaway made three-pointers in the final 88 seconds of the second quarter to give the Heat a 49-38 halftime lead, and Lenard made two more and Hardaway one to close the third quarter with the Heat leading, 69-53.

Charlotte 96, Cleveland 88--David Wesley scored six of his 20 points in the final 3:36 at Charlotte, N.C., to help the Hornets defeat the Cavaliers, who lost Shawn Kemp and Brevin Knight for long stretches because of injuries.

Wesley added five assists and two steals as the Hornets won for the seventh time in 10 games. Glen Rice led Charlotte with 26 points and Vlade Divac had 23 points and 11 rebounds.

Kemp, the Cavaliers’ top scorer and rebounder, was bothered by a strained lower back that limited him to 28 minutes. He had 12 points and nine rebounds before fouling out with 54 seconds left after scoring only two points in the second half.

Knight, the rookie point guard who leads the NBA with 3.1 steals per game, collapsed under Cleveland’s basket with a sprained left ankle midway through the third quarter. Knight had to be helped to the locker room, where X-rays were negative, but he did not return. He had nine points, seven assists and one steal in 24 minutes.

Phoenix 118, Vancouver 100--Cedric Ceballos, averaging only 9.1 points, equaled a season high with 22 points, and Jason Kidd had 13 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists for the Suns at Vancouver, Canada.

Ceballos, starting in place of Cliff Robinson, had 17 points in the first half as the Suns won their fourth in a row.

Antonio McDyess chipped in 16 points for the Suns and Danny Manning came off the bench for 14 points and seven rebounds.

Shareef Abdur-Rahim led Vancouver with 23 points and George Lynch came off the bench for a season-high 19 points.

Seattle 111, Sacramento 95--Vin Baker had 26 points and 16 rebounds and Gary Payton had 22 points and 12 assists as the SuperSonics pulled away in the second half at Sacramento.

Mitch Richmond scored 25 points for the Kings, but he had only one field goal over the final 14 minutes.

Golden State 81, Denver 69--Erick Dampier matched his career high with 19 points as the Warriors completed a holiday-interrupted, back-to-back sweep of the cold-shooting Nuggets at Denver.

Denver, which lost its ninth game in a row and dropped to a league-worst 2-24, had its lowest point total of the season and worst shooting night (32%).