Spurs pound Nuggets to tie series

The Spurs rebounded nicely from their 93-87 setback in Game 1 to even the best-of-seven series at one game apiece. Game 3 is scheduled for Saturday at the Pepsi Center in Denver.

Duncan had struggled in the opening game of the series, shooting just 7-of-22 from the floor. However, he had it working on Wednesday when he missed just four shots from the field (11-of-15).

"Everyone came out focused and knew the game plan," said Duncan. "When we do that, we are tough to beat."

San Antonio, the second seed, hasn’t been knocked out in the opening round since 2000 when it lost to the Phoenix Suns. However, the Spurs are 2-11 all- time when dropping the first game of a best-of-seven series.

Manu Ginobili netted 17 points in the victory and Brent Barry chipped in 16.

The Nuggets have now dropped 12 straight Game 2s and haven’t won the second test of a playoff series since beating the Los Angeles Lakers on May 14, 1985.

DerMarr Johnson scored 12 points to lead the seventh-seeded Nuggets, who shot just 36 percent in the game. Andre Miller posted 11 points and seven assists and Carmelo Anthony finished with just 10 points. Marcus Camby led Denver with 12 rebounds and also added nine points.

"I’m not going to stand here and say I’m happy," said Nuggets coach George Karl. "But we’re 1-1 and we’ve got a homecourt that’s pretty good."

Denver led 8-7 after Miller hit a pair of free throws with 9:11 remaining in the first quarter, but the Spurs answered with a 16-2 explosion and never trailed again. Bruce Bowen, Barry and Parker each hit three-pointers in the run and San Antonio led 23-10 with 4:16 left. Parker scored 12 points in the first 12 minutes and helped the Spurs to a 29-18 advantage.

San Antonio really started to run away with it in the second quarter where it outscored Denver, 34-14. The Spurs held a 36-24 lead early in the second when they exploded on a 24-4 run to open a 32-point cushion. Duncan scored 10 points in the stretch and capped it with a 15-foot jumper to make it a 60-28 game with 1:45 remaining.

The Spurs would carry a 63-32 lead into the locker room after shooting 61 percent in the first half. Denver, meanwhile, connected on just 31 percent of its shots in the opening 24 minutes.

Duncan led all scorers with 18 at the break and Parker added 17, while Camby scored nine to lead the Nuggets.

Denver opened the third quarter on a 17-5 stretch to get the deficit down to 68-49, but the that would be as close as the Nuggets would get. The Spurs would take an 86-62 cushion into the final quarter.

Duncan and Parker barely played in the fourth quarter and the Spurs would expand their lead to as many as 34 points en route to the easy win.

"Any loss like that is embarrassing," said Anthony. "After the first game we expected someone to get better. They were the team that got better."