Duncan, Spurs rip Bobcats

Manu Ginobili had 13 points and five assists, while Michael Finley added 11 points and six rebounds for the Spurs, who have won eight of their last 11.

Sean May was the leading scorer for the Bobcats with 18 points to go along with seven boards. Gerald Wallace had 15 points and seven rebounds and Raymond Felton contributed 13 points, nine assists and seven boards for Charlotte, which has dropped three of four.

After back-to-back jumpers by Derek Anderson and Felton gave the Bobcats a 22-15 lead late in the first quarter, the Spurs began to build momentum with a 7-1 spurt to cut their deficit to 23-22 after the opening 12 minutes.

Ginobili’s basket to start the second quarter put San Antonio up for good as the Spurs scored seven straight points to start the period.

San Antonio took a 48-42 lead into the break and then used a late 8-0 run in the third quarter to seize control of the game. Ginobili scored five straight points for the Spurs before Brent Barry drained a trey to make it 68-53 with just over a minute to play in the quarter.

After baskets by Othella Harrington and May, Barry answered with a layup to give San Antonio a 70-57 lead heading into the final quarter.

Charlotte managed to get within nine early in the fourth before the Spurs ripped off 11 straight points to put the game away.

Game Notes

The Spurs improved to 8-2 on the road this season...Barry and Tony Parker each finished with 10 points for San Antonio. Parker added five assists and three rebounds.