Ginobili powers Spurs past Pacers

"We didn’t play a good game today," Ginobli said. "So it was nice to win this game. We know that Tim Duncan is not at his best of late. He’s been sick, weak and his foot has been hurting him."

Duncan was held to just 10 points on 4-of-15 shooting but San Antonio was able to overcome the sub-par performance by its superstar.

Tony Parker added 17 points and six assists for the Spurs, who set a franchise record by winning their ninth straight game on the road. Bruce Bowen chipped in with 16 points while Nazr Mohammed had 12 points and nine rebounds off the bench in the win.

"We’re really fortunate to come out with a win against a team that really has been plagued for the last couple of years and who has been playing very well," said Spurs coach Gregg Popovich. "Rick Carlisle is a chameleon of all the coaches in the NBA. He’s assembling a new team every couple of weeks and knows how to get the job done."

Stephen Jackson netted 17 points for the Pacers, who lost for the first time in five games. Peja Stojakovic added 16 points and eight rebounds while Fred Jones had 12 points off the bench in the loss.

Deadlocked heading into the final frame, the teams continued to trade baskets and found themselves in a 66-66 stalemate.

Indiana looked they might take control with a 13-6 burst capped by a Jeff Foster lay-in to make the score 79-72 with 3:48 left on the clock.

The Spurs showed their championship mettle however, and slowly closed the gap.

With 50.2 ticks remaining Ginobli calmly buried a pair from the charity stripe to put the Spurs back on top, 87-86.

12 seconds later, Jackson put the Pacers back in front, 88-87, with two of his own from the line.

San Antonio then closed it out with the final five points of the game, all from the free throw line. Ginobli sealed it with 4.3 seconds left when he sunk another pair.

"That’s a tough one, a tough one to lose," said Carlisle. "It’s too bad. The guys really fought hard. If we had gotten a couple more stops the last couple of minutes, it would have been a different story."

The Spurs took held a 25-21 edge after the first 12 minutes. San Antonio extended the lead to 43-38 at the half.

Ginobli had 12 to pace the Spurs while Johnson and Sarunas Jasikevicius had seven points each to lead the Pacers.

The Pacers jumped back into it with a 24-19 third quarter to deadlock things at 62.

Game Notes

The Spurs are 19-7 on the road this season. Indiana is 16-8 at home...Indiana won the battle of the boards, 43-39.