Stats of the Game: Spurs vs. Lakers
Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili had bad shooting nights but it didn't matter, with a great defensive team effort and Tony Parker scoring 23 points, the San Antonio Spurs beat the defending champion Los Angeles Lakers 97-82.
Here are some numbers that stood out in this latest Spurs victory.
42 - The Lakers entered the game leading the league on points in the paint but the Spurs dominated on the inside and outscored the Lakers 42-28 on inside points.
35.4 - San Antonio held the Lakers to just 29-82 shooting from the field (35.4%) to set a new season-low for a Spurs opponent.
23 - Tony Parker had a game-high 23 points, including 14 in the first half that kept the Spurs in the game.
21 - Kobe Bryant led the Lakers with 21 points but only shot 8-27 from the field as he missed 13 shots in a row after making four of his first five attempts.
17-15 - DeJuan Blair was suppose to struggle against long athletic bigs like Pau Gasol, Andrew Bynum and Lamar Odom but that was not the case. Blair had season-highs 17 points and 15 rebounds while shooting 8-14 from the field in 32 minutes of action.
17 - The Spurs' transition game worked in their favor, they outscored the Lakers 17-8 on fast break points.
15 - With Duncan and Ginobili struggling on offense, Richard Jefferson turned out a solid performance. He scored 15 points and grabbed seven rebounds for the Spurs.
10-9-4 - George Hill led the Spurs bench with 10 points, added a season high nine boards and a career-high four block shots. But more importantly, he never backed down and did a great job on containing Kobe on the offensive end.
9 - The Spurs took care of the ball they only had nine turnovers to the Lakers' 16.
0 - How well did Parker, Jefferson and Hill played? All players did not commit a single turnover for the entire game.
Rookie Watch: Neal had nine points, two rebounds, one assists and one steal in 18 minutes of action. Tiago Splitter had two points, one rebound, one assists and a block shot in 7 minutes of playing time.
What's Next? The Spurs will visit the Dallas Mavericks at the American Airlines Arena in Dallas on Thursday.
Follow Robby Lim on Twitter @RobbyLim21
