SAN ANTONIO SPURS (48-10) vs. MEMPHIS GRIZZLIES (33-27)

The San Antonio Spurs looks for a franchise record 21 straight home win tonight against the Memphis Grizzlies at the AT&T Center. The Spurs (48-10) are coming off a 106-96 victory over the New Jersey Nets last Friday.

Manu Ginobili had 26 points and George Hill pumped in 19 points off the bench in the team's latest win. San Antonio's 20th consecutive win at the AT&T Center tied their best home win streak established by the 1989-1990 team.

The Grizzlies (33-27) are again without Rudy Gay, who will miss at least another three weeks due to a dislocated shoulder, and his absence made the team acquire Shane Battier from Houston at the trade deadline.

Battier played on Saturday against the Sacramento Kings and scored three points, but it was Memphis' big men who sealed the win. Zach Randolph had 23 points, Marc Gasol had 21 and seldom used Hamed Haddad had his first career double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds in a 120-92 rout. The Grizzlies are averaging a league-best 50.3 points in the paint and scored 78 inside points against the Kings.

Combined with Utah's loss, Memphis moved into the Western Conference's No. 8 slot, potentially setting up a first-round matchup with the Spurs. 

San Antonio won their first meeting against the Grizzlies this season 112-106 in overtime.

Hit the jump for the keys of the game and find out which team will win this matchup.

• Dallas Mavericks president of basketball operations Donnie Nelson says chemistry is key to the San Antonio Spurs as well as the Mavericks:

While trades swirled all around them, the West's top three teams -- Spurs, Lakers and Mavericks -- stayed as is.

"I think it's a sign that chemistry is really important, and I know that San Antonio feels like that as well," Mavericks president of basketball operations Donnie Nelson said. "When you got it, don't mess with it." (startribune.com)

• Ipcexpress.com says the Spurs are set to make a run at the NBA title:

San Antonio also presents one of the most well rounded line-ups in the league. As of the All-Star Break the Spurs are currently sixth in the league in points per game, but also fifth in the league in assists and fourth in field goal percentage. Spurs guards Manu Ginobli and Tony Parker are averaging over 17 points while Spurs forwards Tim Duncan and Richard Jefferson are both averaging over 12 points. Their bench is solid as well, with players like Antonio McDyess playing solid defense, helping the Spurs hold their opponents to 96 points per game.

All in all, the Spurs are set to make an epic title run.

• Express News' Tim Griffin talks about Manu Ginobili's big scoring game versus the New Jersey Nets.

• Former Spurs Assistant GM and current Oklahoma City Thunder GM Sam Presti talks about Thunder's newst player and former Spur Nazr Mohammad when they both were in San Antonio:

Presti knows that firsthand because he crossed paths with Mohammed in San Antonio. He remembers being in Detroit for a Christmas game and going to the hotel fitness center.

“And Nazr had already beat me there,” Presti said. “And he was lathered up pretty good.”

The Spurs weren't practicing that day and were giving the guys a day off.

“But he knew that (working out) was important for him to be ready the next day,” Presti said. (newsok.com)

• By now all Spurs fans have heard the song dedicated to the Spurs titled "Black and Silver" and Spurs' Gary Neal and George Hill like the song:

"I think it's a good song," said Spur Gary Neal.

George Hill said he could have got in the booth with the music makers to lay down a couple of tracks.

"Hopefully, me and DB (DeJuan Blair) are going to do a remix," Hill said. "So, be on the lookout." (kens5.com)

In case you missed it, the San Antonio Spurs D-League affiliate Austin Toros took on their rival and defending D-League champions Rio Grande Valley Vipers last week on the road and were able to get the upset win, 111-99.

However, the Toros win was overshadowed by the refs and the crazy ending to the game.

Look what happened with 1:25 seconds left in the game.

Manu Ginobili scored 26 points to help the San Antonio Spurs (48-10) beat the New Jersey Nets (17-41) 106-96 in Deron Williams' debut in Nets uniform at the AT&T Center.

The game was close at half time but the Spurs pulled away in second half behind a strong third quarter effort.

What are the numbers that stood out in this Spurs' latest victory? Let's find out!

84.6 - The Spurs made their free throws, hitting 22-of-26 (84.6%) shots from the foul line. The Nets weren't that bad either, making 17-of-21 (81.0%) of their free throw attempts.

50 - San Antonio dominated the inside battle, outscoring the Nets 50-30 on inside points.

46.3 - The Spurs shot fairly well, connecting on 38-of-82 (46.3%) attempts from the floor while holding the Nets to 37-of-85 (43.5%) from the field.

42 - San Antonio made their shots from beyond the arc, hitting 8-of-19 (42.1%) from the three point line. The Nets on the other hand made only 5-of-21 (23.8%) attempts from behind the arc. The Spurs also out-rebounded the Nets 42-37.

35 - The Spurs outscored the Nets 35-18 in the third quarter to build a 14 point lead entering the final period.

27 - The Nets shared the ball better, dishing out 27 assists compared to the Spurs' 22. However, the Spurs edged the Nets on fast break points 27-25.

26 - Manu Ginobili had a game-high 26 points and added six rebounds, five assists, three steals and one block for the Spurs.

• By now all San Antonio Spurs fans have heard what Dallas Mavericks' Jason Terry has said about the Spurs but now Mavericks' Jason Kidd chimed in:

“We don’t mind that. When you look at the defending champs, the Lakers, and how San Antonio’s playing and then Boston and then you have Miami. You talk about those teams and when you do talk about those teams, we’ve beat those teams. We don’t have to be talked about til June and hopefully we’ll be the one team representing the Western Conference.” (sportsradiointerviews.com)

• The Spurs did not make any trades prior to the NBA trade deadline but what does Spurs' Manu Ginobili have to say about the team standing pat?

• Check out this video starring Spurs' Tim Duncan and legendary Boston Celtics coach Red Auerbach on Duncan's bank-shot:

• Express News' Tim Griffin spoke about there being no rest for the Spurs despite the lead in the Southwest Division.

Hit the jump to read about Spurs legend George Gervin in India, former Spur Steve Smith giving back to his alma mater, and more.

New Jersey Nets coach Avery Johnson spent the majority of his career in San Antonio as a member of the San Antonio Spurs. Nicknamed the "Little General," he won his first NBA title with the Spurs in 1999 and still remains a fan favorite in San Antonio.

With his number six jersey hanging in the rafters of the AT&T Center, it's no surprise he's glad to be back as the Spurs host the Nets.

"It feels good. It feels good to be in a situation where the weather is beautiful," Johnson said. "I've been kind of cold in the New York-New Jersey area. We've had a few blizzards so it felt good to go on my walk which I like to do on gamedays and start sweating, so it's good. It's good to be back in this building."

As for the team his Nets are playing tonight, the Spurs, there is no doubt in his mind that they are the best in the NBA.

"Right now they're the best team in the NBA. A team that plays the right way and it's also exciting with the trades that we made and the new additions to our team," said Johnson.

As Johnson mentioned, yesterday the Nets made a surprising trade deadline deal with the Utah Jazz which brought over All-Star point guard Deron Williams and for Johnson, he knows it's a positive step for the Nets.

"This is a step in the right direction for our team. I would hope that he plays 36 plus. I'm expecting him to play his normal minutes," said Johnson.

Johnson also talked about his former teammate Tim Duncan and his role being similar to Spurs legend David Robinson.

Johnson said, "Both he and David for a long period of time dominated their positions. Then they both got to a stage where they thought 'You know I can't just turn it on like I used to. Still in the top three or five in my position but I'm not the number one guy at my position anymore' and you need to pass the baton and allow other guys to help you."

"That's what Tim has done and he learned it from a great teacher. He's done it with such dignity and class and I think it's great on his part to know what stage of his career he's in and boy, he's had a hall of fame career and definitely the best power forward to ever play the game," Johnson said.

Note: If you are a regular Project Spurs reader, you'll know I had a chance to talk with Oklahoma City Thunder forward Kevin Durant recently. While not everything he talked about was San Antonio Spurs-related, I thought his answers were interesting enough to include in their entirety here.

Inside the Oklahoma City Thunder locker room, players are scattered about getting taped up for the game, watching San Antonio Spurs game video or just listening to music. There are a handful of media that have been standing in the same spot for about 20 minutes, waiting for one player.

As soon as they see his lanky 6-9 frame walk in and sit in front of his locker, the media scurries over to get in good position. White balance set, lights on and ready to roll tape for that night's newscast.

I decided to wait even longer, to let everyone get in their questions so I could speak to him one-on-one.

Durant recently played with a West All-Star squad that featured Carmelo Anthony and Deron Williams, two players who have since moved East in trades to the New York Knicks and New Jersey Nets. The Spurs will see Williams and the Nets tonight.

"It changes a lot. Those two are all-stars, you know, but in this league players step up," Durant said. "Guys step up. Players that haven't played that much are waiting for the opportunity and it opened up a little bit for those teams. I can't count Denver or Utah out. They're still going to be good teams and they're going to be tough to win against."

But with the Western conference losing two of it's best players, does this pave the way for his young Thunder team to experience even more postseason success.

"I hope so. We can't worry about too far down the line, we've got to continue to take it a game at a time," Durant said. "That's the easiest way for us because you never know what will happen these next couple of hours, next couple of days."

The next couple of days, the Thunder added Kendrick Perkins, Nate Robinson and Nazr Mohammed, a move that makes the Thunder a threat to every team in the West.

But don't expect Durant to get overconfident or expect an automatic bid to the second round.

"It's a short season from here on out so we just have to win as much as we can," the Texas alumnus said. "I think we're in the fourth spot so we control our destiny and we'll see what happens at the end of the season."

Durant was also very complimentary of the Spurs, a team he was trying to get his first win of the season against.

The San Antonio Spurs will be taking on Deron Williams and the New Jersey Nets tonight without two of their rookies.

Tiago Splitter, who is out with a strained left hamstring, and Gary Neal, who has mild concussive symptoms will not play tonight.

With Neal out, George Hill will get some added playing time and I wouldn't be too surprised to see James Anderson play at least 10 minutes, which will be a good test of his conditioning against NBA competition.

The game tips at 7:30 p.m. CST tonight. 

The San Antonio Spurs (47-10) will host the new look New Jersey Nets (17-40) at the AT&T Center tonight. The last time these two teams faced each other, the Spurs won 102-85 in New Jersey. In that game, Manu Ginobili paced the Spurs with 22 points.

For the Spurs, they will be looking to maintain their league-leading record and continue their dominance over the Nets in San Antonio as the Spurs have won eight straight over the Nets in San Antonio. The game will give the Spurs their first look at new Nets player Deron Williams who will be making his debut.

For the Nets, it's also their chance to see Williams in action and hope to get some revenge on the Spurs. It will also mark the return of former Spur, now Nets head coach, Avery Johnson to San Antonio.

To talk about tonight's contest, I turn to fellow Bloguin blogger Victor Nash of Whoop De Damn Do. A great place for all things Nets and not to mention a great site name. Also, click HERE to read the Q&A I did for Victor.

In this Q&A, Victor talks about the recent Nets trade for Williams, Avery Johnson, how the Nets can beat the Spurs and much more.  

Jeff: First of all I got to ask you about the recent trade to bring in Deron Williams from the Utah Jazz for Derrick Favors and Devin Harris. Your reaction.

Victor: As of right now, I'm ecstatic about the deal. The Nets, after much heartache over the pursuit of Carmelo Anthony, were rewarded with a better player for basically the same deal, sans two first round draft picks. Williams is an obvious upgrade over Devin Harris and his youth as well as current superstar-dom puts him over Derrick Favors' potential. The Nets have a serious shot at contending if they acquire another All-Star caliber player (David West, anybody?) and are in a better position than they were before by all accounts. The only thing that worries me about the trades are the reports that claim that D-Will is unhappy. Williams is only signed through this season and the next, which indicates that this deal was a huge gamble for NJ. If Williams is clearly not content about being on the wrong side of the Hudson, the Nets could be on the wrong end off something similar to the previous Melodrama. However, let's stop with the pessimism for now. The Nets acquired a superstar in what is known as a superstars' league and are taking their first steps out of the rebuilding dome.
 
How has former San Antonio Spurs player now Nets head coach Avery Johnson been for New Jersey? Likes? Dislikes?

The San Antonio Spurs are currently first in the NBA with a record of 47-10 and are playing like an elite team. The obvious reason for that is due in large part to a healthy "Big Three." However, another reason why the Spurs are playing their best basketball in years is their reserves.

This year, the Spurs have arguably the deepest bench in the league and has made a huge difference for the Spurs this season.

But with the stretch run underway, two young players could play vital roles in the Spurs' playoff success this season -- George Hill and rookie Gary Neal.

What about Gary Neal?