• The San Antonio Spurs are back in San Antonio for a much needed break from the Rodeo Road Trip:

“We need the break,” coach Gregg Popovich said. “A couple of those older-than-dirt guys need a rest. It’s good to have these couple of days.”

Manu Ginobili:

“For me, this break is huge. I was a little sore before the game. The Lakers game was tough for me, and then there was that last play, so I guess I was a little unlucky. But I’m happy. We played really well, and we have three days off, and it’s going to help heal wounds.” (Express News)

• Here is what Spurs' coach Popovich had to say about Tim Duncan making the 2011 Western Conference All-Star squad:

"You look at our record right now and he's a big part of that," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said of Duncan. "I'm sure he's moved that the coaches recognized what he's done this year to help this team be where it is, so I'm thrilled for him." (jsonline.com)

Hit the jump to read about Tony Parker's All-Star snub, who got a vote for Coach of the Year, how to win free tickets to the Spurs-Oklahoma City Thunder game in San Antonio this month, and more.

Check out this video from the LA Times where Los Angeles Lakers' Kobe Bryant, coach Phil Jackson, Derek Fisher voice their respect for the San Antonio Spurs before their meeting this past Thursday.

Bryant speaks on his respect on the Spurs, Jackson actually doesn't make snide comments about San Antonio and gives respect to Spurs' coach Gregg Popovich, Fisher says the Spurs are the best in the NBA, and all three say much more about the Spurs.

Let me see if I understand this correctly, the San Antonio Spurs can win in front of the brightest film-stars in Hollywood, yet they can’t pull off a win in a state that is known to host “Big Foot” and was a major filming sight for vampires who glisten in the sunlight? 

Ladies and gentlemen, and mythical creatures, let’s begin Views From The Couch Volume 10!

The Past Should Be Revisited

• @ Portland Trail Blazers (Team That Matters): For a full recap, check out the one I wrote after the game. To see how the Trail Blazers felt after the win, read @Sophiabiabia’s Portland recap. [P.S. Read the fan comments underneath the article, they’re an excellent observation of how fans react when they defeat the Spurs. It shows the respect the Spurs get from around the entire league!]

Commentary during the game: As the Spurs were falling behind in the fourth quarter, I tweeted “Things not looking good for #Spurs in #Portland right now. Portland is clearly the aggressor and fueled w/ energy. Spurs need to wake up.”

In the fourth quarter, I tweeted “Can anyone in #Portland please verify if Tony Parker is still alive? 6pts in 30min? Come on TP! We need you!! #Spurs”

• @ Los Angeles Lakers (Team That Matters): For a full recap, check out the one I did following the game.

Commentary during the game: In the first quarter, after Antonio McDyess made a spectacular play, @marcel_mutoni tweeted “James Naismith consulted with Antonio McDyess when he invented basketball. #old”

Click the "Read More" button to see which Spur earned Player of the Week? Who got honorable mention? How bad was the Portland loss? What are the Lakers thinking after Thursday night? Is it Tiago's time to shine and a quick look at the week ahead featuring the Fantastic Four? And find out how you can be involved in the emotional McDyess game winning roller coaster!

• San Antonio Spurs' Tim Duncan made the 2011 Western Conference All-Star team as a reserve but Minnesota Timberwolves' Kevin Love was surprised about Duncan's selection:

"I thought Blake would get in because fans want to see dunks," said Love. "Not taking anything away from (Duncan). His averages are down. He's not the most exciting player. I didn't see that happening, but the Spurs' record and the coaches' emphasis on winning  . . .  I guess they had to take another player from the Spurs." (jsonline.com)

• Spurs' Richard Jefferson has been much more aggressive of late and Spurs' coach Gregg Popovich has taken notice:

“Richard did a good job of doing what he did at the beginning of the year: Catch it and let it go,” Popovich said. “No thinking. Let it fly or drive it. There’s no hesitation at all, and that’s what he did, and it’s nice to see. He’s playing real aggressively and doing a good job.” (Express News)

• Recently the city of San Antonio received some rare snow fall so what did Spurs fans do with the snowfall? Create a Spurs snowman of course!

Hit the jump to see the Spurs snowman and more news about your favorite team including how to win a free pair of tickets to the Spurs-Oklahoma City Thunder game this month in San Antonio courtesy of Project Spurs.

According to the Greater Tulsa Reporter, Larry Owens has rejoined the Tulsa 66ers and will suit up with them tonight as they take on the Texas Legends.

Owens, who was named a D-League All-Star on Thursday, was the second player to earn a GATORADE Call-Up this season. He appeared in seven games with the Spurs averaging 1.3 points in 4.4 minutes per game.

Before his stint in San Antonio, Owens played in 23 games (all starts) for the 66ers averaging 12.7 points, 5.5 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 1.1 steals in 31.2 minutes per game.

James Anderson's return to the San Antonio Spurs likely signaled the end of Owens' stay in San Antonio.

All eyes were on San Antonio Spurs' Antonio McDyess after he made the game winning tip-in for the Spurs against the Los Angeles Lakers this past Thursday.

Spurs fans were cheering across the globe as they saw McDyess' teammates rush to mob him on the court and witnessed Spurs' coach Gregg Popovich crack an elusive smile.

However, if you rewind the video of McDyess' tip-in, a lot happened in 4.6 seconds for Spurs fans to savor. More directly, Spurs fans can savor Lakers' heartache as the McDyess tip fell through the net.

With that being said, follow along with the video below to see the top four Lakers' reactions to the McDyess tip-in.

4. Lakers' assistant coach Chuck Person raises then lowers his arms. At the 13 second point of the video, watch the Lakers' sideline as former Spurs' player, now Lakers' assistant coach, Chuck Person raises his arms in triumph after Tim Duncan misses the shot but suddenly lowers his arms when the tip-in goes through.

Hit the jump to see who made the top three spots.

Box Score | Advanced Stats | GameFlow

The San Antonio Spurs are now 2-1 on the rodeo road trip and 42-8 on the season after defeating the Sacramento Kings 113-100 last night.

Although the Spurs had just played in a down-to-the-wire thriller against the Lakers the night before, there was no apparent rust as the Spurs got out to a big lead early and left the Kings trailing the rest of the game.

The Spurs taking control early in the game allowed Spurs coach Gregg Popovich to limit Tim Duncan's minutes.

Duncan played just under 13 minutes, which left plenty of playing time for rookie Tiago Splitter, who has been struggling as of late.

With the added playing time, Splitter did not disappoint, finishing the game with 16 points and nine rebounds in just under 28 minutes on the floor. Splitter also provided an exclamation point with a thunderous dunk to end the Kings 18-5 third quarter rally.

Tony Parker, who struggled just two games ago against Portland, was the catalyst against the Lakers and he lead the attack against the Kings, finishing with 25 points and seven assists.

Also finishing in double figures for the Spurs were Richard Jefferson (16), Duncan (12), DeJuan Blair (10) and George Hill (10). The Kings were lead in scoring by guards Tyreke Evans and Beno Udrih, who scored 25 and 18 points respectively.

The Spurs are now back home for a three-day break before they head East. They'll play their next four games in a five-night span, starting with Detroit on Tuesday.

Quoteable

"Tony has been playing at an All-Star level all season. On another team he would be averaging 25 points a game." -Richard Jefferson

Hit the jump to read what other sites had to say about the game as well as a fantasy focus and more.

• The next San Antonio Spurs home game against the Oklahoma City Thunder has had a time change:

The National Basketball Association today announced that the San Antonio Spurs vs. Oklahoma City Thunder game on February 23 will be changed to 6:00 p.m. and will continue to be televised by ESPN. The game can still be seen locally on CW35 and heard in English on 1200 AM WOAI and in Spanish on 1350 AM KCOR. The game was previously scheduled to tip-off at 7:00 p.m. (spurs.com)

And speaking of the Spurs-Thunder game, follow @projectspurstiq on Twitter for a chance to win two free tickets for the February 23 game later this month courtesy of all of us here at Project Spurs.

• It was the tip-in heard all around Spurs fandom, but how did Antonio McDyess' game winning tip-in against the Los Angeles Lakers fare on NBA.com's Horry Scale?

3.5 Horrys. The shot itself was easy, but the game situation, conference implications and the fact that this is the Horry Scale, after all, and Big Shot Rob did in fact once play for the Spurs, earns this play 3.5 Horrys.

• Lakers' Lamar Odom takes full blame for the Lakers' loss to the Spurs last night:

"I've got to make that play towards the end," Odom said. "I got caught watching Duncan take the shot and didn't box out. McDyess got position. He beat me." (latimes.com)

• Project Spurs' Nick Kapsis shared the following video of Lakers' fans reaction to McDyess' game winning tip with me today and now I'm sharing it with the rest of the Project Spurs' fans:

The San Antonio Spurs pulled out 89-88 victory in Los Angeles against their Western Conference rival Los Angeles Lakers in dramatic fashion thanks to Spurs' Antonio McDyess' game winning tip.

The game was everything a fan could hope for when these two teams match up but in this contest, Spurs fans were treated to a miracle shot and a the thrilling conclusion brought to you by Spurs' Gary Neal and McDyess.

Neal's shot at the end of the first quarter:

McDyess seals the win for the Spurs: