The Mavericks won their regular season matchup against the Spurs last year 3-1, but were dispatched by San Antonio in the playoffs 4-2.

KEYS TO THE GAME

SPURS:

By Mikkayla Guillett and Jeff Garcia

Thanksgiving week is the one week out of the year where society (and more importantly your mother) makes you give thanks for the things in life. You know the routine. I’m thankful for my family, friends, job, etc. Scratch that. Let’s talk about what you’re really thankful for… the San Antonio Spurs.

Currently sitting atop of the NBA with a 13-1 record and a 12 game winning streak. End of story.

From everyone at Project Spurs and Toros Nation we’d like to wish everyone a safe and joyous Thanksgiving. Please prepare yourself for Friday’s game as the Spurs battle the Dallas Mavericks at home.

Sorry. It doesn’t end there. Obviously something’s got to be going right if the team is off to the best start since their first tip-off in 1973.

Tim Duncan, currently in his 14^th season, is the only player flirting with double-double averages ( 13.4 points, 9.4 rebounds). More importantly Duncan is now the Spurs all-time scoring leader.

After a horrid shooting during the first half, the San Antonio Spurs made 6-10 three pointers in the final period to overcome a 21 point deficit and avoid an upset from the Minnesota Timberwolves.

The Spurs extended their winning streak to 12 games and handed the young Timberwolves another painful loss.

It's now time to look at the numbers that stood out in this Spurs' latest win.

80.6 - San Antonio made 29-36 (80.6%) of their foul shots, while the Timberwolves connected 18-24 (75%) of their free throws.

53 - The Timberwolves crashed the boards and out rebounded the Spurs 53-45.

50 - The Spurs' outside shots weren't falling early, they finished the game 10-32 (31.3%) from the 3-point area. The Timberwolves made 7-14 (50%) of their shots from beyond the arc.

44 - The Timberwolves pounded it on the inside, they outscored the Spurs 44-32 on inside points.

32 - Kevin Love had a game-high 32 points and 22 rebounds.

26 - Manu Ginobili led the Spurs 26 points, six rebounds, six assists, two steals and one block shot.

22 - Darko Milicic had another great night, he had 22 points, eight boards and five blocks but committed seven turnovers.

19 - Richard Jefferson continues to contribute for the Spurs, he added 19 points, four rebounds and two assists.

14 - Manu Ginobili scored 14 of his 26 points in the fourth quarter to rally the Spurs from a 21 point deficit.

13 - The Spurs took care of the ball once again, they only had 13 turnovers compared to 18 by the Timberwolves. 

12 - George Hill had a solid effort from the bench, he had 12 points, five rebounds and one assists in 25 minutes of action.

11 - The Spurs held Timberwolves' leading scorer Michael Beasley to just 11 points on 5-12 shooting from the field.

9 - Tim Duncan was totally outplayed by Love and Milicic inside the paint, he only scored nine points but added 13 boards and three assists in 30 minutes of playing time.

0 - Tony Parker and Jefferson did not commit a single turnover for the entire game.

Rookie Watch: Gary Neal scored six points including three free throws to force overtime. Tiago Splitter had six points, four rebounds, one block and a steal in 22 minutes of action.

What's Next? The Spurs will host the Dallas Mavericks at the AT&T Center in San Antonio on Friday.

Follow Robby Lim on Twitter @RobbyLim21

The San Antonio Spurs are 12-1 and atop the league standings. Over the past eight days, they’ve defeated the Thunder in OKC — on the second night of a back to back. They’ve beaten the Jazz in Utah — exacting a little revenge from last year’s regular-season sweep (4-0). They’ve managed to tame two Eastern conference beasts at the friendly confines of the AT&T Center (Chicago and Orlando). The league and its writers are beginning to take notice; no longer is a soft, favorable schedule providing the ammunition to dismiss.

There is so much for a Spurs fan to be thankful for this Thanksgiving holiday. Forget all that has become before, the championships and all the cherished Spurs’ memories, this year has exceeded all expectation through thirteen games: Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili have been hands-down the best backcourt in the NBA. Duncan, while taking a bit of a backseat, is healthy — still making his presence felt— and looking more than capable of being a dominant force when called upon. Richard Jefferson has found a way, his game, his confidence. Antonio McDyess looks to have found the fountain of youth (or some HGH — kidding). The Spurs have added three rookies to the roster in Splitter, Anderson and Neal, that have all exhibited the ability to be quality rotation players. Matt Bonner, well, the redhead can shoot it a bit — currently boasting a league-leading 3-point percentage (69.2%).

So pass the turkey, the pie and a nice cold beverage. Time to just kick back, relax and give thanks for all that is Spurs’ basketball and Tryptophan.

Or not.

After missing a week, Jeff and I got together to talk about the latest in San Antonio Spurs news, including their 11-game win streak.
 
We also recap and analyze their latest win against the Magic, which some were dubbing a NBA Finals preview.

We discussed some of the latest news to close out the show, including the recent waiving of Alonzo Gee and Danny Green.

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The San Antonio Spurs look to extend their 11 game winning streak to 12 as they face the Minnesota Timberwolves tonight at the Target Center.

To talk about the game tonight, I turned to a fellow blogger here at Bloguin, Dave from TWolves Blog the best Timberwolves blog on the net. Why is it the best? Because only Dave at TWolves Blog could add a picture of coach Popovich not being so humble in the Q&A I did for his blog for tonight's game. Check it out HERE.

Now check out Dave's answers as he gives Project Spurs his take on the game, the Spurs hot start and much more.

Jeff: Aside from Kevin Love, Michael Beasley and surprisingly Darko Milicic, who else has been playing well for the Wolves?

Dave: Ummmm... well... to be honest, you about listed everyone of note on our team that is playing well.  Hey man, after all we are only 4-11.  (On pace for 21 wins though, watch out NBA.)  Telfair and Ridnour are playing decently enough to man the PG position with Flynn out (take your time returning please), and if you could combine Telfair and Ridnour into one player, then we might actually be onto something there.  Wes Johnson has played surprisingly well in spurts, and his defense is pretty good because he gives 110%, understands defensive concepts, and is disruptive/effective.  He has the tools to be a good NBA defender down the road. Corey Brewer plays well for like 10 minutes at a time off the bench and.... yeah, that's it.

Hahahahahaha "Wolves keys to victory." That's funny! But, I'll play along. 

First off, we need to contain Parker and Manu.  The problem here is that our guard/wing defense is just downright atrocious (well, our entire defense is, but especially so against quick PG's and wings.)  Parker is having a damn near historic season for a PG, so this could be problematic.  And a healthy Manu is dangerous as well.  Do all NBA fans know how great Manu is?  I don't think they do.  He seems underrated to me.  Take a second and look at the numbers Manu and Parker are putting up, and then go look at the fact that the Wolves are giving up a league worst 110 points per game.

I like our bigs (Love/Darko/Tolliver/Beasley) against yours (Duncan/Splitter/McDyess/Blair) more than I like our wing matchups.  So we need to focus our offense around these guys, and try to exploit any advantages we may have against SA here. 

Assuming the above keys don't work, then just hope and pray that Beasley can score 60+ points tomorrow.  Sigh.

Looking from the outside-in, what do you think is the reason for the Spurs hot start to the season?

Health (specifically Parker). More familiarity with each other and the system (specifically Jefferson). Improved pace and scoring. You guys are playing unlike anything Duncan has been a part of before.  The question is, can you sustain it all season long?

What match-up should Spurs and Wolves fans keep an eye out on tonight?

Not Tony "The Tiger" Parker vs our PG's, because that will be just plain embarrassing for us. Not Blair vs Love, because they are both short and fat. Not Duncan vs Darko, because Duncan bores me. I like Darko A LOT, but he's not exactly Mr. Highlight Reel on the court.

Can we just force the coaches to make Beastley and BatManu guard each other? Because that would be awesome. That's what I want to see. They are two of the best left-handed pure scorers in the league, and probably the best players on our respective teams (Tony Parker and/or Duncan may have something to say about that, but bare with me here.)  Beastley is a terrible defender, so Manu will do all kinds of electrifying and crazy things. And our team sucks, so Beasley will have to do all kinds of electrifying and crazy things for the Wolves to have any semblance of a chance.

OK come on, do you really think the Wolves have any shot at beating the Spurs tonight?

No. 0.00% chance.

What's your prediction for tonight's game?

Wolves 99 - Spurs 118.

The San Antonio Spurs are off to their best start in franchise history. They will look extend their winning streak to 12 games when they visit the Minnesota Timberwolves tonight at the Target Center.

The Spurs (12-1) defeated the Orlando Magic 106-97 in San Antonio last Monday pulling away in the final period while making 5 of 5 of their shots from beyond the arc.

The Timberwolves (4-11) are coming off a 117-107 road loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder and will try their hardest to get back to the win column.

Offense has played a big part in San Antonio's early success. The team currently ranks second in the league in scoring averaging 107.6 points per game. The Timberwolves on the other hand, are last in points allowed at 110.4 per game.

KEYS TO THE GAME

SPURS:

According to the Express News, the San Antonio Spurs will announce the signing of free agent Ime Udoka, who played for the Spurs in 2007-08 and 2008-09. He is expected to sign for the veteran minimum at $1.46 million.

Though his first stint with the Spurs did not pan out as Spurs fans had hoped for, Udoka is a tough defender and will provide some much needed perimeter defense for the Spurs and well as guarding small forwards.

UPDATE:

The San Antonio Spurs have officially signed Ime Udoka:

The San Antonio Spurs today announced that they have signed guard/forward Ime Udoka . Per team policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed.The San Antonio Spurs today announced that they have signed guard/forward Ime Udoka . Per team policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed.

• The San Antonio Spurs have announced former player Malik Rose will rejoin the Spurs as a fill-in TV color commentator for Sean Elliott:

Rose will join play-by-play announcer Bill Land for his first road broadcast tomorrow night when the Spurs take on the Minnesota Timberwolves at 7:00 p.m. on Fox Sports Southwest. He will join Land for various games throughout the season, including the Nov. 28 game at New Orleans Hornets at 2 p.m. on FSSW.

“I have always thought Malik would make a great basketball analyst,” said Mike Kickirillo, Spurs director of broadcasting. “He always provided terrific insight in interviews and his reception with Spurs fans has been off the charts since he stepped into town. He will fit in well with Bill and do a great job stepping in for Sean.” (source Spurs.com)

• With the Spurs and the Los Angeles Lakers heads above the rest in the Western Conference this season and holding a 12-1 and 12-2 records respectively, Lakers head coach Phil Jackson still doesn't feel any team from the West can break the 72 win record his 1996 Chicago Bulls team hold:

"No team in the West really can do it"

"In the West, it's going to be real tough for any team."

Jackson noted the challenges ahead for his Lakers and the Spurs.

"The Spurs really haven't made a swing out to the West Coast, we'll see how that goes," he said. "We'll have to make a quick run to the middle of the country, and then on to the East Coast in the next month.

"And our records will start to even out as we go along." (source ESPN.com)

Have to agree with Jackson. That 72 win Bulls team was loaded with talent and made up of players in their prime. Not to mention that team had a player by the name of Michael Jordan. Highly doubtful the Spurs or the Lakers can break that 72 win record.

On a side note, I cannot wait until the Spurs and Lakers have their first meeting of the season on December 28.

Yesterday, former San Antonio Spurs player Alonzo Gee found a new, but familiar, home. Unfortunately for Spurs fans, it wasn't Austin.

After being drafted by the Austin Toros out of Alabama with the sixth overall pick in the 2009 D-League draft, Gee quickly became a fan favorite in his rookie campaign which ended in an all-star nod and the rookie of the year award.

It didn't take long for teams to take notice. The depleted Washington Wizards came calling with a 10-day contract, which lead to another. In just a short time, Gee had gone from being an end-of-the-bench player to a starter and Verizon Center favorite. Gee averaged 7.4 points in just 16.5 minutes per game with the Wizards, including a 19-point outing against the Bobcats.

But soon Gee had another team calling and a very enticing offer to consider.

It was guaranteed playing time without a guaranteed contract in Washington or sitting on the bench in San Antonio with guaranteed money into the 2010-11 season, being on a playoff team and the chance to be mentored by three NBA stars.

Gee chose San Antonio and never looked back, until now.

Gee went on to sit and earn a check, a role he would know all too well in San Antonio.

Through summer league, Gee averaged 14 points and five rebounds in the most minutes he would play in silver & black.

While most thought Gee and Bobby Simmons would compete in training camp for the backup small forward spot, it was James Anderson who took that role. When Simmons was waived and when Anderson was diagnosed with a stress fracture that would keep him out from six to eight weeks, many in San Antonio thought Gee would finally get his time to shine.

But Gee would only play in two more games before he got his own walking papers.

Gee was one of the players I had high hopes for coming into this season. I though he would have a shot at making the roster out of training camp, but I sensed something was wrong when he couldn't buy a minute in preseason play.

The Spurs made a run at Gee likely on the thought of potential alone, but in all honesty, Gee was still not yet ripe for the picking for the Spurs. Gee made his money on athleticism and scoring, but not shooting. And it should be obvious by now that the Spurs will take risks on two types of players, shooters and defenders, of which Gee was neither.

That's not to say that Gee isn't an NBA-capable player, as made obvious by the Wizards signing, he just wasn't Spurs-ready yet.