The San Antonio Spurs will look to extend their winning streak to seven games when they visit the Oklahoma City Thunder at the Ford Center in Oklahoma for their first set of back-to-backs of the season.

Both teams are coming off victories, the Thunder (5-3) are coming from a 110-108 win over the Portland Trail Blazers last Friday and will look to win their third straight. The Spurs (7-1) are on a six game winning streak and have defeated teams with .500 or below records, their latest victory was a 116-93 blowout against the Philadelphia 76ers.·

Kevin Durant leads the league in scoring at 28.9 points per game and has averaged 27.7 points against the Spurs over his career. In their last game (March 22) against the Spurs, Durant scored 45 points in 99-96 Thunder loss.

The Spurs are off to their best start since 2007-2008 but will have a real test against the Thunder.

KEYS TO THE GAME

SPURS:

The San Antonio Spurs (7-1) extended their winning streak to six games. They led 39-28 at the end of the first quarter and never looked back.

The 76ers (2-8) showed little resistance and appeared tired playing the second night of back-to-backs.

Now, let's check at the stats that stood out in this Spurs' blowout victory.

52 - The Spurs dominated the paint and outscored the 76ers 52-38 on inside points.

47·- San Antonio also controlled the boards on this game, out rebounding the 76ers·47-38.

44.4 - Once again the Spurs made their outside shots, hitting 8-18 (44.4%) from beyond the arc, including 3-5 from Manu Ginobili. The 76ers were also effective from the three point line and connected on 4-9 (44.4%) of their 3 point attempts.·

39 - The Spurs scored a season-high 39 points in the opening period and protected the lead the rest of the way. The 76ers never recovered after falling behind 28-39 and the end of the first quarter.

36 -·The Spurs totally outran their opponents, they scored 36 fast break points compared to just 17 by the Sixers.

24 - Tony Parker had a game high 24 points as he led the Spurs' offensive attack. Tim Duncan played just 24 minutes but had 7 points, six rebounds and a season-high five assist.

21·-·The Spurs continues to share the ball well. They had 21 assists for the game, seven coming from Parker, the 76ers only had 13 assists.

15·- Matt Bonner returned to action coming from an ankle injury, had 6 points and 5 rebounds in 15 minutes of playing time. With rookie James Anderson out with a stress fracture, Alonzo Gee played 15 minutes and had two points and two rebounds.

13 - After starting the season pretty slow, DeJuan Blair seem to be getting his rhythm. He had 13 points and 12 rebounds·for his first double-double of the season.

0·- George Hill had 16 points off the bench and did not commit a single turnover in 21 minutes of action.

Rookie Watch:·Tiago Splitter had·6 points, 3 rebounds, two assists and a steal in 19 minutes of action. Gary Neal had 5 points and 7 boards in 24 minutes of playing time.

What's Next? The Spurs will visit Kevin Durant and the Oklahoma City Thunder to complete their first set of back-backs for the season.

San Antonio Spurs forward Matt Bonner will be back in action tonight against the Philadelphia 76ers after suffering a sprained ankle in the Spurs home opener.

“It looks like Matty’s going to be available this weekend,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said when asked about Bonner’s availability. (source Express News)

Also former Spurs great James Silas will be enshrined in the Texas Black Sports Hall of Fame in December.· His jersey is one of six jerseys to be retired by the Spurs. Congratulations Silas. (source Express News)

Speaking of Silas, his son Xavier Silas who plays for Northern Illinois University, received some friendly advice from his father about unwinding and getting his mind off basketball with a round of golf:

It turns out the challenge of hitting an occasional 320-yard drive is designed to keep him from fretting so much about hitting 21-foot shots.

“It was my dad’s idea,” said Silas, referring to former San Antonio Spurs great James Silas. “I was in the gym a lot and my dad, ‘You should do something that takes your mind off of it.’ (source dailyherald.com)

Pretty sure when your father is an ABA and Spurs great, any advice he gives goes a long way and you should probably listen.

The San Antonio Spurs will look to extend their winning streak to six games when they host the Philadelphia 76ers at the AT&T Center in San Antonio.

The Sixers (2-7) are coming off a 99-90 loss against the Dallas Mavericks while the Spurs (6-1) are on a five game winning streak and defeated the Los Angeles Clippers 107-95 on their last outing.

The Spurs should have the advantage over the Sixers who will play their second night of a back-to-back in San Antonio.

Andre Iguodala was back in the starting lineup against the Mavericks after missing two games and scored 13 points. He will join Elton Brand and Jrue Holiday to lead the 76ers' offensive attack. Spurs' rookie James Anderson is expected to be out for two months because of a·stress fracture in his right fifth metatarsal.

KEYS TO THE GAME

SPURS:

Buy: Richard Jefferson

Jefferson was the much-ballyhooed acquisition of the 2009 offseason. A career 20 point per game scorer with high field-goal percentages, you figured you could not pass on him in the bottom end of your draft.

But after a $15 million dollar, 12 point per game season, you knew not to make the same mistake this season.

You probably consider yourself a fantasy guru, you've likely finished in the top three of your leagues the past 5 years, you watch Rick Kamla's fantasy show every year just to balk at some of his choices or draft strategy. You may have even stolen Kevin Durant in the middle of the first round of your draft, picked up Ramon Sessions a few years ago before he became a SportsCenter favorite. You pride yourself on being able to snag key players off waivers.

But there's also this, you're a San Antonio Spurs fan, and now you know exactly what I'm getting to.

As a Spurs fan, you know your beloved Tony Parker shouldn't be taken early because he doesn't have the assist numbers, you know that Tim Duncan may carry the load for your team one night and then he might not play the next night, especially if it's a back-to-back.

You are savvy enough to realize this, but when you see Duncan available in the second round or Parker available in the fourth, your Spurs homerism takes over and your draft strategy goes out the window. Raise your hand if you took Tiago Splitter late in the draft even though he was injured, but convinced yourself that he was a sleeper and was going to pay dividends.

So you know that Richard Jefferson was a bad bet even last year, because he was always the first or second option coming to a team where he'd play fourth fiddle. You knew that his scoring average would take a dip, but you saw his athleticism and you didn't mind sacrificing a few points because he'd likely have a high field-goal percentage.

So this year you stayed away and now some blogger is saying you should take a chance on him again.

But this year is different. Jefferson got back to basics this summer working with Spurs coach Gregg Popovich and shooting coach Chip Engelland among others, and it's showing. He is more comfortable on the floor, he's averaged 18.6 points points and 3.7 revounds per game. But, Jefferson isn't looking like just a two-cat player this year. He's been effective beyond the arch, making 53 percent of his threes and shooting 58 percent from the field. His aggressiveness is getting him to the line.

I would probably be accurate in saying that Jefferson has been sitting on the waiver wire in your league all season, but if he continues to consistently put up big numbers, he won't be there for long.

Sure he may regress and have a few bad games, but here's the beauty of it, it's not much of a risk. You can waive one of your bottom of the roster guys, pick up Jefferson and just keep an eye on him. I would especially advise this if you are in a deep league.

The Spurs have been thankful they gave Jefferson a second chance, maybe you will be too.

Sell: DeJuan Blair

Like Jefferson, Blair worked hard all off-season, and that was apparent during the preseason. He played well enough to earn a spot in the starting lineup, but his struggles of late may earn him a spot back on the bench.

This season he's averaged 5 points and 6.9 rebounds per game.

Pop may keep Blair at center a few more games, but I wouldn't be surprised to see him replaced with Antonio McDyess or Tiago Splitter within weeks. Blair's probably a better fit off the bench anyway.

If you picked Blair as a sleeper at the bottom of a deep league, it may be time to look elsewhere.

San Antonio Spurs' guard Tony Parker recently signed a contract extension with the Spurs to the tune of $50 million for four years.

So how is Parker going to spend his new fortune? How about purchasing a brand spanking new apartment in Switzerland overlooking Lake Geneva:

"Being at home feels like living in a James Bond movie," says Tony Parker, an NBA San Antonio Spurs basketball star. Last month, he bought one of the new apartments in the Du Parc Kempinski Private Residences development, at the top of Mont-Pèlerin overlooking Lake Geneva.

"With one touch you can manage everything: music, temperature, security and concierge services. You can even fill the bath remotely using your mobile phone. The 24-hour concierge takes care of cleaning, laundry, even restocking the wine cellar," he says. (source online.wsj.com)

How much are these apartments and what do you get with the price? Try this:

Price: About 31,000 Swiss francs (£20,000) per square meter
What you get: Givenchy spa, Davidoff Cigar Lounge, 16-seater cinema, 24-hour Quintessentially concierge membership and membership to the Mirador Country Club. Apartments managed by Kempinski hotel.

So if you have more than 31, 000 Swiss francs (31, 719.00 US dollars) or recently signed a $50 million pro-basketball contract, then this is the place for you.

The Spurs just announced that they have waived guard Garrett Temple.

Temple was signed last season after playing for the D-League's RGV Vipers. He averaged 6.2 points and 1.1 rebounds last season and looked very poised playing in the playoffs.

He was injured during summer league play, but appeared to be the favorite as the third point guard when Curtis Jerrells was traded to the New Orleans Hornets. Chris Quinn will likely be assuming those duties.

This season, Temple averaged two points, two rebounds and two assists in three games, but looked severely overmatched recently against Goran Dragic.

Temple, who seemed to be Spurs coach Gregg Popovich's "favorite player" this season, could easily find a home back in the D-League. The Toros would be a great fit, which makes me question why he wasn't just sent down to Austin.

With Temple gone, the Spurs roster now stands at 13 players, but it appears the Spurs will also be short another player.

According to the Spurs twitter account, rookie James Anderson will be out eight weeks with a stress fracture in his right fifth metatarsal.

Anderson is averaging seven points on .500 shooting beyond the arch in 17.5 minutes per game this season. His play this season made Bobby Simmons expendable, and now will leave the Spurs a little thin at backup small forward, which could mean some playing time for Alonzo Gee.

In an article by sports agent Arn Tellum, he discussed his dealings with the Memphis Grizzlies for his client Xavier Henry and the downside to performance-based bonuses and how it could set a bad precedent in the NBA.

Teams can offer salaries up to 120 percent of the player's slotted figure. "The process is relatively simple, and teams routinely offer the 20 percent maximum," reported The New York Times.

Denver Nuggets' Ty Lawson was the first to agree to performance-based clauses in 2009. Another player to agree was Spurs' rookie James Anderson:

This year James Anderson, a shooting guard from Oklahoma State, was picked No. 20 by the San Antonio Spurs. He, too, accepted performance bonuses.

These concessions set a terrible precedent.

Basically it's the extra 20% teams tend to link to the performance-based bonuses. In essence teams can potentially save that percentage of money and in the end only offer 100% instead of the full 120%. Granted any sports agent will work hard to get the maximum contract amount for his client because they also have a vested interest in the full amount for their client which in turn lines their pockets.

When talking about the San Antonio Spurs' front office, to say they are business savvy is an under statement. During their dynasty period they were able to win four NBA championships while staying under the cap and were able to re-sign Richard Jefferson and restructure a contract to get under the salary cap this season. Not to mention signing Tiago Splitter, an MVP for the ACB Finals with Caja Laboral, at an incredible discount.

Now I have no idea what type(s) of performance-bonuses Anderson agreed to or how outrageous or reasonable they may be but if he doesn't accomplish the goals then the Spurs could pocket the 20%. Not to mention it could serve as motivation to get the best out of Anderson.

Whether you agree with performance-bonuses, Tellum, or not, leave it to the Spurs' front office to once again be financially savvy in every way possible. Sure a 20% savings may not be much but with the NBA hurting financially and the teams facing their own financial woes, this is just another way the Spurs remain smart in the business arena.

Look at the New York Knicks. That franchise has a recent history of being frivolous with their finances. Handing out large contracts to players (i.e. Eddy Curry) who do not live up to the generous offers, and are now coming out of financial disparity. The Spurs, on the other hand, continue to try to be fiscally responsible in this economic climate all the while remaining a competitive organization year-in and year-out in a small market like San Antonio.

However, with Anderson's NBA debut for the Spurs scoring 10 points in 26 minutes off the bench, and his recent play on both ends of the court, it seems he might reach whatever set performance goals and the Spurs will happily pay Anderson the full contract.

Richard Jefferson and Manu Ginobili scored 22 points a piece as the San Antonio Spurs (6-1) extend their winning streak to five with a 107-95 victory over the injury riddled Los Angeles Clippers.

The Clippers (1-8) played without leading scorer Eric Gordon, big man Chris Kaman and veteran point guard Baron Davis.

Now let's check the numbers that stood out in this Spurs' recent win.

86.7 - The Spurs showed improvement from the foul line, they made 26-30 (86.7%) of their free throw shots, including 7-7 from Ginobili.

70 - The Clippers made their outside shots connecting of 7-10 (70%) from behind the arc. The Spurs weren't that bad either, making 11-18 (61.1%) of their 3-point shot attempts, including 4-7 from Jefferson.

41- The Spurs controlled the boards on this one, out rebounding the Clippers 41-34.

25 - The Clippers are 1-25 in San Antonio during the Duncan era.

23 - The Spurs used their running game and was successful with it, they outscored the Los Angeles Clippers 23-11 on fast break points.

22- Ginobili and Jefferson scored 22 points a piece the lead the Spurs in scoring. Tim Duncan skipped the morning shoot-around because of flu-like symptoms played just 22 minutes and had 6 points and 6 boards.

18- Rasual Butler led the Clippers with 18 points and five rebounds. Also 18 is the current winning streak of the Spurs over the Clippers.

11 - The Spurs protected the paint pretty well, they had 11 blocks compared to the Clippers' four. Duncan and Tiago Splitter had three blocks each.

8 - DeJuan Blair seem to get out of his shooting funk he scored 8 points on 4-9 shooting from the field and had 7 rebounds, one steal and one block in 28 minutes of action.

Rookie Watch: Splitter had 6 points, 4 rebounds and three blocks in just 16 minutes of action. James Anderson scored 7 points on 2-3 shooting from behind the arc. Gary Neal just played a little over a minute and had 1 point, one rebound and an assist. A bit surprising considering he played well in their previous game against the Charlotte Bobcats.

What's Next? The Spurs will face Elton Brand and the Philadelphia 76ers Saturday at the AT&T Center in San Antonio.