Spurs do a Texas two-step on tired Celtics

SAN ANTONIO -- Interim coach John Carroll wanted a fight. And for two quarters and 10 minutes, it was punch-counterpunch between the Spurs and the Celtics. But in the second of back-to-back road games, in a city where the Celtics have not won since Feb. 14, 1990, since Larry Bird, Robert Parish, and Kevin McHale wore green, the Spurs held a distinct advantage. A healthy Tim Duncan and hothanded Manu Ginobili only tipped the scales further in San Antonio's favor.

By the end of the third quarter, there was little fight left in Boston (31-40) at the SBC Center, despite the tightening playoff picture in the Eastern Conference. During the closing minutes of the fourth quarter, with the Celtics behind by a game-high 20 points, even Carroll conceded by substituting for starters Chucky Atkins, Mark Blount, and Paul Pierce.

San Antonio simply proved too much for Boston. The Spurs defeated the Celtics, 103-87, leaving the visitors with a pair of weekend losses in Texas. But Boston remained in ninth place in the Eastern Conference.

"Our guys just competed and fought and played a wonderful first half," said Carroll. "We played good up until late in the third quarter. Before the game, I felt if we could play tough, hard-nosed basketball, we could compete with these guys. But they just wore us down for a number of reasons. There's a reason why they have a great record [46-24] and are the world champions. As the game went on, they just wore us down."

After trailing by 5 points (62-57) in the third, the Celtics gained on the Spurs with a 3-pointer from Walter McCarty. Then, the Spurs extended their lead to 6 before Atkins hit from the arc with 5:08 to go in the quarter.

A layup by Atkins pulled Boston within 4 points (69-65) with 4:01 remaining. But from that point on, San Antonio pulled away.

San Antonio essentially won the game in the final minutes of the third quarter when Boston failed to respond to a 13-2 run, which pushed San Antonio ahead, 82-67. But this time, the Spurs' resolve and the Celtics' fatigue were more apparent. Boston would not battle back. During the San Antonio run, Atkins managed Boston's only field goal with a 15-footer.

"We seem to have some problems against teams we are supposed to do a little better against," said Duncan (26 points, 15 rebounds). "We came out in the first half and didn't do so well. We came out in the second half and got back to what we do on defense."

The Spurs held the Celtics to 32 percent from the floor in the third quarter, then 33 percent in the fourth. San Antonio outscored Boston, 46-34, in the second half and outrebounded Boston, 24-14.

The Celtics did not force the Spurs onto their heels in the first half, entering the break down, 57-53. But Boston did show some fight after falling behind by 15 points (50-35) with 5:54 remaining in the second quarter. The Green counterpunched with a 13-0 run, cutting their deficit to 2 with 2:42 left. Seldom-used Jumaine Jones capped the run with a 3-pointer. Oddly enough, Pierce was the only player on the floor who didn't contribute during the run.

Carroll tinkered slightly with the starting lineup, inserting McCarty in hopes of spreading out the Spurs' defense. Carroll also wanted to avoid the kind of slow start that stymied the Celtics against the Mavericks. But the Celtics' offense struggled early and they quickly fell behind by 8 points (15-7).

The Celtics started to find their rhythm on offense and climbed back into the contest with a 6-1 run, closing the gap to 2 points with 3:45 left in the first. The all-Pierce run was the first indication that Boston would put up the kind of fight Carroll desired. The Celtics finished the first trailing only 30-27.

"I can come out of [the trip] with a lot of confidence," said Paul Pierce (18 points, 6 assists). "We played two teams that are definitely contenders for the NBA Finals. Even though we didn't win, I liked the way we competed. I thought we responded well. We made a lot of mistakes here and there, but there were a lot of good things that came out of these last two games. Tonight, I just thought we fatigued down the stretch. They just wore us down."