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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME FLOW
ATLANTA (AP) – With a precise display of 3-point shooting in the
third quarter, Derek Anderson and Terry Porter demonstrated one of
the main reasons why the San Antonio Spurs are the hottest team in
the NBA.
|  | | Derek Anderson led the red-hot Spurs with 23-points. |
"This is a good shooting group," center David Robinson said.
"We've never had this type of perimeter game before. Those guys
can really shoot it. This group of shooters may be the best we've
ever had."
Anderson scored 23 points and Robinson added 19 as San Antonio
beat the Atlanta Hawks 115-101 Thursday night to move a half-game
ahead of Philadelphia for the NBA's best record.
San Antonio, with a league-high 26-5 record since Jan. 23,
improved to 49-20 overall. The Spurs won for the 12th time in 13
games and took their fifth straight victory over Atlanta.
Porter, who finished with 14 points and eight assists, hit all
three of his 3-point attempts in the third quarter. Anderson, in
addition to his seven assists, was 5-for-6 from beyond the arc.
Reserve guards Avery Johnson and Antonio Daniels combined for 20
points, six assists and six rebounds.
"Guys weren't selfish tonight," Anderson said. "They were
making the extra passes and playing together. The best thing was we
played good defense."
In the Spurs' last three games, each one a victory, Anderson has
averaged 25.7 points while shooting 12-for-19 on 3s.
"After every practice he stays and shoots them and he keeps on
working on it," coach Gregg Popovich said. "His work ethic has
been fantastic. It shows the way his percentage has gone up through
his career."
Tim Duncan finished with 18 points and 10 rebounds for his
NBA-leading 57th double-double of the season. Robinson added 10
rebounds and eight blocked shots.
It didn't take Atlanta long to lose the momentum gained from a
108-106 upset of the Los Angeles Lakers on Monday night. The Hawks
never led after the 8:10 mark of the first quarter.
Jason Terry had 32 points for Atlanta, which lost for the 13th
time in 16 games.
"Emotionally, we just didn't come out and match their
intensity," Terry said. "A team like San Antonio, they're playing
the best basketball in the league. There's no way you can expect to
come out just not fighting. We have to fight. We're not a team that
can afford to just lay back and let teams get in their offense and
run what they want to."
The Spurs twice held 23-point leads in the third quarter, the
first coming on Porter's 3-pointer with 6:32 remaining. Robinson
made it 83-60 with a thunderous, fast-break dunk 45 seconds later
off an alley-oop pass from Anderson in the right corner.
San Antonio put the game away in the third by going 6-for-7 on
3-point attempts.
"We were thinking the Hawks would be tough after beating the
Lakers," Duncan said. "We know they're a very talented team with
these new guys. They're a lot more dangerous. We tried not to mess
around and we really went at them and tried to put it away."
Game notes
Toni Kukoc played only four minutes of the third quarter
before flu symptoms ended his night. Kukoc, who scored only six
points, averaged 22.5 points, 6.4 rebounds and 5.7 assists in
Atlanta's 10 previous games. ... Spurs forward Sean Elliott was in
uniform but missed his eighth consecutive game with a sore left
knee. ... Hawks center Lorenzen Wright, nursing a sprained right
thumb, did not dress. Forward Chris Crawford was sidelined with a
sprained left ankle. Crawford has not been placed on the injured
list but is expected to undergo season-ending ankle surgery.
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ALSO SEE
NBA Scoreboard
San Antonio Clubhouse
Atlanta Clubhouse
RECAPS
San Antonio 115
Atlanta 101
Cleveland 109
Vancouver 95
Boston 113
New Jersey 98
Portland 101
Utah 99
Phoenix 91
Seattle 88
LA Clippers 97
Houston 92
Sacramento 103
Detroit 98
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