Tony Parker leads Spurs past Nuggets with a dash of scoring

Along with Manu Ginobili and the rest of the San Antonio Spurs, Parker was a problem for the defense for Memphis Saturday evening, according to Grizzlies Head Coach Dave Joerger. Tony Parker stepped up big against the Nuggets as he notched a season high in points and assists. San Antonio dropped the season-opener at the Oklahoma City Thunder, 112-106, and lost at the Washington Wizards, 102-99, one week later. The forward leads San Antonio with 21.6 points per game, while LaMarcus Aldridge is next at 15.2.

They’ve kept things close or had leads, they’ve pushed the Spurs much more than they’ve wanted to be pushed.

“I don’t think I was as aggressive as I usually am, but that’s just kind of how the game went”, Cousins said.

With Aldridge being held in check, the return of Leonard and Ginobili from one-game absences proved critical.

By quarter’s end, San Antonio already had four of their starters with 10 points or more.

Patty Mills was 3 for 6 on 3-pointers in scoring a season-high 17 points. “We really don’t care about the record right now”, veteran guard Manu Ginobili told reporters after Saturday’s victory over the Memphis Grizzlies. Entering the Spurs game, the Grizzlies’ second unit averaging 37.8 points on 43.6 percent shooting (45.7 percent from 3-point range) over the previous four games. You have to get what you’re trying to get offensively and right now we are a little scattered.

“His feel for the game, his skill level, he’s got great hands, he’s so good at getting deflections and steals”, Nuggets coach Michael Malone said. Once he gets it going, he makes the game easier for all of us.

“We usually win games like this, but we tried taking way too many tough shots”, Gasol said after the grind-it-out affair at San Antonio.

Mills had his bright moments in the second half of the season and scored 18 points in 19 minutes in Game 2 of the Spurs’ first-round playoff series against the Los Angeles Clippers, but he never quite recovered from his injury until this summer. Back during his 2006, 2007 and 2012 All-Star selections, Parker averaged between 18.3 to 18.9 points per game, while shooting anywhere from 48% to 55% from the floor. Leonard (upper respiratory infection) and Ginobili (strained abductor) both sat out San Antonio’s 92-83 victory over Philadelphia on November 14….

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The Trail Blazers were playing the second game of a back-to-back after losing 106-94 in Charlotte, but were able to stifle the Spurs.

“I enjoyed the game”, Jokic said. Anderson was 3-for-5 shooting in scoring eight points. Carter made his third appearance this season, playing “stretch 4” and making shots. That’s a team that could compete with San Antonio on their home court, not to mention other playoff caliber teams in the Western Conference.