Spurs head to Big Easy to face Hornets
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The San Antonio Spurs look to stay sharp against the Southwest Division-rival New Orleans Hornets when the two teams collide Monday night in the Big Easy.
The Spurs have won six in a row, eight of nine and 23 of the previous 29 meetings with New Orleans, losers in three straight as the host in this series. San Antonio is 15-5 in the past 20 matchups at the Hornets.
San Antonio has won eight of nine games overall and disposed of the Philadelphia 76ers, 109-86, Saturday night in the Alamo City. Tony Parker scored a team-high 20 points and Manu Ginobili tallied 19 points, seven rebounds and four assists off the bench.
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Tiago Splitter registered 12 points and 10 boards for the Spurs, who bounced back after having a seven-game winning streak snapped by the New York Knicks on Thursday.
"Tonight we did a great job getting them off the 3-point line," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. "I thought the guys really focused well on that, it was a big part of our theme tonight."
The Spurs are 13-7 as the guest this season. Forward Stephen Jackson (ankle) is listed as questionable Monday and did not play versus the Sixers.
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San Antonio and the Los Angeles Clippers share the NBA lead with 27 wins.
The Hornets are only 3-14 in their last 17 games, but are coming off a 99-96 overtime triumph in Dallas in which Eric Gordon recorded a three-point play with 4.7 seconds remaining.
Gordon finished with 14 points and Greivis Vasquez posted a game-high 25 points, nine assists and seven rebounds for the Hornets, who had dropped two straight and three of four games.
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"It's definitely a confidence booster to do well in overtime, especially for such a tough shooting night, it felt good to overcome it," Gordon said.
New Orleans will begin a three-game homestand tonight versus San Antonio, Houston and Minnesota, and has dropped seven in a row as the host. The Hornets are just 3-13 at home this season.
The Hornets own a paltry 3-16 record in conference play, going 1-7 at New Orleans Arena in that stretch.