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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME FLOW
SAN ANTONIO (AP) -- With no marquee matchup between Tim Duncan and Alonzo Mourning, the San Antonio Spurs showcased their superior depth in disposing of the Miami Heat.
David Robinson scored 19 points as the Spurs took control early
and cruised to a 93-69 victory Tuesday night over Miami, holding
the Heat to a season-low point total.
"Our defense is key for us," Robinson said. "They were
missing Alonzo (Mourning). That made it tough for them. We knew Tim
Hardaway and (Jamal) Mashburn could be threats, but we rotated
good. Everything starts from our defense."
Terry Porter added 15 points and Avery Johnson 14 for San
Antonio, which played its third straight game without the injured
Duncan, who is sidelined with a lower abdominal strain. San Antonio
has won three of its last four games.
"I'm pleased, you have to give the guys a lot of credit," said
San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich after watching his bench players
combine for 46 points and 23 rebounds. "We did what we needed to
win. The bench played great. It was a great team effort."
Miami, which had a four-game winning streak snapped, was led by
P.J. Brown's 16 points. The Heat played without Mourning, who was
out with a sore left ankle.
"We really couldn't do anything effectively for any sustained
period of time tonight," Miami coach Pat Riley said. "It was one
of those nights where our shooters are just not making their shots.
Our offense was abysmal tonight which left us with no answer to
their big offensive runs."
The Spurs received more bad news in the first quarter when
Duncan's replacement in the starting lineup, Malik Rose, went down
with a sprained right ankle. He missed the remainder of the game.
"Malik is not in good shape," Popovich said. "We'll have to
get it looked at, but he'll probably be out a while."
San Antonio, which never trailed, jumped out to a 24-12 lead
after the first quarter as Miami managed to shoot only 6-of-23.
Porter came off of the bench to score 10 first-half points as
San Antonio led 45-32 at halftime.
The Spurs continued to pour it on in the second half as Miami
could get no closer than 13 points. San Antonio took a 74-52 lead
into the fourth quarter as Antonio Daniels connected on a running
jumper at the third-quarter buzzer.
"We ran great, we were aggressive," said Johnson, who had five
assists for San Antonio. "We seemed to have more energy tonight.
We want to try and get as many wins as we can with this energy,
because wins are hard to come by."
The Spurs' largest lead was 78-53 on Jaren Jackson's 3-point
field goal with 10:32 remaining.
"I really don't know what happened tonight," Miami forward Dan
Majerle said. "Every team has nights like this one and
unfortunately it happened to us tonight."
Game notes
San Antonio is now 22-5 at the Alamodome this season ...
San Antonio has won three straight games over Miami and leads the
all-time series 18-7 . . . San Antonio's Mario Elie was ejected
after receiving two technical fouls with 3:36 to play in the third
quarter . . . Miami also played without guard Voshon Lenard, who is
sidelined with a lower abdominal strain.
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ALSO SEE
NBA Scoreboard
Miami Clubhouse
San Antonio Clubhouse
RECAPS
Indiana 115 Detroit 105
Philadelphia 106 Dallas 87
Toronto 87 Chicago 80
Phoenix 100 Cleveland 93
Orlando 103 Seattle 94
Charlotte 92 Minnesota 87
San Antonio 93 Miami 69
LA Lakers 90 Portland 87
Sacramento 112 Vancouver 87
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