Spurs 105, Hawks 79

ATLANTA — San Antonio used the inside-out punch of center Tim Duncan and guard Patty Mills to

prey on the injury-depleted Atlanta Hawks and take a 105-79 win on Friday.

The 6-foot-11 Duncan scored 17 points and had 16 rebounds for his 17th double-double and Mills

scored 18 points, including a career-best six 3-pointers, as the Spurs swept the season series

against Atlanta.

Atlanta, playing without injured centers Al Horford and Pero Antic, had no answer for Duncan.

The Hawks gave Gustavo Ayon his fourth start at center and tried to use veteran Elton Brand to

help, but neither could do much defensively to slow Duncan.

The injury issue grew worse for Atlanta in the third period when point guard Jeff Teague was

taken to the locker room after spraining his right ankle.

Atlanta (22-20) was led by forward Paul Millsap with 15 points and eight rebounds. Guard Lou

Williams had 12 points and seven assists and guard Mike Scott scored 10. It was the lowest

offensive night of the season for the Hawks, four points fewer than they scored in a loss to

Houston on Jan. 10. The Hawks trailed by as many as 34 points in the fourth quarter.

San Antonio (33-10) also got 18 points from forward Boris Diaw and 11 points and seven assists

from guard Tony Parker.

The Spurs entered the game having lost two of their last three, but found a remedy for their

malaise against the injury-depleted Hawks, who had only 10 available players and were without two

starters.

The Spurs swept the season series against Atlanta, which is coached by former Spurs assistant

Mike Budenholzer. San Antonio won the first meeting 102-100 on Dec. 2.

The Spurs took control of the game in the first quarter with a 21-7 run after the Hawks grabbed

their only lead at 7-6. Guard Patty Mills was three of four on 3-pointers in the quarter for nine

points as San Antonio shot 52.2 percent from the field in taking a 27-14 lead.

Atlanta had a brief rally and closed to 32-21 with 8:52 left in the first half, only to have

San Antonio distance itself with an 8-0 run, punctuated by a technical foul on Budenholzer.

Duncan had 14 points and 11 rebounds as San Antonio, which made seven of nine 3-pointers, led

55-34 at intermission.

NOTES: Atlanta G Kyle Korver made a 3-point field goal in his 111th consecutive game to extend

his NBA record. Korver removed the suspense when he converted his first 3-point try with 6:15 left

in the second quarter. … Atlanta F/C Pero Antic will be out two-to-four weeks with a stress

fracture in his right ankle. The rookie from Macedonia suffered a mild ankle sprain against the

Brooklyn Nets in London on Jan. 16. He continued to play when x-rays were negative but experienced

pain. An MRI on Thursday revealed the stress fracture and the foot was placed in a protective

boot. … Atlanta F DeMarre Carroll is listed as day-to-day with an irritated left hamstring.

Carroll left Thursday night’s game in the third quarter with the injury. … Retired Atlanta

Braves slugger Chipper Jones was in attendance on Friday night. … Atlanta plays two of its next

three on the road, starting with a game at Milwaukee on Saturday. San Antonio plays again Sunday

at Miami, the second of three straight road games.