NBA-best Spurs crush skidding Heat 125-95

[March 05, 2011]  SAN ANTONIO (AP) -- Manu Ginobili scored 20 points, Tony Parker made a surprise return to the starting lineup and the San Antonio Spurs handed the skidding Miami Heat their most lopsided loss of the season, 125-95 on Friday night.

In the first meeting between these NBA heavyweights, the Spurs (51-11) improved the league's best record and kept the Heat in a tailspin. A night after blowing a 24-point lead in a stunning loss to Orlando, Miami trailed by 24 after just one quarter and lost for the fourth time in five games.

Parker had 15 points and eight assists. He returned less than a week after the Spurs feared their point guard might miss up to a month with a strained calf.

LeBron James scored 26 points and Dwyane Wade had 19. It won't get much easier for the Heat, who return home to play Chicago on Sunday.

San Antonio also has another tough one Sunday against the Los Angeles Lakers. But unlike the Heat, things couldn't be going better for the Spurs.

San Antonio hit a franchise-record 17 3-pointers, including eight during a runaway first quarter. It left the Heat looking as shocked as they did Thursday night while the Magic pulled off the second-biggest comeback in the NBA this season.

The Spurs also got Parker back way earlier than expected -- he missed only two games after spraining his left calf on Sunday. San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich joked before tipoff that "the foie grois and truffle treatment really worked" on his French star.

The Heat? They weren't in such a light mood.

Miami's previous worst loss was a 28-point blowout against Denver on Jan. 13. That came in the midst of the Heat's last meltdown, when they were stuck in another stretch of losing four of five.

Here they go again.

Miami coach Erik Spoelstra preached "adversity" and "collective resolve" with reporters before the game. He said that following the Heat's incredible collapse against Orlando on Thursday night, team president Pat Riley joined him in trying to brainstorm ways to get the team out of another funk.

Instead, they came up speechless.

"Part of the conversation was ... just sitting there, in silence, while both of us were trying to think about what we can do next," Spoelstra said.

San Antonio, meanwhile, crossed another opponent off its list.

Beating the revamped Heat in their first meeting left the Spurs with a victory over every NBA team this season except Boston -- which extended its East lead over the Heat to three games.

The Spurs host the Celtics on March 31.

San Antonio buried Miami from the opening tip. The Spurs tied a franchise record with eight 3-pointers in the first quarter; Matt Bonner was 4 of 4 and Ginobili went 3 for 4.

So stunning was the lopsided surge that the typically reserved Tim Duncan mouthed "game over" while the Heat sulked to the bench after calling another timeout.

It was still the first quarter.

Bonner finished with 18 points and Duncan had 11 points and 14 rebounds. Richard Jefferson scored 11 points and DeJuan Blair had 10 as every Spurs starter was in double figures.

Gary Neal added 14 points off the bench.

The Spurs extended their franchise-record home winning streak to 22 games. It's just another milestone in what is so far the best regular season in team history.

Chris Bosh had 17 points and Mike Miller 12 for the Heat. Erik Dampier, making his sixth straight start, had no points and two rebounds before being ejected for shoving Parker hard to the ground in the third quarter.

Maybe it was frustration.

"We don't want to hear anything about that's not going to happen this year for us, or it takes a long time for championship teams to be built," Spoelstra said before tipoff. "Or it takes battles or the proverbial wars together."

NOTES: The Spurs signed F Steve Novak for the remainder of the season. ... Texas Gov. Rick Perry sat courtside with Spurs owner Peter Holt.

[Associated Press; By PAUL J. WEBER]

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