SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Tony Parker scored 19 points and the San Antonio Spurs beat the sliding New Orleans Hornets for the second time in a week, 109–84 on Sunday night.
Matt Bonner added 14 points, hitting four of five 3–point attempts, and the Spurs improved their NBA–best record to 17–3 and matched their best start through 20 games since the 2007–08 season.
Chris Paul had 16 points for the Hornets, who have lost four of five and were blown out from the start. They trailed by 38 and lately look nothing like the team that opened 8–0.
But this pummeling will likely be overshadowed by news Sunday that Hornets owner George Shinn has agreed to sell the club to the NBA. A person familiar with the decision told The Associated Press (News – Alert) the deal could be completed within days.
First–year Hornets coach Monty Williams said before the game that the potential sale wouldn’t be a distraction because it doesn’t affect him or his players.
After a loss like this, New Orleans has plenty else to worry about.
The Hornets are 2–6 in their last eight games, spoiling what had been a record start for the franchise. Facing the Spurs a week ago at home, the Hornets were up by 17 in the third and coasting toward a win yet still wound up losing 109–95.
Not only did the Hornets never lead Sunday, they were never within double–digits after the first 17 seconds of the second quarter.
New Orleans gave up season highs for points allowed, opponent field–goal percentage (58.6 percent), opponent assists (29) and set a season low for rebounds (30). At one point midway through the second quarter, the Spurs were still shooting 74 percent as a team.
Tim Duncan had 11 points and nine rebounds before sitting for nearly the entire second half. Richard Jefferson scored 13 points, and George Hill and Gary Neal had 11 apiece.
David West scored 13 points for the Hornets after coming back from a stomach bug that kept him out of a loss to New York on Friday night. West was 6 of 11 from the field and played 30 minutes.
Trevor Ariza also scored 13 points for New Orleans.
Shinn has been in negotiations to sell the team to minority owner and Louisiana native Gary Chouest since last spring, but talks have been stalled for months.
The league has lined up New Orleans–born sports attorney Jac Sperling, vice chairman of the NHL’s Minnesota Wild, to be the NBA’s administrator of the team and oversee its sale to a more permanent owner, the person told AP on condition of anonymity because the move has not been publicly announced.
Williams said he’s heard speculation about the potential sale since arriving in New Orleans but that didn’t know any details — and added that he didn’t want to know.
“There’s a number of distractions we have in our lives,” Williams said. “It’s not a big deal to us.”
NOTES: Hornets center D.J. Mbenga stayed in New Orleans while trying to overcome the same illness that had sidelined West. … Spurs F Tiago Splitter scored five points in 18 minutes, continuing to play only sparingly since being the crown jewel of the club’s offseason moves. Coach Gregg Popovich said Splitter’s impact and minutes have been hurt by him being injured for nearly all of training camp.
___
AP Sports Writer Brett Martel in New Orleans contributed to this report.
View the original article here