Parker sets franchise assists record as Spurs down Thunder

Basketball Betting Lines

02/05/2012 - San Antonio, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tony Parker exploded for a season-high 42 points and added nine assists to become the Spurs' all-time assists leader as San Antonio handled Oklahoma City 107-96 at AT&T Center on Saturday.

Tim Duncan added a double-double with 13 points and 15 rebounds and rookie Kawhi Leonard scored 15 points on 3-of-3 shooting from long range for the Spurs, who have won four straight games. San Antonio is now 13-1 at home.

Kevin Durant had his fifth consecutive double-double, scoring 22 points and ripping down 11 rebounds, and James Harden dropped in 19 points off the bench as the Thunder lost their fourth straight game in San Antonio.

"It's a tough place to play at," said Thunder guard Russell Westbrook about his team losing four straight in San Antonio. "They have the best home record in the league. We just didn't get off to the start we wanted to defensively."

San Antonio finished the game a scorching 52.2 percent from long range on its way to a double-digit victory.

The Spurs knocked down three consecutive three-pointers early to take a 17-13 lead with just under four minutes left in the opening stanza.

San Antonio would hold onto the four point lead, 25-21, as the first quarter came to a close.

The Spurs again found the stroke from three, scoring nine of their last 10 from beyond the arc to finish out the half with a 57-47 lead over the Thunder.

A 15-4 run in the third helped the Spurs to take an 88-70 lead going into the fourth quarter.

Parker continued his outstanding play in the fourth, scoring eight of his team's first nine points to keep the Spurs ahead by double-digits as they ran away with the victory.

"We got to find a way to win on the road. That's the bottom line," Tim Duncan said about his team's upcoming nine-game road trip. "We're going to have enough opportunities coming up soon."

Game Notes

San Antonio will get its first opportunity when it opens its nine- game road trip against Memphis on Monday while the Thunder will head to Portland on Monday for their second of five straight on the road....The Spurs shot 84 percent from the line while the Thunder managed just 60.7 percent.

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Pacific-10 Conference odds

Teams that should be in: Stanford

Oregon and USC get their tickets punched after taking care of business this weekend. Yes, the Trojans' computer numbers aren't great, but there's no way the third-place team in this league is getting nixed. Grudgingly, I added Arizona after consultation with our Bracketologist. I don't know that Arizona will lose its last three (including a Pac-10 quarterfinal game), and even if the Cats do, I still can't see how they'd be left out, given the overall profile. That said, it bears watching, as three more L's would leave them at 18-12 (9-9) and on a 6-11 skid entering the Dance. It would be nice to see the Wildcats get at least one W in the Bay Area next week, as Cincinnati (albeit without Armein Kirkland and with a worse profile) was axed after a similar slide last season. I just couldn't rationalize having some of the other teams as locks and not having Arizona in that category -- there just aren't enough good teams behind the Cats to threaten their spot, it seems. Stanford has its fate in its own hands with the Arizona schools coming to the Farm to close out the regular season next weekend.

Should be in:

Stanford [17-10 (9-7), RPI: 40, SOS: 21] No shame in not getting a win in L.A., but that makes the home game against Arizona State a must-win ahead of what could be an intriguing meeting with Arizona should the Cats lose at Cal. Getting to 11 Pac-10 wins would make Selection Sunday much more comfortable, but 10's probably more than enough this season. The Cardinal have nonconference wins over Texas Tech and at Virginia to lean on, although they also lost badly to Air Force and Santa Clara at home.

Southeastern Conference odds
Work left to do: Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, Mississippi State

It looks more and more possible that no one from the SEC West will make the NCAAs. How weird is that? Tennessee and Vandy move into the locks category after more good work this weekend. Kentucky stays there, although it would be smart for the Cats to handle Georgia at home Wednesday ahead of a trip to the Swamp. Could a disaster scenario (two more L's and a first-round SEC tourney exit) somehow dislodge the Cats despite their incredible computer numbers? Still unlikely, but not worth chancing it.

Work left to do:

Alabama [19-9 (6-8), RPI: 43, SOS: 47] The tough L at Tennessee was understandable, and even created some hope. Unfortunately, that hope was dashed by a home loss to Auburn, which leaves the Tide in some real trouble. There's still no signature win on the profile (no, Kentucky doesn't count), and the computer profile is weakening rapidly. The Tide conceivably could beat Ole Miss and win at Miss. State to get to 8-8 and clinch at least a share of the West crown, but that's probably not enough right now. The Tide will need to do some work in the SEC tourney.

Georgia [16-10 (8-6), RPI: 52, SOS: 23] This is the team with the best chance to make it from this section right now. The Bulldogs rebounded from a terrible performance at Ole Miss to beat down Miss. State. Now they are at Kentucky (king of the RPI 51-100 win) and home to Tennessee. That would be worth a lot of computer points to get both (which is doable), as both teams are in the top 11 in RPI. Finishing at least 9-7 is an absolute must, and I would feel much better about the Dawgs' chances if they got both to get to 10 SEC wins. They also beat Gonzaga, but lost to ACC bubblers Georgia Tech and Clemson.

Mississippi [18-10 (7-7), RPI: 63, SOS: 79] Like everyone else in this division, Ole Miss gacked up a chance to stake a claim, losing by double figures at South Carolina. Even 9-7 likely is not nearly enough with a nonconference profile devoid of anything notable.

Mississippi State [16-11 (7-7), RPI: 66, SOS: 37] With a chance to get in the mix, these Bulldogs were leashed by their Georgia counterparts. Could they get to 9-7? I guess -- although winning at Arkansas, then beating Alabama is no lock -- but would that mean all that much for a team with this overall profile? Probably not. There's nothing of note (on the good side) in the nonconference profile.

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