After dropping two close games—and four of their last six overall—the reigning NBA champs reverted to their methodical, unscintillating, and highly effective old selves. Tim Duncan's 19 points and 10 rebounds led San Antonio, who improved to 5-0 in Charlotte against the Bobcats. Trusty sidekicks Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker added 16 apiece.
Charlotte's leading scorers, Gerald Wallace and Jason Richardson, went a matching 5 for 18 from the field—Wallace on a gimpy left leg that may need serious treatment. "In order for us to beat a team like that, we have to play a perfect game. And we didn’t play a perfect game,” the Gaston Gazette quoted Wallace saying after the loss. (More NBA stories.)