May 31, 2012|DAILY NEWS WIRE REPORTS
SAN ANTONIO is halfway to turning the Western Conference finals into a runaway.
Tony Parker scored 34 points, Manu Ginobili added 20 and the Spurs stayed perfect in the playoffs with a 120-111 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 2 on Tuesday night.
The Spurs set an NBA record with their 20th consecutive victory bridging the regular season and the playoffs. They came in sharing the longest such streak with the 2000-01 Lakers, who won 19 straight before losing to the Sixers in the first game of the Finals.
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Those Lakers went on to win the championship and there's no reason yet to think the Spurs won't do the same. They put on an offensive clinic for three quarters, shooting 60 percent from the field and leading by as many as 22 points in the third quarter.
The Thunder made a late surge to get within six points, but Parker, Ginobili and Tim Duncan helped San Antonio put the Thunder in a 2-0 deficit with Game 3 Thursday night in Oklahoma City.
Kevin Durant had 31 points and James Harden rebounded from a rough Game 1 to score 30 for the Thunder, who have lost two straight for the first time since early April. Oklahoma City dropped to 15-4 in games after losses this season.
San Antonio picked up where it left off from the 39-point fourth quarter that turned Game 1 on Sunday. With sharp passes and hot shooting, the Spurs jumped to a 19-9 lead after the Thunder missed six of its first seven shots and had three turnovers in the first 4 minutes.
Durant settled down Oklahoma City with four early baskets, including a three-pointer. The Spurs shot 52 percent (12-for-23) in the opening quarter, though, and led, 28-22. Durant was on the bench at the start of the second quarter, and Parker and the Spurs put together a 14-4 spurt to stretch the gap to 13 points.
Russell Westbrook hammered Parker's arm on a drive and he crumpled to the court. That didn't faze Parker, who scored the Spurs' next seven points to keep San Antonio rolling.
The Spurs shot 58 percent (22 of 38) and had 13 assists in the first half. They also cut down their turnovers, committing only six in the first half after giving away 14 in the first two quarters of Game 1.
Noteworthy
*Â Vinny Del Negro will be back as coach of the Los Angeles Clippers next season. The team said Tuesday that it has exercised its contract option on him to return for a third season. Del Negro led the Clippers to a 40-26 record during the lockout-shortened season and the second round of the playoffs.
*Â Former NBA star Dennis Rodman was sentenced in family court to 104 hours of community service on four counts of contempt for failing to pay child support. Court commissioner Barry Michaelson also placed Rodman on 3 years of informal probation. The sentence includes the condition that Rodman pay current child and spousal support obligations.
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