SAN ANTONIO (AP) -- Manu Ginobili drove to the basket for a one-handed dunk, and the rout was on.
The San Antonio Spurs may be one of the league's oldest teams, but they had no problem dispatching with the younger Philadelphia 76ers on Saturday night.
Ginobili scored 19 points and Tim Duncan moved up a spot on the NBA's career scoring list, helping San Antonio to an easy 109-86 victory.
Tony Parker had 20 points and Duncan added 16 for San Antonio, which has won 10 straight at home. Danny Green scored 13, and Tiago Splitter finished with 12 points and 10 rebounds.
Spencer Hawes had a game-high 22 points for Philadelphia, which has lost three straight and five of six.
"You can't breathe for a second," Philadelphia guard Jrue Holiday said. "Even though I would count them as one of the older groups, there's just a lot of leadership, a lot of minutes played, and a lot of basketball players. They're a good team."
Duncan now has 23,179 points over 15 seasons, passing Adrian Dantley for 24th on the scoring list.
Duncan, Ginobili and Parker set a decisive tone against Philadelphia, scoring 22 of San Antonio's 31 points in the first quarter. The Spurs' trio did not have any turnovers in the opening quarter while combining for six assists and four rebounds in building a 10-point lead.
Philadelphia coach Doug Collins could only nod his head in admiration at what the three Spurs stars did Saturday and what they have done throughout their career under coach Gregg Popovich's guidance.
''(Popovich's) got three core guys that have been with him through thick and thin,'' Collins said. ''If you've noticed what they've done, they always change the pieces around them. Those three and Pop are all there together. That's the stability.''
Still, it was Ginobili's outing that excited the Spurs. He seems to be fully healthy after a series of leg injuries in recent seasons.
''I've been back for more than a month,'' Ginobili said. ''Of course, when you play four games in five nights, it's hard to feel fresh. Then you have a day off and a good night sleep and you start to get it back. Sooner or later it gets better, it has to.''
After making a pair of 3s, Ginobili crossed up Evan Turner, driving to the basket for a one-handed dunk that gave San Antonio a 29-16 lead with 3 minutes left in the first.
''That was great to see,'' Popovich said. ''He's had to slowly get back all his athleticism. His confidence is always there because he's such an experienced guy, but his body's caught up and he looks as good as he's looked in a while. He's definitely back.''
San Antonio improved to 14-2 at home while rebounding from a blowout loss Thursday against the New York Knicks.
Philadelphia's only lead came via Thaddeus Young's hook shot on the game's opening possession. Splitter tied the game with a layup on the ensuing possession and Duncan's 15-foot jumper gave the Spurs a 4-2 lead they would never relinquish.
Turner added 12 points and Young, Holiday and Jason Richardson each added 11 for the 76ers (15-20).
Philadelphia shot 42 percent from the field, including a 3-for-17 night from long range. The Spurs had 24 assists while shooting 48 percent.
Parker was 8 for 16 from the field in 29 minutes, the most of any San Antonio player in the rout.
NOTES: San Antonio's Stephen Jackson (sprained right ankle) missed his 16th game of the season. He injured his ankle against New York, tripping over a waitress working the courtside seats. ... Nando De Colo was recalled from San Antonio's Austin affiliate in the NBA Development League prior to the Saturday's game. ... Former Spurs F Malik Rose is now serving as an analyst for the 76ers' television broadcasts. Rose subbed as an analyst for former teammate Sean Elliott on several San Antonio broadcasts last season prior to joining Philadelphia's crew. Rose is a native of Philadelphia. ... Gary Neal had 12 points for San Antonio.
POSTGAME QUOTES
SPURS HEAD COACH GREGG POPOVICH: (Is the Manu move for the dunk any indication that he has the full spring in his step…)
“Yeah, that was great to see. He’s had to slowly get back all his athleticism. His confidence is always there because he’s such an experienced guy. But, his body’s caught up and he looks as good as he’s looked in a while. He’s definitely back.”
SPURS HEAD COACH GREGG POPOVICH: “Doug’s (Collins) teams always play hard. Tonight we just did a great job getting them off the three-point line. I thought our guys really focused well on that. It was a big part of our theme tonight and we did a good job. Doug’s teams are always physical. They always change ends of the court. They pass the ball. They’re unselfish.”
SPURS FORWARD TIM DUNCAN: (When asked if he’s been able to tell if Manu has gotten the spring back in his step…)
“You see it piece by piece. He’s getting more comfortable out there. He’s putting minutes together. That’s more of what he’s looking for, putting stretches of minutes together. So he can get his rhythm and his wind back. All that together he’s looking great.”
SPURS FORWARD TIM DUNCAN: (When asked about the next game against the Hornets …)
“They are very well coached and they’re coached to play hard. They have some really good talent. They’re playing an overtime game against Dallas right now and they are showing that they are a considerable team. We’re going to respect them and go in there and hopefully play well against them.”
SPURS FORWARD MANU GINOBILI: (When asked if he feels like he’s back physically…)
“I’ve been back for more than a month. Of course when you play four games in five nights it’s hard to feel fresh. Then you have a day off and a good night of sleep and you start to get it back. Sooner or later it gets better, it has to. We’re going to have a couple of days off and things are going to get better.”
76ERS HEAD COACH DOUG COLLINS: “This would have been a tall order if we had eight days rest. This team (Spurs) is as good as any team in the NBA. They’re deep and they execute. They run their offense harder, cut harder, and move the ball better than any team in the NBA. When you play them, you better play every possession till the end.”
76ERS HEAD COACH DOUG COLLINS: (On Gregg Popovich’s adjustments, making team’s offense their strength…)
“He’s a brilliant coach. He’s got three core guys that have been with him through thick and thin. If you’ve noticed what they’ve done, they always change the pieces around them. Those three and Pop are all there together. That’s the stability. I think Pop would be the first one to tell you how blessed they’ve been to have that group. He’s won four championships and that doesn’t happen by accident. He’s one of the best coaches ever. They do it in a market that loves this team. When you look at it over the past 10, 12 or 14 years, probably the two franchises would be the New England Patriots in football and the San Antonio Spurs. I think those two franchises have really been models for what it’s all about to build a team. They stay strong and they’ve been very fortunate that those three guys have stayed healthy for the most part. They’ve got a great coach and owner.”
POSTGAME NOTES
The win was the Spurs 10th straight at the AT&T Center and they improved to 14-2 on their home court, the best home record in the NBA.
With his 16 points (7-10 FG, 2-2 FT) tonight, Tim Duncan moved past Adrian Dantley into 24th place on the NBA’s all-time scoring list. For his career Duncan has scored 23,179 points. Ahead of Duncan in 23rd place is Paul Pierce with 23,219 points and Ray Allen currently sits in 22nd place with 23,281 points.
Tony Parker paced the Silver and Black with 20 points (8-16 FG, 2-4 FT), 5 assists and 2 steals. It was Parker’s 18th game scoring 20-or-more and the 18th time he’s lead the team in scoring. For the season he’s averaging a team-best 19.1 points while shooting .511 (257-503) from the field, the only point guard in the NBA shooting .500-or-better from the field.
Manu Ginobili came off the bench to finish with 19 points (6-10 FG, 2-5 3FG, 5-5 FT), 7 rebounds and 4 assists.
Tiago Splitter recorded his second double-double of the season with 12 points and 10 rebounds.
Over their last nine games the Spurs have beaten their opponents by an average of 16.4 points and are 8-1 during that stretch. For the season San Antonio has a +8.6 point differential which ranks second in the NBA.
