Montgomery County Record, Fri, 05 Nov 2004 8:53 AM PST
<br><br>
(Sports Network) - The San Antonio Spurs try to start their season with consecutive wins, as they head to the Staples Center to face the Los Angeles Lakers in a rematch of last season's Western Conference semifinals.
<br><br>
The Lakers rallied after losing the first two games to win that series in six games, thus ending the Spurs' shot at back-to-back championships. The teams have met in the postseason in four straight and five of the last six years.
<br><br>
In San Antonio's season-opener on Wednesday, Tim Duncan poured in 30 points and grabbed 14 rebounds to lead the Spurs past the Sacramento Kings, 101-85, at the SBC Center. Manu Ginobili contributed 24 points and nine boards for the Spurs, while teammate Brent Barry finished with 16 points in his San Antonio debut.
<br><br>
Tony Parker, who agreed to a six-year contract extension earlier in the week, ended with 10 points in the win.
<br><br>
On the milestone watch, head coach Gregg Popovich is just three wins shy of 400 for his career. If the Spurs win three games within their next 19 contests, he will trail only Pat Riley (540 games), Phil Jackson (557 games), Casey Jones (564 games), and Billy Cunningham (572 games) on the all-time list of fastest coaches to 400 victories. Popovich has a career mark of 397-210.
<br><br>
San Antonio, which will wrap up a brief two-game road trip on Sunday, was 24-17 away from home this season.
<br><br>
Los Angeles, meanwhile, failed to follow up their season-opening win with an ugly 104-78 loss to Utah on Wednesday at the Delta Center.
<br><br>
Kobe Bryant poured in a game-high 38 points for the Lakers, who had defeated Denver on Tuesday. Bryant ended 9-of-21 from the floor and was 16-of-20 from the foul line. Lamar Odom had 14 points and nine boards for Los Angeles, which never led in the game.
<br><br>
The Lakers shot a franchise-low 29 percent from the field (20-of-68), compared to 38-of-75 shooting by Utah (51 percent). Los Angeles had a franchise-low seven assists
<br><br>
On the injury front for the Lakers guard Kareem Rush (foot) and forward Luke Walton (ankle) are a bit hampered,but should be ready to go tonight.
<br><br>
San Antonio dropped three of four against the Lakers in the regular season last year, but has won five of the last eight matchups. The Spurs have also won three of their last four in LA.