SAN ANTONIO -- The Spurs play a style thats been described as boring and ugly at times, so it only made sense that they felt comfortable down the stretch against Charlotte in a game their own coach said was "hard to watch. Jeff Mathis Jersey ." Tim Duncan had 17 points and 16 rebounds, and San Antonio overcame a sluggish start to beat the Bobcats 92-82 on Friday night. The Spurs clinched their 17th consecutive winning season, dating to Duncans first with the team. Manu Ginobili scored 15 points, Marco Belinelli and Patty Mills added 14 each and Kawhi Leonard had 12 for San Antonio (42-16). "Im really proud of how they hung in and realized it was a 48-minute game," coach Gregg Popovich said. "Manu didnt have a good game for a while, but down the stretch he came through. He and Timmy, they executed well; Patty really well (and), obviously, Marco was a big help. Overall it was a hell of a win against a very good basketball team." Al Jefferson scored 20 points and former Spurs guard Gary Neal added 15 for Charlotte (27-31), which had its four-game winning streak snapped. Gerald Henderson scored 12 and Kemba Walker 11. San Antonio had 19 turnovers, but only one in the final 6 minutes of the game. That helped the Spurs overcome a 14-point deficit in the first half. "Fourteen points in this league is nothing," Bobcats coach Steve Clifford said. "Especially against a team like that, that shoots the ball like that. I think the way you look at it, to me, is you want to have a chance on the road at the end of the game to win, which we did." There were three ties and two lead changes in the final 7 minutes as the Spurs celebrated Military Appreciation Night with camouflage uniforms. Ginobili blocked Walkers layup attempt and drew a charge on Jefferson on consecutive possessions. Duncan followed with a 15-foot jumper that gave San Antonio an 82-80 lead with 1:43 remaining. Duncan then fired a pass to Belinelli in the right corner for a 3-pointer over Neal that gave the Spurs an 85-80 edge. "We know (Neals) a bad defender. All he wants to do is shoot," Duncan said, smiling afterward. "We took advantage of that. Gary was great tonight, actually. He played hard, played well." Neal said he knew that play was coming off an inbounds set, but Duncan simply executed it well. "Ive made a couple of 3s like that from Timmy over the 207 games I played here," Neal said. "Tim is a Hall of Famer. He made a great play. Thats what he does. Thats why the Spurs are so successful." Duncan had six assists and shot 6 for 12 from the field, including 4 of 4 in the second half. Ginobili later completed a three-point play after rolling in a left-handed layup from the right side of the rim just beyond the reach of Jefferson and Henderson to put San Antonio up 88-80. The rally helped the Spurs wipe away a second straight sluggish start at home. "Its frustrating at times that were not able to come out of the gates and play the way we want to play night in and night out," Duncan said. "To play through the ups and downs and find a way to win a game like that is good for us." Charlotte led throughout the first half, extending its cushion to 34-20 with 8:26 remaining on three free throws by Anthony Tolliver. Showing the type of ball movement the Spurs are normally known for, the Bobcats had 15 assists on 19 first-half baskets. San Antonio had only three assists early in the game, missing all but five of its first 17 shots while shooting 30 per cent. "Its hard to watch, isnt it?" Popovich said, laughing when a reporter responded that the game was ugly. "Appreciate your honesty. The turnovers are how we dug a hole for ourselves in the first half. The only thing that kept us in the first half is we hit five 3s." Charlotte built its advantage with little help from Walker, the teams second-leading scorer. He had only three points, going 1 for 8 from the field in the first half. Ginobilis 3-pointer gave the Spurs their first lead at 51-49 with 5:21 left in the third. His second 3 gave San Antonio a 64-57 advantage and brought a loud cheer from the sold-out crowd, which began buzzing in anticipation before he even released the ball. "We made too many mistakes and we got away from our defensive principles," Jefferson said. "The one thing we know about San Antonio is you have to play 48 minutes because they are not going to stop what theyre doing." NOTES: With his 12th rebound, Duncan passed Hakeem Olajuwon (13,748) for 12th on the NBAs career list. At 13,753 rebounds, Duncan is 16 shy of tying Wes Unseld for 11th. "Obviously, I watched (Olajuwon) growing up playing and played against him for a little while," Duncan said. "I respect what he did throughout his career. Its an honour." ... Neal and Duncan shook hands and hugged following a timeout with 4 minutes remaining after Duncan glared at his former teammate before giving a sly smile. ... Spurs point guard Tony Parker sat behind the teams bench as he continues to recover from a series of leg maladies that began before the All-Star break. ... Charlotte C Brenden Haywood (broken left foot) and F Jeff Taylor (ruptured right Achilles) sat out. Chris Owings Jersey . A question that was repeatedly posed last season, and the season before that and in the 2011 campaign before that. Yasmany Tomas Jersey . Doug Fister allowed two runs over seven innings and Washington hit three solo homers in a 6-2 victory over the Baltimore Orioles on Wednesday night. http://www.cheapdiamondbacksjerseys.com/?tag=cheap-andrew-chafin-jersey .Y. - The Buffalo Sabres reassigned forward Sam Reinhart to the WHLs Kootenay Ice on Friday.Got a question on rule clarification, comments on rule enforcements or some memorable NHL stories? Kerry wants to answer your emails at cmonref@tsn.ca. Kerry, I just witnessed the hit by John Moore on Dale Weise in Game 5 - how was that different than the hit that Brandon Prust landed on Derek Stepan? Stepan sustained a broken jaw ... Weise sustained a headache! Should the same rule book call have been made on both hits? Rick Rick: The primary difference between these two illegal hits is that the head of Dale Weise was the "main point of contact" delivered from the shoulder of John Moore in Tuesday nights game and as such, fell under the parameters and language of rule 48 - illegal check to the head. Brandon Prust, on the other hand, initiated shoulder contact to the upper chest/shoulder of Derek Stepan and as the Habs player drove up and through the hit, "significant contact" resulted to the head of Stepan. No penalty was assessed to Prust on this play (missed by all four officials) but since this illegal check was very late, blindside in nature and excessive in the degree of violence asserted, a major and game misconduct should have resulted for interference (rule 56.4/.5). While it might sound like "wordsmithing" (main point of contact versus significant contact), these are important distinctions for the referee to judge when assessing the appropriate penalty. Regardless of the terminology or rule application, both Prust and Moore deserved to be expelled from the game pending any subsequent decision by the Player Safety Committee. While both players were able to finish the game, it was learned the following day that Derek Stepan required surgery to repair a fractured jaw. Brandon Prust was suspended by the Player Safety Committee for a whapping two games! The full extent of head trauma symptoms is not always immediate so it might be premature to determine if Dale Weise is suffering anything beyond a headache. There is no provision for the referee(s) to assess a major and game misconduct penalty under rule 48 (minor or match only). Based on the degree of impact to the head of Weise, it was correctly determined by the referees that John Moore deserved a match penalty (delibberate attempt to injure) and was immediately suspended. Randy Johnson Jersey. Moore has been suspended two games following his hearing with the P.S.C. this afternoon. To your point, Rick, there was an option, albeit ever so slight, for the referee(s) to impose a match penalty against Brandon Prust if first, they saw the play and second, deemed the illegal hit on Stepan was for no other purpose than to attempt to or deliberately injure the Ranger player. Given all the components of Prusts attack and delivery of the hit (excessively late, blindside and high) it would be reasonable to suspect it was not a normal "finish of a check" but instead designed to inflict punishment or even attempt to injure Stepan. Knowing the thinking habits of the referees, they would much prefer to impose the major and game misconduct option contained in the interference rule (or charging) and then let the P.S.C. rule under supplementary discipline if they deemed a suspension is warranted to the player as opposed to applying a match penalty that results in an immediate suspension and hearing. That option was not available to them last night when John Moore checked Dale Weise in the head beyond just two minutes worth! Based on the seriousness and potential consequences of any illegal contact to the head, I offer the following recommendations, Rick: - There should absolutely be no minor penalty option once the referee deems an illegal check to the head has been committed.- Only a major and game misconduct or match penalty should be assessed for an illegal check to the head. - Eliminate the fine line margin of tolerance and thinking that exists between "main point of contact" to the head for the referees to determine an illegal check to the head and for suspension purpose. If contact to the head of an opponent is "significant" through an elevated hit or otherwise, it should be judged as an illegal check to the head. Place the onus on the player making the hit to do so responsibly. - Keep players skates on the ice through a hit.- Hold players accountable for their poor decisions that result in significant contact to an opponents head with meaningful suspensions; beyond just two games.- Rule on the violence of the act and not the result; namely the presence or extent of injury. ' ' '