SAN ANTONIO -- As TCU tied for the largest comeback in bowl game history downtown, a few miles northeast at the AT&T Center, San Antonio Spurs forward Tim Duncan finished without a point for the first regular-season game in his 19-year career.
It was a strange night in San Antonio, but at least one Spur found humor in the situation.
"I just heard," guard Manu Ginobili said. "It's very unusual, of course, but he didn't play much. He hadn't played in a week. If he's playing until he's 48, I guess he's gonna have that a couple more times."
Playing for the first time since an 88-84 Christmas loss in Houston, Duncan, 39, missed all three of his attempts during San Antonio's 121-103 thumping of the Rockets, but he contributed four rebounds and a pair of assists. Duncan played just 13:45 in the victory, with the team slowly bringing along the forward, who had been held out of the club's previous three outings due to soreness in his right knee.
The scoreless night snapped a streak of 1,359 games in which Duncan scored at least one point. That streak marked the most consecutive games with a point to begin a career, according to Elias Sports Bureau. Karl Malone scored in 1,356 consecutive games, followed by Hakeem Olajuwon (1,089), Elvin Hayes (1,084) and Michael Jordan (1,072).
Duncan was unavailable for comment.
LaMarcus Aldridge said, "I didn't know that," when told Duncan didn't score.
Danny Green expressed a similar sentiment.
"I didn't realize that. It's gonna happen," Green said. "It's rare. At his age, you expect that, but not from Timmy. The way he's been playing each year, he makes it look easy. I don't think he played a ton either tonight. It's his first game back in three games. He's still trying to get his rhythm, but he didn't get many attempts, either. We don't need him to score for us to be effective. He rebounds. He outlets. He alters shots, blocks shots. He's great for us on the defensive end of the floor. Timmy's gonna do what he does. It's only a matter of time."
San Antonio extended its franchise-record home start with its 20th straight victory.
