Spurs best in the West after rout of Jazz

SAN ANTONIO - Homecourt advantage and some rested players could mean a lot when the playoffs start. The defending champion San Antonio Spurs got both Monday night. Manu Ginobili scored 18 points and Tim Duncan added 16 to help the Spurs clinch the Southwest Division title and the best record in the Western Conference with a 115-82 rout of the Utah Jazz. The Spurs earned the No. 1 seed and homecourt advantage throughout the Western Conference playoffs. "It's great to get (homecourt) wrapped up," Duncan said. "I'm feeling good right now — feeling healthy. I think we all feel pretty good right now, and that's the main thing." San Antonio (62-19) took a 19-point lead into the fourth quarter and led by as many as 36 points, allowing the Spurs to rest their starters as the playoffs draw near. Duncan hit 7-of-13 shots and had five rebounds in 22 minutes. He left the game and did not return with 3:54 remaining in the third quarter when the Spurs had a 14-point lead. Ginobili played 25 minutes. The Spurs bench scored 65 points, including 16 by Brent Barry. Andrei Kirilenko sat out because of lower back spasms for the Jazz, who have lost two straight games. Deron Williams led Utah (40-41) with 18 points. The Spurs showed playoff form. San Antonio shot 57 percent from the field compared to 43 percent for Utah. "They got about everything they wanted tonight," Jazz coach Jerry Sloan said. "They were playing in such a comfort zone that we couldn't even begin to shut them down." The Spurs can't catch Detroit for the best record in the league, but San Antonio still can accomplish something by beating Houston in the final regular-season game Wednesday. The Spurs can break a franchise record for single-season victories. The 1994-95 team won 62 games. The Spurs had the homecourt advantage but lost to Houston in the Western Conference finals. "Nobody is going to turn down homecourt," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. "I've said that about 1,000 times over the years. Nobody is going to give it up, but it doesn't ensure anything. We've had it before and got knocked out. It's not a sure bet." Utah, which will finish the season Wednesday night at home against Golden State, has finished with a .500 record or better 21 times in the past 22 seasons. Utah had a 16-13 lead 9:39 into the game. But the Spurs went on a 13-1 run during the next 2:42. San Antonio led 26-17 with 39 seconds left in the quarter when Ginobili sank a 3-pointer. It was the third straight 3-point basket for the Spurs in a span of 54 seconds. The Jazz cut the Spurs lead to five points just more than a minute into the second quarter, but San Antonio went on another dominating run, outscoring Utah 27-12 during the next 10:11. The Spurs bench led the way, hitting 11 of its first 16 shots and outscoring the Utah bench 28-2 in the first half. Barry ended the game 7-of-10 from the floor. Robert Horry was 3-of-3 from 3-point territory. "We're going to need more from guys like Brent and myself as we progress through the playoffs," Horry said. -AP