NBA Capsules: Spurs stop Bucks' win streak behind Duncan

Duncan had 24 points and 12 rebounds and the Spurs halted the Milwaukee Bucks' three-game winning streak with a 112-98 victory Monday night, getting their second blow out in as many games after an unusually lackluster start to the season.

Duncan could hardly be blamed while San Antonio was 4-6: the Spurs had been 0-4 when their All-Star forward scored 20 or more.

"We'll win a lot more games if he scores 20. I'll tell you that much," Spurs guard Roger Mason said.

Ersan Illyasova led Milwaukee with 20 points. Brandon Jennings scored 12 — held well below his rookie-leading average of 25.3 points per game — and Michael Redd scored four points off the bench in his first action in nine games because of a knee injury.

San Antonio's bench was better. Matt Bonner had 23 points and the Spurs won consecutive games for only the second time this season. Bonner was 6-of-8 from behind the arc, George Hill scored 14 and Mason had 11 as San Antonio's reserves outscored its starting five.

"That's what we need when the energy isn't there or someone isn't playing well, for other people to step up," Duncan said.

The win came after the Spurs clobbered Washington 106-84 on Saturday night, and Duncan credited the improved play the last two games to better ball movement. The Spurs have won two in a row after losing three straight, when Duncan averaged 21.6 points and 11 rebounds during that skid.

Five of San Antonio's six wins have come when scoring 100 points or more.The Spurs (6-6) climbed back to .500 during what has been one of the worst starts to a season in the Duncan era, and play four of their next five at home.

Hakim Warrick scored 15 points and Carlos Delfino had 11 for Milwaukee. Jennings was 6 of 21 from the floor and was held under 17 points for just the second time this season.

"I was getting to the lane. But my shots just weren't falling," Jennings said. "It was an off night."

The Bucks entered the game as the top rebounding team in the league but were bullied on the boards 46-29. San Antonio pulled away with a season-high 37 points in the third quarter, when Duncan had 15 points and five rebounds.

"We had a hard time in general," Bucks coach Scott Skiles said. "We had a hard time keeping them out of the paint. We got destroyed on the boards."

Redd played 11 minutes off the bench and showed a predictable bit of rust while playing for the first time in four weeks. His first shot was a jumper that badly missed the rim, and he finished 1 of 3 from the field and made just one of six free throws.

Bucks coach Scott Skiles said Redd returned probably a little sooner than even he expected. But the 10th-year guard fared well after getting through his first contact practice Sunday.

Milwaukee lost for the second time in nine games as the Bucks (9-3) came to San Antonio off to their best start since the 2001-02 season

Richard Jefferson had 11 points and Keith Bogans added 10 for the Spurs.

Notes: Spurs G Manu Ginobili is said to be making progress on recovering from his strained left groin, but coach Gregg Popovich offered no firm timetable for his return. Ginobili has not played since Nov. 18. ... Bucks C Kurt Thomas, the only one of three Spurs players Milwaukee kept in the Jefferson deal this summer, had six points and five rebounds.

Rockets' McGrady back at practice, return unclear

HOUSTON — Tracy McGrady returned to practice with the Houston Rockets for the first time since microfracture surgery in February on Monday, but the seven-time All-Star still doesn't know when he'll play.

McGrady said he can play now, but Rockets coach Rick Adelman has said he's not ready.

Adelman missed practice Monday to attend to a personal matter and was not available for comment. Assistant coach Elston Turner said "it's a process" to get McGrady back.

The 30-year-old McGrady said the difference of opinion between he and Rockets officials is not a problem, but he's upset people have faulted him for wanting to return now.

"I'm ready to play basketball," he said. "Everybody is making a big deal because I say I'm ready and GM and my coach say I'm not ready. Everybody wants to make a big deal that I'm this diva ... It's crazy."

McGrady was set to undergo an MRI on his surgically repaired left knee late Monday which he says is "irrelevant," but that the team wants to review before any decision on his return is made.

"It's not going to tell them whether I can play or not," McGrady said.

He hasn't been told when he will be activated, but is confident it will be "really soon." Turner's comments after practice didn't seem to indicate McGrady will get his wish.

"It's a long season and we're going to take our time," he said. "We all have his best interests in our thoughts. We'll bring him back when we feel like he can consistently not miss a beat."

Houston is 8-6 so far this season, two games behind Dallas in the Southwest Division.

Turner noted that the Rockets don't want to bring McGrady back too quickly, only to have him experience a setback.

"He's gone through a major surgery and it's a process to get him back on the court full-time," he said. "When you're building a team there's chemistry that players develop. So when he does come back we would like him to be back instead of in a week, out a week, in a week. It messes up our chemistry."

McGrady knows he won't automatically return to the player he was before the injury in his first games, but insists he has to play to build up to that point. He said rhythm and consistency will be big factors when he returns.

"I don't care how great of a player you are, if you've been out it takes time," he said. "You've got to play in games to gain your rhythm. As far as getting up and down, and doing things that I couldn't do last year, I'm capable of doing that night in and night out."

-- Kristie Rieken

Shaq practices, hopes to return against Detroit