BOSTON -- San Antonio came into Boston missing three key players. Fortunately for the Spurs, Tim Duncan wasnt among them. Duncan scored 23 of his 25 points in the second half, powering the injury-depleted Spurs to a 104-92 win over the Celtics on Wednesday night. "More than anything, Tim led the way for us as he has for 16 or 17 years," coach Gregg Popovich said about his team pulling away in the final quarter. Marco Belinelli added 16 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists for the Spurs, who were without guards Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili and forward Tiago Splitter -- all sidelined with injuries. Coming off a first half when he went 1 for 4 from the floor, Duncan scored 11 points on 4-of-9 shooting in the third to help San Antonio open a 71-66 lead after three. "I started out the second half the exact same way and finally got some to fall," he said. "They kept coming to me and I just put it in the hole. There wasnt anything I changed, anything I saw." Boris Diaw added 18 points and Duncan grabbed nine rebounds to lead the Spurs to their fifth win in seven games. "Hes had that same demeanour since Day 1 when he arrived," Popovich said of Duncan. "He doesnt get excited about wins. He doesnt get down about losses. He just loves to compete and he keeps a real steady attitude, which everybody kind of feeds off in a way." First-year Boston coach Brad Stevens thought Duncan decided to take command more after halftime. "He changed," Stevens said. "I mean, he went back to being really aggressive on the blocks. I thought in the first half we did a really good job on a couple of catches that he did have down on the block, but he kind of put (them) on his shoulders. He wasnt going to be denied -- and we dont have great matchups for him. Theres not many great matchups for him in the NBA or in the world." Rajon Rondo led Boston with 16 points and Kris Humphries and rookie Kelly Olynyk had 15 apiece. The Celtics fell to 4-18 against Western Conference teams. Duncan scored 12 points and was 5 of 6 from the floor in the fourth. "He is arguably one of the best power forwards of all time, and hes doing it at 38," Humphries said. Boston was minus guard Avery Bradley, who was sidelined with a sprained right ankle. After the Celtics scored the first points of the fourth quarter on a jumper by Humphries, San Antonio went on a 12-4 run. The Spurs went 6 of 8 to start the period, keyed by Danny Greens 3 from the left corner that made it 79-70 with just under 10 minutes to play. After a foul-line jumper by Humphries, Duncan had consecutive baskets, the second a jumper that pushed the Spurs lead to 85-74 with 8:06 left. San Antonio broke it open with a 11-0 run midway into the quarter that was capped by Belinellis 3-pointer with 4 minutes left. The Spurs used a 9-2 run late in the third and opened their five-point lead heading into the fourth. Duncan didnt score his first points until a basket late in the first half. The Celtics went on a 12-0 run, bridging the end of the first quarter and the start of the second to pull to their first lead of the game, 26-25, on Phil Presseys 3-pointer. San Antonio led 48-44 at halftime. NOTES: Stevens said Bradley re-sprained the ankle that cost him five games at the end of January. Stevens said he could be out after the All-Star break. ... Before the game, Stevens praised the Spurs ability to overcome the loss of players due to injuries. "I think some of the most inspiring basketball Ive ever watched is when they dont have all their players," he said. ... The Spurs played their sixth game of a nine-game road trip that will carry over the break with the final three. Boston opens the post-break schedule with a four-game trip, starting against Phoenix next Wednesday. ... Hall of Famer Bill Russell turned 80 Wednesday. ... San Antonio beat Boston at home on Nov. 20, 104-93 in the only other meeting this season. ... Ginobili has a tight left hamstring and missed his eighth straight. Splitter was out for his third consecutive because of a bruised right shin and Parker was sidelined with lower back tightness. ... Stevens said Boston F Jared Sullinger played just 18 1/2 minutes because he was "sick." Air Max 97 In Saldo . With the results, North America claimed 2.5 of the three available points, opening up a 17.5-12.5 lead in the overall standings. A total of 60 points are available, meaning the first team to 30.5 points will win the Continental Cup. Air Max 95 Prezzo Amazon . Playing in his fourth major league game, Polanco broke a tie in the 13th inning with his first homer, helping Pittsburgh to an 8-6 victory over the Miami Marlins after the Pirates had a ninth-inning meltdown. http://www.airmaxshoponlineitalia.it/. Sami Salo scored two goals as the Canucks overcame a hat-trick from Edmonton Oiler rookie sensation Ryan Nugent-Hopkins to win 4-3 in NHL action Saturday. Air Max 97 False . Coach Jorge Sampaoli resisted naming any major surprises in the list published Tuesday at the site of Chiles football association. Chile is pinning its hopes on the recovery of Vidal. Air Max 95 Scontate Uomo . -- Kansas City Royals first baseman Eric Hosmer will be out three to six weeks with a stress fracture of the third finger of his right hand.TORONTO -- Jonas Valanciunas was five years old when Kevin Garnett earned his first of 15 NBA all-star selections. He was 11 when Garnett was named the league MVP. Valanciunas -- now 21 -- went toe to toe with the 37-year-old Garnett in Torontos loss to the Brooklyn Nets in Game 1 of their playoff series last Saturday. And if there was any sense of awe in the name on the back of the Brooklyn jersey he was guarding, the young Valanciunas didnt show it, laying down a monster game in his post-season debut. "He was not intimidated, he wasnt fazed by the physicality or guarding a legend like KG. Youre talking about a guy who is going to be in the Hall of Fame," said Raptors coach Dwane Casey. "I told our guys, Youve got to respect them because those guys have accomplished a lot in this league. But you cant fear them. KG would think less of him, knowing him, if it was anything less. Respect him, but you cant fear him. (Valanciunas) did that." The Raptors host Game 2 of the series on Tuesday, then it shifts to Brooklyn for Game 3 on Friday and Game 4 on Sunday. Valanciunas had 17 points and 18 rebounds in the opener of the seven-game series, while holding Garnett to five points. While many of the Raptors appeared overwhelmed by the enormity of their first playoff appearance in six seasons -- for some players, it was their first playoff appearance, period -- Valanciunas looked especially fired up from the opening tipoff. When asked Monday about guarding Garnett, Valanciunas merely shrugged. "Hes the same Garnett in regular season, so Im playing him the same way. Just maybe adding 10 per cent more effort," Valanciunas said, laughing. On Garnetts infamous trash talking: "I dont understand English. So Im OK." More laughter. On whether Garnett was a player he looked up to growing up in Utena, Lithuania: "His last name is really famous, so I heard about him when I was a kid." Respect, but no fear. What helped Valanciunas keep the nerves at bay, Casey believes, is thats hes accustomed to playing in front of noisy, passionate crowds. "Thats one thing with the Euroleague, hes played in some big games over there for his country," Casey said. "He was not fazed by the crowd, by the moment, by it being the playoffs. I thought he did a good job of fighting the physicality, getting inside, rebounding, using his length against KG and (Nets centre Mason) Plumlee." As the Raptors season continues, so does Valanciunass development. His rebounds Saturday were a Raptors post-season record. His double-double was only the second by a Raptor in their playoff debut (Tracy McGrady recorded the other in 2000). He scored a career-high 26 points earlier this month, less than three days after he was charged with drunk driving. "Its a positive. Him growing over the last month or so has really been a positive for our season," Casey said. "Hes our future. Hes our starting centre for a while to come so its great to see. Plus, hes a great kid. He works at it." Raptors guard Greivis Vasquez, meanwhile, grew up watching the Nets other NBA legend Paul Pierce. He even attended Pierces basketball camp when he was a kid..dddddddddddd The 36-year-old Pierce was huge down the stretch in Game 1, scoring nine of his 15 points in the final three minutes. Asked if there was one thing he learned from Pierces camp, Vasquez replied, with a wide grin: "I did. How to be clutch." Vasquez played like he was similarly unfazed by the big names on the opposing team. Vasquez, one of four Raptors acquired in December in the trade that sent Rudy Gay to Sacramento, scored 18 points off the bench and doled out eight assists. "You know what, to me, its fun," Vasquez said. "Im an underdog guy, so Ive got to prove myself every day. I wake up with 220,000 pounds on my shoulder, so Ive got to be able to find a way to walk and get to my job. "Its fun when you face Deron Williams, Joe Johnson, Paul Pierce, KG. I mean, I grew up watching those guys, especially Paul Pierce. Now I got a chance to beat em? To me, I cant ask for anything better than that. Its fun. Its a basketball game, man, at the end of the day weve all got two hands. We all can shoot. Weve got one of the best point guards, too (in Kyle Lowry). Ill take our chances, man." For the players who did look affected by the nerves in Game 1 -- all-star DeMar DeRozan and Terrence Ross, to name two -- Casey and his players believe Game 2 will be an entirely different story. "Were disappointed but were anxious to get a second chance at it. I think the second time around well get the first game jitters away, out of us," Casey said. Game 2 could be a repeat of Game 1 when it comes to officiating. The Raptors werent on the favourable end of any calls in the fourth quarter on Saturday. They sounded resigned to the fact after Mondays practice. "Weve accepted that all year long as far as not getting recognition or getting respect or even getting calls we think we should get," said Raptors forward Patrick Patterson. "Thats happened all year long, so for us to think its going to change in the playoffs, were fooling ourselves. We have to go out there and not worry about the referees, not worry about the calls and just play basketball." The Raptors are hoping for a repeat performance by the Air Canada Centre crowd. A sellout crowd of 19,800 took in Game 1, clad in white T-shirts and waving white towels, thanks to a pre-game giveaway. Hundreds more fans watched the game on the big screen in Maple Leaf Square outside the arena. "Unbelievable. Unbelievable," Casey marvelled. "We were in Dallas for the (NBA) championship ... but this arena Saturday was unbelievable. I was proud of our fans. They showed the NBA what were about. The white-out, it was unbelievable. The enthusiasm. They not only cheered when we were up, they cheered when we were behind. It was constant. It was like a soccer crowd. "Our players appreciated it. We appreciate it now weve got to go out and reciprocate with our effort." Saturdays game was also a ratings hit for TSN. Overnight data from BBM Canada indicated an average audience of 539,000 viewers watched Game 1. It was the most-watched Raptors game on English television in Canada since 2002, the network said in a release. ' ' '