San Antonio Spurs

The good news for the Spurs through all this early injury business is the play of steady old Tim Duncan.

The power forward scored 24 points and 12 rebounds and the Spurs were actually able to celebrate Monday. Duncan wasn't the problem during the Spurs' 4-6 start, a record that moved to 6-6 Monday night with a 112-98 win over the Bucks.

The win was the first in four games in which Duncan scored at least 20 points.

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

Four of Duncan's rebounds came on the offensive glass and he added a pair of steals to help the Spurs win two in a row for just the second time in the first 12 games of the season.

Yet in typical Duncan style, he turned attention away from his game and onto the Spurs' bench, which has been one of the highest-scoring in the game. Against the Bucks, the Spurs' bench poured in 59 points as seven reserves scored. Three -- Mason, Matt Bonner and George Hill -- reached double figures.

"It was a huge boost for us," Duncan said of the bench play. "We got a lot of good play from the bench. Roger played well, Mattie played well and that's what we need. We're going to need, on nights when the energy isn't there or somebody's not playing well, for other people to step up and that's a big part of really becoming a team."

SPURS 112, BUCKS 98: Tim Duncan scored 24 points, but Matt Bonner stole the show with 23 points. Bonner shot lights-out from beyond the arc, hitting 6-of-8. He added six rebounds and a pair of assists.

George Hill joined Bonner off the bench for 14 points and Tony Parker chipped in with six points and six assists. The Spurs took charge with a 37-point outburst in the third quarter, keyed by a couple of hustle plays by Keith Bogans early in the period.

• Entering Monday's game, Milwaukee was one of two teams in the NBA against which the Spurs did not own the lead in the all-time series. The series was tied at 35-35. The Bucks knotted it by sweeping the season series last year. That changed Monday as the Spurs came out hot in the second half to forge ahead and retake the lead in the overall series.

• The Spurs should feel pretty good about extending their two-game winning streak to three in their next match-up Wednesday night at home against Golden State. They have won 22 in a row at home against the Warriors and five in a row overall. Tipping the scales even more in the Spurs' favor is that Golden State will be playing the second half of a back-to-back. The Warriors play at Dallas on Tuesday.

Quote To Note:

"It felt like a year and a half."

—Spurs forward Tim Duncan on snapping a three-game losing skid on Saturday, the Spurs' first win in 10 days.

Rotation:

Starters—Point guard Tony Parker, Shooting guard Keith Bogans, Small forward Richard Jefferson, Power forward Tim Duncan, Center Antonio McDyess. Bench—Guard George Hill, Guard Roger Mason Jr., Guard Michael Finley, Forward DeJuan Blair, Forward Matt Bonner, Guard Malik Hairston.

Player News:

• G Tony Parker returned to action on Saturday from an ankle injury and in the two games he's played, both Spurs victories, the difference in the offense has been obvious. "We're moving the ball really well," Tim Duncan said. "I think we're really sharing the ball. We have a lot of good shooters and if we can get those guys open shots it's best for us. Tony's doing great on the pick-and-rolls and finding guys."

  Parker had six assists in Monday's win over the Bucks, but it's the speed he plays at and the composure he plays with that keeps the offense from stagnating for long periods. In the last two games with Parker back at point guard, the Spurs have scored 106 and 112 points.

• G Keith Bogans turned the tide of Monday's game with two steals in the first 1:18 of the third quarter that keyed a run in which the Spurs went from being down 50-49 to being up 55-50. Bogans stole a pass from rookie Brandon Jennings to open the second half and then nabbed another Jennings pass that led to a Richard Jefferson lay-up. "He's out there because of his aggressiveness and his defensive abilities," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. "He really has a will to do that and to try to disrupt and I think the team reacts to that very well."

  Bogans is also giving the Spurs sporadic offense. He made 4-of-8 shots against the Bucks and finished with 10 points.

• F/C Matt Bonner, the 6-foot-10 jump shooter, came off the bench Monday against Milwaukee and canned 6-of-8 from beyond the 3-point arc and finished with 23 points in 25 minutes. "Tonight it was one of those nights where everything is falling," Bonner said. "My teammates did a great job finding me when I was open and I stepped in and made some shots." It was the seventh time in 12 games that Bonner has hit three or more 3-pointers, his sixth game in double figures and fifth in seven games.

Medical Watch:

• Manu Ginobili (groin) is out at least until Wednesday's game against Golden State.