INQUIRER Sports

SAN ANTONIO ? Tim Duncan scored 23 points and grabbed 10 rebounds Thursday as San Antonio launched their New Year's celebrations with a 108-78 NBA victory over Miami.

Argentina's Manu Ginobili added 18 points for the Spurs, who have won 10 of their last 12.

But Miami were the first vanquished opponents in that stretch with a winning record, a fact that tempered Spurs Coach Gregg Popovich's enthusiasm for the accomplishment.

The last time the Spurs had beaten a team with a winning record was November 27 against Houston. Since then they had faltered against division leaders Boston and Denver and fallen to Utah, Phoenix and Portland.

Prior to the game, Popovich indicated he was "not quite as impressed" with the streak as he might have been had it come against higher-caliber competition.

"If all nine [recent] wins were against Cleveland, Orlando, Phoenix or the Lakers, I'd be pretty impressed with us," Popovich said before the game. "But that's not the case. Hence, I'm not quite as impressed."

But he couldn't argue with his team's performance on Thursday, as they handed the Heat their most humiliating loss this season.

Michael Beasley scored 26, and Dwyane Wade had 16 before watching the blowout from the bench in the fourth. They were the only Miami players to score in double figures.

Miami made just 10 field goals in the second half.

"We couldn't get anything to go for us," Wade said. "They played exceptionally well. Normally with a team when we get down, we can make a run, but we just couldn't do it tonight."

"They throttled us," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. "We got what we deserved tonight. Very disappointing loss."

Duncan poured in 13 points in the first quarter, and the Spurs barely needed him after leading 58-49 at halftime.

He shot 10 of 13 from the field as the Spurs rolled to their biggest victory margin of the season.

France's Tony Parker had 15 points and rookie DeJuan Blair had 14 for the Spurs.

Ginobili said the victory was a sign the Spurs were moving in the right direction.

"I believe that we've got a lot to improve to really become contenders and be respected as one of the best teams in the league," Ginobili said. "We're not that steady so far this season, but we're on the right track."