Tim Duncan fails to grab rebound for 1st time in career

Since entering the NBA in 1997, San Antonio Spurs power forward Tim Duncan went 1,342 consecutive games with at least one rebound to his name in the nightly box score.

That extraordinary streak came to a crashing halt on Friday night against the New Orleans Pelicans, as the 15-time All-Star failed to secure a board for the first time in his illustrious career.

Duncan finished the evening with six points and two assists on 2-of-6 shooting in 19 minutes of action, as San Antonio saw their six-game winning streak ended by the lowly Pelicans.

"Timmy didn’t get a board?" teammate Tony Parker asked after the game, according to ESPN's Michael C. Wright.

"That’s because we played New Orleans," Parker continued. "It’s always something here. For whatever reason, every time we play them, it’s a tough one. I don’t know why. That’s very rare."

The Pelicans have had the Spurs' number in recent memory, winning four of their last five regular-season meetings, including three of four in 2014-15. Duncan, 39, averaged a healthy double-double of 15.5 points and 10.3 rebounds in four games against New Orleans last season, making his rebound-less outing on Friday all the more surprising.

"Yeah, I didn’t know that," guard Danny Green said when made aware of Duncan's streak ending. "Strange things happen some nights. I’m not taking anything away from their win. But strangely, Tim didn’t get a rebound. They’re a good team. Every time we come here, we know it’s going to be a tough matchup for us."

San Antonio faces off with the Memphis Grizzlies at the AT&T Center on Saturday, which could explain why Duncan's minutes were kept in check on the road against New Orleans. He hadn't played fewer than 20 minutes through his first 11 games.

Duncan ranks seventh all-time in total rebounds with 14,740. It's likely that he'll pass Karl Malone (14,968) for sixth place at some point this season.