|
 Guard Danny Green had 15 points, all from behind the 3-point
line, and San Antonio won its ninth straight game with a 119-85
victory over the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday night.
Green, who was 5 of 8 from 3-point range, led a balanced scoring
attack. San Antonio shot 49 percent (48 of 98) from the field and 48
percent (13 of 27) behind the arc in posting its largest winning
margin of the season.
The Spurs spread the scoring around, with five bench players in
double figures, including forward Matt Bonner with 13 points and 10
rebounds, and guard Marco Belinelli with 12. Forward Aron Baynes
added 12 points, guard Corey Joseph 11 and forward Jeff Ayres 10.
All 12 Spurs that played scored for San Antonio (49-16).
"It's been instrumental in us continuing to win games and continue
to stay in the hunt as far as getting a good seed for the playoffs,"
Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said on a reserve until that leads the
league averaging 45 points a game. "Patty (Mills) has kind of led
the way in that respect. But that whole group that comes off the
bench has played well as unit."
It took awhile for San Antonio to get going. The Spurs started the
game 1 of 9 from the field and the Lakers led 10-9. San Antonio
proceeded to go on a 20-4 run and was up 29-14 by the end of the
quarter.
The Spurs stepped up their defense, forcing the Lakers into 4-of-22
shooting from the field in the first quarter with six turnovers and
six blocked shots.
San Antonio, which has not lost since Feb. 21 in Phoenix, continued
to keep its offense in high gear. Green led the Spurs in scoring in
the first half with nine points.
A 3-pointer by Patty Mills with a minute left in the half pushed the
Spurs' lead to 28. San Antonio went into the locker room leading
61-34.
Baynes extended their lead to 35, the largest margin of the game,
when his thunderous running dunk that made it 86-51 with three
minutes left in the third quarter.
"We were focused. Great team basketball," Spurs guard Tony Parker
said. "We shared the ball and everybody played great tonight. That's
what we want; everybody get on the court and we rest the starters."
With the game in hand, all of San Antonio's starters sat in the
fourth quarter.
[to top of second column] |
The Lakers, with nine players in their rotation, were led by center
Pau Gasol with 18 points and 11 rebounds. Guard Jodie Meeks added 15
points as Los Angeles (22-44) dropped its sixth straight game to the
Spurs and third in a row.
"This season has been rough in many, many ways," Pau Gasol said when
asked if this this was his worst season in his career. "We still try
to go out there and compete, and the load is just getting bigger and
bigger. We don't seem to click a lot of times. I agree. It's
definitely one of the worst seasons as far as the collective results
and record, especially when you're a franchise like the (L.A.)
Lakers. You don't expect to have a season like this."
The struggling Lakers were outrebounded 64-37 and shot 34 percent
(31 of 91) from the field.
They attempted 21 3-pointers and only connected on four, while
giving San Antonio 17 points on 10 turnovers.
"They just took it to us," Los Angeles coach Mike D'Antoni said
after the game. "We just did not have the intensity or wherewithal
to hang in there. They carved us up pretty good. They are playing
really, really, really well. That is probably the best we have seen
all year."
The teams play again Wednesday in Los Angeles.
NOTES: With Friday night's win, the Spurs' trio of F Tim Duncan, G
Manu Ginobili and G Tony Parker moved into sole second place in
number of games won by a trio with 491. They now need 50 more wins
to surpass the Boston Celtics' Larry Bird, Kevin McHale and Robert
Parrish for first place all time. ... The last five games, the
Lakers have allowed an average of 129 points and 50 percent shooting
from the floor by their opponent, which is the most points allowed
in a five-game span since 1992. They have gone 1-4 during that
period. ... Los Angeles coach Mike D'Antonio played for San Antonio
in 1977-78 and was a scout during the 1999-2000 season. ... San
Antonio leads the league in 3-point field-goal percentage, shooting
40 percent for the season.
[© 2014 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
Copyright 2014 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. |
