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 Leonard scored 25 points and provided some effective defense when
his teammates could not, leading the San Antonio Spurs to a 120-111
victory over Denver, the fourth straight win for the Spurs.
The 6-foot-7 forward has led the Spurs in scoring the last three
games, averaging 22.7 points. He produced eight rebounds, four
assists and three blocks Friday.
After Denver point guard Ty Lawson scored 16 points in the first
half, Spurs coach Gregg Popovich assigned Leonard to guard him,
replacing Tony Parker as the primary defender. Lawson scored seven
in the second half.
"I just tried to stay close to him," Leonard said.
Popovich was impressed.
"He has historically done a pretty good job on point guards,"
Popovich said. "His length bothers them on the dribble and on the
shot."
Two days earlier, Leonard limited a bigger opponent, Sacramento
forward Rudy Gay, to 4-for-16 shooting.
"He's so athletic and long," Spurs guard Manu Ginobili said of
Leonard.
Parker, the Spurs' point guard, scored 24 points, converting 10 of
15 shots. He made a pretty, spinning fast-break layup to give San
Antonio an eight-point lead with less than eight minutes remaining.
Parker also made seven assists against one turnover, prompting
questions about whether he finally has recovered from a left
hamstring injury that has bothered him for three months.
"I don't want to jinx it," Parker said.
Despite shooting a solid 54.4 percent, San Antonio (38-23) could not
shake Denver (22-40). The Nuggets hit 52.3. Lawson supplemented his
23 points with nine assists. Lawson had been held scoreless by
Minnesota in the Nuggets' last game. He missed all nine of his
shots.
Forward Kenneth Faried had 20 points and 10 rebounds. Forward Wilson
Chandler scored 16.
San Antonio led by three points late in the game. Then Danny Green
hit a 3-point shot with 2:17 left, assisted by Leonard, and Denver
responded with four straight misses.
"They get any shot they want to," Denver forward Darrell Arthur
said. "They move the basketball."
San Antonio converted 10 of its first 11 shots in the game, building
a 10-point lead. But when the first half ended, all the Spurs had to
show for their hot spot was a five-point edge, 65-60 despite 61
percent shooting.
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Spurs forward Tim Duncan scored 15 in the half, and Leonard added
13. They combined to hit 12 of 15 from the field. But the Spurs
fared poorly trying to defend Lawson and his backup, Jameer Nelson.
Lawson hit 4 of 6 from the field and all eight of his free throws.
Nelson scored nine, also making 4 of 6 shots.
Then came Leonard.
"We couldn't do anything with either of the point guards in the
first half," Popovich said. "Kawhi made it happen for us."
Denver is 2-1 under interim coach Melvin Hunt, the replacement for
Brian Shaw after he was fired. Hunt couldn't get too upset with his
first defeat.
"I loved the way we competed," Hunt said. "They fought hard."
NOTES: C Tiago Splitter made his fourth straight start at center for
the San Antonio Spurs Friday against Denver. Splitter has struggled
this season with a right calf injury that forced him to miss 18
straight games earlier in the season. He eventually lost his
starting job. "He looks like he is much more in shape and confident
in his body," coach Gregg Popovich said. "He's such a good defender
when he's full speed, and he's a good passer." ... The Spurs wore
camouflage uniforms Friday to acknowledge military appreciation
night. ... Denver lost 19 of 21 games before Brian Shaw was fired as
coach. The Nuggets won their first two under interim coach Melvin
Hunt before arriving in San Antonio, reaching 100 points in each
after failing to do that in their previous six games. "We are gonna
emphasize ball movement," Hunt said. "The open man gets the ball
every time." ... Nuggets C Jusuf Nurkic missed his fifth straight
game with a right ankle sprain.
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