|
 Point guard Tony Parker scored 25 points, leading the Spurs to a
119-113 victory over the Lakers on Friday night at Staples Center.
"It's a good win," said Parker, who connected on 9 of 16 shots from
the floor and all seven of his free throws. "Obviously, we wanted to
bounce back. We did a lot better today."
Seven Spurs scored in double figures. Forward LaMarcus Aldridge had
16 points and eight rebounds, guard Patty Mills added 15 points and
seven assists, and forward Tim Duncan chipped in 12 points and 13
rebounds for San Antonio (46-9), which prevailed after the Clippers
snapped its six-game winning streak with a 105-86 rout on Thursday.
"Guys played well. I thought guys played confident, guys took shots
that were there, didn't try to force anything," said Aldridge, who
had 12 points in the second half, 10 of those coming in the fourth
quarter. "I thought guys made great reads on that."
The Spurs swept the season series against the Lakers. The game also
represented the final time the Spurs will face Lakers forward Kobe
Bryant, who is retiring at the end of the season.
Bryant had 25 points on 10-of-25 shooting from the field, missing
seven of the eight 3-pointers he took.
Guard Lou Williams contributed 21 points and guard Jordan Clarkson
had 20 points and six assists for the Lakers (11-45), who dropped
their fourth in a row and 18th in the last 21 games. Forward Julius
Randle had 11 points and 15 rebounds.
Bryant dislocated his right middle finger with 2:10 remaining while
chasing a loose ball. He left the game briefly to allow trainer Gary
Vitti to pop the finger back into place.
"This probably will be the only time I can sit here and do this at a
press conference," Bryant said, flashing his middle digit to the
media and generating plenty of laughs.
The Spurs played again without All-Star forward Kawhi Leonard, who
missed his second straight game with tightness in his left calf.
Kyle Anderson, who starred at nearby UCLA two seasons ago, started
in Leonard's place, finishing with 14 points.
"The fact that he's not playing, everybody has to do a little bit
more," Parker said.
San Antonio led 85-75 heading into the fourth quarter. Los Angeles
cut the deficit to single figures on several occasions. A four-point
play by Williams with 5:44 left and a turnaround jumper by Bryant
almost a minute later pulled the Lakers within 101-97.
[to top of second column] |
However, that was the closest the Lakers got as the Spurs used two
buckets by Parker and a dunk by Aldridge to push the margin to
eight.
Bryant converted three foul shots to slice the lead to 107-102 with
2:53 remaining, but Aldridge hit two free throws for a seven-point
edge.
After the teams exchanged baskets, Mills nailed a 3-point jumper for
114-107 lead with 1:03 left that turned out to be the difference.
"They've been playing well lately," Parker said of the Lakers. "At
home, they made it tough on us and tonight the same thing."
The Spurs led 60-49 at the break despite being outshot by the Lakers
57.1 percent to 55.3 percent from the field. However, 13 Lakers
turnovers to eight for the Spurs in the first half didn't help Los
Angeles.
Overall, San Antonio shot 54.5 percent from the floor compared with
49.4 percent for Los Angeles. The Lakers committed 16 turnovers
overall to 11 for the Spurs.
"When you're down at halftime by 11 or 12, 13 points, against a team
like San Antonio, the way they play, it's hard to come back because
they're such a great basketball team," Lakers coach Byron Scott
said. "But very proud of the way we played in the second half. I
thought we did a lot of really good things."
NOTES: An MRI on San Antonio F Kawhi Leonard's left calf was
negative, coach Gregg Popovich said. Leonard, the team's leading
scorer at 20.2 points per game, hadn't missed a game this season
until sitting out Thursday's loss to the Los Angeles Clippers. "I
just don't want to screw with his calf," Popovich said. "That can be
a really tough injury. We got an MRI today, and it's not like
anything is ripped or anything like that, but it's probably wise to
be conservative." ... Lakers G/F Anthony Brown sat out with a right
ankle sprain. ... Both clubs resume play Sunday. The Lakers begin a
three-game road swing at the Chicago Bulls. The Spurs visit the
Phoenix in the fourth game of their seven-game trip.
[© 2016 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
Copyright 2016 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
 |
