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 Even awful shooting nights can't slow them down nowadays.
The Spurs extended their longest winning streak in three seasons to
12 on Friday, blasting the Sacramento Kings 99-79 at Sleep Train
Arena in a methodical effort that highlighted why the Spurs have
five championship trophies and why they seem geared to make a decent
run at another one.
San Antonio (52-16) won despite shooting just 39 percent from the
field, their worst shooting performance in a victory this season.
But they held the Kings to only 40 percent shooting, used a 13-5
stretch over the final six minutes of the first half to build a
47-37 lead at halftime and pulled away in the final quarter.
"That was one of those games," Spurs guard Manu Ginobili said. "We
couldn't make a shot. The good news is they couldn't make one,
either."
Ginobili finished with 14 points, and guard Marco Belinelli added a
team-high 17, as the Spurs stayed 1 1/2 games ahead of the Indiana
Pacers and Oklahoma City Thunder in the race for the best record in
the NBA and Western Conference, respectively. Belinelli, who canned
seven of 12 shots from the field, was the only Spurs player to make
more than half his shots.
"That was a sloppy, sloppy game," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said.
"There was a lot of physicality. We couldn't throw it in the ocean
offensively, but we played pretty good on defense."
The Kings have lost nine straight to San Antonio, including 11 in a
row at home. San Antonio has won all three games this season.
Sacramento was close to ending San Antonio's domination in the first
two games against them this season. The Spurs used a 13-2 run in the
final 3:20 to prevail 112-104 at home on Dec. 20 and rallied from 10
points down in the third quarter in a 95-93 win at home on Feb. 1.
In this one, Sacramento (24-45) never led by more than two points
and was dominated down low and in the paint. The Spurs outscored the
Kings 44-28 in the paint and 19-4 on second-chance points.
"For us to get outrebounded and to allow 19 second-chance points,
well, that was the story of the game," Kings coach Michael Malone
said. "It was a rare night where we defended at a high level, but
were unable to rebound."
Guard Isaiah Thomas, who totaled 53 points in his team's first two
games against San Antonio this season, finished with a team-high 18
for Sacramento. Center DeMarcus Cousins had 15 points and 13
rebounds for the Kings, his ninth double-double in his team's past
10 games and 43rd this season.
Forward Rudy Gay added 14 points, and forward Travis Outlaw came off
the bench to contribute 13.
"They held us to 40 percent, and we had a hard time getting it
going," Malone said.
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The Spurs last won a dozen straight from Nov. 1-24, 2010. They
pulled away from Sacramento gradually, using a 13-5 run to end the
first half and never let the Kings get closer than five points in
the second half.
Despite the cold touch, six Spurs players scored in double figures.
Kawhi Leonard added 15, guard Tony Parker had 14 and forward Tim
Duncan had 10 points and nine rebounds.
Center Tiago Splitter contributed all 11 of his points in the first
half for San Antonio, which is 12-0 when he scores double-figures.
"It's a great reminder that we can win with our defense," Parker
said. "In the playoffs, sometimes, the ball is not going to go in,
so it's great to see what we were able to do on defense in this
one."
NOTES: The Spurs have won at least 50 games in 15 straight seasons,
on ongoing NBA record. They have been the first team to 50 wins the
past four seasons. ... Kings F Carl Landry underwent arthroscopic
right knee surgery. He's expected to be ready for the start of the
2014-15 season. ... Kings F Royce White made his NBA debut, playing
the final 56 seconds. White, a rookie out of Iowa State, was the
16th overall pick by the Houston Rockets in the 2012 NBA draft but
never played a game and was diagnosed with general anxiety disorder.
He signed a second 10-day contract with Sacramento on Tuesday and
was recalled from the Reno Bighorns of the Development League. He
was in uniform because Kings G Quincy Acy was inactive with a
sprained right ankle. ... Spurs F Tim Duncan, G Manu Ginobili and G
Tony Parker played their 667th game as teammates, the third most
among a trio in NBA history. Next on the list: The Detroit Pistons'
trio of G Isiah Thomas, C Bill Laimbeer and G Vinnie Johnson with
711. ... San Antonio was 29-3 in its previous 32 against the
Sacramento.
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