Spurs 106, Lakers 102
SAN ANTONIO - Point guard Tony Parker hit two huge baskets down the stretch and San Antonio turned up its defense in the last four minutes when it counted the most as the Spurs outlasted the Los Angeles Lakers 106-102 on Saturday to win their fourth straight game and remain unbeaten at home.
The Spurs survived a riveting final performance in the Alamo City by Lakers guard Kobe Bryant, who is retiring at the end of this campaign after spending 20 seasons in the NBA, all with Los Angeles.
Bryant finished with 25 points, 16 of them in the third period to help lead the Lakers back into the game.
He hit his first shot of the game but had only four points on 2-of-10 shooting after 15 minutes of action in the first half while matched up against Spurs forward Kawhi Leonard, the NBA's reigning Defensive Player of the Year.
LaMarcus Aldridge scored 26 points and led five Spurs in double-figure scoring but took a backseat to Bryant's scintillating performance.
San Antonio (43-8) improved to 28-0 at the AT&T Center this season, extending its record for the best home start ever by a Western Conference team.
The victory also allowed the Spurs to lengthen their regular-season home victory streak to 37 games, dating back to an overtime loss to Cleveland last March, and matched the best overall start in franchise history after 51 games (set in 2010-11).
Saturday's win was the Spurs' final home game before their annual Rodeo Road Trip, precipitated each year when the San Antonio Rodeo takes over the AT&T Center for a three-week period. This year's trip covers eight games and is extended by the week-long break for the NBA All-Star game. The Spurs will not play another home game until they host Detroit on March 2.
San Antonio played without center Tim Duncan, who missed his seventh straight game (and 14th this season) with a sore right knee, and reserve guard Manu Ginobili, who is recovering from testicular surgery and will be out for at least four weeks.
Los Angeles lost center Roy Hibbert to a left ankle sprain eight minutes into the first quarter. Hibbert turned his ankle when to he tried to respond to an up-and-under fake on a shot by Parker and went to the floor.
San Antonio got 20 points and 13 rebounds from Leonard, 14 points from Parker, 13 points from reserve guard Patty Mills and 11 points from guard Danny Green.
Guard Jordan Clarkson added 21 points for the Lakers (11-42) while forward Julius Randle had 15 points and 17 rebounds for Los Angeles, which had its two-game win streak snapped. Guard Lou Williams scored 14 points and reserve guard D'Angelo Russell tallied 12 points for the Lakers.
Both teams were ragged in their play in the early stages and it was the Spurs' bench that made the difference in San Antonio's 29-20 lead after the first quarter. Led by eight points from Mills, the Spurs' reserves outscored the Los Angeles bench 13-2 over the first 12 minutes and saved valuable minutes for the starters.
San Antonio continued to look worse for the wear after playing Friday in Dallas, and its sluggishness showed even more in the second quarter. Los Angeles, which had trailed by 13 points early in the quarter, rallied to take a 51-50 lead on Randle's driving layup with 47.9 seconds to play in the period. Leonard responded with the final four points of the quarter and the Spurs led 54-51 at halftime.
Clarkson led all scorers in the half with 15 points on 6-for-10 shooting while Aldridge paced the Spurs with 14 points on a 6-for-8 showing from the floor.
When Russell poured in a 3-pointer with 13.8 seconds left in the period, the Lakers had an 81-79 lead to take into the final quarter and San Antonio looked like it was on the ropes.
Back to back 3-pointers by guard Danny Green tied the score at 90-90 with 8:31 to play but Russell's shot from beyond the arc 2 1/2 minutes later allowed the Lakers to regain the lead at 93-92.
SAN ANTONIO: Spurs F Kawhi Leonard participated in his 300th NBA game at Dallas on Friday, registering his 232nd win, the most in NBA history through a player's first 300 games. ... The Spurs have met the Lakers in the playoffs 12 times, more than any other team in the league. ... Lakers F/G Kobe Bryant holds the Spurs opponent playoff records for points, field goals made, field goals attempted and 3-point field goals attempted. ... Bryant also holds the Spurs opponent record for most field-goal attempts in a game with 41 on Feb. 14, 2003. ... In 59 games (54 starts) against the Spurs, Bryant is averaging 23.5 points per game. ... The Spurs are 2-0 against the Lakers this season entering Saturday's game. ... Lakers F Metta World Peace ranks fifth among active players in career steals (trailing only Bryant, Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, and Chris Paul) and is ranked 22nd in NBA history.