Spurs 91, Lakers 85
Tony Parker scored 24 points to help visiting San Antonio beat Los Angeles in a battle of teams missing their biggest star.
Parker shot 12-of-18 from the field and added six assists as the Spurs won with Tim Duncan sidelined with a bruised chest. Manu Ginobili scored 20 points and Kawhi Leonard added 15 points and 11 rebounds to help make up for Duncan, whose status is unknown for the remainder of the three-game road trip.
Pau Gasol had 20 points and 11 rebounds for the Lakers, who lost their second in a row after winning their season opener while Kobe Bryant recovers from a torn Achilles. Jodie Meeks and Wesley Johnson added 14 and 12 points, respectively, off the bench for Los Angeles, which shot 36.6 percent from the field.
The teams traded leads throughout a tight second half until San Antonio went on a 9-1 run capped by a short-range shot by Tiago Splitter to take a 87-81 lead with 1:09 remaining in the game. Gasol cut it to 89-85 with six seconds left, but Ginobili made two free throws to close it out.
San Antonio missed 22 of their first 29 shots and fell behind by 15 early in the second quarter before rallying to cut Los Angeles’ lead to 42-41 at halftime. Parker had 12 points at the break for the Spurs, while Gasol had 11 for the Lakers.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Los Angeles SG Xavier Henry, who led the team with a total of 36 points through the first two games, didn’t make a shot from the field and finished with three points. … Boris Diaw started in Duncan’s place and had 14 points - including 11 in the fourth quarter. … Lakers PG Steve Nash played 23 minutes and scored five points on 1-of-8 shooting after sitting out Wednesday at Golden State.