Spurs 106, Pacers 92
SAN ANTONIO -- Forward Kawhi Leonard poured in 24 points as the San Antonio Spurs played their best during the final quarter and a half to beat the Indiana Pacers 106-92 Monday and remain unbeaten at home.
San Antonio pushed aside the upset-minded Pacers with a 9-2 surge to end the third quarter and carried that momentum forward, expanding its lead to as many as 18 points in the final minutes. The Spurs outscored Indiana 34-26 over the last 15 minutes.
Leonard, who has now led the Spurs in scoring in 18 games this season, also played near-shutdown defense on Pacers' star forward Paul George, who scored just seven points -- only two of those after halftime -- on 1-of-14 shooting from the floor.
It was the sixth straight win for the Spurs (24-5), who continue to top the NBA's Southwest Division. San Antonio is now 16-0 in the AT&T Center this season and has won 25 straight home games over the past two seasons.
The Spurs also got 15 points from guard Tony Parker, while reserve forward Boris Diaw hit for 14 points and forward LaMarcus Aldridge and reserve guard Patty Mills added 10 each.
Indiana (16-11, second place in the Central Division) lost for the second straight outing. The Pacers were led by reserve guard Rodney Stuckey's 16 points and 15 points apiece by guard George Hill and reserve center Jordan Hill.
The Spurs forged a 23-21 lead at the end of the first quarter on the strength of its bench, as Diaw had four points and an assist in a one-stretch help the Spurs to an eight-point advantage with 57 seconds to play in the quarter. Indiana answered by scoring seven of the quarter's final eight points, including a ringing 3-pointer and then a 15-foot jumper at the buzzer from George.
The second quarter see-sawed between the two teams until Parker's driving layup with 9.3 seconds remaining allowed San Antonio a 50-48 lead at the half. There were six lead changes and nine ties in the half and both teams shot well from the floor, with the Spurs holding a 48.9-46.5 percent edge even as they hit just two of their nine 3-pointers in the first 24 minutes.
Neither team could find breathing room in the third quarter until the Spurs turned a four-point lead into a 79-70 advantage with a 9-2 run to end the period. Diaw's putback layup and a finger-roll by reserve guard Patty Mills bookended a 3-pointer by guard Danny Green in the sequence as did an emphatic block by forward Tim Duncan on a layup attempt by George.
NOTES: San Antonio is 23-5, the Spurs' second-best start in franchise history after 28 games, behind only their 25-3 start in 2010-11. ... The Spurs are have won 24 straight home games dating to last season and are one of just two teams (Golden State) with undefeated records at home. ... Spurs F Kawhi Leonard was named Western Conference Player of the Week on Monday for games played Dec. 14-20. Leonard averaged 22.7 points, 6.3 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 2.00 steals while shooting .564 (22-39) from the field and .538 (7-13) from three-point range. ... The Spurs and Pacers first played on Oct. 13, 1973, when both teams were part of the ABA. ... The Pacers are 5-1 this season when C Jordan Hill records a double-double and 9-4 when he scores in double figures. ... After appearing in just six games in 2014-15 because of an injury, Indiana F Paul George has returned to post career-high numbers this season. He was named Eastern Conference Player of the Month for November after averaging 27.2 points, 8.1 rebounds and 4.4 assists per game. George has scored 40 or more points twice this season.