Spurs 101, Nuggets 86
SAN ANTONIO -- Forward Kawhi Leonard racked up a team-high 20 points and led six San Antonio players scored in double figures as the Spurs remained undefeated at home with a 101-86 victory over the Denver Nuggets on Saturday.
San Antonio (26-6) has opened the season with a franchise-best mark of 17 consecutive wins at home, a run that is the best home start for a Western Conference team since the Los Angeles Lakers opened the 1988-89 season with 17 straight wins. The Spurs now have won 26 straight regular-season games at the AT&T Center dating back to the final nine contests of the 2014-15 campaign.
Leonard was his usual dominating presence, leading the Spurs in scoring for the 21st time this season.
Reserve forward Boris Diaw added 16 points for San Antonio while guard Tony Parker hit for 13 points, all of which came in the second quarter. Forward LaMarcus Aldridge scored 12 points and pulled down a game-high nine rebounds for the Spurs, reserve center Boban Marjanvoic scored 10 points via a dunk and an 8-for-8 showing at the free-throw line and forward Davis West added 10 points for San Antonio.
The Nuggets (12-18), who have dropped four of their past five games, got a game-high 22 points from reserve center Nikola Jokic, 16 points from reserve guard Will Barton and 10 points from guard Gary Harris.
Denver has now lost 10 straight games to the Spurs dating back to April 10, 2013.
San Antonio, with forward Tim Duncan and reserve guard Manu Ginobilli sitting out the game to rest, shot just 37.5 percent in the first quarter that featured five ties and four lead changes. Denver led 14-12 at the 5:43 mark after a dunk by forward Kenneth Faried but the Spurs fashioned an 8-2 run that was highlighted by two 3-pointers by reserve guard Patty Mills and took a 22-20 lead after 12 minutes of play.
The Nuggets stayed with San Antonio for the first six minutes of the second quarter until the Spurs forged a 12-2 run capped by back-to-back baskets from Parker that pushed their advantage to 43-31.
Those were Parker's first two made shots of the game after he went 1-for-7 and scored just two points in 29 minutes in San Antonio's 88-84 loss to Houston on Christmas night and seemed to wake him up; he had 13 points and assisted on two other baskets over the last 4:37 of the period to hand the Spurs a 56-42 lead at halftime.
San Antonio, substituting liberally, ran its lead to as much as 21 points with 3:50 to play in the third quarter as Leonard, Parker and Aldridge were already in double figures. But the Nuggets responded by scoring 12 of the quarter's final 14 points to get back to within shouting distance -- at 76-65 -- with a quarter remaining.
The Spurs built their lead back to 84-67 with an 8-2 surge to begin the fourth quarter and dispel any thought of a Denver comeback.
NOTES: San Antonio's defense ranks first in the NBA in points per game (88.7) and opponent rebounds per game (39.6), second in field goal percentage (.421) and third in 3-point field goal percentage (.314). ... The Spurs were 14-1 when holding opponents to 80-89 points; the opposition has been kept below 85 points in 14 of San Antonio's 31 games. ... Spurs G Tony Parker is enjoying the best field-goal percentage of his 15-year career, leading all NBA guards at 55 percent. ... The Nuggets played without F Danilo Gallinari (left ankle sprain), F Wilson Chandler (right hip arthroscopic surgery), G Emmanuel Mudiay (right ankle sprain) and C Jusuf Nurkic (left patellar tendon). ... Over the past five games, Nuggets G Randy Foye is averaging 15.3 points, 2.4 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 1.2 steals while shooting 49.2 percent from the floor and 54.5 percent from 3-point range.