Spurs 104, Kings 94
SAN ANTONIO -- Manu Ginobili scored a season-high 22 points in his first game in more than a month and the San Antonio Spurs turned a close game into a runaway with a dominating third quarter in a 104-94 victory over the Sacramento Kings on Saturday night.
The win was the Spurs' eighth straight and they remained unbeaten at home this season. San Antonio (53-9) improved to 30-0 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 39 games, dating to an overtime loss to Cleveland last March. Their record is the best in franchise history after 62 games.
Kawhi Leonard led the Spurs with 25 points and 13 rebounds. David West added 12 points before fouling out late in the game and Boris Diaw had 11 points.
DeMarcus Cousins led all scorers with 31 points for Sacramento (25-36). Quincy Acy added 16 points and reserve Darren Colliosn had 11 for the Kings.
Three of the Spurs' regular starters (LaMarcus Aldridge, who had a migraine), Tim Duncan and Danny Green (rest) sat out. West, Diaw and Jonathan Simmons were inserted in their spots.
That trio had enough of an impact early to carry San Antonio to a 29-22 lead after 12 minutes.
West had nine points in the quarter and Diaw had six points and three assists. Leonard was held without a point in the quarter.
The first quarter also saw Ginobili's return to the court for the Spurs after he missed 12 games with a testicular injury suffered Feb. 3 against New Orleans and the subsequent surgery and rehab.
The Kings trailed by as many as 10 points in the second quarter before fighting back to 41-41 on a Cousins free throw with 4:43 left.
But the Spurs reeled off a 9-2 run on the strength of a 3-point play by Leonard and 3-pointers from Diaw and Patty Mills to eventually forge a 57-54 lead at halftime.
Cousins had 17 points in the half and Acy added 14 on 6-of-6 shooting from the floor. Nine players scored for the Spurs in the opening half, led by West's 12 points.
Any suspense created by Sacramento's uprising in the second quarter was quickly dispelled by San Antonio's play in the first five minutes of the third quarter when they outscored the Kings 12-0 and built a 69-54 lead.
Ginobili had 13 points in the third quarter and the Spurs led 86-67.
San Antonio played mostly its bench players in the fourth quarter, which saw the first basket in a Spurs uniform for veteran guard Andre Miller, signed by the team this week.
NOTES: Three San Antonio starters -- F LaMarcus Aldridge (migraine headache), C/F Tim Duncan (rest) and G Danny Green (rest) -- did not play for the Spurs. ... The Spurs are 2-0 against Sacramento this season, winning 106-88 on Nov. 19 and 108-92 on Feb. 24. ... Kings coach George Karl played for the Spurs for five seasons (three in ABA, two in NBA) from 1973-78. He also began his coaching career in San Antonio as an assistant from 1978-80. ... On their way to a franchise-best 29-0 start at the AT&T Center, the Spurs have trailed for only 6 minutes and 35 seconds in 348 minutes played in fourth quarters this season. ... With the 104-101 win at Dallas on Thursday, the Kings erased a 22-game losing streak to the Mavericks in Dallas. Entering the game, it was the second longest active road losing streak to an opposing team behind Golden State's 32-game losing streak to the Spurs in San Antonio. The Kings had not won in Dallas since Feb. 27, 2003, (126-124 in overtime). ... In January, Kings F DeMarcus Cousins averaged 31.5 points, 12.9 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 1.6 steals per game in 15 outings. He has 30 or more points in nine of his past 14 games and 40 or more points in two of those games.