Spurs 93, Thunder 85
SAN ANTONIO - Kawhi Leonard scored 26 points and LaMarcus Aldridge added 24 as the San Antonio Spurs came from behind in the fourth quarter to beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 93-85 on Saturday in a matchup between the teams with the second- and third-best records in the Western Conference.
San Antonio trailed by two points after three quarters but dominated the final period as Leonard and Danny Green poured in back-to-back 3-pointers to break open a tie game and gave the Spurs a lead they would not relinquish. Oklahoma City went the final 3:53 without a field goal and missed nine of its last 10 shots.
The Spurs have posted a perfect 32-0 record at the AT&T Center this season and have won a franchise-best 41 straight regular-season games at home dating back to last season. The streak ranks fourth on the all-time longest home winning streaks in NBA history, and third all-time in NBA history for the longest home winning streaks to start a season and first all-time in Western Conference history.
Tim Duncan added 11 points for the Spurs (56-10), who didn't get a field goal from their starting guards until Green's 3-pointer with 7:19 to play.
Oklahoma City (44-22) got a game-high 28 points and eight assists from Kevin Durant while Russell Westbrook scored 19 points but went 5 of 16 from the floor.
Reserve Enes Kanter had 11 points and 17 rebounds for the Thunder, who has lost two games in a row and four of its past six on the road. Steven Adams added 10 points for Oklahoma City
The two teams jockeyed back and forth for an edge in the opening quarter with the Spurs building an 18-14 lead before six straight points from Westbrook pushed Oklahoma City ahead by two at the 3:40 mark. San Antonio responded with a mini-run of its own on two layups and three free throws by Aldridge garnered the Spurs a 25-22 advantage at the end of the quarter.
Aldridge had 15 points in the period as all of San Antonio's points were scored by three of its starters – Aldridge, Duncan (six points) and Leonard (four points). Westbrook paced the Thunder with eight points, including a 5-of-6 showing from the free-throw line.
It was more of the same in the second quarter as San Antonio built its lead to 36-27 on a Leonard dunk and a free throw at the 7:10 mark. Oklahoma City came right back at the Spurs with a 15-3 run that included six points by Durant and a pretty give-and-go pass from Durant to a cutting Kanter for a dunk and an ensuing foul shot. The Thunder led 49-45 at halftime behind Durant's 14 points, 13 by Westbrook and nine points and 10 rebounds from Kanter.
The Spurs have dominated teams at home in the third quarter but Oklahoma City weathered that storm and more than held its own, as he Thunder expanded their lead to 64-57 with 3:36 to play in the quarter on Westbrook's driving finger roll.
San Antonio went 7 minutes and 11 seconds without a field goal but its defense kept it within reach, and when reserve Patty Mills hit a 3-pointer for the Spurs at the 1:54 mark it seemed to jump-start San Antonio. The Spurs scored seven of the final 11 points of the period and trailed just 68-66 going into the final quarter.
Three straight baskets by David West to start the fourth quarter balanced a dunk and a step-back jumper by Durant and tied the game at 74, setting the table for a furious finish.
NOTES: Oklahoma City beat the Spurs 112-106 in the first meeting of the season between the teams on Oct. 28 at Chesapeake Energy Arena in both teams' 2015-16 season opener. The game featured 11 ties and 12 lead changes. Spurs F Kawhi Leonard produced a regular-season career-high 32 points on 13-of-22 shooting from the field in that game. ... The Spurs are 51-0 this season when shooting a higher field-goal percentage than their opponent, surpassing the 1999-2000 Los Angeles Lakers for the longest streak in NBA history in one season. ... Spurs C/F Tim Duncan pulled down his 15,000th career rebound versus Chicago on March 10, becoming one of six players in NBA history to reach the milestone. ... Through 65 games this season, Oklahoma City ranked second in the NBA in scoring at 109.9 points per game, while ranking third in field-goal shooting percentage at 47.5 percent. Additionally, the Thunder lead the NBA in rebounding at 48.2 per game while ranking third in blocked shots at 6.17. ... Thunder F Kevin Durant recorded his seventh consecutive double-double (a career-long streak) Wednesday against the Los Angeles Clippers, becoming the first player to string together seven straight 25-point, 10-rebound and five-assist games since Larry Bird in 1982.