Leonard, Aldridge power Spurs past Heat
SAN ANTONIO -- Kawhi Leonard scored 24 points, including five straight in a key stretch of the fourth quarter, and grabbed 12 rebouds as the San Antonio Spurs outlasted the Miami Heat 94-90 on Monday at the AT&T Center.
San Antonio held an 86-81 lead with 2:22 to play after seven consecutive points in a minute-and-a-half span by the Heat's Dion Waiters.
But Leonard hit a free throw, reserve guard Patty Mills added two more from the charity stripe and forward LaMarcus Aldridge corralled a key offensive rebound to push the Spurs to the victory. San Antonio converted five of its six free throw attempts in the final minute.
Aldridge added 18 points, all in the first half, for San Antonio (8-3) and got 12 points from center Pau Gasol. Guard Tony Parker hit for 11 points and Mills added 10.
The Heat (2-7) dropped their fifth straight game. Miami was led by Waiters' 27 points (on 26 shots) while center Hassan Whiteside had 23 points and 17 rebounds and reserve guard Tyler Johnson scored 11.
The Heat continues to be without point guard Goran Dragic, who has missed the past two games after spraining his ankle on Oct. 10 versus Chicago.
The Spurs got points from just three players in the first quarter - Leonard (with 10), Aldridge (8) and Parker (7) - but that was enough to stake San Antonio to a 25-19 lead after 12 minutes of play.
San Antonio outscored the Heat 12-2 in the first four minutes of the second quarter and built its lead to 37-21 as Miami hit just one of its five field-goal attempts and had three turnovers in that swoon. The Spurs settled for a 55-40 halftime lead, with Aldridge leading the way with 18 points in the half and Leonard racking up 13 before intermission.
The Heat got 13 points and eight rebounds from double-double machine Whiteside in the first 24 minutes.
San Antonio had difficulty putting away the Heat in the third quarter, thanks mostly to ragged shooting (6 of 23 from the floor) and no points from either Aldridge or Leonard. Two free throws by backup guard Josh McRoberts with 7.7 seconds to play brought Miami to within 71-60 and set the stage for a contentious final period.
The Spurs led 73-66 and were looking for a final push when Leonard took over. He had a 3-pointer, a pair of defensive rebounds and added a fall away jumper to expand the San Antonio lead to 78-66. Meanwhile the Heat went more than four minutes without scoring.
Spurs reserve center Dewayne Dedmon suffered sprained left knee late in the third quarter and did not return to the game.
NOTES: The Spurs are 7-3 and have won at least seven of the first 10 games in 13 of the last 20 seasons. San Antonio is leading the Southwest Division and is third in the Western Conference. ... The Spurs have played just one game with their projected starting lineup. ... The Heat and Spurs met for the second and final time during the regular season. On Oct. 30, San Antonio posted a 106-99 win in Miami and owned a three-game win streak against the Heat in the Alamo City. ... This will mark the earliest the teams will complete their season series in franchise history. The previous earliest was during the 2003-04 season, when they played their final matchup on Dec. 6. ... Miami C Hassan Whiteside has grabbed double-figure rebounds in each of the first eight games, marking the longest double-figure rebound streak to begin a season in team history. He is also the only player in the NBA with double-digit rebounds in every game this year.