Lance Stephenson (1) of the Los Angeles Clippers scores on a layup past Kevin Durant (35) and Kyle Singler of the Oklahoma City Thunder during their 100-99 loss to the Thunder in Los Angeles. (AFP)
Agencies/Indiana
Kawhi Leonard stepped up on both ends of the court as the surging San Antonio Spurs continued their home-court supremacy.
Leonard scored 24 points and the Spurs improved to 16-0 at the AT&T Centre after pulling away for a 106-92 victory over the Indiana Pacers.
The reigning NBA Defensive Player of the Year also held high-scoring Paul George to just seven points—19 below his season average—on a nightmarish 1-of-14 field goal shooting.
“Kawhi was fantastic. Paul George is one of the best scorers in the league and he contained him and made him take tough shots,” teammate Manu Ginobili said. “That’s a big plus for us.
“It’s confirmation what he’s bringing to the team at both ends. It’s an incredible moment for him and it translates into our record because he’s a big part of what we do.”
George put some of the blame on himself for one of the worst shooting games of his career. “A lot of it was me,” he said. “I had a lot of good looks, a lot of open looks that I’ve made all season long. (It) just wasn’t my night, couldn’t get it to fall.”
Tony Parker netted nine of his 15 points in the final quarter, while fellow-Frenchman Boris Diaw added 14 for San Antonio (24-5), which has won six in a row for its second-best start in franchise history.
The Spurs trailed 60-59 midway through the third quarter before Leonard scored five points and assisted on Patty Mills’ breakaway layup to ignite a period-ending 20-10 for a 80-70 advantage. “We tried to get Kawhi to play aggressive,” teammate David West said. “When he does that we’re a better team.”
After the Pacers pulled to within 90-82, Parker shredded the defence for two nifty layups and buried a baseline jumper.
Back-to-back triples by Parker and Ginobili pushed the lead to 104-86 with 2.5 minutes left, and the Spurs coasted to their 25th straight home win dating back to last season.
“We’re trying to protect home court and we’ve been doing a good job at it,” West said.
George Hill and Jordan Hill netted 15 points apiece for Indiana (16-11) which lost its fourth in a row.
Elsewhere, Kevin Durant drilled the go-ahead 19-foot jumper with 5.8 seconds left, and then blocked Chris Paul’s potential game-winning jumper at the buzzer, sending the visiting Thunder past the Clippers.
Russell Westbrook had 33 points while Durant finished with 24 as Oklahoma City (19-9) won for the eighth time in the last nine games.
Paul wasted a game-high 32 points and 10 assists in the Clippers’ (16-13) third consecutive loss.
In Chicago, Bulls forward Pau Gasol called out his teammates for a lack of urgency after a 105-102 loss to the Brooklyn Nets in which Joakim Noah was injured.
The Nets, a woeful 8-20 on the season, snapped an eight-game road losing streak while the Bulls lost their third in a row and fell to 15-11.
Spanish star Gasol said the Bulls struggled at times to match Brooklyn’s intensity.
“We were missing a lot of parts of the game,” Gasol said. “A sense of urgency. We cruise for most of the game. Then when we have our back against the wall, we turn it up and try to give ourselves a chance.
“But sometimes it’s just too late. It’s something we need to address and need to correct and improve upon. We just need change.”
But be careful what you wish for as the change could be a replacement for star center Noah.
Noah had four points, eight rebounds and eight assists when he left the game with a left shoulder sprain in the last minute of the third quarter and did not return. He will be re-examined on Tuesday.
With the game deadlocked at 60-60, the Nets went on a 21-9 run and never trailed again.
“We came out right from the start with a lot of fight and a lot of purpose,” said Nets coach Lionel Hollins. “We took the fight to them. We were very focused for the whole game and that was good to see.”
Brook Lopez had 21 points and 12 rebounds to spark Brooklyn while Jimmy Butler had 24 points and Gasol contributed 20 points, nine rebounds and two blocked shots.
