The San Antonio Spurs won their 13th straight game on Saturday night as Danny Green scored nine of his 18 points in the decisive fourth quarter of a 99-90 victory over the host Golden State Warriors.
Tony Parker scored 20 points for the Spurs (53-16), who remained unbeaten since Feb. 21 and clinched their 17th consecutive playoff berth despite relying very little on their three stars. Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili of Argentina were rested and Parker was on the bench when San Antonio made its pivotal push.
“Everybody stepped up,” Parker said. “When somebody’s not playing, it’s just other guys who will do it. And we trust each other.” One night after shooting just 38.5 per cent from the field in a 99-79 win at Sacramento, San Antonio shot just 39 per cent (35-of-89) and was held below 100 points in consecutive games for the first time since February 1. Nevertheless, the Spurs improved to 21-0 on the road when leading after three quarters.
The Spurs have won 13 in a row for the first time since March 2007, when they won the last of their four NBA championships. They have won 20 of their last 22 meetings with the Warriors, including all three this season.
A three-point play and three-pointer by Marco Belinelli gave San Antonio a 76-69 lead entering the final period. The Warriors pulled within 76-74 before the Spurs took control with an 11-0 burst as Green drained two of his five three-pointers.
Golden State closed to 89-82 on four free throws by Stephen Curry, who scored 20 points. But Parker made a layup and Green added another shot from the arc to extend the lead to 94-82 with 2:18 to play.
The Spurs held Curry, Golden State’s leading scorer, without a basket in the second half. He was hounded by Australia’s Patty Mills and was 0-of-5 with four turnovers after scoring 15 points in the first half.
Brazil’s Tiago Splitter had 17 points and 14 rebounds, Kawhi Leonard scored 16 points and Belinelli added 15 for the Spurs, who scored 27 points off 18 turnovers by the Warriors.
Klay Thompson scored 16 points and Andrew Bogut grabbed 17 rebounds for Golden State (44-27), which had a three-game winning streak snapped.
