Spurs top Pacers for NBA-record 20th straight winning season

Posted February 13, 2017 6:00 am

By MICHAEL MAROT

San Antonio Spurs' Manu Ginobili has his shoot blocked by Indiana Pacers' Kevin Seraphin during the first half of an NBA basketball game Monday, Feb. 13, 2017, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings) The Associated Press

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - Kawhi Leonard scored 32 points and the San Antonio Spurs clinched their NBA-record 20th consecutive winning season with a 110-106 victory over the Indiana Pacers on Monday night.

LaMarcus Aldridge scored 10 of his 19 points during the final 6 1/2 minutes as the Spurs improved to 42-13 in the season following Tim Duncan's retirement. They have had a winning record every season since 1997-98, when Duncan was a rookie, and broke a tie with the Utah Jazz, who had 19 straight winning seasons from 1985-2004.

Paul George scored 27 points and Myles Turner had 22 for the Pacers, who have lost four straight - three on their home court.

George's 3-pointer with 21 seconds left cut it to 107-104, but the Spurs closed it out at the free-throw line to bounce back from their loss in New York on Sunday.

Indiana took a 95-91 lead with 5:17 left. But the Pacers missed five free throws after that and turned the ball over with 29 seconds left in a four-point game.

San Antonio looked ready to pull away when it used an 11-0 run in the third-quarter to make it 81-72.

But the Pacers closed the quarter on a 7-2 flurry to get within 83-79 and opened the fourth on an 8-1 spurt to retake an 87-84 lead on back-to-back breakaway dunks from Monta Ellis. They just couldn't hold it against the team with the NBA's second-best record.

Leonard has scored 30 or more points in five straight games.

TIP-INS

Spurs: Leonard also extended his streak of double-digit scoring games to 84, the longest streak by a San Antonio player since Duncan's 91-game streak ended in 2003. ... Danny Green, Tony Parker and David Lee each scored 12 points and Dwayne Dedmon had six points and 12 rebounds. ... San Antonio was 23 of 27 from the free-throw line. ... Coach Gregg Popovich earned win No. 1,031, moving within 24 of Phil Jackson for sixth in league history.

Pacers: Jeff Teague had 15 points, Rodney Stuckey finished with 13 and Kevin Seraphin had 12 in his first start of the season. ... Indiana has lost eight of its last nine home games against San Antonio. ... Indiana was outscored 15-4 on second-chance points and 44-36 on points in the paint. ... The Pacers were 21 of 30 on free throws. ... Starting forward Thaddeus Young sat out again with a sprained left wrist. ... C.J. Miles made one 3 to move within two of Mike Dunleavy (408) for No. 7 in the franchise's NBA history.

UP NEXT

Spurs: Will make their sixth stop on an eight-game road trip at Orlando on Wednesday.

Pacers: Will try to avoid a sixth consecutive loss at Cleveland on Wednesday.

San Antonio Spurs' Dewayne Dedmon dunks during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Indiana Pacers, Monday, Feb. 13, 2017, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings) The Associated Press

Indiana Pacers' Paul George shoots over San Antonio Spurs' David Lee during the first half of an NBA basketball game Monday, Feb. 13, 2017, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings) The Associated Press

Indiana Pacers' Monta Ellis (11) makes a pass against San Antonio Spurs' Danny Green, left, and Dewayne Dedmon during the first half of an NBA basketball game Monday, Feb. 13, 2017, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings) The Associated Press

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