Spurs 99, Hawks 97: Tim Duncan collected 31 points and 14 rebounds and Kawhi Leonard added 23 points to help San Antonio move a half-game ahead of idle Oklahoma City in the race for the top seed in the Western Conference playoffs.
DeJuan Blair contributed 11 points off the bench for the Spurs, who won their third straight Southwest Division title despite missing All-Star point guard Tony Parker (neck) and key reserve Manu Ginobili (hamstring). San Antonio has won nine of its last 10 home games.
Rookies John Jenkins (23) and Mike Scott (22) both posted career-high scoring totals for the Hawks, who were without starters Al Horford (hamstring), Josh Smith (knee), Devin Harris (foot) and Kyle Korver (unspecified injury). Atlanta remains in sixth place in the Eastern Conference and slipped 1 1/2 games behind fifth-place Chicago, which was idle Saturday.
The Spurs led 51-40 at halftime but the pesky Hawks wouldn't go away, even without most of their top players. They were within 73-69 entering the fourth quarter and had a slim chance to tie it at the end.
Cory Joseph was whistled for a shooting foul near midcourt just before the final buzzer sounded, giving Atlanta's Dahntay Jones three free throws with his team trailing 99-95 and one second on the clock. Jones made the first two and missed the third intentionally to give the Hawks a shot at a tip-in, but Leonard pulled down the rebound to seal it.
GAME NOTEBOOK: San Antonio improved to an NBA-best 16-3 in games following a loss. … Atlanta has lost five straight overall against the Spurs and 15 in a row in San Antonio. … Ivan Johnson scored 14 points and Johan Petro added 11 points and 15 rebounds for Atlanta.
Atlanta | San Antonio | |
John Jenkins 23 | Scoring | Tim Duncan 31 |
Shelvin Mack 8 | Assists | Kawhi Leonard 4 |
Johan Petro 15 | Rebounds | Tim Duncan 14 |
John Jenkins 6 | Free Throws Made | Kawhi Leonard 8 |
Ivan Johnson 3 | Steals | Kawhi Leonard 2 |
Ivan Johnson 1 | Blocks | Matt Bonner 4 |
Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
Atlanta | 97 | 42.2 | 5-12 | 22-25 | 23 | 38 | 2 | 10 | 13 |
San Antonio | 99 | 45.0 | 3-15 | 24-29 | 24 | 49 | 12 | 5 | 15 |