SPURS 114, CAVALIERS 98: Manu Ginobili had 20 points, Stephen Jackson scored 13 in the fourth quarter and host San Antonio extended its lead in the race for home-court advantage while Tim Duncan sat and rested.
The Spurs held the Cavaliers without a basket for four minutes in the fourth quarter to turn a 12-point lead into a 102-82 advantage on a 3-pointer by Jackson with 5:11 left.
They have won seven straight and now hold a 1 ½-game lead over Oklahoma City for the top seed in the Western Conference following the Thunder’s loss to the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday.
Jackson scored 17 points and DeJuan Blair had 15 points and seven rebounds for San Antonio. As he has done sporadically this season, coach Gregg Popovich simply rested Duncan to keep him fresh for the playoffs.
Antawn Jamison had 21 points and rookie Kyrie Irving had 19 for the Cavaliers, who are 4-16 in their last 20 games.
GAME NOTEBOOK: The Spurs’ bench, behind Jackson and Ginobili, outscored the starters 62-52. … Alonzo Gee returned to the Cavaliers after missing three games with a sprained ankle. He scored 10 points off the bench. … Cleveland coach Byron Scott laughed when told of the recent Sports Illustrated poll that ranked him third on the list of coaches that players would least to compete under. “They want you to kiss their butts and I’m not doing that,” he said.
Cleveland | San Antonio | |
Antawn Jamison 21 | Scoring | Manu Ginobili 20 |
Anthony Parker 4 | Assists | Tony Parker 9 |
Tristan Thompson 9 | Rebounds | DeJuan Blair 7 |
Alonzo Gee 4 | Free Throws Made | Stephen Jackson 5 |
Kyrie Irving 3 | Steals | DeJuan Blair 2 |
Tristan Thompson 2 | Blocks | Danny Green 1 |
Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
Cleveland | 98 | 42.0 | 5-22 | 19-28 | 14 | 42 | 4 | 6 | 13 |
San Antonio | 114 | 54.5 | 8-20 | 22-29 | 23 | 45 | 4 | 6 | 14 |