Spurs 92, Cavaliers 90: Tim Duncan collected 19 points and 10 rebounds and Boris Diaw added a season-high 19 points, seven assists and six rebounds in a spot start as visiting San Antonio knocked off Cleveland.
Kawhi Leonard racked up 12 points, 10 rebounds and four steals while Cory Joseph added 10 points off the bench for the Spurs, who have won 10 straight in the series. San Antonio survived despite stars Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili combining for only 15 points on 5-of-14 shooting.
Anderson Varejao led the way for Cleveland with a season-high 23 points and 11 rebounds while Kyrie Irving added 20 points. LeBron James had 15 points and nine assists but committed a turnover at midcourt in the final seconds to help the Spurs seal the win.
Kevin Love scored the first two buckets of the second half to give Cleveland a seven-point lead, but San Antonio chipped away and regained the lead at 58-57 on Parker's layup with 4:28 left in the third and Joseph scored five straight points to break a tie at 67 and give the Spurs their largest lead of the second half. Varejao gave the Cavaliers an 86-85 lead with 2:57 remaining, but Cleveland missed three chances to add to the lead and Duncan put the Spurs ahead for good with 1:39 left.
Neither team was able to develop much of an offensive rhythm in the first half. San Antonio managed only three points on its first eight possessions of the second quarter and Irving hit back-to-back 3-pointers to stretch Cleveland's lead to 11, but the Spurs closed the half with an 8-0 run to get within 47-44 at the break.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Spurs coach Gregg Popovich used a timeout 19 seconds into the second half after Diaw gambled going for a steal and gave Love an open layup. … Spurs F Matt Bonner sat out with a stomach virus while C Tiago Splitter (calf), G Patty Mills (shoulder) and G Marco Belinelli (groin) remain sidelined. … James has scored in double figurs in 582 consecutive games dating to Jan. 6, 2007, the third-longest streak in NBA history.
San Antonio | Cleveland | |
Boris Diaw 19 | Scoring | Anderson Varejao 23 |
Boris Diaw 7 | Assists | LeBron James 9 |
Tim Duncan 10 | Rebounds | Kevin Love 11 |
Tim Duncan 5 | Free Throws Made | Kyrie Irving 3 |
Kawhi Leonard 4 | Steals | Kyrie Irving 3 |
Tim Duncan 2 | Blocks | Anderson Varejao 2 |
Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
San Antonio | 92 | 47.3 | 5-16 | 17-25 | 26 | 42 | 4 | 11 | 16 |
Cleveland | 90 | 44.6 | 7-18 | 9-13 | 23 | 38 | 5 | 7 | 18 |