MILWAUKEE -- Just when it looked like the San Antonio Spurs' road winning streak would come to an end, the Spurs found a way to flip the script.

Kawhi Leonard scored 16 of his team-leading points in the fourth quarter to lead the Spurs to a 97-96 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks, improving San Antonio to a perfect 12-0 away from home this season.

The Spurs needed to mount one of their biggest comebacks of the season to get to that point. They had scored just nine points in the second quarter and 35 points in the first half to go into the locker room down 13 at the break.

But they snapped out of their funk for 36 points in the third. Nicolas Laprovittola's corner 3 made it a 58-53 game with 5:28 left in the quarter, capping an 8-0 San Antonio run.

"We just got tired of playing soft," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said.

Tempers flared late in the quarter when Greg Monroe and Dewayne Dedmon got tangled up on a miss by Malcolm Brogdon. Davis Bertans charged into the altercation and shoved Monroe, and Michael Beasley quickly got involved as well.

Technicals were assessed to Monroe, Dedmon, Bertans and Beasley, and Bertans and Beasley were ejected. The Spurs closed to within two heading into the fourth.

"I just saw (Monroe) pushing Dedmon, so I pushed (Monroe) away from him," Bertans said. "That was pretty much it from my point of view."

Dedmon scored seven of his 10 points in the third quarter and played a key role down the stretch as the Spurs mounted their final surge.

"He was huge," Popovich said. "He came in and gave us great energy. He was great on the boards defensively. He made them guard a different way because he was at the rim. He was really special for us."

Leonard's dunk with 10 minutes left made it a one-point game; and, after Terry missed a 3 from the corner, Dedmon converted a three-point play to put the Spurs ahead. Mirza Teletovic put Milwaukee back in front with a 3-pointer, but Aldridge tied it at 78 on a jumper with 8:15 to play.

"They put the zone on, which kind of slowed us down a bit," Bucks coach Jason Kidd said. "We had a lot of good looks from behind the arc and a lot of open shots that we just didn't knock down."

Giannis Antetokounmpo was called for goaltending with 21.2 seconds left, giving San Antonio a 97-96 lead. The Bucks still had once last chance to win, but Teletovic missed an open 3-pointer from the corner in the waning seconds.

"I kind of released it wrong," Teletovic said. "I had a wide-open shot. I set myself the right way, looked at the rim and released it. Sometimes you make some and you miss some. That's the way basketball is."

Jabari Parker led Milwaukee with 23 points, including nine in the final quarter, and added eight rebounds and three assists. Antetokounmpo added 22 points and 11 rebounds for the Bucks, who shot 41.1 percent and were 6-for-24 on 3-pointers.

"You can grow from losing, too," said Kidd, whose team had brought a season-high four-game winning streak into the game. "Going through the experience of a close game, you can learn from your mistakes. I think tonight we can learn a lot from our mistakes. Going down the stretch, we need to move the ball better and make plays for one another so someone gets a wide-open shot."

NOTES: PG Tony Parker returned to the San Antonio starting lineup after missing the last two games with a left quad contusion. He left the game when he re-injured the knee in the third quarter and may need to miss several games, coach Gregg Popovich said. ... Milwaukee began the day holding opponents to an NBA-low 42.7 percent shooting average and a 39.8 mark on 3-point attempts. ... The Bucks brought a season-high four-game winning streak into the contest, averaging 111.3 points on 48.4 percent shooting during that stretch. ... The Spurs came into the game with a perfect 11-0 record on the road this season. They're just the third team in NBA history to start a season undefeated through 11 road contests. ... San Antonio has won 13 of the last 14 meetings with Milwaukee, including nine in a row. The Bucks haven't beaten the Spurs since Jan. 10 2012.