Derrick White gave San Antonio the lead for good with a short jumper just past the midpoint of the fourth quarter and Marco Belinelli bombed in his second 3-pointer of the final period to create a cushion as the Spurs rallied past the visiting Atlanta Hawks 117-111 Tuesday night.
White, who hit 10 of his 12 shots, finished with 23 points and DeMar DeRozan went for 29, as the Spurs (45-33) kept pace with Oklahoma City (45-33) in their duel for seventh place in the Western Conference.
The Thunder wrapped up a 119-103 win over the Los Angeles Lakers earlier in the evening.
The Spurs trailed by as many as nine points in the fourth quarter before rallying into the lead during a stretch in which White scored seven straight points.
After he hit a 3-pointer to close the gap to 102-101 with 5:23 remaining, White put San Antonio ahead with a nine-footer 30 seconds later.
White scored again another 30 seconds later to make it a three-point game, before Belinelli's 3-pointer at the 3:39 mark put San Antonio up 108-104.
The Hawks later got as close as two, but White added two more hoops and Bryn Forbes nailed a crushing 3-pointer with 1:07 to go, allowing the Spurs to record the key win.
DeRozan's game-high point total included 15-for-16 at the free throw line. San Antonio outscored Atlanta 19-13 at the line.
On the strength of 5-for-7 shooting on 3-pointers, Forbes chipped in with 19 points, while LaMarcus Aldridge had 16 and Patty Mills 14 for the Spurs, who were coming off a home loss to Sacramento.
Aldridge completed a double-double with 11 rebounds. He was tied for game-high honors by teammate Rudy Gay.
The Spurs outshot the Hawks 52.5 percent to 45.7.
Kent Bazemore poured in 26 points, 15 on 3-pointers, off the bench for the Hawks, who were swept by the Spurs in the two-game season series.
Alex Len added 21 points, Trae Young 15 and Kevin Huerter 13 for the Hawks, who lost for just the second time in their last six games.
Deyonta Davis had a team-high 10 rebounds to complement nine points for the Hawks.
--Field Level Media
Atlanta | San Antonio | |
Kent Bazemore 26 | Scoring | DeMar DeRozan 29 |
Jaylen Adams 7 | Assists | DeMar DeRozan 7 |
Deyonta Davis 11 | Rebounds | LaMarcus Aldridge 11 |
Trae Young 5 | Free Throws Made | DeMar DeRozan 15 |
Kent Bazemore 3 | Steals | DeMar DeRozan 2 |
Kevin Huerter 1 | Blocks | LaMarcus Aldridge 3 |
Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
Atlanta | 111 | 45.7 | 12-34 | 13-20 | 26 | 43 | 2 | 13 | 11 |
San Antonio | 117 | 52.5 | 14-30 | 19-22 | 23 | 45 | 6 | 6 | 17 |