National Basketball Association
San Antonio 119, L.A. Lakers 113
When: 10:30 PM ET, Friday, February 19, 2016
Where: Staples Center, Los Angeles, California
Officials:
#70 Brent Barnaky, #10 Ron Garretson, #44 Eli Roe
Attendance:
18997
By The Sports Xchange
LOS ANGELES -- One night after the Los Angeles Clippers handed them a 19-point defeat, the San Antonio Spurs returned to winning form against the Los Angeles Lakers.
Point guard Tony Parker scored 25 points, leading the Spurs to a 119-113 victory over the Lakers on Friday night at Staples Center.
"It's a good win," said Parker, who connected on 9 of 16 shots from the floor and all seven of his free throws. "Obviously, we wanted to bounce back. We did a lot better today."
Seven Spurs scored in double figures. Forward LaMarcus Aldridge had 16 points and eight rebounds, guard Patty Mills added 15 points and seven assists, and forward Tim Duncan chipped in 12 points and 13 rebounds for San Antonio (46-9), which prevailed after the Clippers snapped its six-game winning streak with a 105-86 rout on Thursday.
"Guys played well. I thought guys played confident, guys took shots that were there, didn't try to force anything," said Aldridge, who had 12 points in the second half, 10 of those coming in the fourth quarter. "I thought guys made great reads on that."
The Spurs swept the season series against the Lakers. The game also represented the final time the Spurs will face Lakers forward Kobe Bryant, who is retiring at the end of the season.
Bryant had 25 points on 10-of-25 shooting from the field, missing seven of the eight 3-pointers he took.
Guard Lou Williams contributed 21 points and guard Jordan Clarkson had 20 points and six assists for the Lakers (11-45), who dropped their fourth in a row and 18th in the last 21 games. Forward Julius Randle had 11 points and 15 rebounds.
Bryant dislocated his right middle finger with 2:10 remaining while chasing a loose ball. He left the game briefly to allow trainer Gary Vitti to pop the finger back into place.
"This probably will be the only time I can sit here and do this at a press conference," Bryant said, flashing his middle digit to the media and generating plenty of laughs.
The Spurs played again without All-Star forward Kawhi Leonard, who missed his second straight game with tightness in his left calf. Kyle Anderson, who starred at nearby UCLA two seasons ago, started in Leonard's place, finishing with 14 points.
"The fact that he's not playing, everybody has to do a little bit more," Parker said.
San Antonio led 85-75 heading into the fourth quarter. Los Angeles cut the deficit to single figures on several occasions. A four-point play by Williams with 5:44 left and a turnaround jumper by Bryant almost a minute later pulled the Lakers within 101-97.
However, that was the closest the Lakers got as the Spurs used two buckets by Parker and a dunk by Aldridge to push the margin to eight.
Bryant converted three foul shots to slice the lead to 107-102 with 2:53 remaining, but Aldridge hit two free throws for a seven-point edge.
After the teams exchanged baskets, Mills nailed a 3-point jumper for 114-107 lead with 1:03 left that turned out to be the difference.
"They've been playing well lately," Parker said of the Lakers. "At home, they made it tough on us and tonight the same thing."
The Spurs led 60-49 at the break despite being outshot by the Lakers 57.1 percent to 55.3 percent from the field. However, 13 Lakers turnovers to eight for the Spurs in the first half didn't help Los Angeles.
Overall, San Antonio shot 54.5 percent from the floor compared with 49.4 percent for Los Angeles. The Lakers committed 16 turnovers overall to 11 for the Spurs.
"When you're down at halftime by 11 or 12, 13 points, against a team like San Antonio, the way they play, it's hard to come back because they're such a great basketball team," Lakers coach Byron Scott said. "But very proud of the way we played in the second half. I thought we did a lot of really good things."
NOTES: An MRI on San Antonio F Kawhi Leonard's left calf was negative, coach Gregg Popovich said. Leonard, the team's leading scorer at 20.2 points per game, hadn't missed a game this season until sitting out Thursday's loss to the Los Angeles Clippers. "I just don't want to screw with his calf," Popovich said. "That can be a really tough injury. We got an MRI today, and it's not like anything is ripped or anything like that, but it's probably wise to be conservative." ... Lakers G/F Anthony Brown sat out with a right ankle sprain. ... Both clubs resume play Sunday. The Lakers begin a three-game road swing at the Chicago Bulls. The Spurs visit the Phoenix in the fourth game of their seven-game trip.
Top Game Performances
San Antonio |
|
L.A. Lakers |
Tony Parker 25 |
Scoring |
Kobe Bryant 25 |
Patty Mills 7 |
Assists |
Jordan Clarkson 6 |
Tim Duncan 13 |
Rebounds |
Julius Randle 15 |
Tony Parker 7 |
Free Throws Made |
Nick Young 5 |
Kyle Anderson 2 |
Steals |
Brandon Bass 2 |
Tim Duncan 3 |
Blocks |
Brandon Bass 2 |
Team Stats Summary
Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
San Antonio
|
119 |
54.5 |
6-12 |
17-18 |
30 |
39 |
9 |
6 |
11 |
L.A. Lakers
|
113 |
49.4 |
10-22 |
23-26 |
20 |
36 |
4 |
5 |
16 |
Upcoming Games
-
L.A. Lakers will play their next game on the road against Chicago. The Lakers have a W/L % of .273 after a win and .178 after a loss.
-
San Antonio will play their next game on the road against Phoenix. The Spurs have a W/L % of .804 after a win and 1.000 after a loss.