SAN ANTONIO -- Even when San Antonio gives two of its key players a break for rest it barely allows the opposition to catch a breath, as wave after wave of cogs in the Spurs' finely tuned machine keep churning out wins, especially at home.

Forward Kawhi Leonard racked up a team-high 20 points and led six San Antonio players in double-figure scoring as the Spurs remained undefeated at the AT&T Center with a 101-86 victory over the Denver Nuggets on Saturday.

San Antonio (26-6) has opened the season with a franchise-best mark of 17 consecutive wins at home, a run that is the best home start for a Western Conference team since the Los Angeles Lakers opened the 1988-89 season with 17 straight wins. The Spurs now have won 26 straight regular-season home games dating back to the final nine contests of the 2014-15 campaign.

Leonard was his usual dominating presence, leading the Spurs in scoring for the 21st time this season. Chants of MVP poured down on Leonard from the San Antonio crowd as he shot free throws in the second half.

Reserve forward Boris Diaw added 16 points for San Antonio while guard Tony Parker hit for 13 points, all of which came in the second quarter. Forward LaMarcus Aldridge scored 12 points and pulled down a game-high nine rebounds for the Spurs, reserve center Boban Marjanvoic scored 10 points via a dunk and an 8-for-8 showing at the free-throw line and forward Davis West added 10 points for San Antonio.

"It was a weird game -- we didn't want to lose two in a row so we tried to move the ball and get some rhythm and Tony was a big part of that," Diaw said. "He sets the tone and that stretch of the second quarter got us going and got us a lead that we just kind of held on to for the rest of the game."

The Nuggets (12-18), who have dropped four of their past five games, got a game-high 22 points from reserve center Nikola Jokic, 16 points from reserve guard Will Barton and 10 points from guard Gary Harris.

Denver has now lost 10 straight games to the Spurs dating back to April 10, 2013.

"We learn a little more every time we play the Spurs and we were closer to beating them than we've been the past few times we've played," said Nuggets reserve guard Randy Foye, who scored nine points. "It's so difficult to beat San Antonio (at the AT&T Center) but we were a few plays and a handful of turnovers from getting it done tonight."

The Spurs went 16 of 17 from the free-throw line while the Nuggets only went to the line eight times, making six.

"I thought we were aggressive and went to the rim," Nuggets coach Michael Malone said. "They manhandled us some times in the paint. We didn't get some calls and I think we can get into more of attack mode. We did some really good things tonight against a very good team."

San Antonio, with forward Tim Duncan and reserve guard Manu Ginobilli sitting out the game to rest, shot just 37.5 percent in the first quarter that featured five ties and four lead changes. Denver led 14-12 at the 5:43 mark after a dunk by forward Kenneth Faried but the Spurs fashioned an 8-2 run that was highlighted by two 3-pointers by reserve guard Patty Mills and took a 22-20 lead after 12 minutes of play.

The Nuggets stayed with San Antonio for the first six minutes of the second quarter until the Spurs forged a 12-2 run capped by back-to-back baskets from Parker that pushed their advantage to 43-31.

Those were Parker's first two made shots of the game after he went 1-for-7 and scored just two points in 29 minutes in San Antonio's 88-84 loss to Houston on Christmas night and seemed to wake him up; he had all 13 of his points and assisted on two other baskets over the last 4:37 of the period to hand the Spurs a 56-42 lead at halftime.

"(Tony's) been giving us jolts for a while now," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. "This whole year he's been great on both ends of the floor, whether it's at the start of the game or coming in for the second time."

San Antonio, substituting liberally, ran its lead to as much as 21 points with 3:50 to play in the third quarter as Leonard, Parker and Aldridge were already in double figures. But the Nuggets responded by scoring 12 of the quarter's final 14 points to get back to within shouting distance -- at 76-65 -- with a quarter remaining.

The Spurs built their lead back to 84-67 with an 8-2 surge to begin the fourth quarter and dispelled any thought of a Denver comeback.

"In the first half, we had 10 turnovers that led to 18 points and allowed them a 17-4 run that gave them some separation," Malone said. "You take out that six-minute stretch of the second quarter and it's a different game."

NOTES: San Antonio's defense ranks first in the NBA in points per game (88.7) and opponent rebounds per game (39.6), second in field goal percentage (.421) and third in 3-point field goal percentage (.314). ... The Spurs are 15-1 when holding opponents to 80-89 points; the opposition has been kept below 85 points in 15 of San Antonio's 32 games. ... Spurs G Tony Parker is enjoying the best field-goal percentage of his 15-year career, leading all NBA guards at 55 percent. ... The Nuggets played without F Danilo Gallinari (left ankle sprain), F Wilson Chandler (right hip arthroscopic surgery), G Emmanuel Mudiay (right ankle sprain) and C Jusuf Nurkic (left patellar tendon). ... Over the past five games, Nuggets G Randy Foye is averaging 15.3 points, 2.4 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 1.2 steals while shooting 49.2 percent from the floor and 54.5 percent from 3-point range.