The Spurs extended their home winning streak to 23 games to begin the season.
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James had 22 points, five assists and seven boards, while Leonard matched him with 20 points, five assists and 10 boards.
The two teams are scheduled to meet again at Cleveland this January 31, Philippine time.
Parker scored the Spurs’ final 12 points to close the first half, sparking an offense that struggled against Cleveland’s active hands and rugged defense. James (19 points, seven rebounds, seven assists) and Irving (23 points) excelled while forward Kevin Love chipped in a double-double (11 points, 13 rebounds) as Cleveland closed a season-long, six-game road trip 5-1.
“But after that I thought we hung in, consistent, patient”, said Gregg Popovich. “We were not guarding the pick-and-roll very aggressively so we are lucky that that happened in the first quarter”.
It was San Antonio’s lone basket in the first 3 1/2 minutes as the Cavaliers took advantage of San Antonio’s defenders collapsing on Irving and James to set up open outside shots. If they can win against the Cavs, they will establish a first in the NBA: The Elias Sports Bureau says they would become the first team in NBA history with a 10-game win streak in six consecutive seasons, according to ESPN. Barring injuries or any unforeseen circumstances, this has Golden State vs. San Antonio for the Western Conference title written all over it.
The Cavs cut down the lead to just four, on a Kyrie Irving three pointer and had another chance to trim if further but they failed to box out Aldridge, who grabbed an offensive rebound off two Parker free throw misses, and send him to the line to seal their faith, 9.7 seconds remaining in the game.
Manu Ginobili, who finished with 10 points, acknowledged that Thursday’s victory might just be San Antonio’s best of the season.
Dwight Howard had 14 points and 11 rebounds for the Rockets, who scored a season low to end their five-game winning streak.
“They’re not good at home because it’s their home court, they’re good at home because they’re good”, Cavs coach David Blatt said. “We got away from what we were doing earlier, and (San Antonio) picked it up”.
Butler is the fourth player in Bulls history to score more than 50 points in a game, after the legendary Michael Jordan, Jamal Crawford and Chet Walker.
Jan 14, 2016; San Antonio, TX, USA; San Antonio Spurs point guard Tony Parker (9) drives to the bask …
Houston had 18 turnovers which led to 19 points for the Cavaliers and was outrebounded 49-40.
The latest milestone comes courtesy of San Antonio’s defense, led by strong outings from Parker, Kawhi Leonard and David West. “We just got to limit one of those things and make it as tough as possible”. They are the most recent team to have done so, ten months ago in season 2014-15.
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Cleveland entered the third quarter with a one-point lead after having led virtually the entire night, but their lead quickly disappeared as San Antonio sprinted out to an 11-2 run to open the frame. They went on to outscore the Rockets 45-30 over the next two quarters to put the game out of reach. The Cavs had asserted an early 32-20 lead in the first quarter before Leonard anchored the Spurs fightback. When we watch the Cavs Spurs game live streaming or on TV tonight, look for Irving and James to both be aggressive.
