The San Antonio Spurs bounced back from their first National Basketball Association (NBA) defeat in nearly a month with a convincing 109-91 victory over the Orlando Magic on Friday.
With San Antonio’s All-Star point guard Tony Parker resting a sore ankle, Tim Duncan and reserve shooting guard Marco Belinelli led a balanced Spurs attack with 19 points apiece.
Duncan connected on eight-of-13 shots from the floor and added a game-high nine rebounds, while Italy’s Belinelli shot four-of-four from three-point range.
Photo: Reuters
Duncan scored 17 of his 19 points in the first half, when reigning Western Conference champions Spurs took control of the contest with a run of 17 straight points in the second quarter.
Their comfortable cushion allowed the 37-year-old Duncan to sit out much of the second half — a useful rest, with the Spurs scheduled to host the Houston Rockets in San Antonio yesterday.
Cory Joseph started in place of Parker and contributed 13 points for a Spurs team who had suffered just their second defeat of the season on Wednesday at Oklahoma City. That defeat by the Thunder snapped the Spurs’ 11-game winning streak.
The Magic were also without their starting point guard, as Jameer Nelson had a sprained foot.
In his absence, Victor Oladipo delivered 15 points and three blocked shots, while Arron Afflalo led the Magic with 17 points.
In Oklahoma City, Russell Westbrook’s three-pointer with 0.1 seconds left in overtime sent the Oklahoma City Thunder to a 113-112 victory over the Golden State Warriors on Friday. Westbrook scored a season-high 34 points on 10-of-25 shooting
In other play, it was:
‧ Thunder 113, Warriors 112
‧ Rockets 114, Nets 95
‧ Hawks 88, Mavericks 87
‧ Lakers 106, Pistons102
‧ Pacers 93, Wizards 73
‧ Pelicans 121, 76ers 105
‧ Nuggets 97, Knicks 95
‧ Clippers 104, Kings 98, OT
‧ Suns 112, Jazz 101
‧ Bobcats 92, Bucks 76
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