Spurs rebound by beating Thunder

SAN ANTONIO—The San Antonio Spurs rebounded from their worst loss of the season with a balanced performance against one of the NBA’s best teams.
This was one satisfying victory.

Tiago Splitter had 21 points and 10 rebounds as San Antonio snapped Oklahoma City’s five-game winning streak with a 105-93 victory last night.
“I think everybody played well,” Splitter said. “I was one of them. You play well and you feel better.
“You want to play well against these kinds of teams, these playoff teams,” he added.
Kawhi Leonard scored 17 points, Danny Green had 16, and Tim Duncan finished with 13 as San Antonio (49-15) maintained the Western Conference’s top record.
Manu Ginobili had 12 points and Boris Diaw added 11 as the Spurs’ reserves outscored their counterparts 34-16.
“That second squad came in there and kind of changed the tempo, and took control of the game,” noted Duncan.
Kevin Durant had 26 points and Russell Westbrook added 25 for the Thunder (47-17), who now have lost six-straight in San Antonio.
San Antonio’s defence was the difference, turning an evenly-matched battle into its third victory in four games without Tony Parker.
The all-star point guard is going to miss another three weeks with a sprained left ankle.
“Normally teams don’t push us out so we can’t run our offence,” said Thunder coach Scott Brooks. “They did a good job of being physical with us.
“We’re usually in attack mode, and we’re able to get better catches and better execution.
“That’s something we can get better from,” he added.
Elsewhere in the NBA, Philadelphia beat Brooklyn 106-97, Utah downed Detroit 103-90, Denver bounced Phoenix 108-93, and Golden State bombed New York 92-63.