Spurs rout Nuggets for 16th straight win

Denver, CO (SportsNetwork.com) - The San Antonio Spurs continue to roll and are on the cusp of team history.

Marco Belinelli scored 27 points and the Spurs won their 16th straight game by pounding the Denver Nuggets, 133-102, to complete a home-and-home sweep.

San Antonio is one victory shy of a team record. The Spurs won 17 straight Feb. 29 - Mar. 31, 1996. The Spurs can tie the mark Saturday at home against New Orleans and possibly break it Monday at Indiana, which leads the Eastern Conference.

"We don't think about that," Belinelli said of the Spurs streak. "We know where we want to be. It's good to win 16 games in a row but at the same time every day, every game we want to be a better team and try to be ready for the playoffs."

Tim Duncan netted 20 points and grabbed eight rebounds for the Spurs, who snapped Denver's five-game home winning streak. Tony Parker was limited to four points on 2-of-9 shooting, but Tiago Splitter filled the stat sheet with eight points, 12 rebounds and seven assists.

Randy Foye had 20 points to lead the Nuggets, who lost their third straight game. That includes Wednesday's 108-103 result in the Alamo City. Kenneth Faried ended with 18 points and 13 rebounds in defeat.

"What is there to say? That was an embarrassing loss just from every standpoint of the game. Defensively, body language, energy ... [it was] just embarrassing," said Nuggets coach Brian Shaw.

Led by Belinelli's 6-of-9 effort, the Spurs made 13-of-24 from beyond the arc. The long distance shooting carried the visitors late in the first quarter and the Spurs were in front the rest of the game.

Two free throws from Faried expanded Denver's lead to 20-14, but the Spurs finished the opening quarter on an ensuing 17-3 burst. Belinelli drilled four triples during the spurt, including two in the final 28.9 seconds of the period.

Another 3-ball from Belinelli with 5:32 left in the second widened the gap to 49-34. The Spurs were ahead as many as 21 in the quarter and held a 62-43 cushion at the half. Belinelli missed just one of his seven 3-point tries in the first 24 minutes.

Patty Mills scored nine of his 16 points in the third quarter to help the Spurs make the game a blowout. It was 97-74 going to the fourth and San Antonio led by as many as 35 down the stretch.

Game Notes

Danny Green (right foot inflammation) sat out for the Spurs ... Kawhi Leonard scored 14 for the Spurs ... Evan Fournier and Ty Lawson scored 15 and 13 points, respectively, for the Nuggets.