Duncan leads Spurs to seventh straight win
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Tim Duncan posted a double-double with 23 points and 11 rebounds to lift the Spurs to a 112-103 victory over the Indiana Pacers at AT&T Center on Saturday.
Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili tallied 18 points apiece and Gary Neal chipped in 11 to help the Spurs earn their seventh straight victory.
Danny Granger and Paul George each poured in 18 points for the Pacers, while Roy Hibbert and David West netted 15 points apiece. Indiana has dropped two of its last three contests.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}A 10-4 surge in the first quarter found the Spurs holding a 23-14 advantage, but Tyler Hansbrough connected on back-to-back jumpers before Tiago Splitter finished a layup to send the home team into the second with a 25-18 edge.
A Stephen Jackson three-pointer pressed the lead to 10 less than two minutes into the second stanza. Hill's triple later dropped the lead down to nine, but the Pacers would not score a field goal over the next four minutes.
San Antonio reeled off a 15-2 run during the drought, as Kawhi Leonard's triple gave the home team a 55-33 lead with 4:05 remaining until halftime.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}George converted a three-point play with under five seconds left in the second to trim the deficit to 64-48 heading into the locker room.
Darren Collison pulled the Pacers within nine on two different occasions in the third, but San Antonio maintained a 90-78 advantage heading into the final frame.
The lead was double digits for most of the fourth until Granger connected on a four-point play and Hill added a layup shortly after to cut the deficit to 99-92 with 4:56 still to play.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}DeJuan Blair and Duncan then combined on a brief 7-2 spurt to restore the lead to double digits, 106-94, with 3:14 remaining.
Indiana would threaten once more, cutting the margin to 110-103 with 40.1 ticks on the clock, but Parker went 2-of-2 from the free throw line to account for the final difference.
Game Notes
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}San Antonio has won nine straight against Indiana and haven't lost to the Pacers since April 1, 2007...San Antonio will travel to Cleveland on Tuesday and Boston on Wednesday for a quick two-game road trip...Indiana will visit the Rockets on Sunday...The Spurs led by as many as 22, despite being outscored 50-46 in the paint.