Leonard, Spurs keep on winning
Kawhi Leonard scored 32 points and the San Antonio Spurs clinched their NBA-record 20th consecutive winning season with a 110-106 victory against the Indiana Pacers last night in Indianapolis.
LaMarcus Aldridge scored 10 of his 19 points during the final 61⁄ minutes as the Spurs improved to 42-13 in the season following Tim Duncan’s retirement.
San Antonio has had a winning record every season since 1997-98, when Duncan was a rookie, and broke a tie with the Utah Jazz, who had 19 straight winning seasons from 1985-2004. Leonard has scored 30 or more points in five straight games.
Paul George scored 27 points and Myles Turner had 22 for the Pacers, who have lost four straight, three on their home court.
George’s 3-pointer with 21 seconds left cut it to 107104, but the Spurs closed it out at the free-throw line to bounce back from their loss in New York on Sunday.
Wizards 120, Thunder 98 — Russell Westbrook sat down for good midway through the third quarter while Oklahoma City was in the midst of missing 24 consecutive shots — yes, 24! — to trail by 34 points — yes, 34! — as Bradley Beal and John Wall carried Washington to a stunningly lopsided win at home.
Bucks 102, Pistons 89 — Greg Monroe had 25 points and 13 rebounds, Michael Beasley added 23 points and host Milwaukee beat Detroit. It was the Bucks first home win since star forward Jabari Parker got hurt.
Nuggets 132, Warriors 110 — Nikola Jokic got his second career triple-double and host Denver tied an NBA record with 24 3-pointers while stunning Golden State.
The Nuggets tied the 3-point mark set by the Rockets in December against New Orleans. They missed two 3-pointers in the final minute.
Clippers 88, Jazz 72 — Blake Griffin had 26 points, 10 rebounds and six assists and Los Angeles rolled over Utah in Salt Lake City. DeAndre Jordan finished with 10 points and 13 rebounds, and Austin Rivers had 15 points.
Grizzlies 112, Nets 103 — Mike Conley scored 32 points, Marc Gasol had 19 points, nine rebounds and eight assists, and visiting Memphis beat hapless Brooklyn.
The Nets lost their 13th straight overall and 15th straight at home to set a new franchise record for futility.
Pelicans 110, Suns 108 — Anthony Davis scored six consecutive New Orleans points, the last two the go-ahead rebound basket with 40.3 seconds to play in a win against host Phoenix.
Magic 116, Heat 107 — Evan Fournier scored 24 points, Elfrid Payton added 20 off the bench and Orlando beat host Miami to snap a four-game losing streak.
Serge Ibaka scored 17 points and Nik Vucevic finished with 13 points and 17 rebounds for Orlando.
76ers 105, Hornets 99 — Dario Saric had 18 points and 11 rebounds off the bench, and visiting Philadelphia beat slumping Charlotte for its third straight win.
Elsewhere in the NBA — Cleveland Cavaliers All-Star forward Kevin Love will miss tonight’s game at Minnesota, and possibly more games, with a left knee injury that will require a second opinion. The Cavaliers also traded injured center Chris Andersen and cash to the Charlotte Hornets for a protected top-55 second-round draft pick.