Sacramento gives up 28-point lead

SAN ANTONIO — The San Antonio Spurs demonstrated they are perfectly capable of rallying in the final quarter to win without Kawhi Leonard.

Fortunately, they don’t have to get used to it.

Manu Ginobili had 19 points, David Lee added 18 points and 10 rebounds and the San Antonio Spurs rallied while Leonard rested to beat the Sacramento Kings 114-104 on Wednesday night.

San Antonio (50-13) won its ninth straight and extended its league record for 50-win seasons to 18 straight.

“We definitely (have) shown that the team has a lot of character in the last few games,” Spurs center Pau Gasol said. “I think the team realized that as much we have fought the last few games to win to close games that could have gone either way against pretty good teams. If we come out tonight and lose this one, it would be a tough blow.”

The Spurs rested Leonard and LaMarcus Aldridge after the team rallied in four straight games, including a pair of overtime victories. Leonard averaged 33.8 points in 39.3 minutes in leading the Spurs to those comefrom-behind victories.

Sacramento took advantage of their absence in building a 28-point lead in the first half. It was the largest deficit in the first quarter the Spurs have rallied from in the franchise’s regular-season history.

“This was a character test at halftime,” said San Antonio’s Patty Mills, who added 17 points. “We could have just laid down and got ready for a big one tomorrow night (at Oklahoma City), but we crawled back in it. Just goes to show the character we have within the group.”

The Spurs shot 26 percent in scoring 15 points in the first quarter, one shy of its season low for the opening period. They rallied in the second half, outscoring the Kings 66-41 after halftime.

“They just picked up their

physicality,” Sacramento veteran Darren Collison said. “They got us off our spots. It was hard for us to have the same continuity we had in the first half. You’ve got to give them credit, that’s what they’re known for.”

The Kings lost their sixth straight despite a season-high 26 points from Tyreke Evans and 15 from rookie Skal Labissiere.

San Antonio’s first lead came with 6:27 remaining in the game on a 3-pointer by Mills.

Danny Green added 14 points and made four 3-pointers, as did Mills.