San Antonio, TX – Tony Parker had 20 points and six assists to head a balanced San Antonio scoring attack as the Spurs recorded their sixth straight victory with a 104-73 rout of the Brooklyn Nets at the AT&T Center.
Parker made good on 9-of-13 field goal attempts, while five other players finished in double figures to help the Spurs achieve a season-high for consecutive triumphs. Tim Duncan scored 15 points, Nando De Colo added 11 and Kawhi Leonard, Tiago Splitter and Matt Bonner all had 10 for a San Antonio squad that shot a robust 58.9 percent as a team.
The Nets had come into the contest off home victories over Charlotte and Cleveland in their first two outings since the team replaced Avery Johnson with P.J. Carlesimo as head coach, but were buried by a dismal third quarter in which Brooklyn made a mere 2-of-20 shots from the floor and were outscored by a whopping 30-5 margin.
"We played great defense in the third quarter. We tried to make an effort defensively and Coach [Gregg] Popovich has been talking a lot about that, and it has been a huge improvement for us the last two games. Defense has been great and we are on the right track."
MarShon Brooks finished with 16 points and Joe Johnson had 12 for the Nets, who also committed 18 turnovers that were converted into 28 Spurs' points.
Despite allowing the Spurs to hit on nearly 65 percent of their field goal tries, Brooklyn managed to stay within striking distance in trailing 55-47 at the half. It all unraveled for the Nets in the third quarter, however.
Deron Williams buried a jumper with 7:52 left in the period following a quick 8-0 San Antonio run, but Brooklyn would be held without a basket for the next six-plus minutes as the Spurs ripped off 13 straight points to break the game wide open.
Parker and Leonard each put up five points during the pivotal surge, which Duncan capped with a layup and free throw that gave San Antonio a commanding 76-49 advantage heading into the final three minutes of the frame.
"I thought Tony set the tone for us," said Popovich. "I thought he was a monster tonight. Offensively aggressive; defensively, really focused, really committed. I thought he was fantastic and everybody followed suit."
Williams finally ended Brooklyn's drought with a steal and 3-point play at the 1:38 mark, but the Spurs countered with a 9-0 burst that began with a De Colo basket from beyond the arc to take an 85-52 lead into the fourth quarter.
Both teams rested their regulars for the entire final 12 minutes, with Brooks amassing 13 of his point total on 6-of-7 shooting but Brooklyn never got the differential below 28.
San Antonio gained the early upper hand with a 12-4 flurry late in the first quarter that turned a three-point edge into a 31-20 lead, and had a double- digit cushion for much of the second until Johnson led an 11-3 tear that brought the Nets to within 38-35 with just under seven minutes remaining in the half.
The game continued to be tight nearing the break, but a Duncan layup and Parker 3-pointer gave the Spurs some breathing room as San Antonio went into the locker room up 55-47.
Game Notes
The Spurs have now outscored the opposition by an average of 24 points over their last five victories ... The five points allowed by San Antonio set a franchise record for fewest surrendered in a third quarter ... The Nets have now lost in 10 straight trips to San Antonio and have dropped 18 of the last 19 meetings between the teams ... Brooklyn forward Gerald Wallace missed the matchup with a knee injury, but teammate Kris Humphries returned from a five- game absence due to an abdominal strain and registered seven points in 22 minutes ... Carlesimo was an assistant under Popovich from 2002-07.
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