San Antonio, TX (SportsNetwork.com) - Tony Parker scored 17 points to lead the San Antonio Spurs to a comfortable 99-85 win over the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday.
Kawhi Leonard scored 15 points and grabbed 14 rebounds, and Manu Ginobili also added 15 points to help the Spurs win for the fourth time in five games. Tim Duncan chipped in 14 points and seven boards.
The Lakers lost their seventh straight game hours after confirming Kobe Bryant tore a rotator cuff, putting his season in jeopardy. Nick Young led Los Angeles with 17 points, and Carlos Boozer, Jordan Hill, Wayne Ellington and Jordan Clarkson joined him in double figures.
"We haven't just scrapped the season ... we're still going to try and win basketball games," Lakers coach Byron Scott said.
Without Bryant, the Lakers allowed San Antonio to open the game with a 9-0 lead. Duncan hit shots on back-to-back possessions, and Parker's jumper following a Duncan block extended the lead to nine. Clarkson got the first Los Angeles bucket 3 1/2 minutes into the game.
The Spurs went on a 10-0 run with five points from Leonard later in the quarter to go up 25-8 and led 31-15 after one period. Los Angeles would not pull within single digits for the remainder of the game.
"We feel good that we played at a good pace on a back-to-back," said Spurs coach Gregg Popovich.
San Antonio's lead fluctuated between 16-23 points on its way to a 56-38 lead at the break. Despite missing all five 3-point attempts in the quarter, the Spurs shot 50 percent and never allowed the Lakers to gain ground.
Despite poor Spurs shooting in the third quarter, the Lakers were still unable to pull within single digits, and San Antonio took a 76-61 lead into the final period.
Wesley Johnson's 3 cut San Antonio's lead down to 10 points with 10 minutes to play, but a 7-0 Spurs run ended the Lakers' comeback chances. Ginobili immediately responded with an acrobatic layup at the other end, and Patty Mills' triple not even a minute later extended San Antonio's advantage to 17 points.
Game Notes
Los Angeles fell to 2-7 without Bryant in the lineup ... The Spurs improved to 9-5 in the second game of a back-to-back ... Lakers point guard Jeremy Lin was a healthy scratch ... The Spurs improved to 7-0 when holding their opponent below 40 percent shooting ... San Antonio outrebounded the Lakers, 52-40 ... The Spurs won the season series, 2-1.
Receive your weekly recap of all the happenings around the world of sports.