Spurs make easy work of struggling Heat

San Antonio, TX (SportsNetwork.com) - Friday's game at AT&T Center may have been a rematch of the last two NBA Finals, but only the Spurs showed they are serious contenders this year.

The Heat, meanwhile, are still searching for their identity amid an injury- ridden season.

Kawhi Leonard scored 24 points, Tony Parker added 21 and San Antonio cruised to a 98-85 victory in an anticlimactic showdown of the past two NBA champions.

Tim Duncan donated 10 points and 12 rebounds for San Antonio, which went 5-1 on a six-game homestand and gave head coach Gregg Popovich his 999th career victory.

"It's a lot more consistent than we have been for more of the 48 minutes both in competitiveness and execution," said Popovich. "That was one of our more better games in that regard."

Luol Deng scored 17 points and Chris Bosh added 14 with seven rebounds for the Heat, who have dropped four of five games since Dwyane Wade began sitting out with a hamstring injury.

"Even if we didn't turn the ball over, the defensive mistakes were going to make us pay," Bosh said. "They broke us down a multiple number of times."

Miami trailed by 13 early on but used an 11-0 run spanning the first and second quarters to pull within two at 30-28.

That's as competitive as it got.

A 13-0 Spurs run -- highlighted by two Leonard 3-pointers -- extended San Antonio's lead to 45-30, and it was an 11-point game, 52-41 at halftime.

Leonard and Parker each scored 16 points in the first half, then combined for 11 in the third as the hosts padded their cushion.

Tiago Splitter's turnaround in the lane sent the Spurs into the fourth with a 77-61 advantage, and the margin grew to as high as 20 in the final period.

Game Notes

San Antonio opens a nine-game road trip at Toronto on Sunday ... Miami center Hassan Whiteside sat out with an ankle injury, and forward Udonis Haslem exited early with a left wrist injury ... Leonard made five of the Spurs' 11 3-pointers ... The Spurs shot 48 percent from the floor.