SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Marco Belinelli scored 13 of his 17 points in the fourth quarter, Kawhi Leonard had 15 points and seven rebounds and the NBA-leading San Antonio Spurs eased past the Sacramento Kings 99-79 on Friday night for their 12th straight win.
Manu Ginobili added 14 points, and Tiago Splitter had 11 points and 11 rebounds. San Antonio (52-16) remained 1½ games ahead of Oklahoma City and Indiana for the league's best record.
The winning streak also is San Antonio's longest since rolling off 12 in a row in November 2010.
Isaiah Thomas scored 18 points and DeMarcus Cousins had 15 points and 13 rebounds for the Kings, who were held to a season low in points.
Sacramento outshot the Spurs 40 percent to 38.7 percent but was outrebounded 52 to 48. San Antonio also forced 15 turnovers and committed only nine to extend its reign of dominance over the Kings.
The Spurs finished 3-0 against Sacramento this season. They've also won 30 of the past 33 meetings, including nine straight overall and 11 in a row in California's capital city.
The Spurs shook off a slow start and started rolling late in the second quarter, speeding up the pace and sharing the ball. San Antonio led 47-37 at intermission despite shooting 1 for 13 from 3-point range.
Tim Duncan also missed his first seven shots before banking in a jumper in the third quarter. He finished with 10 points, nine rebounds and six assists.
The Kings still kept the Spurs within striking distance, and appeared to move even closer when Thomas made a 3-pointer as the third quarter ended. Instead, officials ruled Thomas' shot came after the buzzer — and upheld the call after a video review.
Belinelli made a jumper at the start of his big fourth quarter to lift the Spurs ahead 73-57. And Duncan quieted Sacramento for good with a jumper that gave San Antonio an 86-69 lead with 5:35 to play.
NOTES: Kings F Royce White, the 16th overall pick in the 2012 draft by Houston, made his NBA debut. He entered with 56.1 seconds remaining and never touched the ball. ... Former Kings center Vlade Divac sat courtside next to team owner Vivek Ranadive and received a standing ovation when he was introduced on the video board during a timeout in the first quarter. ... San Antonio closes a three-game California trip at Golden State on Saturday night in a rematch of last season's second-round playoff series won by the Spurs in six games. ... The Kings host Milwaukee on Sunday.
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