Spurs spurt past James & Company to improve to 23-0 at home

After going down 9 in the 1st, the Cavs were quickly up 8 early in the 2nd quarter as they held the Rockets to only 10 points in a full 12-minute span between the 1st and 2nd quarters. James has said he would like to play, but will talk to Blatt about potentially taking the night off to rest. “And Pop definitely puts those guys in the right position every single possession”, James said.

It wasn’t a classic like last year’s game, when the teams combined for 253 points in an overtime thriller, but the Spurs will take it. Howard is putting up 14.2 points and 11.9 rebounds per game – surprisingly the second-highest scorer on the team.

The Spurs have consistently been a challenge for James, most notably in his 2014 NBA Finals loss in what was the four-time MVP’s final outing with the Miami Heat.

It was and the Spurs passed, beating Lebron James and the Cavaliers 99-95 for their 32nd straight win in a row at home.

San Antonio is now 22-0 at AT&T Center, having last lost a regular season game at home on March 12 to the Cleveland Cavaliers, who the Spurs host on Thursday night.

Giannis Antetokounmpo finished with 28 points and a career-high 16 rebounds as Milwaukee Bucks overcame Atlanta Hawks 108-101 in overtime and Ryan Anderson’s season-high haul of 32 points gave New Orleans Pelicans a 109-107 win over Charlotte Hornets.

Instead of folding on defense in the fourth period as they did in their previous home loss to Cleveland, San Antonio rallied in the final quarter on Thursday. One had better results than the other. It gave us so many mismatches.

To beat teams like the Spurs in their own building, you need to play near-flawless basketball. “We were not guarding the pick-and-roll very aggressively so we are lucky that that happened in the first quarter”. He managed to attempt seven free throws, but only two came after the first quarter.

The Spurs stiffened on defense and forced 18 turnovers after falling behind by 15 points in the opening quarter.

The way Kawhi Leonard has become one of the NBA’s best players and the San Antonio Spurs’ addition of LaMarcus Aldridge could extend the length of time Tony Parker wishes to continue playing.

LeBron James led the way with 22 points, Tristan Thompson added 18 points while JR Smith had 17, but it still wasn’t enough as the Cavs couldn’t match it with the Spurs despite jumping out to an early double digit lead in the first quarter.

James (19 points, seven rebounds, seven assists) and Irving (23 points) were efficient while Kevin Love chipped in 11 points and 13 rebounds, but Cleveland closed the trip 5-1 by digging in defensively, especially against Rockets guard James Harden.

OAKLAND, Calif. – Stephen Curry scored 26 points, with his first eight baskets coming on 3-pointers, and Golden State beat Los Angeles in what was likely Kobe Bryant’s last game in Oakland. “Their defense did a good job keeping me off balance”, James said.

Guard Victor Oladipo scored 27 points and forward Evan Fournier added 21 for Orlando, who fell for the sixth time in seven games but made it close for the London crowd.

Rookie forward Trey Lyles scored a career-high 19 points for the Jazz, and Gordon Hayward had 21 despite shooting 4 for 17 from the field.