Cleveland Cavaliers vs San Antonio Spurs

LeBron James had 19 points, seven rebounds and seven assists and Kyrie Irving had 23 points and four assists in 29 minutes while playing in his first set of back-to-back games this season.

Turns out, that would the last time the Spurs suffered a loss on their home floor in a regular season game, going 31-0 coming into Thursday’s contest against the Cavs.

Parker posted 24 points, while Leonard contributed 20 points and 10 rebounds as the Spurs snapped the Cavaliers’ run of eight consecutive victories.

Cleveland Cavaliers center Tristan Thompson (13) dunks as San Antonio Spurs forwards David West (30) and Boris Diaw watch during the first half of an NBA basketball game Thursday, Jan. 14, 2016, in San Antonio.

The San Antonio Spurs (34-6) are stronger than ever with their 22-game winning streak at home. San Antonio has won 32 straight at home dating to 2015.

The last time San Antonio walked off its own court with a loss came in a 128-125 overtime defeat to Cleveland on March 12 thanks to Irving’s career-high 57 points.

Irving was limited to 16 points on six-for-16 shooting this time, but the game was just as intense. However it looked as if the Spurs skipped class the way they played the first quarter.

But overall, the Cavs stopped moving the ball in the fourth quarter, per coach David Blatt, and the Spurs (35-6) picked it up defensively. The Eastern Conference’s No. 1 team travels to Houston and the Cavs are 1-point favorites in the game which will be the second half of a double-header on ESPN.

Tony Parker said before the San Antonio Spurs hosted the Cleveland Cavaliers that it would be a great test.

The teams shot nearly identical percentages for the game, Cleveland hitting 46.3 percent (38-82) of its shots and the Silver and Black converting 38 of 83 field goal attempts for 45.8 percent.

“When I get on the floor I just try to make an impact, try to contribute, help this team get better”, said West who finished with 13 points and five rebounds.

Aldridge made both free throws to make it 99-93 with 9.7 seconds left.

The Golden State Warriors returned to winning ways, downing the Los Angeles Lakers 116-98.

The Cavaliers are going into tonight’s game 9-1 this season, after the nice return of Kyrie Irving on December 20 where he scored 12 points in 17 minutes as a starter against the Philadelphia 76ers. Thompson has appeared in 325 straight games, making him the NBA’s active leader after DeAndre Jordan sat out for the Clippers with pneumonia. Cleveland actually faced off against San Antonio on Thursday night and kept it close, losing to the Spurs by four.

That was the Cavs’ fourth straight win to open a six-game road trip that includes stops in all three Texas cities. The Spurs trailed 88-85 against the Clippers to open the fourth but went on an 11-0 run to begin the quarter in a 115-107 victory….

Beyond the specifics of each team’s strengths and weaknesses, this game unfolded in a playoff atmosphere that only served to create more excitement for a potential NBA Finals matchup between these squads. TNT sideline reporter Craig Sager received a standing ovation late in the first half when he was welcomed back to San Antonio. Sager returned to the sideline this season after twice battling cancer.

After trailing early and just barely pulling ahead in the first quarter, the Cavs pulled away in the second half and beat the Rockets 91-77 on Friday.