Leonard has 22 points, Spurs beat Jazz 118-81

Kawhi Leonard finished with 22 points and seven rebounds as the Spurs crushed the Utah Jazz 118-81 at the AT&T Center to remain ideal at home.

San Antonio has won a league-best nine games by more than 20 points this season, and Monday marked the seventh time this season that the Spurs have held their opponent to 81 points or fewer, a feat no other team has achieved more than three times.

Spurs: Leonard has scored at least 20 points in 16 games this season, including a current streak of four straight….

With the win, the Spurs improve to 13-zero at home. With their ability to make mid-range shots and play two seven-footers at one time, opposing teams are having trouble matching up with the Spurs. Kennedy officiated the Spurs’ game Monday, a day after revealing he is gay. The Jazz were able to take care of the ball, force Thunder point guard Russell Westbrook into a 9-for-25 night from the field, and be an explosive scoring trio from the perimeter.

Tim Duncan will be rested Wednesday night against the Wizards, Mike Monroe of the San Antonio Express-News reports. The Jazz have lost three in a row just once this season, and another loss tonight would tie that streak.

Utah entered the game averaging 97.8 points per game but suffered season-lows for total points and with 36 first-half points.

Spurs guard Tony Parker looks to shoots as he is defended by Utah Jazz forward Derrick Favors (15) during the first half. And offensively, the Spurs still rank third overall and fifth in assist percentage despite adjusting to Leonard’s new role and the integration of LaMarcus Aldridge. “They were in an overtime game last night, and [injured center Rudy] Gobert is not there for them, which makes a big difference”.

It was an unselfish pattern that kept Utah off balance all game. One candidate, of course, is the San Antonio Spurs.

San Antonio shot 56 per cent from the field, out-rebounded Utah 48-32 and had 21 fast-break points to 12 for the Jazz.

Oubre went on to score a career-high 18 points off the bench, though much of that came when the Spurs built up a large lead late.

Cavaliers: Kyrie Irving, who has missed Cleveland’s first 23 games recovering from a broken kneecap sustained in Game 1 of the NBA Finals against the Warriors, said that he won’t be playing Thursday against Oklahoma City.

That will put a lot on the shoulders of guard John Wall, who is averaging 19 points a game.

The Spurs are still the second best team in the Western Conference and in the National Basketball Association (NBA) with their 21-5 record, just 3.5 games behind the defending champions Golden State Warriors who are at 24-1. Chicago is a poor 3-9 ATS its last 12 meetings against Detroit, and it’s also 0-7 ATS since 2013 versus Detroit, provided Chicago covered the spread in its previous game.

Over the past two games, Aldridge has connected on a combined 11 of 19 attempts for 31 points while contributing 14 rebounds. Fouled Out_None. Rebounds_Utah 35 (Booker 7), San Antonio 50 (Aldridge 8).