Golden State Warriors point guard Stephen Curry shoots the ball under pressure from San Antonio Spurs power forward Tim DuncanSoobum Im
The Golden State Warriors have steamrolled teams for the past month, but they ran into a huge roadblock named Kawhi Leonard.
Leonard matched his career-high with 26 points and set a career-high with seven steals and San Antonio rolled past Golden State 107-92 on Sunday, snapping the Warriors' 12-game winning streak while extending its own to seven straight.
"Kawhi was magnificent at both ends of the court," San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich said. "He is really playing confidently, but he hasn't forgotten to predicate his game on defence and on the boards. It kind of fuels him offensively."
The surging Spurs won for the 17th time in 20 games and also extended their home winning streak over the Warriors to 32 straight.
Tim Duncan had 19 points and Danny Green added 18 points for San Antonio (51-26), which led by as many as 28 points against the Western Conference's top seed.
Stephen Curry had 24 points, but was harassed into 9-for-17 shooting by Leonard. Klay Thompson was held to six points on 3-for-11 shooting for Golden State (51-27).
"Kawhi was phenomenal, he was the best player on the floor," Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. "It was Kawhi's night."
A battle between the teams with the longest active winning streaks in the league grew one-sided quickly with Leonard firmly imprinting his stamp on the game.
"This is the first time I think since Christmas that we haven't really been in a game," Curry said. "We'll be fine going forward."
Leonard, who did not play in the fourth quarter, was 11-for-17 shooting, but it was defence that proved key.
Curry had 13 straight points for Golden State in a two-minute stretch early in the second half, pulling the Warriors within 67-53 with three 3-pointers. The Spurs snuffed the rally by having Leonard defend the Warriors' sharpshooter.
Leonard would strip Curry near the 3-point line in his first defensive assignment after the switch, batting the ball with his left hand from Curry's right-handed dribble and raced downcourt for an emphatic one-handed dunk ahead of Draymond Green.
"He was frustrating those guys by getting deflections and getting a lot of hands on basketballs," Spurs forward Danny Green said.
Half of Leonard's steals came from direct swipes off Curry's dribbling, but did the Finals MVP get an added sense of satisfaction from shutting down Curry.
"Not really," Leonard said. "I mean he's a great player and I just get joy in my heart when I'm playing a game out there. Just trying to do my job."
It was part of a rough evening for Curry.
"I didn't get too many looks but for a couple of minutes," Curry said. "But we can run on our same offence and try to look for mismatches that might be somewhere else on the floor. He's a great defender, but if we run our offence, we feel like there's nobody that can really take us out of that."
PACERS 112, HEAT 89
INDIANAPOLIS – Paul George's season debut provided a needed boost Sunday as the Pacers put themselves back in the playoff contention.
George finished with 13 points in 15 minutes – his first action since breaking his right leg Aug. 1.
Luis Scola scored a season-high 23 points to lead Indiana (34-43) to its second straight win. The Pacers moved into a tie with Miami (34-43) for the No. 9 spot in the East. Both teams trail Boston by one game for the conference's eighth and final playoff spot.
Miami was led by Dwyane Wade with 27 points but lost its fourth in a row.
CLIPPERS 106, LAKERS 78
LOS ANGELES – Blake Griffin scored 18 points, DeAndre Jordan added 16 points and 11 rebounds, and the Los Angeles Clippers sent the Lakers to their franchise-record 56th defeat of the season.
Matt Barnes scored 14 points and Chris Paul had 15 assists for the Clippers, who handed that historic loss to their Staples Center roommates while beating the Lakers for a record sixth straight time overall.
With six games still to play, the Lakers have surpassed last season's team as the losingest in the 16-time champion franchise's illustrious history.
The playoff-bound Clippers have won 10 of 11 down the stretch, staying in the tight five-team race behind Golden State for homecourt advantage in the first two rounds of the Western Conference playoffs.
ROCKETS 115, THUNDER 112
OKLAHOMA CITY – James Harden scored 41 points, and the Houston Rockets overcame Russell Westbrook's triple-double to beat the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Harden and Westbrook, the league's top two scorers, both entered the game averaging 27.5 points. Harden made 12 of 22 shots and 6 of 9 3-pointers before fouling out with 33 seconds left. The Rockets hung on to win for the seventh time in eight games.
Westbrook finished with 40 points, 13 assists and 11 rebounds. It was his 11th triple-double of the season and the 18th of his career. Enes Kanter added 21 points and 17 rebounds for the Thunder, who lost their third straight. Their lead over New Orleans for the No. 8 spot in the Western Conference was cut to a half game.
CAVALIERS 99, BULLS 94
CLEVELAND – LeBron James recorded his first triple-double since coming home, and the Cleveland Cavaliers made 16 3-pointers while winning their 18th straight home game.
J.R. Smith made eight 3s, Kyrie Irving casually dropped one from 52 feet and scored 27 as the Cavs moved closer to a Central Division title and securing the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs.
Mike Dunleavy scored 24 and Aaron Brooks 17 for the Bulls, who could have star guard Derrick Rose back in the next few days.
James finished with 20 points, 12 assists and 10 rebounds, his first triple-double in a Cleveland uniform since May 13, 2010, two months before he left as a free agent for Miami.
JAZZ 101, KINGS 95
SACRAMENTO – Rodney Hood scored 13 of his season-high 25 points in the fourth quarter and the Utah Jazz pulled away.
The Jazz were clinging to an 83-82 lead with 6:10 remaining when Hood scored the first nine points of a 14-2 run. He had a pair of three-point plays and a 3-pointer during the streak, then later made a 17-foot jumper to give Utah a 99-88 lead.
Rudy Gobert added 10 points and nine rebounds, Derrick Favours scored 11 and Jeremy Evans had 10 points off the bench for the Jazz.
Utah (35-42) bounced back from a disappointing two-point loss in Phoenix 24 hours earlier.
KNICKS 101, 76ERS 91
NEW YORK – Andrea Bargnani scored 25 points and Shane Larking added 15 and 11 rebounds, and the New York Knicks snapped a nine-game losing streak.
Lance Thomas chipped in 14 points for the Knicks, whose last victory was on March 17 over the defending champion San Antonio Spurs at Madison Square Garden.
Ish Smith and reserve forward Hollis Thompson each had 17 points for the visiting 76ers, who've lost six straight.