Spurs 112, Kings 104
SAN ANTONIO -- Guard Manu Ginobili had a season-high 28 points to lead the San Antonio Spurs to a 112-104 win over the Sacramento Kings Sunday night at the AT&T Center.
Ginobili, who had 10 crucial fourth-quarter points, was 9-for-16 from the field and hit four 3-pointers.
Guard Tony Parker added 22, while forward Boris Diaw 14.
Forward Tim Duncan added 17 points and 13 rebounds for San Antonio (24-7), while center Tiago Splitter added 11 points.
Center DeMarcus Cousins led the Kings with 29 points and 14 rebounds.
Cousins, along with newly acquired guard Rudy Gay and point guard Isaiah Thomas combined for 80 of the Kings' 104 points, but it was not enough to get the win.
Gay had 24 and Thomas 27 for the Kings (9-20), who have lost seven straight to the Spurs.
It was another tough matchup for the young Kings, who defeated the NBA champion Miami Heat 108-103 in overtime on Friday and now faced the other Finals team in the Spurs.
Sacramento wiped out a 15-point first-half lead by the Spurs to take back the lead with a 38-point third quarter. They scored on 12 straight possessions in the third period, and went up 78-75 with three minutes on a Thomas 3-pointer with Parker in his face.
They would extend their largest lead to six when Thomas connected on another 3-pointer with seconds on the clock to make it 87-81 at the end of third period. Thomas had 15 points in the quarter.
San Antonio came back and tied the game at 102 when Ginobili hit back-to-back 3-pointers, the last coming at the 3:10 mark.
Then Parker would finish it down the stretch, scoring the last eight points to seal the win.
San Antonio used a 15-2 run early in the second quarter to go up 45-30 on the Kings. But Sacramento bounced back behind Cousins, who led all scorers at the half with 14 points.
Cousin's 9-foot jumper with eight seconds left cut the Spurs' 15-point lead to eight, but San Antonio went into locker room with a 57-49 lead. Ginobili and Diaw combined for 21 points at the half.
Cousins started strong, scoring 10 points in the first quarter, but Duncan and Parker combined for 12 points to give San Antonio a 27-23 edge after one period.
NOTES: Sacramento C DeMarcus Cousins, in the midst of a stellar season, is making his bid for an All-Star roster spot. He began play Sunday averaging 22.5 points and 11.1 rebounds per game. The only other players averaging at least 22 points and 11 rebounds are Minnesota Timberwolves F Kevin Love and Portland Trail Blazers F LaMarcus Aldridge. ... San Antonio entered the night with a 23-7 record, but all 23 were against teams with a .500 record or worse. ... The Kings were on a scoring binge, averaging 104.0 points per game in their previous 12 contests. ... San Antonio won 11 of its previous 12 meetings with Sacramento.
