Spurs win low-scoring battle with Warriors

SAN ANTONIO -- The San Antonio Spurs knew from their Western Conference semifinal clash with the Golden State Warriors last season that they needed offensive firepower to outshoot them. Turns out they needed a tough defensive stand to get the win.

Point guard Tony Parker had 18 points to push San Antonio past Golden State 76-74 on Friday night at the AT&T Center.

Parker was 7 of 14 from the field and had four assists. Forward Kawhi Leonard added 13 points, seven rebounds and four steals for San Antonio (5-1), which led the whole game.

"It was a pretty poor game," Spurs guard Manu Ginobili said of the struggles both teams displayed offensively. "The truth is that if you told me we would have finished 76-74, I would have said 'no way.' We are both teams that try to play fast and take shots sort of quick. It was just a game of mistakes. Lots of mistakes."

The Spurs got the win without the Warriors' best player, guard Stephen Curry, on the court. He was scratched before the game with a bruised left ankle he suffered Wednesday against the Minnesota Timberwolves. Curry, in his fifth year, is averaging 18.7 points and 9.2 assists.

Guard Harrison Barnes started in Curry's place but only managed five points in 21 minutes.

Guard Toney Douglas came off the bench to lead the Warriors (4-2) in scoring with 21 points. He was 5 of 9 from behind the 3-point line.

"I thought Toney Douglas did an outstanding job coming in off the bench," second-year Warriors coach Mark Jackson said. "He very much impacted the game. I thought our guys did a very good job of battling without our best players."

Leading scorer Klay Thompson had 11 points for Golden State. Forward David Lee had 13 points and 10 rebounds for the Warriors, who played the third game of a four-game road trip. Center Andrew Bogut added 13 rebounds.

The Warriors cut the lead to two on two free throws from Lee to make it 76-74 with 2:23 left in the fourth quarter.

Warriors guard Andre Igoudala had a last chance to tie the score, but his drive for a 9-foot jumper by an stretching Spurs center Tim Duncan bounced off the rim at the buzzer.

"I got a decent shot off. Tim did a good job of making me alter the shot a little bit," Igoudala said. "We have to look at the positives, especially when we have a tough loss like this. Hopefully, we'll grow from it. I'm sure we will."

Both teams held serve, going scoreless the rest of the last two minutes of the game and giving the Spurs another win over the Warriors in San Antonio.

It has been 17 years since the Warriors have won a regular-season game in San Antonio, a string of 30 consecutive matchups that dates to Feb. 14, 1997, the longest current streak in the NBA.

San Antonio came out hitting 12 of its first 21 shots from the field to take a 28-20 first-quarter lead. The Spurs needed it as they only managed four field goals in the second quarter but led 40-33 at halftime.

Parker paced the Spurs with 11 first-half points.

The Warriors, who came into the game averaging a league-best 110.8 points, struggled to score and had only 33 first-half points. They committed 20 turnovers that resulted in 20 points for San Antonio.

Thompson, trying to pick up the slack for Curry, was 3 of 12 from the field for six points at halftime.

"Overall, they're a hard team to guard, so I thought the defense was some of the better defense we've played this year," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. "We certainly couldn't put it in the basket, so the defense was really important for us tonight."

NOTES: Even though Golden State has endured a 30-game regular-season losing streak in San Antonio, the Warriors did win a playoff game on the Spurs' home court during the Western Conference semifinals in May, stopping a 16-game losing streak to San Antonio. Golden State lost the series 4-2. ... With the Spurs' win over the Phoenix Suns on Wednesday night, Parker and Duncan have combined for 596 victories as teammates. That tied Los Angeles Lakers guards Kobe Bryant and Derek Fisher for the fourth-most wins by two teammates. ... In their four victories this season, the Warriors have been winning by a margin of league-leading 12.8 points per game. ... F Matt Bonner was held out of his second straight game with tightness in his left calf.