Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Tony Parker had 25 points and nine assists and the San Antonio Spurs escaped a late rally to beat the Utah Jazz 109-105 on Wednesday night, extending their winning streak to six games.
Utah closed the game on a 19-7 run, but was unable to complete the rally after falling behind by 18 points in the second half.
Marco Belinelli, Tim Duncan and Kawhi Leonard scored 15 points each, and Manu Ginobili had 13 in his first home start of the season for San Antonio (31-8).
Enes Kanter had 25 points off the bench for Utah (13-27). Burks scored 20 points, Derrick Favors had 19 points and 12 rebounds, Trey Burke added 17 points and former Spurs forward Richard Jefferson had 15 points.
Utah was without Gordon Hayward, its leading scorer, for the third straight game with a strained hip flexor.
#Box
Trailing 102-97, Utah's Alec Burks missed an open layup inside 40 seconds left. Burke hit a jumper and a 3-pointer to cut the Spurs' lead to 105-102 with 17.7 seconds left. Following a pair of free throws by Belinelli, Burke hit another 3 to pull the Jazz within 107-105 with 4.3 seconds remaining.
Belinelli closed the scoring with a pair of free throws.
Ginobili did not start the second half, but that mattered little as the other two members of the team's Big 3 stepped up. Duncan and Parker combined to score the team's first 12 points of the quarter for the Spurs' first double-digit lead at 64-52.
Duncan and Parker were a combined 9-for-12 shooting in the third quarter while scoring 20 points.
Leonard stole a pass and raced upcourt, dribbling the ball behind his back to avoid Burke and throw down a one-handed dunk. Spurs coach Gregg Popovich yelled at Leonard for failing to get back defensively and allowing a basket on the ensuing possession. Standing near the sideline shaking his head as Popovich continued screaming, Leonard then drained a 3-ponter that gave San Antonio a 90-79 lead.
NOTES: Hayward took part in pregame activities, but was still bothered by a left hip flexor that sidelined him the previous two games. Averaging 17.1 points, Hayward also leads the team in steals at 1.3 per game and is second in assists at 4.9. ... Ginobili was making his first start at home and the newness showed. He stood up preparing to run through his teammates during pregame announcements, but shrugged his shoulders in surprise when Ayres was announced instead. ... Duncan is four double-doubles shy of tying Hall of Famer Bill Russell for sixth on the all-time list. Duncan is the active leader, accumulating 781 double-doubles in 1,213 games. ... A bespectacled David Robinson received a loud ovation during the second quarter when the team honored those who served in the military. "The Admiral" served in the Navy prior to winning two NBA titles during a Hall of Fame career with the Spurs.
(Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)
