|
SAN ANTONIO -- Indiana made itself at home at an arena that's rarely hospitable to visiting teams. Victor Oladipo scored 19 points and the Pacers defeated San Antonio 94-86 on Sunday night, snapping the Spurs' 14-game home winning streak. San Antonio lost at home for the third time this season and the first since Nov. 10 against Milwaukee. "It's just a great win for this young team to come into San Antonio, where they only lost two games," Pacers coach Nate McMillan said. "This has always been a tough place to play and to end the road trip when you're a little fatigued and a little tired. The challenge was mentally give yourself a chance by giving the effort, staying connected, playing together, and they did." The Pacers became the first Eastern Conference team in three years to sweep a season series from the Spurs. With Manu Ginobili, Rudy Gay and Kawhi Leonard out with injuries, San Antonio made a last-minute lineup change, bringing Tony Parker off the bench for the 14th time in 1,165 career games. Asked if Dejounte Murray would continue to start at point guard, Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said, "We'll see." Murray had eight points, seven rebounds, four assists and four turnovers in 28 minutes. "A little different, so I guess we're figuring where we need certain things (with Parker) coming off the bench to start the game," Spurs guard Danny Green said. "Trying to get a happy medium of getting some fast pace, slower pace, getting it inside, working outside, but turn the ball over a little less, move it a little bit better." Parker responded with 12 points, five assists and one turnover, but LaMarcus Aldridge struggled without the veteran point guard. The Pacers stymied Aldridge offensively even without the injured Myles Turner, limiting the Spurs forward to a season-low 10 points. Aldridge finished 5 for 14 from the field. "Thaddeus (Young) did a really nice job of making LaMarcus work," McMillan said. "You don't stop those guys, but he was physical and made it tough for him to score. The rest of our guys did a good job defending and just keeping them in front." Indiana, which led by as many as 17 points, had 15 steals while forcing 20 turnovers. "We did a great job just getting stops and moving the ball," Oladipo said. "They're a tough team to play against. Well-coached team, great players over there, it was a tough-fought team win. We've just got to build on it." Darren Collison added 15 points for Indiana, which snapped a three-game losing streak in San Antonio. The Spurs pulled within 83-76 with 5:03 remaining on Davis Bertans' 3-pointer, but San Antonio committed two turnovers on the next two possessions. "It happens a little too much with our team," said Pau Gasol, who had 14 points. "We get a little bit out of whack. We don't execute, we're a little sloppy at times and we pay the price. We can't afford mistakes like that." TIP-INS Pacers: Turner missed his seventh straight game with an injured right elbow. He high-stepped halfway down the baseline in celebration after Al Jefferson dunked on Gasol early in the fourth quarter. ... The Pacers concluded their longest trip of the season, going 3-2. ... Indiana came in averaging 106.5 points per game, which was 10th in the league. Spurs: Ginobili was a late scratch after being listed as questionable with bruised right thigh. ... Popovich said he is still not sure when Leonard will return as he continues to rehabilitate right quadriceps tendinopathy. ... Spurs players have missed 123 games collectively because of injuries and sat out 10 games for rest. ... Aldridge's previous low was 11 points against at Boston on Oct. 30. BIG WIN The difficulty of winning in San Antonio was not lost on veterans Collinson and Jefferson. "It's big time," Collison said. "Al and I were just talking about all that it takes to get a victory here. It's a good win all around. If we can continue to keep this up, the way we've been playing, beating teams like this, we're going to have a very good time." UP NEXT Pacers: Host Phoenix on Wednesday night. Spurs: Host Cleveland on Tuesday night. --- More NBA basketball: https://apnews.com/tag/NBAbasketball
|
