Spurs' defense continues to come up big

Alec Brzezinski

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Spurs' defense continues to come up big image

The Spurs used their mighty defense to beat the Thunder 93-85 on Saturday at the AT&T Center in San Antonio.

Incredibly, the Spurs have now held their opponents to 85 points or fewer 20 times this season, double their total from the 2014-15 season. The Jazz and Cavaliers are second-best in the NBA with 11 such games.

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San Antonio (56-10) has also won 41 straight home games, which is the third-longest home winning streak in NBA history.

The dynamic duo of Kawhi Leonard and LaMarcus Aldridge led the way for San Antonio offensively as the two All-Stars combined for 50 points against the Thunder. Leonard led the way with 26 points, but Aldridge scored 24 points on just 14 shot attempts.

While everything looks good with the Spurs, something just isn't clicking in Oklahoma City. With this loss, the Thunder (44-22) have dropped an NBA-worst 12 games when leading heading into the fourth quarter. Even the 76ers (9-57) have only done this 10 times, though they haven't held as many leads.

With Kevin Durant, who scored a game-high 28 points Saturday, and Russell Westbrook on the court, the Thunder shouldn't blow as many leads as they do.

Oklahoma City's supporting cast has struggled this season. Serge Ibaka and Enes Kanter have had their moments but haven't been able to consistently take the pressure off Durant and Westbrook.

If the Thunder are going to make a deep run in the postseason, they are going to need that to change.

Warriors survive scare against Suns:

What is it with Golden State and bad teams? After getting smashed by the Lakers last weekend, the Warriors came out Saturday and trailed late against the lowly Suns. The Suns outscored the defending champions by 13 points in the third quarter, giving them a nine-point lead heading into the fourth quarter.

But like the Thunder, the Suns (17-49) couldn't close the game out. Instead, Golden State (59-6) extended its NBA-best 48-game home winning streak on the strength of Marreese Speights' 25 points and nine rebounds in 18 minutes of action.

With Andre Iguodala sidelined with an ankle injury, guys such as Speights will have to continue producing to take pressure off the first unit. Stephen Curry scored a game-high 35 points Saturday, but Andrew Bogut and Harrison Barnes combined for just 12 points.

Brandon Knight led Phoenix with 30 points, seven assists and six rebounds.

Highlights:

Pistons shooting guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope hits a tough 3-pointer:

Durant clears the lane:

James Johnson, behind the back:

Stud of the night:

Raptors star shooting guard DeMar DeRozan has been on a tear lately. This time, he scored a game-high 38 points Saturday to lead the Raptors to a 112-104 overtime win against the Heat. DeRozan, who has scored 30-plus points in four of his past six games, also grabbed 10 rebounds and dished out seven assists.

Dud of the night:

Rockets point guard Patrick Beverley isn't called on to score often. But they do expect him to score sometimes. The defense-minded guard finished Saturday's 125-109 loss against the Hornets with zero points on 0-for-5 shooting in 29 minutes of action.

What's Next:

Cavaliers (46-18) at Clippers (42-22) 3:30 p.m. ET on ABC — It appears Kevin Love will be back in the lineup for this one. But Cleveland hasn't really looked comfortable in the past couple of games. Los Angeles will hope its high-wire act can catch the Cavs at the right time.

Knicks (27-40) at Lakers (14-52) 9:30 p.m. ET — Yes, the Knicks are bad. And yes, the Lakers are even worse. Yet, when the East Coast giants take on the West Coast's perennial powerhouse — even in a down year — we're going to pay attention. If nothing else, think about all the celebrities who will be in the crowd.

Alec Brzezinski