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April 2, 2014

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Spurs pound Pacers to win record 18th straight

TONY Parker scored 22 points as San Antonio won its franchise record 18th consecutive game by routing the struggling Indiana Pacers 103-77 on Monday night.

Kawhi Leonard tallied 13 points and 11 rebounds, while Boris Diaw came off the bench to score 14 points for the Spurs, who used a 12-4 fourth quarter surge to help seal the victory and keep their streak alive.

“We don’t think about it. We just want to play well,” said Parker of the streak. “Hopefully we are not peaking too soon. We just want to win each game.”

San Antonio won 17 in a row during the 1995-96 National Basketball Association regular season. Now it has improved to 58 wins and 16 losses and is 3 1/2 games ahead of the Oklahoma City Thunder for the Western Conference’s best record.

“They are the best team in the league,” said Indiana’s Paul George. “It wasn’t like it was a fluke loss, but we’re better than that.”

While the Spurs are soaring, George’s Pacers are headed in the opposite direction.

Indiana suffered its sixth loss in eight games and lost its grip atop the Eastern Conference standings. It is now tied with the defending champions Miami Heat, who beat the Toronto Raptors on Monday, for the top spot.

“I think everyone needs to play better — the starters and the bench. The issue is rhythm and timing,” said Indiana coach Frank Vogel. “The number one seed is the last thing on our minds right now. We need to get back on track.”

In other games, the Los Angeles Clippers downed the Minnesota Timberwolves 114-104, the Chicago Bulls beat the Boston Celtics 94-80, the Detroit Pistons defeated the Milwaukee Bucks 116-111 and the Sacramento Kings were 102-97 winners over the New Orleans Pelicans, the Atlanta Hawks denied the Philadelphia 76ers their first winning streak in nearly three months with a 103-95 victory, and the New York Knicks edged the Utah Jazz 92-83.


 

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