A 40-point third quarter helped the San Antonio Spurs pull away from the Sacramento Kings in a 116-108 victory.
The Spurs shot just 44.7% from the field, but had an opponent-season-high 105 field goal attempts (22 more than the Kings) thanks to 19 offensive rebounds and 15 Sacramento turnovers. David Robinson had 23 points and 14 rebounds to lead San Antonio, while Kawhi Leonard scored 20 and George Gervin and Tim Duncan had 17 apiece.
Mitch Richmond had a team-high 19 points for the Kings, while Peja Stojakovic had 18. DeMarcus Cousins (16 points, 13 rebounds) and Oscar Robertson (14 points, 11 assists) posted double-doubles. The Kings fell to 17-9 with three games to play.
The first quarter stayed close, as there were five lead changes and four ties. Sean Elliott hit a late three-pointer to put the Spurs up 34-30 at the end of the quarter.
The second quarter saw less scoring, with both teams netting 24 points. San Antonio went up by 11 at 56-45 after consecutive baskets by Leonard. A 9-0 Sacramento run shortly thereafter got the deficit down to two, and the Kings trailed by four at 58-54 at halftime.
Robinson scored 14 of the Spurs’ 40 points in the third quarter, including 12 Spurs’ points in a row during one stretch. The Kings were outscored by 11 in the quarter. A four-point play by Patty Mills made it 84-71. San Antonio went up by 17 at 98-81 late in the quarter, and it was 98-83 at the end of three quarters.
Robinson gave the Spurs their largest lead of the game at 18 points at 106-88 with eight minutes to play. With mostly reserves in the game at the end, the Kings got the deficit down to six points in the final minute.
ROGER SPORTS & GAMES 