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Sports

Spurs rout Lakers 93-80 for 3rd straight win

Greg Beacham - The Philippine Star

LOS ANGELES -- Tim Duncan had 13 points and 11 rebounds, Cory Joseph scored eight of his 14 points in the fourth quarter and the San Antonio Spurs beat the Los Angeles Lakers 93-80 Friday night for their third straight victory in California.

Kawhi Leonard scored 12 points for the defending NBA champions, who added a comfortable win over the 1-8 Lakers to their impressive victories over the Clippers and Warriors earlier in the week.

San Antonio pulled away in the fourth quarter for its eighth win in 11 meetings with the Lakers.

Kobe Bryant scored nine points for the Lakers, going 1 for 14 in one of the worst shooting games of his 19-year NBA career. The NBA's leading scorer missed his first 10 shots and all five of his 3-point attempts.

Carlos Boozer scored 19 points and Jeremy Lin added 15 for the Lakers, who have lost three straight since their only victory over Charlotte. Jordan Hill had 10 points and 11 rebounds.

Bryant struggled all over the court, missing fallaway jumpers and drives during the first three quarters. Although he distributed the ball well with six assists, Bryant clearly wasn't trying not to score, a strategy he has occasionally seemed to employ over the years to make a point to his teammates or coaches.

Bryant finally hit an 18-foot jumper with 10:59 to play, but San Antonio responded with a 19-3 run that included back-to-back 3-pointers from Matt Bonner and Danny Green, taking a 26-point lead. Bryant missed three more shots before sitting down for good midway through the fourth.

Tony Parker had 11 points and nine assists for the Spurs, who got at least seven points from eight players. Manu Ginobili added nine points and eight assists.

San Antonio's veteran stars got plenty of rest in the laugher, with nobody playing more than Parker's 30 minutes.

TIP-INS

Spurs: Duncan scored his 25,000th point in the first half, becoming the 19th player to reach the milestone. ... Leonard went to the locker room early in the fourth quarter after Bryant accidentally hit him in the face while getting fouled.

Lakers: Los Angeles had only 10 players in uniform. ... Ronnie Price served a one-game suspension for a flagrant foul on New Orleans' Austin Rivers earlier this week. ... Wayne Ellington missed his third straight game following his father's death.

UP NEXT:

Spurs: At Sacramento on Saturday.

Lakers: Host Golden State on Sunday.

AT SACRAMENTO

AUSTIN RIVERS

BRYANT

CARLOS BOOZER

CLIPPERS AND WARRIORS

CORY JOSEPH

HOST GOLDEN STATE

JEREMY LIN

JORDAN HILL

POINTS

SAN ANTONIO

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