PHOENIX — Kawhi Leonard scored 21 points to lead the San Antonio Spurs past the Phoenix Suns 117-89 on Thursday night (Friday in Manila) for their 12th straight victory.
Leonard, selected as an All-Star starter for first time in his career earlier in the day, scored eight of his points in the third quarter for San Antonio. Boban Marjanovic added 17 points and 13 rebounds, and Jonathon Simmons had 13 points.
Having already tied the best start in team history, the Spurs moved to 37-6 and kept pace with the 2010-11 team, which also had a 37-6 mark. They got 66 points from their bench.
The Spurs cruised despite missing starters Tony Parker and Tim Duncan. Parker had right hip soreness and Duncan was given the night off to rest.
Devin Booker's 24 points led the Suns, who lost their sixth straight and 15th in 16 games.
CAVALIERS 115, CLIPPERS 102
CLEVELAND — LeBron James had 22 points and 12 assists, J.R. Smith made six 3-pointers and the Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Los Angeles Clippers.
Kevin Love added 18 points and 16 rebounds for the Cavs, playing their first home game since being embarrassed in a 34-point loss to Golden State on Monday in a rematch of last year's NBA Finals. They bounced back with a win at Brooklyn on Wednesday before beating the Clippers, who came in 11-1 in their past 12.
Kyrie Irving had 21 points for Cleveland, which has won 13 of 14 against Los Angeles.
Chris Paul scored 30 for Los Angeles, which made only six 3-pointers after knocking down 22 on Monday against Houston. The Clippers were again without star forward Blake Griffin (torn quadriceps).
PELICANS 115, PISTONS 99
NEW ORLEANS — Anthony Davis scored 32 points and the New Orleans Pelicans beat the Detroit Pistons for their fourth victory in five games.
Tyreke Evans had 22 points and 10 assists for the Pelicans, who raced to a 72-53 halftime lead and never allowed Detroit to get closer than nine points the rest of the way.
The game was the first for New Orleans since starting shooting guard Eric Gordon was ruled out for 4-to-6 weeks with a broken ring finger on his shooting hand. Norris Cole was moved into the starting lineup and responded with 12 points, eight rebounds and seven assists.
Andre Drummond had 19 points and 22 rebounds for Detroit.
KINGS 91, HAWKS 88
SACRAMENTO, California — DeMarcus Cousins had 24 points and 15 rebounds to help the Sacramento Kings beat Atlanta for their fourth straight win and first against the Hawks in nearly eight years.
Rajon Rondo made a clutch basket in the fourth quarter and had his fifth triple-double of the season with 11 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds for the Kings. Sacramento had dropped 15 straight games to Atlanta since a 119-107 victory Feb. 20, 2008.
Paul Millsap had 14 points and 14 rebounds for Atlanta, which had its three-game win streak broken.
GRIZZLIES 102, NUGGETS 101
DENVER — Marc Gasol had 27 points, including a go-ahead three-point play with 12.2 seconds left, and the Memphis Grizzlies beat the Denver Nuggets.
Mike Conley had 20 points as the Grizzlies won their fourth in a row in front of NBA Commissioner Adam Silver.
With Memphis trailing by one, Gasol hit a driving layup and was fouled. His free throw put Memphis ahead 100-98. Danilo Gallinari, who led Denver with 17 points, missed a 3-pointer with 3.9 seconds left and Conley followed with two free throws.
NBA Wrap: Spurs notch 12th win; Cavs dispatch Clippers
San Antonio Spurs forward Kawhi Leonard, right, drives on Phoenix Suns forward TJ Warren in the first quarter during an NBA game in Phoenix. | AP Photo/Rick Scuteri