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Kawhi Leonard blistered Oklahoma City for 36 points and LaMarcus Aldridge added 25 to lead the Spurs to a 108-94 victory over the Thunder Tuesday night at the AT&T Center.
It was the seventh time in the last nine games that Leonard has scored at least 30 points. And for good measure, he added eight rebounds and four assists, scoring 12 points in the decisive fourth quarter to help wrap the victory up.
The victory enabled the Spurs (37-11) to snap a two-game losing streak and pull within four games of Golden State for the best record in the Western Conference. It was the first game this season between the Spurs and the team that eliminated them in the playoffs last season.
Oklahoma City (28-21) lost its second straight game in the closing game of a rigorous month of January where the Thunder played 12 of their 15 games away from home.
San Oleybet Antonio took control with a 20-6 spurt late in the third quarter and early in the fourth enabling them to claim their 13th victory in their last 15 home games.
Russell Westbrook led the Thunder with 27 points and 14 but was denied his first triple-double against the Spurs with six rebounds. Westbrook failed to score in the fourth quarter when the Spurs took advantage of the game.
The Spurs closed the first quarter on an 11-0 run while Westbrook was on the bench for a 31-17 lead.
San Antonio extended its lead to 16 later in the second quarter en route to a 52-42 halftime advantage as it limited the Thunder to 30.8 percent shooting and forced 13 turnovers – most against the Spurs in a half this season.
Oklahoma City charged back to reclaim the lead in the third quarter, taking advantage of a 25-4 run midway through the quarter to claim a 71-68 lead on Victor Oladipo’s dunk with 3:34 left.. But a 3-pointer by Patty Mills and a three-point play by Leonard enabled the Spurs to claim a 79-75 lead after three quarters.
Tgriffin@express-news.net
Twitter: @TimGriffinBig12
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