Tim Duncan scored 24 points and chipped in 10 rebounds as the San Antonio Spurs held off the Golden State Warriors 95-88.
"I think our defense kept us out of it in the beginning," Duncan, who made nine out of 16 attempts from the floor, said. "They were playing very well (and) shooting the ball really well.
"We weren't making the right rotations, we weren't contesting shots, but we cleaned it up a little bit. We found something that worked and that definitely took us over the top."
Tony Parker was the top scorer with 25 points and eight assists for the Spurs, while Tiago Splitter added 19 points and nine rebounds and Danny Green contributed with 13 points.
"It was another tough game with playoff intensity," the Associated Press quoted Parker as saying. "It was very physical and they are a very good team. They are playing very well and they played very hard tonight."
The Warriors have not won any game in San Antonio for nearly 16 years. They registered their last victory at spurs on Feb. 14, 1997.
"We don't really pay attention to those stats because every year is different, every team is different," Parker said. "Golden State is for real. They are a really, really good team. It's going to be tough against them."
For the Warriors, David Lee led the team with 22 points, seven assists and six rebounds. Klay Thompson had 21 points, Jarrett Jack added 20 points and 10 assists and Carl Landry finished with 15 points.
With the help of a 13-4 run the Warriors outshined the Spurs 26-19 in the first quarter. Landry contributed six points in the period.
The Spurs outscored Golden State 27-21 in the second quarter, but with the help of Landry's nine points in the second period Golden State entered the second half with a 47-46 lead.
In the third quarter, the Spurs managed to tie the game at 58. Then Duncan had a pair of free throws to give the Spurs a 60-58 lead. After that, the Spurs went on an 18-11 run to extend their lead to 78-69 with 27.3 seconds remaining in the third period.
The Spurs outscored the Warriors 32-26 in the third and entered the fourth quarter with a 78-73 lead.
Harrison Barnes' jumper cut the Spurs lead to 86-84 with 5 minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, but with a 9-4 run San Antonio closed the game by outscoring the Warriors 17-15 in the fourth quarter for their third straight win.
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