Kawhi Leonard scored 27 points and LaMarcus Aldridge added 23 points and 10 rebounds as the Spurs beat the Detroit Pistons 97-81 on Wednesday night to clinch their 19th straight playoff berth.
San Antonio won its 29th straight home game to open the season in its first game following a month-long road trip brought on by the San Antonio Stock Show and Rodeo. The Spurs (51-9) joined the Golden State Warriors (54-5) as the only teams to clinch spots in the postseason.
Leonard and Aldridge excelled against a Detroit team thinned by injuries to forwards Anthony Tolliver and Stanley Johnson. They combined to shoot 23 for 38 from the field with Leonard scoring 17 points in the first half and Aldridge putting up 15 in the final two quarters.
Marcus Morris and Tobias Harris had 16 points each for the Pistons (31-30), who had a four-game winning streak snapped. Aldridge and Tim Duncan held Detroit center Andre Drummond to nine points and 14 rebounds, ending his career-high and the league’s season-high of consecutive double-doubles at 13 straight.
Drummond had six points in the first half as Detroit had 14 assists on its 22 baskets. That ball movement ended at halftime as the Pistons had just five assists in a 30-point second half. Aldridge, Duncan and Parker knocked down a series of mid-range jumpers in scoring four points each in a 12-2 run beginning early in the third quarter. Aldridge had 13 points in the quarter, coming within a point of matching Detroit’s total in the period as San Antonio built a double-digit lead for the first time in the game.
Duncan had 12 points and eight rebounds and Parker finished with 10 points and four assists.
Marcus Morris and Tobias Harris had 16 points each for the Pistons (31-30).
Spurs Win To Book Playoff Place
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