SAN ANTONIO — Tim Duncan had 17 points and 13 rebounds and the San Antonio Spurs held on to capture their 17th straight win at home over the Atlanta Hawks, 94-92 on Wednesday night.
The Spurs had a season-high 25 assists for a balanced scoring effort that they needed to fend off the Hawks’ furious rally in the final quarter.
Tony Parker had 17 points and Manu Ginobili added 12 points, including a pair of free throws with 3.8 seconds remaining.
After a closing double-team forced Jeff Teague to pass up an attempted 3-pointer, Pero Antic’s shot from near halfcourt was blocked by Boris Diaw as time expired.
DeMarre Carroll, Paul Millsap and Al Horford had 17 points each for Atlanta (1-2).
The Spurs (2-1) have never lost at home to the Hawks since drafting Duncan and have won 16 of 17 overall, but they had to hold on late to extend the streak.
Trailing by 13 points midway through the third quarter, Atlanta rallied behind big plays from diminutive point guard Dennis Schroder.
Schroder scored on a driving layup then threw down a running, one-handed dunk between Parker and Duncan to cut San Antonio’s lead to 77-76 with 8 minutes remaining.
After Carroll’s 19-foot jumper tied it, Horford’s 15-footer gave Atlanta its first lead at 90-88 with 1:16 remaining.
Ginobili followed with three free throws after being fouled by Kyle Korver with 1:01 remaining.
Duncan made 1 of 2 free throws but Teague tied it at 92 with 13.6 seconds remaining. Ginobili won the game with his free throws to finish a frantic fight between the only teams in the NBA that had not played three games yet despite being nearly two weeks into the season.
TIP-INS
The Spurs: When asked if he would limit Tiago Splitter’s minutes in his season debut, San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich said yes, smiled and said, "he won’t play 35." No player averaged 30 minutes per game last season for the Spurs. … Rookie Kyle Anderson did not suit up with Leonard and Splitter returning from injury. . San Antonio G Marco Belinelli left the game with a mild strain of his right groin after five minutes. Belinelli missed his only attempt and was 1 for 2 on free throws when he exited with one point. . Duncan has 799 double-doubles in 1,255 career games, which averages to one after 1.6 games. He is sixth on the all-time list, trailing Utah legend Karl Malone by 15.
The Hawks: Atlanta’s last victory in San Antonio came Feb. 15, 1997, against a Spurs team minus an injured David Robinson. . Korver scored seven points, giving him 8,003 points for his career. . The Hawks held their first two opponents to a combined 40 per cent shooting, but the Spurs shot 45 per cent.
UP NEXT
Spurs: Visits Houston on Thursday.
Hawks: Visits Charlotte on Friday.
