SAN ANTONIO – The San Antonio Spurs got an unexpected battle in their final home game of the season Tuesday night.
But they found a way to win, just as they have in all but one home game this season at the AT&T Center.
Kawhi Leonard had 26 points and San Antonio rallied to beat the short-handed Oklahoma City Thunder 102-98 in overtime to finish 40-1 at home this season, matching an NBA record. The Boston Celtics had the same record in 1985-86.
“You know, it’s one of the legendary teams with Larry Bird, (Kevin) McHale and (Robert) Parrish,” Spurs point guard Tony Parker said. “So it’s pretty good. It’s not easy to lose one game the whole season (at home).”
San Antonio was lethargic coming off its first home loss of the season to the Golden State Warriors on Sunday. The Spurs never led in the final quarter in that loss and trailed throughout much of their home finale.
Oklahoma City coach Billy Donovan rested stars Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and Serge Ibaka in their regular-season finale while San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich started his regular lineup.
In other penultimate regular season results, Indiana routed New York, 102-90; Miami subdued Detroit, 99-93; Toronto clobbered Philadelphia, 122-98; and the Los Angeles Lakers thumped the Memphis Grizzlies, 110-84.