(Sports Network) - The San Antonio Spurs will seek to sweep a three-game,
three-night California road trip on Wednesday when the Western Conference
leaders pay a visit to Sacramento.
The Spurs have won four straight overall, including back-to-back wins over
Golden State and the Kobe Bryant-less Lakers. Tony Parker scored 29 points and
handed out 13 assists on Tuesday as San Antonio downed Los Angeles, 112-91, at
Staples Center.
Tim Duncan added 19 points and eight rebounds, while Manu Ginobili finished
with 15 points, six rebounds and four assists for the Spurs, who have a slim
half-game lead over Oklahoma City for the top spot in the West.
"We're going to play for it, but at the same time I think the most important
thing for (head coach Gregg Popovich) and for us is to be healthy and be fresh
when the playoffs start," Parker said about the No. 1 seed in the West.
The Kings, meanwhile, are playing out the string and snapped a seven-game
losing streak on Sunday when Marcus Thornton's jumper with 3.4 seconds left
lifted Sacramento over the Portland Trail Blazers, 104-103, at Power Balance
Pavilion.
"That's what everyone dreams about, hitting the game-winning shot," Thornton
said.
Thornton had 20 points, while Tyreke Evans also dropped in 20 and DeMarcus
Cousins finished with 23 points and seven rebounds for the Kings.
Sacramento did not lead at any point until Cousins broke a 93-93 tie with a
short hook shot with about 3 1/2 minutes left in the game.
But Portland would answer at the other end and with the score knotted at 100
and time winding down, Cousins received an inbounds pass and dropped in a
layup from under the basket with 10.7 second left.
Matthews then connected on a step-back three-pointer from the left corner with
5.8 seconds remaining to give the Trail Blazers a one-point lead, but Thornton
came off a screen before grabbing a pass near the free-throw line and pulling
up for the game-winning shot with 3.4 ticks showing on the clock.
"Thornton made a good read," Matthews said. "[Cousins] gave a pretty good
[screen]."
Raymond Felton's half-court shot banked hard off the backboard to seal the win
for Sacramento.
The Spurs have dominated the Kings in recent years, winning 22 of 25 overall
in the series and 11 of 12 in California's capital.
The Sports Network