SAN ANTONIO -- Tim Duncan and the San Antonio Spurs finally beat the Los Angeles Lakers.
Duncan had 21 points and 13 rebounds as the Spurs snapped a six-game losing streak against the Lakers with a 108-81 victory Saturday night.It was the first time the Spurs beat the Lakers since Duncan entered the NBA last season.
"It's good to get that off of my shoulders," Duncan said. "We'd been getting beat by them. Sometimes they'd beat the crap out of us. It was good to have a good game against them and beat them."
San Antonio got 16 points from David Robinson, 14 from Sean Elliott, and 13 points and 12 assists from Avery Johnson. The Spurs have won six in a row overall and 25 of their last 29 to move within two games of Utah for best record in the West.
"It was a great team effort," said coach Gregg Popovich. "One has to be impressed with their execution on both ends of the court and with everybody on the court. They reacted well with each other on defense. We had five guys who trusted each other."
Shaquille O'Neal scored 26 points and Glen Rice added 19 for the slumping Lakers, who have lost five of their last seven games.
"We didn't match their effort or intensity tonight," said Lakers coach Kurt Rambis. "I was disappointed with the effort. They outworked us. We are not going to improve playing that way."
The Spurs shot 55 percent from the field and outrebounded the Lakers 44-33.
"This wasn't a statement game," Duncan said. "Statements come during the playoffs. We want to make our statements in the playoffs."
A crowd of 31,972 watched the game at the Alamodome, where the Spurs have won 11 straight.
"The crowds have been great for a long while," Popovich said. "I think they're starting to believe in this team and get behind them. Having this many people in the Dome starts to make it feel like Utah or Phoenix. It's huge in helping us get our energy going."
San Antonio made 15 of 20 shots from the field in the second quarter to take a 60-46 halftime lead.
PACERS 87, BULLS 69: At Indianapolis, Reggie Miller scored 20 points as the Indiana Pacers beat Chicago, completing their first season sweep of the Bulls in 19 years.
Travis Best scored 12 points and Chris Mullin added 11 for the Pacers, who won their third straight to close within one game of Miami for best record in the Eastern Conference.
HORNETS 97, NETS 82: At Charlotte, N.C., David Wesley had 19 points and nine assists as the Charlotte Hornets kept pace in their pursuit of a playoff berth.
Elden Campbell had 16 points and 13 rebounds for the Hornets, who moved into a three-way tie with Toronto and New York for the eighth and final Eastern Conference playoff spot.
KINGS 105, MAVERICKS 102: At Sacramento, Calif., Vlade Divac scored a season-high 28 points as the Sacramento Kings won their fifth straight game.
Sacramento moved into a tie with idle Minnesota for the seventh playoff spot in the Western Conference. The Kings are 22-22, the first time the franchise has been at the .500 mark in April since the 1982-83 Kansas City Kings finished with a 45-37 record.
WARRIORS 93, NUGGETS 74: At Oakland, Calif., Donyell Marshall had 18 points and 17 rebounds as the Golden State got its most lopsided victory of the season.
Erick Dampier added 17 points and 13 rebounds for the Warriors. He was 8-for-11 from the field.
CLIPPERS 105, GRIZZLIES 96: At Los Angeles, Rodney Rogers scored 11 of his season-high 19 points in the final quarter to lead the Los Angeles Clippers to a victory over the Vancouver Grizzlies in a matchup of the NBA's two worst teams.