The San Antonio Spurs extended their winning streak to five games Sunday night, coming back to secure a 121-114 win over the league-leading Milwaukee Bucks at home.
LaMarcus Aldridge led the way with 29 points and 15 rebounds, while DeMar DeRozan added 28 points and six assists.
The Spurs trailed by as many as 15 points in the first quarter, with Eric Bledsoe getting off to a hot start, scoring nine points in the opening four minutes of the game.
Led by Patty Mills and Marco Belinelli, who scored 16 points each, the Spurs bench got them back into the game, sparking a 20-7 run to cut the lead to 36-35.
Belinelli (4-for-8) and Mills (4-for-7) each had the hot hand from deep, knocking down some much-needed three-pointers to swing the momentum San Antonio's way.
🇦🇺 @Patty_Mills provides a spark off the bench as the @spurs edge the @Bucks 121-114 at home #GoSpursGo
— NBA Australia (@NBA_AU) March 11, 2019
📊 16 PTS | 4 AST | 2 REB | 4 3PM pic.twitter.com/U8lLerCHOo
They kept up the pressure on both sides of the ball in the third quarter, opening the period on a 17-4 run, smothering the Bucks on defence as they began to take control of the game.
After another bat disrupted play in the third quarter, the Bucks took the lead, before the Spurs hit back, outscoring the Bucks 33-23 in the period. They opened the fourth quarter on a 10-1 run, with an early Mills triple kicking off the run.
Two quick buckets from Aldridge stretched the lead to 13 points and the Spurs never looked back.
Milwaukee entered the contest on the second night of a back-to-back after yesterday's 131-114 win over the Charlotte Hornets and after a delayed arrival in San Antonio, they struggled to find an extra gear down the stretch.
"I just felt like we were a little bit disjointed, spacing wasn't great," coach Mike Budenholzer said post-game." We'll look at the film, I thought we missed more than the normal amount of good shots and opportunities including some in the pain, at the basket, shooting threes and you gotta make those."
"We just didn't make enough shots, make enough plays."
Giannis Antetokounmpo had 27 points and 13 rebounds, while Bledsoe added 21 points and Brook Lopez 11 points and 10 rebounds.
With the win, the Spurs improve to 38-29 on the season.