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SACRAMENTO, Calif. - While a fast-paced offence has become more of a fixture in recent years, the San Antonio Spurs can still grind out games when needed. Marco Belinelli scored 13 of his 17 points in the fourth quarter, Kawhi Leonard had 15 points and seven rebounds and the NBA-leading Spurs turned in a vintage performance to beat the Sacramento Kings 99-79 on Friday night for their 12th straight win. "It was an ugly game, wasnt it?" Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said, proudly. Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker added 14 points apiece, and Tiago Splitter had 11 points and 11 rebounds for the Spurs (52-16), who remain 1 1/2 games ahead of Oklahoma City and Indiana for the leagues best record. The winning streak also is San Antonios longest since rolling off 12 in a row in November 2010. Sacramento outshot the Spurs 40 per cent to 38.7 per cent but was outrebounded 52 to 48. San Antonio forced 15 turnovers and committed only nine, pulling away in the fourth quarter behind its shut-down defence. "It was one of those games where we couldnt make a shot," Ginobili said. "The good thing is that they couldnt, either." Isaiah Thomas scored 18 points and DeMarcus Cousins had 15 points and 13 rebounds for the Kings, who were held to a season low in points against a franchise that has dominated them — like a lot of other teams — for a decade. The Spurs finished 3-0 against Sacramento this season. Theyve also won 30 of the past 33 meetings, including nine straight overall and 11 in a row in Californias capital city. "If you had told me going into tonights game that we hold the Spurs to 99 points, 38 per cent from the field, and 20 per cent from three-point, I wouldve said we were going to win the game," Kings coach Michael Malone said. "They just keep at it for 48 minutes, and thats why I think that they are the favourite to win the NBA championship." The Spurs shook off a slow start and started rolling late in the second quarter, speeding up the pace and looking for those "great, not good" shots the way Popovich always preaches. San Antonio led 47-37 at intermission despite shooting 1 for 13 from 3-point range. The Spurs finished 5 for 25 from beyond the arc, while the Kings were 4 for 14. Tim Duncan also missed his first seven shots for San Antonio before banking in a jumper in the third quarter. He finished with 10 points on 3-for-12 shooting and added nine rebounds and six assists. "Its a great reminder that we can win with defence," said Parker, who also had five rebounds and four assists. "It was not pretty. We were not shooting well. But sometimes you need to win those kind of games. We know in the playoffs, sometimes the ball doesnt go in." The Kings kept the Spurs within striking distance, and appeared to move even closer when Thomas made a 3-pointer as the third quarter ended. Instead, officials ruled Thomas shot came after the buzzer — and upheld the call after a video review. Belinelli swished a jumper at the start of his big fourth quarter to lift the Spurs ahead 73-57. And Duncan quieted Sacramento for good with a jumper that gave San Antonio an 86-69 lead with 5:35 to play. "I dont think we moved the ball enough," Cousins said. "We came down and got quick shots. That kind of hurt us. If we moved the ball a lot better we wouldve had a chance at this game." NOTES: Kings F Royce White, the 16th overall pick in the 2012 draft by Houston, made his NBA debut. He entered with 56.1 seconds remaining and never touched the ball. ... Former Kings centre Vlade Divac sat courtside next to team owner Vivek Ranadive and received a standing ovation when he was introduced on the video board during a timeout in the first quarter. ... San Antonio closes a three-game California trip at Golden State on Saturday night in a rematch of last seasons second-round playoff series won by the Spurs in six games. ... The Kings host Milwaukee on Sunday. ___ Antonio Gonzalez can be reached at: www.twitter.com/agonzalezAP Tyler Lyons Jersey . In this weeks Leaf Report podcast, James Mirtle and Jonas Siegel debate whether Toronto can continue their shootout dominance and discuss what Dave Nonis game plan should be heading into the trade deadline. Bobby Murcer Jersey . PETERSBURG, Florida – Heading into Thursday nights action, Dioner Navarro had caught 14 innings combined from starters Drew Hutchison and Mark Buehrle. https://www.cheapyankees.com/1961g-chad-...ey-yankees.html. Canada will host Japan in a World Group first-round match in 2015. It will be a rematch of their first-round clash last year when Japan defeated Canada 4-1 to reach the World Group quarter-finals for the first time in its history. Roger Maris Yankees Jersey . Louis Cardinals placed outfielder Allen Craig on the 15-day disabled list with a right knee contusion on Sunday. Mel Stottlemyre Yankees Jersey . Goodell said in an ESPN Radio interview Monday (http://es.pn/1gkbauy ) that participants played harder and made the game very competitive. Goodell says he had fun watching the game Sunday and thinks fans did, too. OAKLAND, Calif. -- Sweating out a win against the NBAs worst team isnt usually a cause for celebration. For a franchise that has felt frustration and futility for most of the last two decades, Golden State Warriors coach Mark Jackson is making sure his players celebrate every milestone during their long climb back to contention. Stephen Curry had 31 points and 11 assists, Klay Thompson scored 29 and the Warriors moved 18 games over .500 for the first time in 20 years with a 115-110 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks on Thursday night. "You can take it for granted. Theres people thats 19 years old thats never seen this. Thats a wow moment," Jackson said. "Its an incredible accomplishment, and weve still got a ways to go. But were going to park and enjoy it, take a deep breath, appreciate it and then continue to chase down our ultimate goals." Those goals -- making the playoffs, earning home-court advantage in the first round and winning a championship -- are all within reach, though some are further away than others. Golden State (44-26) remains in sixth place in the tight Western Conference standings, 1 1/2 games behind Portland and 2 1/2 games ahead of Memphis and Dallas with 12 games left. The Warriors also trail fourth-place Houston by three games. "We want to try and get that home court" in the first round, Thompson said. "Its in striking distance." The Bucks (13-56) were handed another blow in a season full of them when guard Nate Wolters broke his left hand fighting through a screen in the first half. Reserve forward Jeff Adrien also received three stitches above his left eye before coming back in the second quarter. Brandon Knight had 27 points and eight rebounds, and Ramon Sessions scored 18 for Milwaukee, which has lost six straight and nine of 10 as it finishes off a forgettable season. "My guys played a very competitive game. We put ourselves in great position once again. We just couldnt make the plays down the stretch," Bucks coach Larry Drew said. The Bucks, who lost in overtime at Portland on Tuesday night, surprisingly stayed with the Warriors most of the game until Curry and company found their touch late. On one play late in the fourth quarter, Curry dribbled to his left and was fouled by Khris Middleton when he tossed the balll up -- and in -- with his right hand and his back to the basket.dddddddddddd Curry shook his shoulders and waved his arms in celebration, and he completed the three-point play to give Golden State a 104-94 lead with 3:59 remaining. "Once I got the contact, I was able to get the ball above my shoulders to try to find the rim at some point. And obviously thats a lot of luck involved," Curry said. Milwaukee made one last run highlighted by Ersan Ilyasovas three-point play that sliced the Warriors lead to 108-105 with 56.2 seconds left. But Thompson quickly came back with a corner 3, and Curry made four free throws in the final seconds to seal a milestone win for the Bay Areas beloved basketball franchise. The last time the Warriors were 18 games over .500 was when they finished the 1993-94 season with a 50-32 record. They also remain on track to make the playoffs in consecutive years for the first time since the 1991-92 and 1992-93 seasons. The Warriors have five days off after hosting San Antonio on Saturday, and Jackson has been trying to balance winning with getting his banged-up players some rest. Starting swingman Andre Iguodala (right knee tendinitis) and backup centre Jermaine ONeal (rest) sat out for the second straight game. Iguodala also will miss the game against the Spurs, while ONeal is questionable. Milwaukee hardly gave Golden State a night off. After the Warriors went ahead by 10 early in the third quarter, the banged-up Bucks came roaring back. Milwaukee took advantage of some sloppy turnovers by Golden State to go up 66-65. David Lee, who finished with 22 points and 12 rebounds, helped the Warriors put together a brief spurt capped by Jordan Crawfords 34-footer over Giannis Antetokounmpo as the quarter expired. Crawford hit another 3-pointer at the start of the fourth to stretch the lead to 10, and the Warriors held on late. NOTES: The Warriors are 13-4 since the All-Star break, tied with San Antonio for the most wins during that time. ... Drew confirmed C Larry Sanders will not return this season because of a broken right orbital bone. Sanders was injured Feb. 8 against Houston and had surgery shortly afterward. ... The Bucks have lost 11 straight games when theyve allowed 100 points, while the Warriors have won 10 in a row when theyve scored 100 points. ' ' '