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Monday, Feb. 5 8:30pm ET
Spurs half-game out of division lead

RECAP | BOX SCORE | GAME FLOW

SAN ANTONIO (AP) -- With a strong defense and Tim Duncan's inside play, the San Antonio Spurs are closing in on the division lead.

Marc Jackson
Golden State's Marc Jackson, left, collects an offensive charge driving on David Robinson.
Duncan had 24 points and 12 rebounds to lead the Spurs to their seventh straight win, 109-85 over the Golden State Warriors on Monday night.

"We're playing well, significantly better," said San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich, whose team moved to within a half-game of the Jazz for the Midwest Division lead.

"We're on the right track and we know what our bread and butter is. We're playing defense and limiting teams. We're taking care of the basketball. We're playing better, feeling good and I can see the improvement."

Derek Anderson and Antonio Daniels added 14 points apiece for San Antonio, while David Robinson and Malik Rose each scored 13. Rose also collected 10 rebounds.

"It's good to be on a little streak going into the break," said Robinson, who also added eight rebounds. "We still have to kick it up on the road. We have good pace as a team right now. Lately we've played some teams that might have been struggling, but it's good we haven't let down."

Antawn Jamison scored 29 points to lead the Warriors, who lost their fifth straight overall and 11th consecutive game to the Spurs.

"It was looking pretty good for about 18 minutes, but they keep coming at you," Golden State coach Dave Cowens said. "They start substituting and they begin to wear you down."

After leading by 12 points at halftime, San Antonio opened the third quarter with a 20-6 run to make it 73-47 on Robinson's layup with 4:11 remaining in the quarter.

The lead grew to 30 after three, and Golden State could get no closer than 24 points in the fourth quarter as San Antonio improved its home record to 19-4.

San Antonio closed the first half with a 13-2 run to lead 53-41 at halftime as Duncan had 18 points and 10 rebounds.

Jamison kept the Warriors in the game, with 26 first-half points.

"We were able to sustain and were lucky to get a run at the end of the first half that continued into the second half," Popovich said. "I think they lost their spirit."

The Warriors led briefly early in the game as Jamison had 17 first-quarter points to lead Golden State to a 23-22 lead after one.

"They did a tremendous job," Jamison said. "We were just outmanned tonight. It has seemed that way all season with as many injuries as we've had."

Also, Golden State guard Mookie Blaylock was stripped of his captaincy after skipping practice to allegedly play golf. Jamison took Blaylock's place as captain.

"It's over with now, it was a temporary loss of his mind, that's all," Cowens said. "You don't keep changing captains. We've had one, Chris Mills, and he's been out almost the entire season. I think Antawn will be it for a while."

Game notes
Golden State played the game without Erick Dampier, Danny Fortson and Chris Mills, who are on the injured list. Larry Hughes and Chris Porter also missed the game with injuries. ... San Antonio leads the all-time series with the Warriors 60-44. ... Duncan's double-double was his 35th this season and 189th of his career.
ALSO SEE
NBA Scoreboard

Golden State Clubhouse

San Antonio Clubhouse

Skipping practice costs Warriors' Blaylock captaincy


RECAPS
Philadelphia 99
Denver 80

Toronto 110
Boston 98

Dallas 91
Atlanta 81

Houston 100
New York 86

San Antonio 109
Golden State 85

Seattle 95
Vancouver 82

LA Clippers 102
Chicago 82

AUDIO/VIDEO
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 David Robinson feeds Malik Rose for a reverse jam.
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Antawn Jamison Official Site


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