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SAN ANTONIO -- When things go well for the San Antonio Spurs, it's usually sparked by their defense. Getting balanced scoring sure helps, too, as the Brooklyn Nets found out the hard way Friday night when the Spurs rolled to a 102-75 victory over the Nets in San Antonio's home opener.
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The Spurs, led by forward Kawhi Leonard's 16 points -- all in the first three quarters -- got double-figure scoring from six players but were a little listless in the second quarter, when Brooklyn forged a 10-point lead.
All that changed after halftime. Trailing by five points entering the third quarter, San Antonio got four straight baskets from guard Tony Parker and two from Leonard. The Spurs outscored Brooklyn 34-17 in the quarter and then began the fourth quarter with 16-4 run to put the game out of reach.
Forward Tim Duncan added 15 points for San Antonio (1-1). Guard Mano Ginobili had 12, guard Patty Mills scored 11 and Parker and forward LaMarcus Aldridge had 10 apiece. The Spurs shot 46.5 percent from the floor and made all 13 of their free throws.
San Antonio allowed Brooklyn just 28 points in the second half as the Nets shot 40 percent from the floor.
"We were a little passive with our defense in the first half, but we found turned up the intensity in the third quarter and that sparked our offense as well," Ginobili said.
Center Brook Lopez led the Nets (0-2) with 17 points, guard Jarrett Jack added 12 and Rondae Hollis-Jefferson had 10 for Brooklyn.
"We played well for a while, but we've got to learn to sustain that effort for the full 48 minutes -- especially against a team as good across the board as the Spurs," Lopez said. "We knew they would bring the heat in the second half, but we didn't respond."
San Antonio showcased its depth by sending 11 players to the floor in the first quarter, but Duncan, its stalwart and elder statesman at 39 years old, had six points and led the team in scoring in the quarter.
A bucket by the Nets forward Thaddeus Young with 42 seconds remaining handed Brooklyn a short-lived advantage at 21-20.
But the Spurs responded. Ginobili's driving hook shot and a 3-pointer at the horn by reserve guard Rasual Butler off a Ginobili feed gave San Antonio a 25-20 lead at the end of one quarter.
The Nets outscored the Spurs 20-6 in the first six minutes of the second quarter and led 41-31 when Jack hit a jumper with 5:42 left. Aldridge brought San Antonio back to within 43-39 on a dunk off an offensive rebound with 1:24 to play in the quarter.
Jumpers by Jack and Young stretched the Nets' advantage back to 47-39.
Ginobili had the last word of the half, pouring in a 3-pointer as the clock expired to give the Spurs some life heading into the locker room and cutting the deficit to 47-42.
"We had the lead at halftime, but we could have been up more," Nets coach Lionel Hollins said. "(The Spurs) came out a lot more aggressive in the third quarter and we turned the ball over and didn't stay playing together."
Parker and Leonard turned up the heat to open the third quarter, hitting the Spurs' first six baskets to bring San Antonio back to within 55-54.
"It was just a matter of us finding our spots, working the back-door cuts and feeding off of our defense to get some baskets in transition," Leonard said.
Spurs guard Danny Green and Jack traded 3s before San Antonio raced away on an 11-2 run that placed the game firmly in the Spurs' command.
"We played very good defense in the second half," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. "We were more physical and stopped following them around. That changed the game."
Duncan, Parker and Ginobili tied the NBA record for most wins by a trio (540) as set by the Boston Celtics' Larry Bird, Kevin McHale and Robert Parrish in the 1980s.
NOTES: The Spurs and Nets split their two games last season. ... Brooklyn F Thomas Robinson and San Antonio F LaMarcus Aldridge were teammates with Portland in 2013-14. ... Nets coach Lionel Hollins and Spurs coach Gregg Popovich were both head coaches in the first NBA game in Africa on Aug. 1, 2015. ... F Matt Bonner is now two games into his 12th professional season and is just the sixth player in Spurs history to have spent 10 consecutive years with the franchise. ... G Tony Parker missed a team practice Friday morning when he had to reverse his route to the Spurs practice facility because torrential overnight and early-morning rains flooded the road he usually takes to the gym. ... The Nets open the season by playing seven of their first 10 games on the road. ... The average age for the Nets' opening night roster is 25.8 years old. Last season, the average age was 28.1 and it was 29.5 in 2013-14. ...
