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Balanced scoring leads Spurs past Nuggets

Jan 21, 2015 - 5:47 AM Denver, CO (SportsNetwork.com) - Tony Parker led six Spurs in double figures with 18 points and San Antonio pulled away from the Denver Nuggets for a 109-99 victory on Tuesday.

Kawhi Leonard finished with 17 points and 15 rebounds, while Tim Duncan and Aron Baynes chipped in with 16 and 15 points, respectively, for the Spurs, who have won four straight and six of seven overall.

Kenneth Faried paced the Nuggets with 26 points and 14 rebounds, while Arron Afflalo added 21 points for the Nuggets, losers of four straight on the heels of a five-game winning streak.

"We have to be better," Nuggets head coach Brian Shaw said. "We have to dig deeper because what we're doing isn't working."

Denver was coming off a 43-point loss to Golden State on Monday but stayed competitive Tuesday before the Spurs took control.

Leonard made two 3-pointers during a fourth quarter-opening 11-2 run that gave the visitors a 91-78 advantage.

The closest Denver got from there was eight before Parker made a 3-pointer and 19-footer inside the final two minutes to keep the Nuggets at bay.

"We knew they were going to play with a lot of energy," Parker said. "We knew it was going to be a tough game."

The Spurs missed 11 of their first 12 shots and found themselves quickly down 10-2 before shaking off the cobwebs.

They pulled even at 20-20 at the end of the opening quarter, and a back-and- forth second concluded with San Antonio holding a 51-48 edge.

Game Notes

The Spurs have taken five straight meetings ... The Nuggets lost despite holding a 56-32 advantage in the paint ... Manu Ginobili totaled 11 points and eight assists in 25 minutes for San Antonio.