• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers
• Game Tracker

Spurs blanket Bryant, down Lakers

Nov 15, 2014 - 1:31 PM Los Angeles, CA (SportsNetwork.com) - San Antonio's defense blanketed Kobe Bryant, holding the NBA's leading scorer to single digits on a night the Spurs dominated the Los Angeles Lakers.

Tim Duncan registered 13 points and 11 rebounds and the Spurs won 93-80 Friday night at Staples Center.

Cory Joseph had 14 points, Kawhi Leonard scored 12 and Tony Parker chipped in 11 points and nine assists for the defending NBA champions, who have won three in a row since a 2-3 start to the season.

Bryant, who entered play averaging 27.5 points per game, was limited to just nine on 1-of-14 shooting from the field. He missed all five of his 3-point attempts.

"We did a much better job defensively than offensively tonight," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. "Our guys stayed down on Kobe. We didn't go for his fakes. He just had an off night."

Carlos Boozer scored 19 and Jordan Hill had 10 points and 11 rebounds for the Lakers, who fell to 1-8 on the season, their worst start in franchise history. Jeremy Lin had 15 points for Los Angeles, which shot 37.3 percent from the field.

Bryant was 0-for-10 entering the fourth quarter until his turnaround shot went through for a 68-59 margin. The Spurs scored the next five points, four from Aron Baynes.

An under-the-weather Bryant could never get in an offensively flow.

"It was one of those nights that remind me of the challenge of being 36," Bryant said. "I tried to rely on my teammates. I couldn't get going. I was sick and couldn't play through it. This is the first time I've faced this challenge."

The lead ballooned to 88-62 following Joseph's layup with 5 1/2 minutes remaining.

The Spurs were ahead as many as 10 in the opening quarter and 13 in the second before settling for a 47-35 cushion going into the locker room. Duncan surpassed the 25,000-point mark in his career during the second quarter.

Game Notes

Leonard received a cut just above his left eye when he was accidentally hit by Bryant early in the final quarter. Leonard got five stitches ... Duncan became one of only two players in NBA history (Kareem Abdul-Jabbar) to record over 25,000 points, 14,000 rebounds and 2,500 blocks ... The Spurs have won eight of the last 10 meetings ... Matt Bonner scored 10 for the Spurs.