Kawhi Leonard scored 30, had five assists, and completed five steals to lead the San Antonio Spurs blasting the Sacramento Kings 102-94, Thursday at Golden 1 Center. Reserve Center Dewayne Dedmon played a pivotal role off the bench with his four blocks on top of his 12 points and seven boards.
Leonard's two consecutive steals against Ben McLemore that resulted in a three-point play and a two-point basket turned the momentum in favor of the Spurs. Spurs coach Gregg Popovich was surprised by the manner that Leonard stole the ball twice consecutively and swore he has never seen many people do that, according to ESPN.
Leonard also had five steals to go along with his 35 points in their 129-100 season-opening win over the Golden State Warriors on Tuesday, becoming the first player to have back-to-back 30-point, five-steal games since 2002 when Eddie Jones did it for Miami Heat.
The Kings led by nine midway in the third period before the Spurs went on a 16-2 run and prevented the Kings from connecting on a basket for the last 7:20 of the third to open the fourth with a 76-71 advantage. The Kings were limited to just 14 points in the third quarter, the Sacramento Bee noted.
The Kings missed nine straight attempts and Leonard made them more miserable with his steals from McLemore.
The Spurs increased their lead to 10 points early in the fourth but center DeMarcus Cousins and Arron Afflalo ignited a 12-2 run that tied the game. However, the Spurs managed to pull away late to seal the victory.
Cousins led the Kings with 37 points and 16 rebounds despite being constantly mentioned in trade rumors that include sending him on 3-team trades to the Indiana Pacers and Chicago Bulls. The trade to the Pacers will reportedly bring Paul George to the Kings while that with the Bulls will get them Jimmy Butler.
The Spurs will next play against the New Orleans Pelicans in their home opener on Saturday, while the Kings will host the Minnesota Timberwolves also on Saturday.
