NBA: San Antonio reserves key in victory over Orlando

Danny Green fired in 20 points to lift the San Antonio Spurs over the Orlando Magic, 98-84, on a night when their aging star Tim Duncan got to play just 13 minutes, Wednesday (Thursday, PHL time) at the AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas.

The Spurs improved to 56-19, to move a game and a half ahead of the Oklahoma City Thunder (54-20) atop the Western Conference. Orlando on the other hand are the second-worst team in the league with a 19-57 record.

With Ginobili out until the playoffs, Tony Parker was also sidelined with a sore left ankle, but it didn't stop the Spurs from leading 51-46 at the break, behind 14 from Gary Neal off the bench.

It was a one-point game via a Tobias Harris make, 55-54, drawing a timeout from San Antonio head coach Gregg Popovich, but the short break did the Spurs some good, as they came back to push their lead up to eight with a quarter left, 73-65.

The Spurs got their big separation in the final period. Following a make by E'Twaun Moore that made it a four-point game, 74-70, still 10:37 left to play, the home team exploded for a 15-2 run, resulting in an intimidating 89-72 buffer, just 4:16 remaining.

Seven unanswered by the Magic had them within 10, a minute gone by, but Patty Mills connected on a trey to increase their separation. Beno Udrih responded with a lay-in, but the Spurs forced three straight misses, while getting four markers on the other end, to pull out the win.

Gary Neal came off the bench for 16 points and eight rebounds, while Tiago Splitter was a rebound-shy of a double-double, 10 points and nine boards. Nando De Colo assumed the point guard duties for Parker, and chipped in eight points, seven rebounds and six assists. - AMD, GMA News