of the last two decades. E
OAKLAND, Calif. Saquon Barkley Jersey . - No matter the lineup or location, the San Antonio Spurs are rolling through the NBA again this spring, just the way they have for most of the last two decades. Especially against Golden State. Tony Parker had 20 points and five assists, Danny Green scored 18 points and the short-handed Spurs outlasted the Warriors 99-90 on Saturday night for their 13th straight victory. "I guess they believe in themselves and in the system, and they just keep working it. Other than that, I dont really know what to tell you," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. "Theyve just got great character. They never give in, and I think they like the challenge when guys are out. They seem to enjoy it." Tiago Splitter added 17 points and 14 rebounds as the league-leading Spurs (53-16) pulled away with an 11-0 run early in the fourth quarter. San Antonio, riding its longest winning streak in seven years, is two games ahead of Oklahoma City for the top playoff seed in the Western Conference. The Spurs did it even while resting stars Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili. They are 3-0 against Golden State this season, including two wins in Oakland without their regulars, after eliminating the Warriors in the second round of the playoffs last year. "Everybody stepped up," Parker said. "When somebodys not playing, its just other guys who will do it. And we trust each other." Stephen Curry scored 20 points to go with six assists and six rebounds, and Andrew Bogut grabbed 17 boards as the Warriors head into a five-day break on a sour note. The Warriors (44-27) had won three straight but missed a chance to move up in the playoff chase after Portland lost at Charlotte. Golden State is still in sixth place in the West, 1 1/2 games behind the Trail Blazers and 1 1/2 ahead of Dallas. San Antonio has won 51 of the past 59 meetings against the Warriors. "We made some mistakes. Its a disappointing loss. Itll make us better," Warriors coach Mark Jackson said. "Hopefully we see them down the road again, but theres a reason why theyre the best team in basketball." After wins at the Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday night and at Sacramento on Friday night, Popovich rested two of his veterans as he so often does throughout the NBAs marathon schedule. Duncan, Ginobili and Parker all sat out San Antonios 104-102 victory against the Warriors on Dec. 19. Jackson has been trying to take a similar approach during the seasons stretch run, though the wins are not always following. Swingman Andre Iguodala was inactive for the third straight game with tendinitis in his right knee, and backup centre Jermaine ONeal returned after sitting out the previous two games. Even with all the lineup changes, Jackson saw the matchup against the Spurs as a "benchmark" for where his team stands. He joked before the game that the Spurs are like a bunch of "old dudes" at a recreational centre whipping a group of high school All-Americans because of their smarts and savvy. And thats just what it looked like at the start. The Spurs opened the game on a 22-7 run and held the lead most of the way. After the Warriors moved within four in the fourth quarter, Greens 3-pointer capped an 11-0 spurt that put San Antonio ahead 87-74. The Warriors made one last push before the Spurs quickly regrouped. Parker spun for a reverse layup and Green came back with another 3 to stretch San Antonios lead back to 94-82 with 2:18 left, sending most of the announced sellout crowd of 19,596 headed to the exits. "I couldnt be more proud of them," Popovich said. "Their effort with three games in four nights, this late in the season, and the back-to-back tonight, to finish off the three in four was real special because everyone came off the bench and they gave the effort they needed to give and Im just thrilled for them." The Spurs showed off all their best attributes through the game: smothering defence, precision passing and sharp shooting. The Warriors finally found their touch late in the second quarter, when they scored 10 straight points and sliced San Antonios lead to 50-47 at the half. The teams traded scores for most of the third quarter, and the Warriors briefly took a one-point lead. The Spurs put together another surge to go ahead 76-69 entering the fourth quarter, and held on for their longest winning streak since rolling off 13 in a row was from Feb. 13 to March 13, 2007. "You dont win 50-something odd games at this point and not have a good second unit," said ONeal, who had nine points and seven rebounds. "They really fly around." NOTES: Spurs reserve F Matt Bonner also sat out with a strained right calf. ... San Antonio (15-1) and Golden State (13-5) have the most wins in the NBA since the All-Star break. ... The Spurs and Warriors meet for the final time this season April 2 in San Antonio. Oshane Ximines Jersey . 1 goaltender tonight when they conclude a four-game road trip versus the Winnipeg Jets. Dalvin Tomlinson Womens Jersey . Even if he is shooting 38 per cent from the field overall this season, the Utah Jazz rookie always feels like his final shot is going in.PINEHURST, N.C. -- At least Phil Mickelson probably wont face another close call at the U.S. Open. The six-time runner-up and zero-time champion slipped well off the pace Friday with a 73 that left him at 3 over -- 13 strokes behind record-setting leader Martin Kaymer. Its mostly because of his putter. After ditching the claw grip in favour of a more traditional one, Mickelson missed a series of putts that would have put him at least a little closer to Kaymer. "The hole looks like a thimble to me right now," Mickelson said. "Im having a hard time finding it." Now, at a tournament where everybodys seemingly playing for second, hes facing quite a climb to claw back within striking distance on a Pinehurst No. 2 course that 15 years ago was the site of the first of his many second-place finishes. Teenage playing partner Matthew Fitzpatrick called Mickelson "the master" of "getting out of trouble" and that ability certainly will be put to the test this weekend. "I feel like Im playing well enough to win the U.S. Open," Mickelson said. "Except for putting." Mickelson has been saying his putting could use some tweaking. Hes 100th among PGA Tour players in total putting this year after finishing 11th in that stat in 2013. So in an attempt to get his stroke back, he switched to a claw grip for the Open. Even after he shot even par during the first round, he said he wasnt sure how long hed stick with it. All of 18 holes, it turned out. "I felt like I identified what I was struggling with, and I thought it was my eye line had gotten well over the golf ball," Mickelson said. "So as I moved the ball away and put my eyes over the ball instead of over the top, I felt like thats how I putted last year, so I went back to my regular grip." Reverting back to the conventional grip for Round 2, Mickelson got off to an encouraging start with birdies on consecutive early holes. Then came the pesky par-3 sixth that "shook me a little bit." Mickelson plopped his tee shot onto the green, but three-putted for a four after his short par atttempt hugged the lip of the cup before spinning out. Lawrence Taylor Giants Jersey. Two holes later, he pushed his short putt wide left and settled for bogey -- the second straight day he bogeyed both holes. "After that," he said, "I was really fighting it." He added bogeys on two holes he birdied a day earlier -- on the par-5 10th, and on the 14th after spinning another short par putt around the lip of the cup. He ended his round by missing an 11-foot par putt on the 18th and tapping in for his fifth bogey. "Whenever you putt well and you make short ones and you make those 5-, 6-footers and youre running a couple of 20-footers in, the game feels easy," Mickelson said. "You dont put pressure on yourself to hit it close. You can hit more of the middle of the greens. Your ball striking then becomes a lot easier. Your targets are a lot bigger." Because that hasnt happened here yet, it sure looks like when Mickelson turns 44 on Monday, hell still be one victory shy of the career Grand Slam. The three-time Masters champ, 2005 PGA Championship winner and 2013 British Open champion began his run of runner-ups at this course 15 years ago when it staged its first Open. He was preparing for a playoff with the late Payne Stewart when Stewart sank a memorable 15-foot putt for par and the win -- and a statue of Stewart in that moment stands just beyond the green on 18. Mickelson led by a stroke heading into the last hole at Winged Foot in 2006 but finished with a double bogey. Last year, at Merion he led during the final round but finished two strokes behind Justin Rose. But after the way his putter struggled in Round 2, second place doesnt sound too bad. Besides, hes only seven strokes behind Brendon Todd for second. "Im not overly optimistic. Obviously Im not in good position, but more than that ... you cant fire at a lot of the pins," he said. "Youve got to make 25-, 30-footers, Im just not doing it. Im not going to give up. You just never know. Ive had rounds that kind of clicked. ... Tomorrow, I need to shoot 6- or 7-under par to have a realistic chance." ' ' '