SAN ANTONIO _ The nightmares have stopped turning into reality for Spurs coach Gregg Popovich, who has finally coached against the Lakers without worrying about how Kobe Bryant would ruin his day.
The Lakers are no longer tormented by longtime Spurs great Tim Duncan, but the Spurs still have plenty for the Lakers to worry about. In their 134-94 loss to San Antonio on Thursday at AT&T Center, the Lakers received another reminder of their learning curve and how the Spurs maintain continuity through any changes.
While the Lakers (15-28) unsuccessfully clawed back from a poor start with their young roster, San Antonio (31-8) relied on the traits that have made them arguably the league's most consistent franchise through four NBA titles and 19 consecutive playoff appearances.
San Antonio's Kawhi Leonard, the latest face of the franchise, had 31 points on 10-of-13 shooting, and former Lakers center Pau Gasol added 22 points and nine rebounds while going 9-for-9 from the field. Spurs guard Tony Parker added an efficient 13 points and six assists while shooting 6-for-10.
After the Lakers whittled an 18-point deficit to as few as four, the Spurs exposed cracks in the Lakers' youthful foundation by exerting their dominance.
Lakers guard D'Angelo Russell fouled Leonard on a buzzer-beating 3-point attempt, which resulted in three made foul shots with three-tenths of a second left before halftime. The Lakers missed 10 of their first 11 shots, while the Spurs scored 36 third-quarter points.
On one play, Spurs forward LaMarcus Aldridge banked in a 3-pointer. On another, Gasol threw an easy lob to Leonard. On another, San Antonio reserve Manu Ginobili played aggressively on rookie forward Brandon Ingram, forcing a turnover and leading to his right shoe falling off. Finally, Spurs guard Jonathon Simmons ended the third quarter by crossing up Russell and throwing in a floater to secure a 106-75 lead.
Lakers forward Julius Randle (8 for 13) initially kept the game competitive and finished with 22 points, six rebounds and five assists, while Jordan Clarkson added 14 points on 6-of-11 shooting. But after making three of his first four shots, Russell had only nine points on 4-of-13 shooting with one assist. Lakers center Timofey Mozgov went scoreless and missed all four of his shots.
Still, Popovich credited Lakers coach Luke Walton and said he "has done a great job in establishing a culture" before raving about his basketball intelligence as an 11-year NBA role player.
"Obviously when you get a compliment from someone like that, you take it. But it doesn't make us better," Walton said. "We still have to come and grind and work and know we have a long journey ahead of it."
