NEW YORK (AP) — LaMarcus Aldridge had 25 points and 11 rebounds as the San Antonio Spurs extended their winning streak to eight with a 106-79 victory Monday night over Brooklyn in the Nets’ first game since an organizational shake-up.
A day after coach Lionel Hollins was fired and general manager Billy King reassigned, the Nets dropped their 10th straight at home and fifth in a row overall.
Kawhi Leonard added 17 points for the Spurs, who go to Detroit on Tuesday before putting their 31-game home winning streak on the line Thursday in a showdown with Cleveland.
The Spurs (33-6) were up seven at halftime before dominating the second half, just as they did in their 102-75 victory over the Nets on Oct. 30. Those are two of their 14 wins by 20 or more points this season.
Brook Lopez scored 18 points and Joe Johnson had 16 in the Nets’ first game under interim coach Tony Brown. Brown moved guards Wayne Ellington and Donald Sloan into the starting lineup, but they combined for just 10 points on 4-of-12 shooting.
The Nets fell to 10-28, hours after owner Mikhail Prokhorov said the team needed a “reset” and that deciding to start it in the middle of the season was an easy decision. But no change could change things against the Spurs, the latest visiting team to win the crowd and the game in Brooklyn.
Fans cheered loudest for 7-foot-3 Serbian Boban Marjanovic, who finished 13 points and was on the floor in the final seconds when a “Go Spurs Go!” chant broke out.
TIP-INS
Spurs: Aldridge made his first five shots and finished 12 for 17 from the field. ... The Spurs outscored the Nets 60-28 in the second half of the first meeting and 61-41 in this one.
Nets: Sloan made his first start since Jan. 4, 2015, for Indiana against the Lakers. ... Brown had won all three games when he previously stepped in to coach, filling in for Doc Rivers once in Boston, Larry Krystkowiak in Milwaukee and Mike Dunleavy with the Clippers.