George leads the way for visitors with another championship statement.
With nine games on the NBA schedule on Saturday night, there was plenty to talk about, not least the Indiana Pacers sealing a first win in San Antonio against the Spurs since 2002.
Paul George scored 28 points in the 111-100 win, and but for a late run from the hosts and their bench, the score could have been a lot worse for Gregg Popovich’s men.
Despite a competitive first half with both teams executing well on the offensive end, the Pacers made their domination in the paint pay as they consistently grabbed rebounds to keep the pressure on and ended the game 41-34 up in rebounding.
“It means a lot,” George told reporters after the game. “We haven’t won here since 2002. So it definitely means that we’re onto something. Something great is going on in here, if we just continue to keep on this path, we have a positive future.”
Coach Frank Vogel was delighted with the effort from his players as they moved to 18-2, while Tim Duncan conceded that Indiana were the better team on the night and made their shots to open up a lead that the Spurs could not recover from.
Elsewhere, the Miami Heat returned to winning ways with a comfortable 103-82 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Having lost to the Detroit Pistons and Chicago Bulls already this week, the defending champions were in determined mood not to drop a third game with LeBron James ending with 21 points, eight assists and 14 rebounds.
The Golden State Warriors were also in solid scoring form as they sealed a 108-82 win over the Memphis Grizzlies with Klay Thompson scoring 30 points while David Lee added 23.
Having lost the last eleven games against their Western Conference rivals, it was an emphatic win for the Warriors who will be delighted with the result but are still lacking consistency as they look to make a mark in the regular season.
Meanwhile, the Portland Trail Blazers suffered only their second home defeat of the season as they were beaten by the Dallas Mavericks.
The Blazers remain at the top of the Western Conference with a 17-4 record, but they will be keen to bounce back immediately in order to maintain the momentum of their early season run.
NBA Results:
Denver Nuggets 103-92 Philadelphia 76ers
Los Angeles Clippers 82-88 Cleveland Cavaliers
Detroit Pistons 92-75 Chicago Bulls
Golden State Warriors 108-82 Memphis Grizzlies
Miami Heat 103-82 Minnesota Timberwolves
Brooklyn Nets 90-82 Milwaukee Bucks
Indiana Pacers 111-100 San Antonio Spurs
Sacramento Kings 112-102 Utah Jazz
Dallas Mavericks 108-106 Portland Trail Blazers
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