SAN ANTONIO — Kawhi Leonard poured in 29 points and LaMarcus Aldridge scored 26 points and grabbed 10 rebounds as the San Antonio Spurs rolled past the Chicago Bulls 109-101 Thursday to remain unbeaten at home this season.
Chicago cut a 10-point San Antonio lead after three quarters to 90-87 on a Justin Holiday 3-pointer with 8:36 to play, but the Spurs would not be denied.
San Antonio boosted the advantage to 104-92 on a tip-in dunk by Danny Green and a jumper by Tony Parker, then salted away the win with solid play in the final minutes.
The Spurs improved to 31-0 at the AT&T Center this season, and they have a franchise-best, 40-game home winning streak in regular-season games dating back to last season.
San Antonio’s 40-game run ranks fourth in NBA history. The Golden State Warriors’ active 46-game run is the all-time record.
With the win Thursday, the Spurs also garnered their 19th season with at least 55 wins since joining the NBA in 1976, the second most in the league during that time. Only the Los Angeles Lakers have more 55-win campaigns in that period (20).
Parker added 20 points and a season-high 12 assists for San Antonio (55-10).
Derrick Rose and Pau Gasol led the Bulls (32-31) with 21 points each, while Gasol pulled down game-high 12 rebounds. E’Twaun Moore added 20 points and Holiday scored 12 points for Chicago, which had its two-game winning streak snapped.
Spurs coach Gregg Popovich returned to the bench after missing the previous two games with a “family medical emergency.” He did not travel with the team on a road trip to Indiana and Minnesota on which the Spurs went 1-1.
The teams were deadlocked at 27-27 at the end of the first quarter. San Antonio led by as many as six points in the quarter, but the Bulls ran off a 9-4 run over the final 4:43.
The first period also saw the initial action for veteran Kevin Martin in a Spurs uniform. Martin, 33, agreed to a buyout from the Minnesota Timberwolves on March 1, just moments before a deadline that would allow him to play for another team in the postseason, and signed with the Spurs on Wednesday.
He finished with one point in eight minutes.
San Antonio re-established its six-point advantage on a Leonard 3-pointer in the second quarter and pushed the cushion to as many as eight points before settling for a 54-47 lead at halftime.
Chicago cut the Spurs’ lead to 66-65 on a 3-pointer by Moore in the third quarter, but San Antonio again responded, running off the next seven points on a tip-in by Aldridge, a driving reverse layup by Parker and a ringing 3-pointer by Leonard.
An Aldridge dunk off an assist by reserve Kyle Anderson with 8.6 seconds remaining handed San Antonio an 84-74 advantage at the end of the third quarter despite Gasol’s 13 points in the period.
NOTES: Spurs F Kawhi Leonard produced five straight 25-plus scoring games (Feb. 25-March 5), the first Spurs player to do so since Tony Parker had five straight from March 4-16, 2012. Leonard received his second Western Conference Player of the Week honor on Monday. … The Spurs lost the first meeting with Chicago this season, falling 92-89 at the United Center on Nov. 30. … Bulls C Pau Gasol notched his second triple-double of the season and the ninth regular-season triple-double of his career on Monday against the Bucks (12 points, 17 rebounds, 13 assists, five blocks). … Chicago blocked a season-best 11 shots against the Bucks on March 7, led by Gasol’s five and three from F Taj Gibson. … Entering play Thursday, Chicago had lost 144 games due to injury or illness this season. Last year, the Bulls missed 148 total.