National Basketball Association

Spurs rout Thunder for fourth straight win

Published Jan. 2, 2011 4:02 a.m. ET

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Tim Duncan scored 21 points, George Hill had 16 and the NBA-best San Antonio Spurs won their fourth in a row, 101-74 over Kevin Durant and the Oklahoma City Thunder on Saturday night.

Coming off wins over the Los Angeles Lakers and Dallas, the Spurs again beat one of the West's top teams to improve to 29-4 - one the 10 best starts in NBA history.

Durant had 16 points for the cold-shooting Thunder, who started the game 4 for 24 and shot a season-low 32.9 percent from the field. Oklahoma City muddled through its most-lopsided loss this season after beating Atlanta on New Year's Eve.

Tony Parker added 14 points and 10 assists before sitting out the fourth quarter along with Duncan. Oklahoma City also called it an early night, sitting Durant and the rest of its starting five for the fourth.

San Antonio has won 14 of 15 and will hit the road to face New York and East-leading Boston, continuing its toughest stretch so far this season.

Not that Oklahoma City put up much of a fight.

Perhaps worn-down from beating the Hawks a night earlier and playing for the third time in five days, the listless Thunder found themselves down by double-digits barely midway through the first quarter.

The Thunder scored a season-low 74 points this season, unable to finish short looks near the basket as much as flustered by San Antonio's defense.

Durant, the NBA's leading scorer, matched a season low and shot just 7 of 15 from the field.

The Spurs allowed their fewest points all season. Duncan added nine rebounds and turned in another strong performance after scoring just two points and going 1 for 7 in a victory over the Lakers earlier this week.

DeJuan Blair had 12 points and nine rebounds for the Spurs.

San Antonio can become the NBA's first team to 30 wins on Tuesday night at New York, when the Spurs begin a three-game road swing that includes Boston and Indiana.

Spurs coach Gregg Popovich has been loathe to discuss his team's record pace. He remains disappointed in their middle-of-the-pack defense - the bedrock of their championship teams - and became exasperated before the game when asked if the Spurs would win 70 games.

Minutes later, Danny Ferry, the former Cavaliers general manager who now works in the Spurs' front office, emerged through a nearby door. Popovich asked Ferry if the Spurs would win 70.

''If we don't,'' Ferry told Popovich, ''it's all your fault.''

NOTES: The Spurs have won five straight over the Thunder dating to last season. ... Oklahoma City's previous worst game this season was a 21-point loss to Utah in its third game.