Spurs pound Boston to end losing streak

Rasho Nesterovic stepped up with a game-high 23 points and 13 rebounds for San Antonio, which halted a three-game losing streak. Tim Duncan had 15 points and Charlie Ward added 10 off the bench in the win — the Spurs’ 12th straight versus the Celtics.

"We combined 48 minutes of good defense with making some shots," Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich said. "That certainly makes things easy for us."

Paul Pierce paced Boston with 19 points, while Mark Blount chipped in 15 as the Celtics dropped their fourth straight. Ricky Davis contributed 14 points in a losing cause.

"It’s really tough when you go out on the court and all five guys aren’t on the same page all the time," Pierce said. "We’re trying to find our way together as a team that just came together this year."

Bruce Bowen dropped in an easy basket with less than six minutes remaining in the third quarter, giving the Spurs a 60-50 lead. San Antonio then led by a 71-58 score after 36 minutes of action.

San Antonio pushed its lead to 20 points at 82-62 after Hedo Turkoglu’s basket almost three minutes into the fourth quarter. Ward later made a three, extending the gap to 93-70 midway through the period. The Celtics never regrouped after that and suffered their sixth straight loss to the Spurs at home.

With the win, the Spurs have been victorious in 18 of their last 22 contests.

Pierce drained consecutive three-pointers late in the first quarter to pull the Celtics within five at 26-21. San Antonio, however, eventually carried a 32-25 lead into the second quarter. Parker had 13 points in the stanza.

With less than four minutes to go before halftime, Parker continued to have the hot hand and knocked down a three from the top of the key for a 47-37 San Antonio advantage. The Spurs then headed to the break with a 52-40 lead.