SAN ANTONIO _ The Nets built a seven-point fourth-quarter lead over the Spurs Thursday night at AT&T Center, but the tide of history was against them. They lost that cushion and lost their 16th straight regular-season game in this city as the Spurs battled their way to a 117-114 victory.
The Nets went up 107-100 on a DeMarre Carroll layup with just under eight minutes to play, but the Spurs kept attacking and found ways to get to the rim through a zone defense that largely had kept them out of the paint during the first three quarters. When DeMar DeRozan scored on a tip-in with 4:04 left, the Spurs had a 103-101 lead.
The Nets' Joe Harris hit a 3-pointer at the 2:46 mark for a 109-106 lead, but the Spurs put together a 9-2 run to take a 115-111 advantage with 51.1 seconds left on a three-point play by LaMarcus Aldridge. Shabazz Napier made it close with a 3-pointer with 4.4 seconds to go, but the Nets had to foul and Aldridge made a pair for a 117-114 edge, leaving the Nets with 3.6 seconds. Napier tried to draw contact on his 3-pointer but missed at the buzzer.
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