Derrick White's Career Night Leads Spurs Over Nets

SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Derrick White scored a career-high 26 points and the San Antonio Spurs rallied in the fourth quarter to beat Brooklyn 117-114 on Thursday night, their 16th straight win at home over the Nets.

Fresh off his seventh All-Star selection, LaMarcus Aldridge had 20 points, including a critical three-point play in the final minute, and 13 rebounds for the Spurs. DeMar DeRozan added 15 points and 10 rebounds in his return from a three-game absence because of a sore left knee.

After failing to make the All-Star Game as a reserve, D'Angelo Russell pressed his case to replace injured selection Victor Oladipo. Russell had 25 points, nine assists and four turnovers in 33 minutes for Brooklyn.

The Nets eclipsed 100 points for the 12th straight game even without Spencer Dinwiddie, their third-leading scorer.

Brooklyn shot 47 percent from the field and had 30 assists, which was four off its season high.

Joe Harris and DeMarre Carroll had 18 points each for the Nets.

Brooklyn, which had won seven of eight coming in, erased a 12-point deficit in the first half and led 97-90 with eight minutes remaining before San Antonio rallied.

Aldridge's three-point play after a foul on his own follow-up shot put the Spurs ahead 115-111 with 51.1 seconds remaining. Aldridge added two free throws with 3.6 seconds left, and Shabazz Napier missed a 26-footer at the buzzer that would have tied the game.

The Spurs have won the first three games of a four-game homestand.

TIP-INS

Nets: Brooklyn's last win in San Antonio was Jan. 22, 2002, when Jason Kidd had 28 points and 11 rebounds in a 92-86 victory at the Alamodome. ... Dinwiddie missed his fourth straight game with torn ligaments in his right thumb. The Nets are 2-1 without the 6-foot-6 guard. ... G Caris LeVert missed his 39th straight game with a dislocated right foot. ... Brooklyn was also without Allen Crabbe (sore right knee) and Jared Dudley (strained left hamstring). ... Nets rookie Rodions Kurucs plays with Spurs forward Davis Bertans on the Latvian national team.

Spurs: A San Antonio player has participated in the All-Star Game in 21 straight seasons, the longest streak since the NBA-ABA merger in 1976. ... Aldridge, Kevin Durant, James Harden, LeBron James and Russell Westbrook are the only players to play in the All-Star Game in seven of the last eight seasons. ... Bertans had to exit with 1:23 remaining in the first half after taking a blow to his left brow that caused a cut. He returned in the second half with a bandage over his left eye. ... Patty Mills became the 20th player to play 10,000 minutes with the Spurs.

ABSOLUTELY BATTY

The game was delayed for 2½ minutes early in the first quarter when three bats began hovering just above the court. Officials had players return to the bench as stadium staff, security and ballboys attempted to shoo the bats away with towels. A stadium official eventually brought out a net, but the bats were scared up to the rafters. Some fans shouted "Manu! Manu!" in tribute to recently retired Manu Ginobili, who swatted a bat with his hands in November 2009.

KNOW YOUR WORTH

DeRozan failed to make the All-Star Game for the first time since 2015, snapping a streak of three straight appearances. DeRozan made four All-Star appearances while with the Toronto Raptors before being traded to the Spurs in the offseason.

"I'm not going to sit here and be sad," DeRozan told the Express-News. "I know the caliber of player I am. I can never be the one to say I should have made it over this guy. I'm not worried about it. Last year wasn't my last one, pretty sure of that."

UP NEXT

Nets: At Orlando on Saturday night.

Spurs: Host New Orleans on Saturday night.

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