San Antonio 109, Cleveland 99

George Hill rebounded from one of his worst games by equaling his season high with 22 points and the San Antonio Spurs used a big third quarter to beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 109-99 in Wednesday’s matchup between the league’s best and worst.

The Spurs became the first team to reach 50 victories in a game that wasn’t nearly as close as the final score.

Hill, starting in place of the injured Tony Parker, had six points and six of the Spurs' 22 turnovers in a disastrous loss at Memphis on Tuesday. The league’s top team corrected that against the woeful Cavs, holding them without a field goal for more than six minutes in the third quarter to take a 17-point lead into the fourth. They led by 25 with 4:41 left to play before a meaningless Cavs rally late.

Tim Duncan had 16 points and DeJuan Blair had 14 for the Spurs, who placed six in double figures. The pair combined for 15 points in the first six minutes of the third quarter as the Spurs took control.

Samardo Samuels had career-highs of 23 points and 10 rebounds in his first NBA start and Alonzo Gee had a season-high 18 points in his return to the starting lineup for the Cavs, who have dropped three of their last four.

• Cleveland will play their next game on the road against New York. The Cavaliers have a W/L % of .182 after a win and .184 after a loss.
• San Antonio will play their next game at home against Miami. The Spurs have a W/L % of .796 after a win and .917 after a loss.