The San Antonio Spurs (57-16) tied a franchise record for consecutive wins on Saturday, March 29, as they defeated the New Orleans Pelicans (32-41) 96-80 for their 17th consecutive victory in front of a raucous sold-out AT&T Center.

San Antonio had five players in double digits, as well as 10 players with points as the game ended.

“Those guys have done a hell of a job,” said Spurs Head Coach Greg Popovich on the New Orleans Pelicans. “They’ve got a lot of guys missing, but I’m really impressed by them.”

Anthony Davis was a notable New Orleans’ player missing. The All-Star has been averaging 21.3 points, 10.3 rebounds and 2.9 blocks for the Pelicans.

The Spurs made sure to capitalize on his defensive absence. Guard Marco Belinelli hit 4-of-5 three pointers during the night, finishing with 18 points and four assists.

“He plays a great all-around game,” said Popovich of the Italian Belinelli. “He’s not just a shooter, but he’s a good passer and one of our two best cutters on our team without the ball. He really understands how to play unselfishly; he’s been important to us.”

Tim Duncan put in a consistent performance with 12 points, eight rebounds and six assists. Duncan’s play capped off a terrific week that saw him average 20 points, 8.5 rebounds, 4.3 assists and 2 blocks in four games to claim Western Conference Player of the Week honors.

With the team on a winning streak and Duncan finding a rhythm, the Big Fundamental made sure to emphasize the Spurs’ focus.

“We’re going game by game,” said Duncan after the win. “I know that’s kind of cliché, but we want to be playing well and we want to be playing healthy. We don’t care what the streak is. We don’t care how it goes; we’re not basing anything on that. We’re not playing each game trying to continue the streak, we’re just trying to play the best that we can and have a good rhythm going into the playoffs.”

After the game, Popovich was looking forward to the Indiana Pacers, who the Spurs played on Monday, March 31.

“Every NBA game is a test; people beat each other all the time. It’s definitely fun to go against those guys because they’ve played so well this year. Last time they beat us really easily, so it’s a game we’re looking forward to.”

The Spurs defeated the Pacers 103-77 to improve their record to (58-16) for a franchise record 18 consecutive wins. They look to continue their streak on Wednesday, April 2 against the Golden State Warriors.