CLEVELAND -- Veins in his forearms and neck bulging, Patty Mills flexed like a bodybuilder to emphasize his point.

Even though the San Antonio Spurs had just closed out the most brutal rodeo road trip in team history with a 110-94 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Sunday, the club actually benefited as much this season as it had in the previous 15 years from its annual trek, as it continues to learn how to succeed without star forward Kawhi Leonard.

"It hasn't been all that bad the last four games," Mills said. "Yes, it resulted in losses. But there's been a lot of positives that have been taken out. I think that all just comes down to the passion that we were playing with tonight. Everyone, 1 through 15, and even guys on the bench, behind the bench, the feeling throughout the group was the passion that we needed to want to be the last team standing. It's hard to do game in and game out, but I thought that was the real difference-maker from my point of view; just the passion that we showed to want to win this game."

The Spurs finished the rodeo road trip with a 2-4 record, halting a four-game skid with a masterful, complete, full team performance which featured seven double-figure scorers, led by LaMarcus Aldridge (27 points), and their usual starting shooting guard Danny Green (22 points) coming off the bench.

Rookie point guard Dejounte Murray finished with 13 points, 9 rebounds, 5 assists, 4 steals and 3 blocks. The only other Spur in franchise history to produce that identical line in a single game is David Robinson. Murray is now the only point guard in the NBA this season to nab four steals and three blocks in a single game.

"It's always a great feeling when you get a win, no matter who you play," Murray said. "We lost four in a row. To get back on track with a win is always a good thing, especially heading back into home. At the end of the day, we're all pros. When you come into the league, you have to have that mentality of next man up. Anything can happen on any given night. We've always got to approach the game where if our opportunity is called, we have to take advantage. I think guys have been stepping up. Even the games we lost, dudes were stepping up. But it's always great to get a win."

By the end of the third quarter, LaMarcus Aldridge had more made free throws than the entire Cleveland roster combined. Tony Dejak/AP

San Antonio's four-game losing streak marked the first time since February 2015 it had four consecutive losses, all on the road. Had the Spurs fallen at Cleveland, they would have dropped five in a row on one road trip for the first time since March 1992.

"It's definitely a good feeling we're making steps in the right direction, that progress," Green said. "That's why we had different lineup changes, so we had a group they feel they can trust and have experience down the stretch."

The Spurs held out veteran guard Manu Ginobili, as he suffered a bruised sternum in Friday's loss at Denver, and tipped off with Aldridge, Kyle Anderson, Pau Gasol, Murray and Mills as the starters. Aldridge had missed two games during the rodeo trip just before the All-Star break to receive treatment on a sore knee. Green sat out of Friday's game in Denver after coming down with food poisoning from room service spaghetti, while veteran Rudy Gay finally made his return against the Nuggets after missing the previous 23 games due to heel bursitis.

New Spurs starting lineup shines The San Antonio starting lineup of Dejounte Murray, Patty Mills, Kyle Anderson, LaMarcus Aldridge, and Pau Gasol has a 125.5 offensive efficiency this season, best of any Spurs 5-man lineup (min. 30 minutes played together). In Cleveland, that San Antonio 5-man lineup was their most-used, and their most efficient (min. 4 minutes). When Murray/Mills/Anderson/Aldridge/Gasol were on the floor together, San Antonio shot 59.1 percent from the field and had seven assists without a turnover. Defensively, San Antonio's starting lineup forced the Cavaliers to shoot only 30.8 percent from the field (1-of-10 3s) while keeping Cleveland off the free throw line. Spurs lineups at CLE Min. Off. Rtg. Def. Rtg. Net Rtg. +/- Murray/Mills/Anderson/Aldridge/Gasol 13 127.4 73.9 53.5 +12 Murray/Mills/Anderson/Aldridge/Forbes 6 111.1 97.9 13.2 +1 Murray/Mills/Anderso/Aldridge/Green 4 133.2 100.0 33.2 +2 Parker/Forbes/Green/Gay/Gasol 4 112.5 137.5 -25.0 -2 Source: NBA Advanced Stats

In all, the Spurs have missed 148 games due to injury (168 total). That has led to exhaustive tinkering with the lineups and rotations.

Since Leonard's NBA debut in 2011, the Spurs own a winning percentage of .764 (311-96) in the games he has played, compared to a .600 percentage (78-52) in the games he has missed, according to Elias Sports Bureau research. Leonard's personal winning percentage is the highest in NBA history (minimum 150 games).

So with Leonard out of commission, the Spurs wanted someone capable of generating more offense and tempo with the starting group. So they elected to replace Green in the starting lineup with Mills, which might actually help to balance out both the No. 1 group and the second unit.

Green has come off the bench just twice since 2013.

Popovich declined to divulge specifics or whether the move is permanent.

"We had a discussion and decided to do that," Popovich joked. "As soon as we meet again as coaches, I'll make sure I give you a call and let you know. And I'll tell you why we made the decision, what factors went into it, how many glasses of wine I had."