USA - Parker leads Spurs to lucky 13th victory on the trot

NEW YORK (NBA) - Tony Parker and the San Antonio Spurs continue to roll, while the Los Angeles Clippers are going in the other direction.

France captain Parker scored 25 points and Tim Duncan chipped in 19 and nine rebounds as the Spurs won a season-high 13th straight game, a 93-84 triumph over the slumping Clippers.

A two-time All-Star, Parker poured in six points during a 10-4 surge to end the second quarter as the Spurs grabbed a 50-40 advantage at intermission.

Los Angeles closed within 62-57, but San Antonio responded with a 9-2 run to push its lead to 12 points at the 1:30 mark in the third period.

Corey Maggette scored 17 points and Brand had 16 and 10 rebounds for the Clippers, who have dropped four straight games and fell to 1-5 this month.

With LeBron James sidelined with a back injury in Cleveland, Sasha Pavlovic and Larry Hughes did their best impressions of their superstar team-mate.

Pavlovic and Hughes scored 25 points apiece as the Cavaliers extended their winning streak to a season-high six games with a 124-100 victory over the sliding Sacramento Kings.

Ira Newble started in James' place and scored 12 points on 4-of-8 shooting.

Pavlovic and Hughes combined to shoot 17 of 34 from the field and 6-of-11 from the arc. The duo played with James' style, scoring on a combination of strong drives and deep jumpers.

Newble made all three of his shots from the arc for Cleveland, which outscored Sacramento 35-18 in the third quarter to turn a half-time tie into a blowout.

Ron Artest scored 19 points for the Kings, who shot 42% (36-of-85) and absorbed their third straight loss.

Antoine Walker scored all 13 of his points in the fourth quarter as the Miami Heat used a huge rally to post an 88-86 victory over the Utah Jazz, who had their six-game winning streak ended.

Jason Williams netted 15 points and superstar Shaquille O'Neal added 13 and nine rebounds for the Heat, who extended their winning streak to a season-best seven games.

All-Star Carlos Boozer collected 20 points and 13 rebounds and Deron Williams added 15 and eight assists for the Jazz, who were dominated 48-22 in points in the paint.

Richard Jefferson had his best game since returning from injury, scoring 26 points, and Vince Carter nailed two huge free throws down the stretch as the New Jersey Nets stayed in the play-off chase with a 112-108 victory over the New Orleans Hornets.

Jason Kidd had 18 points and 12 assists for New Jersey (30-35), which now is in a three-way tie with Indiana and New York for the final three play-off spots in the Eastern Conference.

Chris Paul had 25 points and 12 assists for the Hornets, who shot 46% (40-of-86).

Kevin Garnett and rookie Randy Foye sparked a big fourth-quarter run to lead the Minnesota Timberwolves to an 86-81 victory over the stumbling Indiana Pacers.

Indiana led 67-58 after three but scored only one point in the first eight minutes of the fourth quarter and suffered its 10th straight loss.

Garnett scored 30 points and grabbed nine rebounds and Foye had 16 points for Minnesota (28-35), who now trail the Los Angeles Clippers by just one game for the last play-off spot in the Western Conference.

Jamaal Tinsley had a career-high 37 points and added six assists and six rebounds for Indiana.  

In Denver, Carmelo Anthony and Allen Iverson finally got a chance to team up against the Portland Trail Blazers.

Iverson had 31 points and 10 assists and Anthony added 29 and eight rebounds as the Denver Nuggets posted their second straight win, a 107-99 victory over the Trail Blazers.

Marcus Camby had 14 points and 10 rebounds for the Nuggets (31-31), who hold seventh spot in the Western Conference just one game behind the sliding Los Angeles Lakers.

Zach Randolph had 26 points and eight rebounds and rookie LaMarcus Aldridge collected 24 and 17 for Portland, who shot 43% (38-of-84) to absorb a third loss in four games.

Josh Smith helped the Atlanta Hawks continue their winning streak.

Smith recorded a double-double as the Hawks posted their fourth straight victory, a 104-92 triumph over the Philadelphia 76ers.

Atlanta jumped on Philadelphia early and never let up. The Hawks opened a 22-10 lead eight minutes into the game and led by as many as 29 in the second half.

Smith made a number of plays for the Hawks, scoring 26 points and adding a career-high 17 rebounds.  

He made a lay-up with 3:50 to go in the third quarter to give Atlanta a 79-50 bulge.

Josh Childress scored 15 points and Zaza Pachulia had 15 and 10 rebounds for the Hawks.  
Thanks to Chris Webber, the Detroit Pistons continue to roll out West.

Webber scored 24 points and each Detroit starter reached double figures as the Pistons posted a 101-97 victory over the slumping Seattle SuperSonics, who dropped their fourth game in a row.

Tayshaun Prince scored 18 points and Rasheed Wallace had 15 and three blocks for Detroit, who are 3-0 on their five-game tour of the Western Conference.

Ray Allen collected 27 points and seven rebounds and Chris Wilcox chipped in 21 points and three steals for the Sonics, who shot 47% (36 of 76) from the field.

Louisiana State rookie Tyrus Thomas scored a season-high 23 points and the Chicago Bulls continued their domination of the Boston Celtics with a 95-87 victory.

Ben Wallace scored a season-high 19 points and had 16 rebounds and Luol Deng added 19 points and had six assists for Chicago.

Delonte West and Al Jefferson each scored 19 points for Boston, who are winless against Chicago since January 2005.

Jamie Strickland
FIBA