USA - Parker stars as Spurs sink Hawks again

SAN ANTONIO (NBA) - France guard Tony Parker scored 27 points and handed out five assists as the San Antonio Spurs posted a 95-81 victory on Sunday to beat the Atlanta Hawks for the ninth straight time at home.

Argentina star Manu Ginobili had 18 points and Tim Duncan added 17 and 11 rebounds for San Antonio, who remain a half-game behind Dallas for the best record in the NBA.

Parker scored 20 of his total in the paint and shot 10-of-19 from the floor, while Ginobili missed just two of his 10 attempts for San Antonio, who were playing with an under-the-weather Duncan, who was suffering from stomach flu.

The Dallas Mavericks clinched their 10th consecutive win by recording an 89-85 triumph over the Denver Nuggets - even without the services of leading scorer Dirk Nowitzki.

With the German sidelined due to a sinus infection, Josh Howard and Jason Terry took centre stage as the Mavericks erased a 76-69 deficit with seven and a half minutes to play.

Howard scored nine of his 28 points in less than six minutes and Terry finished with 21 points to help Avery Johnson become the fastest coach to win 100 games, surpassing the late Red Auerbach.

Elton Brand was dominant on both ends of the floor, scoring 32 points and tying a career high with eight blocked shots, and Shaun Livingston added 15 points to lead the Los Angeles Clippers to a 90-80 win over the New York Knicks.

A two-time All-Star, Brand made 13-of-18 shots in his fourth consecutive 20-point performance as he finished the month averaging 21.9 points.

Steve Nash sparked a late run which carried the Phoenix Suns to a 108-101 triumph over the Detroit Pistons.

With the Suns trailing 91-90, Nash hit a jumper with 4:44 left in the fourth quarter to give his squad a 92-91 lead and spark a 11-4 run that turned out to be decisive.

Luther Head buried two big three-pointers in the fourth quarter and Tracy McGrady scored a season-high 38 points as the Houston Rockets eked out a 111-109 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies.

Playing in his fourth game since missing seven contests with a back injury, McGrady hit 15-of-30 shots, including five three-pointers, to give him 69 points in his last two games.

Nevertheless, Head delivered the biggest shots of the game, capping an 8-0 run for a 104-95 lead with 1:58 to play.

Team USA’s Kobe Bryant sparked a 17-6 third quarter run to carry the Los Angeles Lakers to a 104-92 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers.

Maurice Evans started the Los Angeles run with a free throw with 5:08 remaining in the third quarter to give the Lakers a 66-60 lead before Bryant went to work,
scoring 12 of his 35 points.

Chris Wilcox scored 24 points to lead the Seattle SuperSonics to a 101-95 triumph over the Boston Celtics.

In helping the Sonics snap a two-game losing streak, Wilcox shot 8-of-13 from the field and keyed a decisive 11-0 run in the third quarter.

PA Sport