Parker, Duncan lead Spurs past Kings

Both players went 9-of-16 from the floor for the Spurs, who led by as many as 17 points in the second half but had to fend off a late Kings rally to earn their fourth consecutive win and seventh in eight outings.

Mike Bibby dropped in a game-best 33 points while Bonzi Wells compiled 18 points and 14 rebounds in the loss, Sacramento’s second tough defeat in as many nights.

The Kings fell 106-104 at Seattle on Sunday and played without leading scorer Peja Stojakovic, who sat out with a sprained pinkie finger on his right hand.

"We made a good comeback," said Bibby. "We felt good about how we came back and how we played (Sunday)."

The Spurs outscored Sacramento 16-6 over the game’s first 6 1/2 minutes, with eight of those points coming from Rasho Nesterovic, before Bibby fueled a 7-0 run with a three-point play.

Sacramento would pull within two points when Corliss Williamson’s layup with 7:03 left in the half made the score 31-29, but Duncan scored back-to-back baskets to extend the lead. Duncan would finish the first half with 14 points on 7-of-9 shooting as San Antonio built a 49-39 cushion at intermission.

The Spurs continued to lengthen the margin in the third quarter and took their largest lead of the night at 61-44 on Parker’s transition layup five minutes into the period. San Antonio would go into the final 12 minutes holding a seemingly comfortable 73-58 advantage.

Sacramento would catch fire in the fourth quarter, however, cutting a 14-point deficit down to four with a 14-4 burst over a four-minute stretch. Two Bibby free throws with 4:18 to go would bring the Kings within 85-81.

"I think in the fourth quarter Sacramento played with a lot more aggressiveness, and they played a lot sharper than we did," remarked Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich.

However, the Spurs countered with a three-point play by Manu Ginobli and later went up 94-87 when Bruce Bowen drained a triple with 1:30 to go. Bibby then buried a basket from beyond-the-arc on the next possession, and after Duncan scored on a tip shot with 33 seconds left, Bibby sunk another three to make it a 96-93 game with 27 seconds to go.

The Kings had one last chance to force overtime after Robert Horry turned the ball over with seven seconds on the clock, but Bibby’s long-distance shot was short.

"With those last second shots, anything can happen," said Ginobli. "I think we should not have arrived at that point, where they could have tied the game, but (we) were lucky."

Game Notes

Rookie Francisco Garcia started in Stojakovic’s place and delivered career- highs of 12 points and 36 minutes...San Antonio’s Brent Barry (back) saw his first action since November 7 and went scoreless in eight minutes of time...The Kings hadn’t lost consecutive games by three or fewer points since November, 1996...San Antonio has won three straight and five of the last six meetings between the clubs...Brad Miller was held to a season-low two points for the Kings.