Spurs ward off Warriors

Tim Duncan put up a double-double with 21 points and 13 boards and Beno Udrih contributed 13 points off the bench for the Spurs, who have now won five straight contests and remain 1/2 game ahead of Dallas for the Midwest Division lead.

"I thought we played well enough to win," said Duncan. "When you penetrate and pump fake on shots like we did it moves the defense with you. Parker was great tonight like he has been all year."

Derek Fisher led his team with 27 points and Jason Richardson chipped in 20 points for the Warriors, who saw a modest two-game win streak halted. Troy Murphy had 15 points and seven rebounds while Mike Dunleavy totaled 11 points and eight boards in a losing effort.

"We need stops and we didn’t get any of them," said Dunleavy. "We need to focus on the little things and that’s what the Spurs do and that’s why they win."

San Antonio opened a seven-point lead early in the final frame as Manu Ginobili converted a conventional three-point play and Udrih hit a layup to make it 79-72 with 10:08 to go.

The Warriors got the lead down to three with 4:59 to play as Fisher hit two free-throws to make it 88-85. However, the Spurs reeled off six straight points as Duncan threw down a dunk, Michael Finley drilled a jumper and Parker hit a layup to put the Spurs up nine, 94-85, with 2:42 remaining. The Warriors could only get to within seven points from then on as Parker scored nine straight points for the Spurs over a two-minute span.

Parker and Duncan combined for 13 of the Spurs’ 25 points during a tightly contested first quarter in which the Spurs took a 25-23 lead.

The Spurs maintained their slight advantage throughout the second quarter as Udrih hit a jumper with 8:57 to go in the second quarter to put his team up eight, 33-25. Golden State did not go away as it closed to within four points, 51-47 at the half.

With under 7:30 minutes to play in the third quarter, Duncan went up for a layup attempt. There was contact between himself and Adonal Foyle, but the whistles were silent. As the Warriors dribbled down the other end, Spurs coach Greg Popovich was hit with two technical fouls, earning himself an ejection. Duncan was also hit with a technical and Fisher hit all three free-throws and then a jumper to put the Warriors up four, 61-57.

A pair of Brent Barry freebies at the end of the quarter broke a 70-70 tie and the Spurs took a two-point lead into the final frame.

Game Notes

The Spurs have now won all four of the meetings between the two teams...Nazr Mohammed had 10 points and nine rebounds for the Spurs...San Antonio shot 47.6 percent from the field while Golden State connected on 41.9 percent of its shots...Both teams were abysmal from beyond the arc as the Warriors shot just 2-of-15 and the Spurs were 3-of-18.