Spurs win 9th straight

Associated Press

TORONTO — While “Linsanity” consumes the NBA, not too many people are paying attention to San Antonio’s winning streak.

That’s just fine with the Spurs. They don’t mind flying under the radar.

Tony Parker had 34 points and 14 assists, and the Spurs extended their season-best winning streak to nine games with a 113-106 victory over the Toronto Raptors on Wednesday night.

“We’ve been on fire lately,” Parker said. “We’ve been playing very good basketball, moving the ball great.”

But are the Spurs the league’s unsung heroes? Not according to Parker.

“There’s no bigger story than Jeremy Lin right now,” Parker said of the New York Knicks’ sensation. “I’m happy for him. It’s almost like you want to cheer for him. You want him to make every shot. His story is like a movie and he’s performing every night right now.”

Manu Ginobili, who scored 11 points in his third game back after missing a month with a broken left hand, echoed Parker’s comments.

“I think New York deserves all the attention after all they’ve been through and what’s happening right now,” Ginobili said. “They draw attention from me: the New York game finishes and I go to see what they did. It’s crazy.”

Danny Green scored 13 points and matched his career high with seven rebounds and Tiago Splitter also had 13 points for the Spurs, who have not lost since a 101-100 overtime defeat at Dallas on Jan. 29.

But the winning streak is no big deal to the Spurs, who are hoping for more important victories come playoff time.

“No one is walking around here talking about (the streak), no one is sitting here focused on it,” said Richard Jefferson, who scored 10. “It’s more about how can we get better and how can we improve going into the next game?”

Parker went 12 for 12 from the foul line for San Antonio, which last won nine straight during a 10-0 stretch from Dec. 3-22, 2010.

“His 12 for 12 was really exciting because he works a lot on his shot and to have him do that is a real confidence builder,” San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich said.

The victory was the sixth straight away from home for the Spurs, their longest run since winning eight straight road games to begin the 2010-11 season.

San Antonio’s Tim Duncan failed to extend his run of five straight double-doubles, finishing with eight points and three rebounds.

DeMar DeRozan scored 29 points for the Raptors, who have lost three straight and eight of 10. Jose Calderon added 16 points and 11 assists.

Toronto guard Jerryd Bayless missed his fourth straight game with a sore left ankle, while forward Linas Kleiza was sidelined with a sore left knee. Leading scorer Andrea Bargnani sat for the 18th time in 20 games because of a strained left calf.

“We’re a little undermanned,” Raptors coach Dwane Casey said before the game. “If anybody is looking for a 10-day (contract), we’re looking for bodies.”

Toronto trailed by five points to begin the fourth, but used a pair of baskets by Calderon and a driving layup by DeRozan to cut it to one at 97-96 with 4:14 left.

San Antonio answered with a baseline jump shot by Gary Neal and a pair of free throws by Parker, restoring their five point advantage with 3:25 left.

Parker made all eight of his free-throw attempts down the stretch as the Spurs improved to 23-9 all-time against Toronto.

Casey said Parker has developed into “the whole package.”

“The last couple of weeks, he’s been playing at a big time level,” Casey said. “He’s one of my favorite players. He’s so slithery and so quick and now he’s gotten a little strength. He makes it tough to get into him and guard him in these situations. Now he’s developed a jump shot, so you have to honor that.”

Green got all seven of his rebounds and made three of San Antonio’s six 3-pointers in the opening half as the Spurs, who shot 6 for 10 from beyond the arc, led 55-45 at the break.

Toronto battled back by making its first 10 shots of the second half. DeRozan scored 13 points in less than six minutes, including two on a reverse alley-oop from Calderon, and the Raptors followed with a layup from James Johnson that tied it at 66.

San Antonio answered with a 13-4 run over the next four minutes, taking a 79-70 lead and forcing Toronto to call timeout. The Spurs led 83-78 heading to the fourth.

ROCKETS 96, THUNDER 95

HOUSTON — Kevin Martin tied a season high with 32 points, including the winning free throws with 23.6 seconds remaining, in Houston’s victory over Oklahoma City.

Kevin Durant missed three shots in the last 16 seconds and Houston finally grabbed the rebound on the last miss to secure the win. Goran Dragic missed a pair of free throws for Houston after that, but the Thunder didn’t have time to get down the court for another shot.

Durant led the Thunder with 33 points, and Russell Westbrook added 26.

CLIPPERS 102,

WIZARDS 84

LOS ANGELES — Blake Griffin had 23 points and 15 rebounds, Caron Butler added 21 points and Randy Foye scored all 10 of his points in the fourth quarter against his former team, leading Los Angeles past Washington.

The Clippers increased their lead in the Pacific Division to two games over the idle Lakers with their ninth victory in 12 contests. The Clippers have beaten the Wizards seven consecutive times.

John Wall and JaVale McGee led Washington with 18 points each.

MAGIC 103, 76ERS 87

ORLANDO, Fla. — Ryan Anderson had seven 3-pointers and 27 points, Dwight Howard added 17 points and 14 rebounds and Orlando shot its way past Philadelphia.

Orlando made 15 of 25 attempts from 3-point range, and had all five starters reach double figures for the second consecutive game. Jason Richardson had 14 points, including four 3s, and Jameer Nelson tied a career high with 14 assists and added 12 points.

The Magic have won three straight and seven of nine since losing to the 76ers last month.

MAVERICKS 102,

NUGGETS 84

DALLAS — Shawn Marion had 16 points and 10 rebounds, and Dallas beat Denver to stretch its winning streak to a season-high five games.

Vince Carter had 15 points for Dallas. Lamar Odom scored 14, Jason Kidd 13 and Dirk Nowitzki 12. None of the starters played more than 27 minutes.

Rudy Fernandez led the Nuggets with 14 points.

CAVALIERS 98, PACERS 87

CLEVELAND — Rookie Kyrie Irving scored 22 points in his return after missing three games because of a concussion, leading Cleveland past Indiana.

Irving played for the first time since Feb. 7, when he banged his head following a collision in Miami. The 19-year-old was only cleared to play in the morning by Cavs doctors, who followed the NBA’s new guidelines on head injuries during his recovery. The

Semih Erden, starting with center Anderson Varejao sidelined indefinitely by a broken wrist, had a career-high 18 points. Darren Collison scored 18 points for Indiana. The Pacers have lost five straight.

PISTONS 98, CELTICS 88

BOSTON — Rodney Stuckey scored 25 points and Ben Gordon hit three 3-pointers in the opening 4:09 of the fourth quarter during a game-breaking spree that Detroit past Boston.

Greg Monroe had 22 points and nine rebounds, and Gordon finished with 22 points Detroit. The Pistons won for the fifth time in seven games.

Rajon Rondo had a season-high 35 points for Boston one game after he recorded a triple-double. Chris Wilcox, starting in place of the injured Kevin Garnett, had 17 points and nine rebounds. Garnett was a late scratch because of a hip flexor.

TIMBERWOLVES 102,

BOBCATS 90

MINNEAPOLIS — Kevin Love had 30 points and 18 rebounds and Minnesota handed Charlotte its 16th loss in a row.

Nikola Pekovic added 21 points and 11 rebounds in 43 minutes for Minnesota. The Timberwolves snapped a four-game skid of their own. Kemba Walker had 21 points and six rebounds, and Corey Maggette scored 18 points for the Bobcats, who have lost 22 of the last 23 games.

GRIZZLIES 105, NETS 100

NEWARK, N.J. — Rudy Gay scored 25 points, Tony Allen matched his season high with 21, and Marreese Speights added a season-high 20 points and a career-high 18 rebounds to help Memphis beat New Jersey, handing the error-prone Nets their season-high seventh straight loss.

Mike Conley had 16 points and 10 assists for Memphis. The Grizzlies have won four of their last five.

BLAZERS 93,

WARRIORS 91

OAKLAND, Calif. — Gerald Wallace scored 24 points and Jamal Crawford hit a key late 3-pointer and a two free throws to lift Portland past Golden State.

Nicolas Batum added 17 points for the Trail Blazers, who had lost 11 of their last 12 in Oakland.

David Lee matched his season high with 29 points anded 11 rebounds for the Warriors.

HAWKS 101, SUNS 99

PHOENIX — Josh Smith matched his season high with 30 points and grabbed 17 rebounds to rally Atlanta.

Smith, whose career best is 32, had 20 points and 12 rebounds in the second half to help Atlanta snap a two-game skid and win for the third time in eight games.

HORNETS 92, BUCKS 89

MILWAUKEE — Marco Belinelli made a career-high six 3-pointers and scored a season-high 22 points in short-handed New Orleans’ victory over Milwaukee.

Chris Kaman added 18 points and 10 rebounds, and Gusvtavo Ayon had 12 points and 12 rebounds to help New Orleans (6-23) win consecutive games for the first time starting the season 2-0.

Ersan Ilyasova led the Bucks with a season-high 23 points.