Duncan leads Spurs to 6th straight win

NEW YORK: The San Antonio Spurs recovered from a slow start to collect their sixth consecutive win and move into sole possession of first place in the Southwest Division with an 89-74 home win over the Atlanta Hawks on Monday.

Tim Duncan had 23 points and 10 rebounds to spark the Spurs to their ninth win in 10 games. Tony Parker added 15 points and nine assists and Manu Ginobili had 13 points.

Joe Johnson scored 17 points for Atlanta with Al Horford getting 12 points and 13 rebounds.

San Antonio could only manage five points in the first quarter on Ginobili's 3-pointer and two free throws by Duncan to trial by 11.

However, they improved in the second quarter by adding 25 points to their tally but still faced a seven-point deficit at the half.

The Spurs then outscored the Hawks 27-11 in the third quarter and had 32 points in the fourth - two more than they managed in the entire first half.

In Dallas, in his first home game with the Dallas Mavericks in more than 11 years, Jason Kidd had 11 points, nine rebounds and eight assists in a 102-94 victory over the Chicago Bulls.

Kidd came up short of his 100th career triple-double.

Dirk Nowitzki scored 29 points for the Mavericks, who won their 11th straight home game.

Ben Gordon had 25 points to lead five Chicago players in double figures.

In New Orleans, DeShawn Stevenson drained a fadeaway 3-pointer at the buzzer and Washington handed New Orleans its third straight loss, with a 95-92 win.

Stevenson's buzzer-beater capped a career night for the Wizards guard as he scored 33 points. Brendan Haywood and reserve Roger Mason scored 12 points apiece.

Chris Paul scored 22 for New Orleans.

In Indianapolis, Chris Bosh had 24 points and 10 rebounds to lead Toronto to a 102-98 win over the Indiana Pacers.

Carlos Delfino scored 23 points and made six of seven 3-pointers, and T.J. Ford added 16 points and seven assists for the Raptors, who have won all three meetings with Indiana this season.

Danny Granger and Marquis Daniels each had 20 points, and Granger added 10 rebounds for the Pacers.

Indiana led 86-84 before Toronto went on a 13-2 run that included two 3-pointers by Delfino to take a 97-88 lead with just over 4 minutes to play.

In Los Angeles, Paul Pierce and James Posey scored 17 points apiece to lead Boston's well-balanced offense in their rout of the Los Angeles Clippers 104-76.

Fresh from ending a three-game losing streak that was their longest of the season, the Celtics had little difficulty making it two in a row. They moved in front for good five minutes into the game and improved their NBA-best record to 43-12.

Ray Allen added 15 points for Boston, and Kevin Garnett had 11 points, six rebounds and four assists in 24 minutes. Both teams used reserves for most of the final quarter.

Agencies

(China Daily 02/27/2008 page24)