Spurs Top Lakers 95-89 for 6th Win in Row
LOS ANGELES – Tony Parker had 29 points and nine assists and the San Antonio Spurs beat the Los Angeles Lakers 95-89 for their sixth straight victory Sunday, moving the reigning NBA champions within 1 1/2 games of the Western Conference lead.
Tim Duncan added 18 points, 13 rebounds and six assists and Bruce Bowen and Manu Ginobili scored 12 points each for the Spurs (52-25), who have won eight of nine.
The Lakers had their 11-game winning streak snapped and dropped into third place in the West – a half-game behind the Sacramento Kings and Minnesota Timberwolves, who both won Sunday.
Kobe Bryant led the Lakers (53-24) with 28 points and six rebounds, but he shot just 9-of-26 while being closely guarded by Bowen.
Gary Payton had 21 points and eight rebounds; Shaquille O’Neal added 17 points and nine rebounds, and Karl Malone had 12 points and nine rebounds for the Lakers.
The Spurs scored the first six points of the fourth quarter for a 79-66 lead.
Malone ended the drought with his first field goal of the game, but Ginobili made three free throws – one following a technical foul against Malone – to make it 84-70 with 6:19 left.
The Lakers needed barely over a minute to draw within six points, getting a basket from Malone, two free throws by Bryant and two dunks by O’Neal.
Malone made two free throws to make it 88-84 before Duncan made a jumper, rebounded a miss by Payton and fed Parker for a 3-pointer to give the Spurs a nine-point lead with 2:13 to play.
Bryant made a 3-pointer and Payton added two free throws to draw the Lakers within four points with 1:27 left. The Lakers had a chance to get closer, but O’Neal missed a short jumper. Two free throws by Duncan with 48.8 seconds left completed the scoring.
Bryant had seven points as Los Angeles outscored the Spurs 14-3 to begin the third quarter, tying the game at 56.
But the Lakers never led in the second half.
A 3-pointer by Bowen and a runner by Duncan gave the Spurs a 65-60 lead, and two jumpers by Duncan sandwiched around an air ball by Bryant made it 69-62. It was 73-66 entering the fourth quarter.
San Antonio led 33-32 when O’Neal picked up his third foul midway through the second quarter, putting him on the bench for the rest of the first half. The Spurs took advantage, scoring the last nine points of the half – seven by Parker – for a 53-42 lead.
O’Neal also sat out the last 5 1/2 minutes of the first quarter after committing his second foul. Parker scored six straight points, but the Lakers followed with an 8-2 run to give them a 22-21 lead entering the second period.
Notes:@ The Lakers’ winning streak was their longest since the 1999-2000 season, when they had streaks of 19, 16 and 11 games. … San Antonio won 13 in a row from Dec. 5-28 for the NBA’s second-longest winning streak this season. That streak began two days after the Spurs lost to the Lakers 90-86. … New Jersey has the season’s longest winning streak with 14 straight from Jan. 25-Feb. 24. … Parker, who shot 1-of-11 and scored seven points Friday night in San Antonio’s 94-81 victory at Utah, went 4-of-9 and had 10 points in the first quarter Sunday. … The Lakers also had their 10-game winning streak at home snapped. … Phil Jackson again expressed uncertainty concerning his future, but said if he coaches next season, it will only be with the Lakers. Talks with management regarding an extension were halted two months ago. The five-year, $30 million contract Jackson signed in 1999 expires after the season. Jackson has coached nine championship teams – tied with Boston’s Red Auerbach for the most in NBA history.