Tony Parker

Reeling Sixers lose 11th straight game as Parker leads Spurs to 103 98 win

Manu Ginobili saved the San Antonio Spurs from giving a game away to the short-handed Philadelphia 76ers.

Ginobili scored eight of his 17 points late to lead the Spurs to a 103-98 victory Saturday night, handing the 76ers their 11th straight loss.

Ginobili ``has unbelievable will (to win),'' Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. ``He does things you can't draw. He has extraordinary will to get it done.''

Tony Parker scored 24 points, Tim Duncan had 21 and Michael Finley 14 for the Spurs.

Andre Iguodala tied his career-high with 27 points to lead the 76ers. Kevin Ollie had 19 points, Willie Green 18 and Alan Henderson and Kyle Korver added 13 apiece.

The 76ers were without Allen Iverson, sitting out his sixth straight game while the 76ers try to fulfill his demand for a trade, and Chris Webber (sprained right ankle).

Still, the Spurs squandered a 17-point third-quarter advantage and allowed Philadelphia to take a lead late in the fourth. However, Ginobili served up a three-pointer, another basket and three free throws in the last 2:47 to put the Spurs over 100 and seal the win.

``In the final few minutes we stepped up, but we can't be satisfied with that,'' Ginobili said. ``It isn't always going to end up like today.''

Philadelphia coach Maurice Cheeks said he's pleased with his team's ``grit and scrappiness.''

``It's just unfortunate that we haven't been able to finish the game. ... It's hard to continue. We've been doing it night in and night out,'' Cheeks said. ``I give our guys a lot of credit for stepping up despite not having won a game.

``At some point it's going to turn. We're going to get a break here or a break there.''

The 76ers have their longest losing streak since dropping 13 in a row from Dec. 28, 1996, to Jan. 20, 1997.

``It's already frustrating to be losing and then not to be a part of it, just adds to it,'' said Webber, who was at Saturday's game.

After the game Cheeks did not address a possible Iverson trade.

Leading 54-50 at halftime, San Antonio quickly took a double-digit lead in the third off seven quick points from Duncan and a fast-break reverse layup from Ginobili.

Parker then buried a three-pointer with the shot clock almost gone then followed with an 18-footer.

The Spurs' biggest lead in the quarter, and game, was 17, and they took an 11-point cushion into the fourth.

However, the 76ers whittled the Spurs' lead down to one when Korver made a three-pointer with 4:49 left. Samuel Dalembert's dunk put the 76ers ahead 95-93 before Parker tied it up again.

After that, Ginobili's shots put San Antonio on top.

The 76ers, who lost 93-79 to the Dallas Mavericks on Friday, took a 26-23 lead into the second quarter.

Philadelphia remained close in the second with the help of 10 points from Green. The teams were tied five times during the quarter.

Iguodala said Saturday's matchup ``showed we have fight in us.''

``But we have to throw our counter-punch a little bit quicker,'' he said. ``We need to respond a little quicker than we have, instead of getting down 17 and having to fight back.''

Notes: San Antonio announced it has assigned G-F James White to the Austin Toros in the NBA Development League. White was signed by San Antonio on Nov. 3 and hasn't seen any time with the Spurs. ... San Antonio C Jackie Butler was out with the flu Saturday. ... The 76ers have lost 10 straight road games. ... The Spurs are 14-1 when scoring 100 or more points.

Tony Parker records career high 15 assists to lead Spurs over Clippers 111 82

Maybe Manu Ginobili should always come off the bench.

For that matter, maybe Tony Parker should stick to passing instead of shooting _ at least for the first half.

The two San Antonio players had stellar performances Friday night as the Spurs beat the Los Angeles Clippers 111-82.

Parker had a career-high 15 assists, besting his previous record of 14, which also came against the Clippers in December 2003.

Ginobili had 22 points in fewer than 20 minutes.

Parker was scoreless in the first half, missing both his shots while focusing on getting the ball to teammates. All nine of his points came in the third quarter.

``They (the Clippers) were kind of forcing me to pass it because they never really left me open,'' Parker said. ``My teammates kept making shots, so I decided to keep passing the ball.''

Parker had been averaging 19 points and just over five assists a game.

``We just happened to have a great night and it was sparked by Tony Parker,'' Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. ``I think he set the table for our team really well. ... He got everybody involved.''

As for Ginobili, the usual starter came in off the bench halfway through the first quarter as he continues to get back into playing shape. Ginobili was out for several games with a lower back contusion.

``He's starting to feel more confident with his rhythm and body. I wish he would have played a little longer to get into shape,'' Popovich said.

Ginobili had been averaging just over 13 points in almost 28 minutes a game this season. And he didn't seem worried about being a reserve.

``I don't know when it's going to change, but we're doing great,'' he said.

Tim Duncan and Brent Barry each added 16 points and Michael Finley had 13 for the Spurs. Francisco Elson finished with 11. Duncan also had 10 rebounds.

Shaun Livingston scored 16 points for the Clippers, the NBA's only winless road team at 0-7. Corey Maggette scored 12, Chris Kaman had 11 and Elton Brand added 10.

Both Ginobili and Livingston went 8-of-11 from the field.

``They're just a better team than us right now and it showed tonight,'' Livingston said. ``I think right now we're still finding ourselves.''

The Spurs went 10-of-24 on three-pointers. The Clippers took only four shots from behind the arc, making two.

``We got outworked,'' Clippers coach Mike Dunleavy said. ``Defensively, we gave up too many high-percentage shots to them.''

The Spurs took a 33-22 lead into the second. Ginobili came off the bench with 6:31 left in the first and immediately made a bucket for San Antonio, then followed with a three-pointer. He had eight in the period.

The Spurs upped their lead in the second quarter with the help of seven assists from Parker and all of Barry's first-half points. Barry was 3-of-3 from both the field and the foul line, for 11 points.

San Antonio was ahead 65-43 at the break.

Parker had 12 assists in the half, including a pass to Elson for a dunk that was part of a 12-2 San Antonio run.

Ginobili and Duncan had 12 points apiece for the half. The Clippers were led by Livingston, who shot 5-of-6 from the field, with 10.

Ginobili didn't miss in the fourth and scored seven points in a row before Popovich took him out for the night.

The Spurs' 90-59 lead going into the final 12 minutes allowed Popovich to give floor time to his reserves, including Beno Udrih, who had eight points Friday.

The Spurs improved to 15-5 and the Clippers fell to 9-9. But the Clippers will get another shot at San Antonio on Monday in California, where Popovich said he expects a more competitive matchup.

``If we want to win, we've got to play the right way and do the right thing,'' Maggette said. ``If we don't, we'll be the same old Clippers.''

Notes: The Clippers were tied with the Spurs at 2, but never had a lead. ... The Spurs' biggest lead was 37. ... The Spurs have won eight straight home meetings with the Clippers. ... Clippers G Sam Cassell came into the game off the bench with just under four minutes left in the first quarter. ... Finley started in place of Ginobili. ... Tim Thomas of the Clippers bruised his right hand. X-rays were negative.

Tony Parker scores 20 points to help Spurs beat SuperSonics 98 78

Tony Parker was blunt in his own assessment. For three quarters, he did very little to help San Antonio.

Parker's nearly perfect fourth quarter, however, kept the Spurs perfect away from home.

Parker scored 12 of his 20 points in the fourth quarter, and the Spurs improved to 7-0 on the road with a 98-78 win over the Seattle SuperSonics on Sunday night.

``I was just trying to be aggressive,'' Parker said. ``The first three quarters, I didn't get a lot of shots so I was just trying to make something happen.''

After sitting for nearly seven minutes, Parker re-entered with 9:14 left and the Spurs' lead down to 74-71. Determined to be more aggressive, Parker scored 10 of the 13 points in a 13-2 run that turned the close game into a rout.

The Spurs are the only unbeaten road team left in the NBA, and the fourth team in the last 10 years to start 7-0 or better on the road. The Spurs will be tested twice more on their current three-game road trip _ Monday night at Golden State and Wednesday in Utah.

Seattle made it interesting for three quarters, before Parker took over, a message he got from coach Gregg Popovich.

``He told me to be more aggressive,'' Parker said. ``Basically I was doing nothing for three quarters, so he wanted me to shoot more.''

Parker made 6-of-7 shots in the fourth, scoring three times driving in the lane and three times on jumpers. The Spurs outscored Seattle 27-15 and improved upon the best road start in franchise history. San Antonio has won 12 straight regular season road games dating back to last season.

Tim Duncan scored 18 points and grabbed 16 rebounds, and made team history, despite the efforts of Seattle's defence. The eight-time all-star became the third Spurs' player to eclipse 15,000 points in his career, joining David Robinson and George Gervin. Duncan needed 10 points, and reached 15,000 when Nick Collison was called for goaltending on Duncan's short jumper with 2:05 left in the first half.

Fabricio Oberto also made a significant contribution with 16 points, including San Antonio's first 10 of the second half.

``He's so intelligent as a player. He doesn't get enough credit for that,'' Duncan said of Oberto. ``He's not going to jump over anybody or do anything like that. He will find open spots and will make the right play just about every time.''

Ray Allen led Seattle with 21 points and Collison added 15 off the bench, but the Sonics' were held to a season-low 78 points and Rashard Lewis was held to season-low eight points, 15 below his average.

Afterward, Seattle coach Bob Hill was extremely frustrated with the play of his bench.

``There is no help for the first group,'' Hill said. ``Our first group missed a lot of shots around the basket because of their length, which has been a problem for us. And as soon as we go to the bench, it's just a struggle to score points.''

Aside from Collison, Seattle got 10 points from its reserves. Earl Watson made just 1-of-8 shots.

The Spurs were without Manu Ginobili, bothered by a lower back contusion suffered in the third quarter of Friday's loss against Dallas. Brent Barry picked up some of the scoring slack with all 12 of his points in the first half.

Oberto dominated his matchup with Seattle's Johan Petro, scoring San Antonio's first 10 points of the second half. Oberto scored off perfect passes from Duncan and Parker, then knocked down a nine-foot jumper as the shot clock expired to give the Spurs a 57-41 lead two minutes into the half.

``He knows how to play the position and Timmy is really enjoying playing with him,'' Popovich said.

Luke Ridnour added 11 for Seattle, including a basket from his knees in the third quarter. Ridnour lost his footing driving into the lane, gained control of the ball and tossed in a five-footer.

Notes: Seattle fell to 2-5 at home. ... Popovich doesn't expect Ginobili to play Monday in Golden State, but is hopeful he'll be ready for Wednesday's game in Utah. ... Two other teams in the last 10 years started 7-0 on the road _ Dallas in 2002 and Indiana in 2003. Houston started 8-0 in 1996. The NBA record is held by the New York Knicks, who won their first 12 to start the 1969-70 season.

Eva Longoria to tie the knot with her beau, basketball star Tony Parker

Her marriage didn't work out on ``Desperate Housewives,'' but things are looking rosy in real life for Eva Longoria: she's engaged to her beau, basketball star Tony Parker.

``Tony flew into Los Angeles last night after his game and surprised Eva at her home as she got off work,'' Longoria's spokeswoman, Liza Anderson, told The Associated Press on Thursday via e-mail.

``The proposal was romantic and perfect. The couple plans to wed in France in the summer of 2007 in what they describe as a big, happy ceremony with lots of family and friends.''

The 31-year-old Longoria, who plays crafty Gabrielle Solis on the hit ABC show, met Parker, a 24-year-old Frenchman, in the San Antonio Spurs' locker room after a game two years ago.

Longoria divorced Tyler Christopher, who stars on ABC's ``General Hospital,'' in 2004, after two years of marriage.