Spurs snap road losing streak
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The San Antonio Spurs snapped a four-game losing streak on the road with a 97-90 win over the Atlanta Hawks on Tuesday.
"Finally," said Spurs guard Tony Parker. "It was a big win for the team and our confidence and to prepare ourselves for the playoffs."
The victory allows the league leading Spurs (59-19) to maintain their grip on home court advantage throughout the playoffs.
They remain 1-1/2 games ahead of the Eastern Conference leading Chicago Bulls, who beat the Phoenix Suns 97-94.
Manu Ginobili scored 12 of his 18 points in the fourth quarter to lead the Spurs, who held a one point advantage at the end of the third quarter.
Atlanta seized control of a see-sawing first quarter with an 11-2 run late in the period. It built an 11-point lead in the second quarter but the Spurs pushed back with a 12-4 run at the end of the period to narrow Atlanta's lead to 46-43 at halftime.
San Antonio completed the comeback and took the lead on two free throws by Parker in the third quarter. Atlanta briefly regained the lead but Parker put the Spurs ahead for good with a short jump shot with four minutes left in the third.
"I think they picked up the tempo a little bit and it took us out of some things we wanted to run and how we wanted to do it," said Hawks center Al Horford.
"They're just a great defensive team. They have a lot of guards that just keep attacking you in different ways."
Parker led the Spurs with 26 points while Tim Duncan added 17 points. Joe Johnson led the Hawks with 21 points and Jamal Crawford scored 20 points off the bench.
In Boston, Rajon Rondo scored 16 points with 13 assists as the Boston Celtics moved into a share of the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference by beating the Philadelphia 76ers 99-82.
With the win, the Celtics and Heat were tied at 54-23 with four games left. The Celtics would win the tiebreaker because they beat Miami in their first three meetings this season.
In Denver, Kevin Durant scored 32 points as Oklahoma City beat Denver 101-94 in a possible first-round playoff preview.
Russell Westbrook added 18 points and James Harden 13 as the Thunder all but secured home-court advantage in the first round of the NBA playoffs, building a four-game lead over the Nuggets with five games left.
In Los Angeles, rookie Gordon Hayward scored a career-high 22 points and hit the go-ahead free throw with 6 seconds to play as Utah snapped an eight-game losing streak with a 86-85 victory over the Lakers.
Kobe Bryant scored 20 points and hit a tying 3-pointer with 16 seconds left, but fumbled the ball on an ill-conceived drive at the buzzer.
In other action, it was: Warriors 108, Trail Blazers 87; Bulls 97, Suns 94; Knicks 131, Raptors 118; Nets 107, Timberwolves 105; Wizards 107, Pistons 105; Kings 104, Rockets 101; Clippers 82, Grizzlies 81; Cavaliers 99, Bobcats 89; and Magic 78, Bucks 72.
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