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With Tim Duncan given a night off and Manu Ginobili still out with a hamstring injury, Tony Parker took the lead for the San Antonio Spurs.
Parker had 23 points and 12 assists, and the Spurs held off the short-handed Atlanta Hawks 98-93 on Saturday night for their fourth straight victory.
‘’Tony is just incredible,’’ said Spurs coach Gregg Popovich. ‘’What competitiveness. What a will to win. What a will to carry the team. He’s really fun to watch at both ends of the court. And he’s been doing that all year.’’
The Spurs snapped a streak of three straight road losses with their first win away from San Antonio since Jan 2.
Matt Bonner added 17 points, and Kawhi Leonard and Tiago Splitter each had 14 for the Spurs.
Parker had 10 points in the final period as the Spurs held off the Hawks’ comeback. He was effective with his drives and when setting up Splitter on pick-and-roll plays.
‘’In the fourth quarter I was trying to be aggressive and take more shots and at the same time still find Tiago on the roll,’’ Parker said. ‘’It worked out pretty well tonight.
‘’That’s what I do best. I go to the paint and try to create, and if I feel comfortable when I go to the basket, I always feel like I can get a shot up. I’ve been doing that my whole life.’’
The Hawks began the game with a new depth problem in their backcourt. The problem reached crisis level in the second half.
The Hawks announced about 90 minutes before the game that guard Lou Williams faces season-ending surgery for a torn ACL in his right knee. Williams was hurt Friday at Brooklyn and the tear was found when Williams was examined on Saturday by Dr Michael Bernot in Atlanta.
Then the Hawks lost guard Devin Harris to a sprained left ankle early in the final period. Harris didn’t return from the locker room after having the ankle taped.
Hawks coach Larry Drew said he had ‘’no idea’’ on the severity of Harris’ injury. Harris was hobbling in the locker room after the game, unable to put weight on his left foot.