San Antonio Spurs guard Manu Ginobili (right) shoots over Chicago Bulls forward Carlos Boozer during their NBA game in Chicago on Tuesday. (EPA)

DPA/Los Angeles


The San Antonio Spurs are showing how dominant they can be when healthy.
Argentine ace Manu Ginobili dropped in 22 points off the bench, Frenchman Tony Parker had 16 of his 20 in the opening quarter Tuesday and the surging Spurs ran past the defenceless Chicago Bulls 104-96.
The Spurs have climbed back atop the league standings after fighting through a rash of injuries to key players the past two months.
“It’s so different, January and February were so tough for us,” said Ginobili, sidelined for several contests because of hamstring injury.
“We had no personnel but the last 10 games we have the full squad, so hopefully we keep building from now on.”
Kawhi Leonard had 16 points with nine rebounds for San Antonio (47-16) which led led by as many 32 en route to its seventh straight win and ninth in the last 10 games.
“Our defence was excellent and it fuelled us offensively,” coach Gregg Popovich said after the Spurs improved their league-best road mark to 24-8.
D.J Augustin topped the Bulls with 24 points, Jimmy Butler added 23 and Joakim Noah netted 13 with eight rebounds and seven assists in the beat-down.
“We were not ready to play and that’s the biggest thing,” Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau said. “My job is to have them ready and we had no edge tonight.
“That’s a championship calibre team and they’re going for it. If you don’t match their intensity to start, you’re going to dig yourself into a big hole. That’s what we did tonight.”
The Bulls were coming off Sunday’s emotional overtime win over the two-time defending NBA Champs Miami Heat but never had a chance against the Spurs.
San Antonio hit 15-of-21 shots en route to a 38-14 first quarter as Parker single-handedly outscored one of the league’s premier defensive clubs.
“Our first quarter was as good as it gets,” said Ginobili, who added eight in the period.
The Spurs continued their nearly flawless play taking a 61-33 halftime cushion into the locker room on a sizzling 61 per cent shooting.
Ginobili netted 10 third-quarter points as the Spurs maintained a comfortable 90-66 advantage entering the final frame and coasted home with their starters resting on the bench.
Afterward, Popovich was asked if the Spurs are playing their best ball of the season.
“It may be so,” he said. “I think this is our third game back together now and it seems like we’re playing pretty consistently now.”
Elsewhere
Indiana Pacers 94, Boston Celtics 83: David West scored 24 points Andrew Bynum added eight with a season-high 10 rebounds in his Pacers debut, and the struggling East-best Pacers (47-17) ended their season-high four-game slide after beating the visiting Celtics, who got 17 points from Jared Sullinger.
Oklahoma City Thunder 106, Houston Rockets 98: League top gun Kevin Durant fired in 42 points, Russell Westbrook added 24, and the Thunder rolled the visiting Rockets to snap a modest two-game slide. James Harden scored 28 points against his former club as Houston had its five-game winning streak halted.
Golden State Warriors 108, Dallas Mavericks 85: Jordan Crawford came off the bench to score 19 points, Australian Andrew Bogut added 15 with 10 rebounds, and the Warriors manhandled the visiting Mavericks for their fifth straight win.
Memphis Grizzlies 109, Portland Trail Blazers 99: Spaniard Marc Gasol scored 19 points, Zach Randolph added 18 with 12 rebounds, and the Grizzlies won their third in a row after trimming the visiting Trail Blazers, who wasted Damian Lillard’s game-high 32 points.
Detroit Pistons 99, Sacramento Kings 89: Josh Smith scored 24 points, Rodney Stuckey added 23, as the Pistons broke a three-game skid after beating the visiting Kings, who received 13 points and 14 boards from DeMarcus Cousins.
Minnesota Timberwolves 112, Milwaukee Bucks 101: Kevin Love had 27 points with 10 rebounds, Kevin Martin scored 26, and the T-Wolves opened the fourth quarter on a 19-4 blitz to bounce the league-worst