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Spurs stay hot with eighth straight win over Bulls

Nov 18, 2010 - 7:49 AM San Antonio, TX (Sports Network) - Tony Parker put the personal issues aside, scoring 21 points to go along with seven assists, as San Antonio used a big third quarter to down Chicago, 103-94.

Parker made 9-of-14 shots to go along with seven assists on the day it was announced he and his wife, actress Eva Longoria, had decided to divorce. Manu Ginobili added 20 points with five assists, and Tim Duncan notched a double- double with 16 points and 18 rebounds to go along with five assists for the Spurs, who won their eighth straight game, tied the best 10-game start in franchise history and improved to 9-1 overall.

Derrick Rose finished with 33 points, while Luol Deng added 18 points and seven rebounds and Joakim Noah contributed 10 points and 14 rebounds for the Bulls, who saw their four-game winning streak come to an end. The Bulls are in the middle of a seven-game road trip.

"They got us back on our heels to start the third," said Chicago head coach Tom Thibodeau. "In the fourth quarter, we fought back. We were in position, but they are the type of team that you can't make mistakes."

Chicago put it to the homestanding Spurs in the first half, holding San Antonio to 37 points and holding a 10-point lead. The third quarter, however, was completely different as the Spurs put up as many points as they did in the first 24 minutes and Chicago went cold from the floor.

It took the Spurs just under 4 1/2 minutes to tie the game on Richard Jefferson's three-pointer. The trey was all part of 13 consecutive points capped by Matt Bonner's jumper for a 59-51 lead. Chicago had just two field goals in the quarter's first 7 1/2 minutes. San Antonio scored six of the final eight points of the period capped by Duncan's jumper in the closing seconds for a 74-59 advantage.

San Antonio made 71.4 percent of its shots in the quarter, while Chicago connected on only 6-of-23 in the period to forget for the visitors.

Chicago trailed by 18 points at 83-65 about 2 1/2 minutes into the final quarter, but rallied to make the game interesting. A 13-2 scoring stretch capped by seven straight points from Rose made the score 85-78 with 6;41 to go. After seeing the margin grow back to 13 points with just under five minutes left, the Bulls had several possessions and chances to cut into a nine-point deficit but failed to convert until C.J. Watson's acrobatic layup made it a seven-point game, 95-88, with 2;29 to play.

Kyle Korver's trey with just under two minutes left made it a six-point game and Rose's triple moments later got Chicago as close as 99-94. San Antonio held on for the victory from there.

"In the second half, the defense picked up even more and the shots started to fall," said Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich. "I thought they showed a lot of grit and determination in the second half."

Game Notes

The Spurs made 48.2 percent of their shots, while Chicago shot 42.4 percent from the floor...The Bulls are in the midst of their famed Circus road trip. Chicago heads West while the circus comes to the United Center...The game featured eight ties and four lead changes...Jefferson scored 12 points, while George Hill added 14 for the Spurs...Ronnie Brewer and Korver each contributed 10 points in defeat.