• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers

Parker makes surprising return, Spurs hammer Heat

Mar 5, 2011 - 7:21 AM San Antonio, TX (Sports Network) - Tony Parker returned early from a calf strain to score 15 points, and the San Antonio Spurs shot the lights out for their 22nd straight victory at home, a 125-95 thumping of the struggling Miami Heat.

The Spurs buried a franchise-record 17 three-pointers en route to their fifth win in six games overall.

Manu Ginobili led the way with 20 points and Matt Bonner hit six of San Antonio's 17 threes for 18 points. The Spurs were 17-of-28 from beyond the arc and 46-for-82 overall (56 percent).

"A ridiculous night," said San Antonio head coach Gregg Popovich. "It's very rare. We had it tonight and we're thankful for it. It made for a wonderful night."

LeBron James scored 26 points, Dwyane Wade had 19 and Chris Bosh 17 to lead Miami, but the Heat lost their third straight game and fell to 1-4 in their last five.

One night after blowing a 24-point lead in a shocking loss to Orlando, the Heat traveled to San Antonio and came out limp against the streaking Spurs.

"This is a team that's clicking on all cylinders right now," James said of the Spurs. "Everyone on the team has confidence, Tim Duncan all the way down to the last guy off the bench. We saw tonight why they are the best team in the league."

Miami didn't have much of a chance.

The Spurs tied a franchise record by hitting 8-of-11 three-pointers in the first quarter, jumping out to a 36-12 lead at the buzzer.

Bonner made all four of his three-point attempts in the quarter for 12 points and Ginobili went 3-for-4 for 11 points as the Spurs, undefeated at home since November 26, gave their fans another performance to cheer about.

Still, the Heat managed to mount a small comeback.

They opened the second quarter on a 19-9 run, getting within 45-31 on Mike Miller's three-pointer, and pulled within 12 points at halftime, heading to the locker room down just 62-50.

But the Spurs outscored them 32-22 in the third, despite going just 1-for-4 from beyond the arc, and carried a 94-72 lead into the final quarter.

Parker was supposed to miss 2-to-4 weeks with a strained left calf he suffered Sunday against Memphis. But he missed only two games and shot 4-of-8 in 23 productive minutes.

Parker was driving for a layup when he was pushed from behind by Heat center Erick Dampier with 2:13 remaining in the third quarter, drawing a flagrant 2 foul and an ejection for Dampier.

After the game, Parker said during a TV interview that it was a "dirty foul."

San Antonio was comfortable enough to sit Parker and Duncan for the entire fourth quarter. Duncan had 11 points and tied Bosh for a game-high with 14 rebounds.

The Spurs went 6-of-7 on three-pointers in the final quarter and led by as many as 31 points when Gary Neal's bucket made it 115-84 with 5:43 left.

"One game, one night," said Duncan. "We outplayed them, obviously, and we shot the ball extremely well. We've been kind of going up and down over the last week or two weeks. It's good to play a solid 48-minute game."

Game Notes

San Antonio is 29-2 at home this season...The Spurs have won four straight and 15 of the last 18 meetings between the two teams. Miami has dropped 22 of its last 24 games in San Antonio...The Heat will return to Miami for a six-game homestand against the Bulls, Trail Blazers, Lakers, Grizzlies, Spurs and Thunder...The Spurs started a four-game homestand that also includes visits from the Lakers, Pistons and Kings. They were coming off win over Cleveland on Wednesday, which made the Spurs the first 50-win team in the NBA this season.