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Playoff-bound Spurs welcome Kings to the Alamo City

Mar 11, 2011 - 4:10 PM (Sports Network) - The NBA's best takes on the Western Conference's worst in the Alamo City Friday when the San Antonio Spurs shoot for their 11th straight win over the lowly Sacramento Kings.

San Antonio won for the third time in four games Wednesday and improved to 2-1 on a four-game homestand when Tony Parker posted a game-high 23 points to lead six Spurs in double digits, as San Antonio topped the Pistons, 111-104.

"I thought he did a great job throughout the game, being aggressive, distributing the ball," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said of Parker. "When we really needed some offense, he was scoring when (the Pistons) made a run at the end. He was fantastic."

Tim Duncan and Gary Neal both finished with 15 points, while Duncan grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds in the victory. Manu Ginobili added 17 points and five assists for the victors.

San Antonio, which became the first team in the Western Conference to clinch a playoff spot with the win, shot a season-high 64.3 percent in the game and were a sizzling 17-of-21 from the field in the first quarter. The Spurs also improved to an NBA-best 30-3 at home this season and rebounded from their loss to the Lakers on Sunday, which snapped a 22-game home winning streak.

The Kings, who are opening up a brief two-game road trip that will also include a visit to New Orleans, lost their fourth straight on Wednesday when Jameer Nelson scored 12 of his 26 points in the fourth quarter, as the Orlando Magic outlasted Sacramento, 106-102, at Power Balance Pavilion.

DeMarcus Cousins recorded 29 points and seven rebounds, Marcus Thornton chipped in 22 points and Jason Thompson netted 16 off the bench for the Kings.

"We just didn't do what we needed to do down the stretch. They made big plays; give credit to them," Thornton said.

Sacramento remains without reigning Rookie of the Year Tyreke Evans due to a case of plantar fasciitis in his left foot. The team is 3-13 in Evans' absence this season and went 2-8 without him a year ago.

The Kings have lost seven straight in the Alamo City.