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Spurs hang on to beat Pistons

Feb 15, 2012 - 4:58 AM Auburn Hills, MI (Sports Network) - Tim Duncan had 18 points and 13 rebounds, as the Spurs hung on for a 99-95 win over the Pistons on Tuesday.

Tony Parker scored eight of his 14 points in the fourth quarter for the Spurs, who won their eighth straight and improved to 4-0 on their annual Rodeo Road Trip.

The Pistons trailed by 16 in the third quarter, but battled back to grab an 85-83 lead late in the fourth. They couldn't hang on, however, and dropped their second straight game.

"Even if we're not happy with we way we played in the fourth quarter, we can still tell ourselves we stayed in the game. Sometimes you lose those games," said Parker.

Rodney Stuckey had 23 points and eight assists for Detroit, which had won a season-high four in a row before its recent slide. Tayshaun Prince added 18 points.

Despite the loss, Detroit's Ben Wallace celebrated a milestone, appearing in his 1,055th career game -- a record for an undrafted NBA player.

"This was one of those games (against the Spurs) that I knew everyone would get up for," said Wallace, "and for the most part we did."

Kawhi Leonard opened the fourth with a three-pointer, giving the Spurs a 77-62 lead. But Wallace answered with a jumper, triggering a 16-2 Pistons run, which pulled the home team within one.

Late in the shot clock, Wallace hit the seventh three-pointer of his career to make it 79-70. Rodney Stuckey then converted a three-point play in between a baseline jumper and a trey from Jonas Jerebko and the Pistons trailed 79-78.

They took the lead, 85-83, on Brandon Knight's runout three-point play minutes later and Stuckey followed with a free throw for a three-point advantage.

Duncan, though, answered with four straight to put the Spurs back on top.

It was 91-91 when Parker took over. He began with a driving layup and, after Stuckey made 1-of-2 free throws, hit a running floater for a 95-92 lead with 27 seconds to play.

Ben Gordon then missed on a fadeaway baseline jumper out of a Detroit timeout and compounded the miss with a technical foul. Parker, who had already been fouled by Knight, made three straight free throws to put the game away.

Despite the loss, the Pistons competed intently. They were down 32-22 after one, but opened the second with a 12-3 run to make it 35-34. It was 49-44 in favor of San Antonio at the half and the margin stretched to 74-58 late in the third before Detroit began its late surge.

Game Notes

Spurs guard Manu Ginobili had one point on 0-of-4 shooting and seven assists in his second game back from a fractured left hand, which had kept him our for 22 contests...San Antonio will also visit the Raptors, Clippers, Jazz, Blazers and Nuggets on its nearly 8,000-mile trek...Wallace surpassed Avery Johnson for most NBA games played by an undrafted player.