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Parker, Spurs defeat Warriors at home again

Apr 2, 2008 - 6:41 AM SAN ANTONIO (Ticker) -- Nothing seems to change when the San Antonio Spurs and Golden State Warriors meet in the "Lone Star State."

Tony Parker poured in 26 points to lead a balanced attack as the Spurs rolled to their 20th straight home win over the Warriors with Tuesday's 116-92 victory.

Tim Duncan had 17 points and 12 rebounds and Manu Ginobili added 16 points off the bench to keep San Antonio (52-23) within percentage points of first-place New Orleans (51-22) atop the Western Conference standings.

But the loss puts Golden State (45-29) one-half game behind the Denver Nuggets (46-29) for the eighth and final playoff spot in the West with eight games remaining.

The Spurs haven't suffered a setback in the series at home since February 14, 1997. Despite the win, San Antonio still lost the season series, 2-1, for the first time since the 1996-97 campaign.

Bruce Bowen's 3-pointer snapped a 73-73 tie and sparked an impressive 19-0 surge between the third and fourth quarters as San Antonio held a 92-73 lead at the 9:52 mark.

"Our defense caught up with them, and it was a good effort by everyone to rebound the ball, not allow second shots and not allow them to get into the lane," Duncan said.

"I thought everybody did a good job at contributing and knocked down shots and moved the ball well," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. "It was a good performance."

The Warriors were never able to recover from there as they dropped the opener of a tough four-game road trip that also features stops at Dallas and New Orleans.

"I was surprised how fast the game got away from us," Warriors guard Baron Davis said. "The Spurs took off in a matter of two or three minutes."

Davis scored 19 points and Monta Ellis added 14 for Golden State, which shot just 37.5 percent (33-of-88) en route to being outscored 30-19 in the fourth.

"We just couldn't make any shots, missing layups and easy shots," Davis said. "I thought we took a lot of jumpers but, at the same time, it's just the way our team plays. It looks like we need to go back to the drawing board and find another level of play. The Spurs played a great game and good defense."