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Spurs continue Raptors' skid

Dec 21, 2008 - 5:36 AM SAN ANTONIO (Ticker) -- Tony Parker had 24 points and 10 assists as the San Antonio Spurs snapped their brief two-game skid with a 107-97 victory over the sliding Toronto Raptors on Saturday.

Tim Duncan had 19 points and seven rebounds for the Spurs, who suffered road losses to the New Orleans Hornets and Orlando Magic this week.

According to coach Gregg Popovich, Parker's play was key to the win.

"Tony orchestrated a wonderful game," the coach said. "It's tough for a point guard between scoring and getting others involved. He made great decisions and spear-headed the win for us."

San Antonio, which had its six-game winning streak snapped with the setback to the Hornets, avoided losing three in a row for the second time this season. The Spurs dropped three straight to begin the season from October 29-November 4.

Late in the fourth, the Spurs saw their comfortable 16-point lead dwindle down to six after Jason Kapono's 24-foot three off Jose Calderon's steal with 2:40 remaining.

But Duncan hit a 17-foot bank shot to put the Spurs back up by eight. Then, after Kapono's missed six-foot jumper, the Spurs went on to a 10-point victory.

"Things are always easier when you make shots. One or two of those (shots) in New Orleans would have been great, but that's the game," Popovich said. "When you make shots, things come more simply."

Toronto, meanwhile, now has lost four in a row. The Raptors suffered an embarrassing 91-82 loss to the lowly Oklahoma City Thunder on Friday.

The Raptors came out strong in the first quarter, looking to get the taste of that loss out of their collective mouth - taking a 25-20 advantage after the opening period.

But Matt Bonner made a jumper to give the Spurs the lead for good with 7:39 left in the second en route to a 56-48 lead at halftime. San Antonio cruised in a lackluster second half.

Bonner, Manu Ginobili and Roger Mason contributed to that first-half push, combining for six 3-pointers.

"Those guys just had a lot of timely threes," Toronto center Jermaine O'Neal said. "Every time we would stop them, it seemed like they would come back on the next possession with a three."

O'Neal, who suffered a minor left shoulder injury against the Thunder, collected 24 points and 10 rebounds for the Raptors in this one.