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With Tim Duncan given a night off and Manu Ginobili still out with a hamstring injury, Tony Parker took the lead for the San Antonio Spurs.
Parker had 23 points and 12 assists, and the Spurs held off the short-handed Atlanta Hawks 98-93 on Saturday night for their fourth straight victory.
”Tony is just incredible,” said Spurs coach Gregg Popovich. ”What competitiveness. What a will to win. What a will to carry the team. He’s really fun to watch at both ends of the court. And he’s been doing that all year.”
The Spurs snapped a streak of three straight road losses with their first win away from San Antonio since Jan. 2.
Matt Bonner added 17 points, and Kawhi Leonard and Tiago Splitter each had 14 for the Spurs.
Parker had 10 points in the final period as the Spurs held off the Hawks’ comeback. He was effective with his drives and when setting up Splitter on pick-and-roll plays…
The Hawks announced about 90 minutes before the game that guard Lou Williams faces season-ending surgery for a torn ACL in his right knee. Williams was hurt Friday at Brooklyn and the tear was found when Williams was examined on Saturday by Dr. Michael Bernot in Atlanta…
Josh Smith led the Hawks with 21 points. Kyle Korver, who started at shooting guard, had 19 points and a season-high eight rebounds.
— Reported by Charles Odum of the Associated Press
