Spurs defeat Pacers, 111-98
(Agencies)
Updated: 2005-01-07 15:22

Tim Duncan scored 27 points and Tony Parker had 26, leading the San Antonio Spurs to a 111-98 victory over the Indiana Pacers on Thursday night.

Indiana Pacers' Jermaine O'Neal makes his move to the basket to shoot over San Antonio Spurs' Tim Duncan in the second quarter in San Antonio, Thursday, Jan 6, 2005. [AP]

Manu Ginobili added 18 points and Duncan grabbed 12 rebounds for San Antonio, which improved to 8-0 at home against Eastern Conference teams and 16-1 overall at the SBC Center. The Spurs earned their seventh double-digit victory in eight games, but it didn't come easy.

Jermaine O'Neal had 32 points and nine rebounds for Indiana, and Jamaal Tinsley finished with 18 points and eight assists.

Parker got San Antonio off to a fast start by scoring 10 points in the first quarter on a series of layups. Still, the Spurs only led 57-51 at halftime despite shooting 54 percent from the field and 50 percent from 3-point range. San Antonio also held a 10-0 advantage in second-chance points through the first two quarters and a 10-point edge in the paint.

Indiana was able to remain close behind 14 points from O'Neal and 13 from Tinsley.

San Antonio was finally able to gain a cushion by going on a 22-12 run to open the second half. Duncan, Parker and Bruce Bowen combined to score all the points during the run.

The Pacers' frontcourt of O'Neal, David Harrison and Jeff Foster cut the deficit back to six, but the Spurs were able to maintain their advantage with a strong defensive effort in the final quarter.

San Antonio limited Indiana to two points off turnovers in the final quarter.

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