Michael Finley and Tony Parker each scored 22 points and the reigning National Basketball Association champion San Antonio Spurs beat Houston 109-88 Sunday for a seventh win in a row.
Finley made 9-of-13 shots for the game and scored 18 points in the first half as the Spurs grabbed a 66-48 halftime lead and coasted from there.
"It wasn't easy," Finley said. "I just had good looks at the basket and I made the most out of those opportunities."
Tony Parker(L) of the San Antonio Spurs drives to the basket while Rafer Alston of the Houston Rockets tries to defend him during their NBA basketball game on Sunday.(Photo: sina.com.cn)
Finley, who had been slumping, is hitting nearly 70 percent from the field, shooting 31-of-45, in his past four games.
"I stay confident, continue to work hard," Finley said. "I was going through a little bit. I lost confidence. Now I'm coming back. At this time of year you have to step your game up. I took it upon myself to step up my game."
The Spurs improved to 51-23 and moved half a game ahead of New Orleans in quest of the top record in the Western Conference and a home-court edge throughout the West playoffs.
"It was a solid game, a solid win," Parker said. "But we have to stay focused because we have a lot of games coming up."
The Rockets, who leaped from 10th to first in the West with the NBA's second-longest win streak earlier this month, have fallen to a share of fifth by going 3-4 since, level with Phoenix on 49-24.
Luis Scola scored 24 points to lead the Rockets, while the Spurs kept Tracy McGrady to 5-of-22 shooting and fellow Houston backcourt starter Rafer Alston to 4-of-16 from the field. Each guard scored only 13 points.
Bruce Bowen shut down McGrady most of the game, the playmaking guard feeling the absence of Chinese star center Yao Ming with a foot injury that has ended his NBA season.
"Without Yao, the onus falls on Tracy," Bowen said. "He's going to create a lot of attention that causes us to prepare for him the way we did today."