THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
SAN ANTONIO — Tony Parker scored 12 of his 30 points in the fourth quarter as the San Antonio Spurs sent the sliding Phoenix Suns home winless on their four-game road swing with a 103-98 victory Sunday.
Parker punctuated his fourth 30-point game in his last seven outings with a win-clinching runner with 26.2 seconds left. The Suns dropped further back in the Western Conference playoff picture with about a month remaining in the regular season.
Tim Duncan scored 17 points and helped hold Shaquille O’Neal to 14 points, his lowest total in his past five games. Shaq had averaged nearly 30 points in his previous four outings.
Roger Mason had 18 points for the Spurs and Michael Finley had 11 points, eight of which came in the fourth.
Victoria’s Steve Nash led the Suns with 23 points and 11 assists. Leandro Barbosa had 20 points off the bench and hit all four of his three-point attempts.
The loss wrapped up a rough week for the Suns. They return home after an 0-4 road trip that left Phoenix — which looked rejuvenated as recently as a week ago — now four games behind Dallas for the final playoff spot in the West.
What started with a loss in Orlando that began a week-long “Flop Flap” between Shaq and Magic coach Stan Van Gundy ended with Phoenix limping through one of its worst slides this season.
The Suns also fell to 6-6 under new coach Alvin Gentry after going 6-2 in the weeks after Phoenix fired Terry Porter during the all-star break. The four consecutive losses tie a season high for Phoenix.
The Suns have the Mavericks coming to town Tuesday before hosting East-leading Cleveland on Thursday.
Phoenix cut a 13-point half-time deficit to four to start the third behind eight points from Shaq, who picked up his fourth foul with 4:05 left after sending Parker to the floor. The Suns continued clawing back in the fourth and took an 82-81 lead with 7:40 to go when Grant Hill knocked down an open three-pointer from the corner.
A layup by Parker and a jumper from Finley put San Antonio back ahead 85-82. Parker then pushed the lead to five on a jumper drained right in front of the Phoenix bench.
The final blow came with 26.9 seconds left, when Parker rolled inside and flipped up an arching one-handed jumper to put San Antonio ahead 100-93.
George Hill added 11 points off the bench for San Antonio. Matt Barnes had 13 points for Phoenix.
The Spurs have won two straight to hold a narrow lead over Houston and New Orleans in the Southwest Division. The Los Angeles Lakers visit San Antonio on Thursday in the last regular-season meeting of the West’s top teams.
San Antonio may not be able to test new addition Drew Gooden against the Lakers. Gooden, signed by the Spurs this week after buying out his contract in Sacramento, continues to sit out with a groin injury that has limited him to just two games since Jan. 19.
Notes: The Suns got a kick out of watching an early 1990s video of a boyish and comparatively lithe O’Neal, who attended high school in San Antonio. “It looks like the new Shaq ate that Shaq,” Gentry quipped before the game. … Gregg Popovich said recent tests on Manu Ginobili’s injured right ankle showed signs of healing but that his star sixth man will still likely sit out another one or two weeks. Ginobili has missed 11 consecutive games.
