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Spurs Top Hornets For 5th Straight Win

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The Associated Press

Published: February 24, 2008

SAN ANTONIO - Manu Ginobili had 30 points and a career-high 12 assists, and Tim Duncan added 25 points and 11 rebounds Saturday night to lead the San Antonio Spurs to a 98-89 win against the New Orleans Hornets for their fifth straight win.

Chris Paul had 27 points and David West 16 for the Hornets, who have lost two in a row and are tied atop the Western Conference standings with a 37-17 record.

Trailing by 17 with 1:26 to play in the third, Paul and Jannero Pargo led a 19-2 run that spanned the third and fourth quarters to tie it at 78 with 7:05 remaining.

During the run, the Spurs didn't hit a shot from the field for 8 1/2 minutes. Their only scoring during the span came from six free throws.

But the Spurs weren't about to suffer a repeat of late January, when the Hornets routed them 102-78. In this one, the Hornets never took the lead after losing it midway through the first quarter.

Back-to-back 3s from Bruce Bowen and Ginobili gave the Spurs a 10-point lead, 94-84, with just over two minutes to play, and the Hornets didn't threaten after that.

New Hornets guard Mike James played almost 16 minutes and scored five points and new swingman Bonzi Wells played more than 19 minutes and scored two points.

The two were acquired in a deal Thursday before the trading deadline that sent Bobby Jackson to the Houston Rockets.

The Spurs tore away in the second quarter and led 50-35 at halftime.

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