San Antonio: San Antonio point guard Tony Parker made a seamless return from a six-game injury absence on Sunday, scoring 22 points to lead the Spurs to a 112-106 NBA win over Dallas.
Parker had been sidelined since just before the All Star break two weeks ago with what Spurs coach Gregg Popovich called a “variety of maladies”.
That included different leg injuries as well as hand soreness, but he showed no sign of trouble on Sunday as he connected on 10 of 15 shots from the floor and handed out seven assists in just under 32 minutes on the floor.
Tim Duncan scored 17 points and pulled down nine rebounds, Kawhi Leonard added 16 points and Manu Ginobili had 15 points and seven assists for the Spurs, who have won six of their last seven to keep Western Conference leaders Oklahoma City in their sights.
Dirk Nowitzki scored 22 points, Vince Carter chipped in 21 and Monta Ellis added 17 points and eight assists for the Mavericks, who have now lost two straight.
French big man Joakim Noah, meanwhile, notched the fifth triple-double of his career to lead the Chicago Bulls to a 109-90 victory over the reeling New York Knicks. Noah scored 13 points, grabbed 12 rebounds and handed out a career-best 14 assists as the Bulls posted their ninth win in 10 games.
DJ Augustin scored 23 points, Jimmy Butler chipped in 19 and Carlos Boozer scored 14 for Chicago, who led from start to finish.
Trimmed deficit
The Bulls stormed to a 16-1 lead in the first five minutes, their smothering defence causing the Knicks to go 0-for-4 from the field and turn the ball over three times.
The margin would swell to 21 points by the end of the first quarter.
The Knicks trimmed the deficit in the second period, as Amare Stoudemire scored six points in an 8-0 scoring run that brought the Knicks within nine points with less than four minutes to play in the first half.
But the Knicks could make little further headway after the break, and dropped their sixth decision in a row despite 21 points from Carmelo and a 22-rebound effort from Tyson Chandler.
Guard Jimmer Fredette, signed by the Bulls earlier in the day for the remainder of the season, played the final three minutes of the contest, scoring two points and grabbing two rebounds.
Fredette reached a buyout agreement with the Sacramento Kings earlier this week and after clearing waivers was able to sign on with a team with playoff aspirations.
Fredette said before the game he was looking forward to playing with his new teammates.
“I see how this team plays,” Fredette said. “They play hard every single night, play for each other and play the right way.
“That was something I was looking for, coming to a team where I can fit in and play the way they do, hard every single night.”
