The National Basketball Association defending champion San Antonio Spurs won their fourth game in a row, outlasting the Sacramento Kings 96-93 Monday.
Tony Parker netted 23 points and Tim Duncan added 22 and had a season-high 19 rebounds to lead the Spurs in Sacramento. The Kings rallied to within four points of the Spurs late in the fourth quarter, but San Antonio stayed ahead for the win.
In another close contest, the host Golden State Warriors edged the New Jersey Nets 100-97 to snap a five-game losing streak. The Nets kept the score close with four unanswered free throws down the stretch, but Golden State's Jason Richardson hit the final free throw with eight seconds to go to lift the Warriors. Richardson scored 25 points for the night.
In the NBA's only other two games Monday, the Utah Jazz won for the first time in six games, 100-80 over the Milwaukee Bucks, and the Philadelphia 76ers defeated the New Orleans Hornets 103-91.
Some information for this report provided by AP and Reuters.