ATLANTA (Reuters) - The San Antonio Spurs snapped a four-game losing streak on the road with a 97-90 win over the Atlanta Hawks Tuesday.
"Finally," said Spurs guard Tony Parker. "It was a big win for the team and our confidence and to prepare ourselves for the playoffs."
The victory allows the league leading Spurs (59-19) to maintain their grip on home court advantage throughout the playoffs.
Manu Ginobili scored 12 of his 18 points in the fourth quarter to lead the Spurs, who held a one point advantage at the end of the third quarter.
Atlanta seized control of a see-sawing first quarter with an 11-2 run late in the period.
They built an 11-point lead in the second quarter but the Spurs pushed back with a 12-4 run at the end of the period to narrow Atlanta's lead to 46-43 at halftime.
"I think they picked up the tempo a little bit and it took us out of some things we wanted to run and how we wanted to do it," said Hawks center Al Horford.
"They're just a great defensive team. They have a lot of guards that just keep attacking you in different ways."
Parker led the Spurs with 26 points while Tim Duncan added 17 points. Joe Johnson led the Hawks with 21 points and Jamal Crawford scored 20 points off the bench.
(Reporting by Mike Mouat in Windsor, Ontario. Editing by Greg Stutchbury)
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