Spurs stretch winning streak

HOUSTON: Tim Duncan scored 21 points and Manu Ginobili added 15 in his second game back from an ankle injury to spark the San Antonio Spurs past Chicago 98-88 in an NBA game on Wednesday.

San Antonio's George Hill, playing more often with French guard Tony Parker injured, came off the bench to contribute 19 points and 11 rebounds for the Spurs, who stretched their win streak to three games in a row.

Ben Gordon scored 23 points and Drew Gooden added 20 points and 12 rebounds for the Bulls, who lost for the fourth time in six games. The Spurs improved to 8-6, one game behind Southwest division leader Houston, while the Bulls slid to 7-9.

Meanwhile, Danny Granger tipped in his own missed shot with 13 seconds remaining to lift the Indiana Pacers past Houston 91-90 in a game where Chinese star Yao Ming
suffered a severe cut.

The Pacers, who trailed by 10 points much of the fourth quarter, rallied behind Troy Murphy, scored 11 points in a 4 1/2-minute span to pull the Pacers back into the game.
Yao, who matched Ron Artest for the team lead with 19 points, missed a layup attempt in a flurry under the basket in the final seconds as the Rockets fired several attempts at a winning basket.

Yao had to leave the game in the first quarter and had four stitches to seal a gash above his right eye.