LOS ANGELES – With so much attention focused on the Lakers, Kings and Timberwolves, it’s easy to forget the San Antonio Spurs are the reigning NBA champions.

The Spurs served a reminder Sunday. Tony Parker had 29 points and nine assists and the Spurs beat the Los Angeles Lakers 95-89 for their sixth straight victory, moving them within 1 games of the Western Conference lead.

Tim Duncan added 18 points, 13 rebounds and six assists and Bruce Bowen and Manu Ginobili scored 12 points each for the Spurs (52-25), who have won eight of nine.

Kobe Bryant led the Lakers (53-24) with 28 points and six rebounds, but he shot just 9-of-26 while being closely guarded by Bowen.

Pistons 79, Pacers 61

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. – Richard Hamilton scored 24 points and the Detroit Pistons’ defense stifled the Indiana Pacers in a 79-61 win Sunday.

Detroit held the Pacers to a season-low for points and 34.2 percent shooting in a matchup of teams with the top two records in the Eastern Conference.

The Pistons were 0-3 against the Pacers this season, but they hadn’t played them with Rasheed Wallace. The Pistons are 16-5 since Wallace was acquired from Atlanta in a three-team trade on Feb. 19.

Kings 99, Rockets 94

HOUSTON – Peja Stojakovic had 28 points and 11 rebounds, and Chris Webber added 19 points to lead the Sacramento Kings to a 99-94 victory over the Houston Rockets.

Yao Ming had 21 points and 10 rebounds, and Jim Jackson added 18 points for the Rockets, who lost their fourth straight.

Jackson scored four points in an 11-2 run at the start of the fourth quarter, helping the Rockets get back into the game. Scott Padgett hit back-to-back 3-pointers to give Houston an 85-84 lead with 5:16 remaining.

Bucks 90, Raptors 83

TORONTO – Brian Skinner had 19 points and a season-high 14 rebounds and the Milwaukee Bucks clinched a playoff spot with a 90-83 victory over the Toronto Raptors.

Michael Redd added 17 points for the Bucks, who sit in fourth place in the Eastern Conference by a half game over New Orleans, which played at Seattle later.

Jalen Rose had 21 points for the lottery-bound Raptors, who have lost seven straight. Toronto fired general manager Glen Grunwald last week, and before Sunday’s game coach Kevin O’Neill was talking like he doesn’t think he’ll be back next season.

T-wolves 90, Grizzlies 82

MINNEAPOLIS – Sam Cassell scored a season-high 36 points and Kevin Garnett had 14 points and 22 rebounds to lead Minnesota past the Memphis Grizzlies 90-82 on Sunday for the Timberwolves fifth straight victory.

James Posey scored 19 points, Pau Gasol had 15 and Jason Williams had 10 points and 10 assists for Memphis, which had its seven-game winning streak snapped.

Nets 106, Hawks 89

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. – Richard Jefferson had 20 points and a career-high 12 assists and the starless New Jersey Nets won their third straight game, 106-89 over the Atlanta Hawks.

Kerry Kittles added 16 points and the Nets overcame the continued absence of Jason Kidd and Kenyon Martin by shooting 53.7 percent from the field and getting double-figure scoring from seven players.

All five starters scored in double figures, with Lucious Harris adding 14 points and Jason Collins and Rodney Rogers 13 apiece.

Harris saw limited action in the second half after bruising his ribs.

Rogers, who had five points in an early 13-point run that gave the Nets the lead for good, wasn’t around at the end of the game, either. The veteran forward was ejected midway through the third quarter for arguing with veteran referee Jack Nies over a non-call on a bump by Chris Crawford of Atlanta.

It wasn’t the only thing that went wrong for Rogers. He and Kittles both showed up late for the Nets’ morning shootaround because they forget to adjust their clocks.

Jason Terry and Stephen Jackson of Atlanta didn’t start, reportedly because of the same problem.

Jackson still led the Hawks with 31 points against his former teammates before fouling out. Crawford added 22 for Atlanta, which was held to 39.4 percent shooting from the field.

Collins, who averages 5.9 points, had six points in the 13-0 run that transformed an 11-8 deficit into a 21-11 lead. Jefferson had three assists in the spurt, including consecutive setups on a layup by Collins and a 3-pointer by Rogers that gave New Jersey the lead for good.

Atlanta trailed by double digits almost the entire second half.

Notes: Not only was Kittles late for the morning shootaround, he got an early technical foul from Nies for tossing a ball after being called for a backcourt violation. … New Jersey outrebounded Atlanta 44-31, with Collins and Jefferson leading the way with seven apiece. … Atlanta C Jason Collier took an elbow in the jaw from Collins in the first quarter and had to leave for a while. …Terry finished with seven points, but his biggest contribution was a mysterious dribbling exhibition late in the first half when he got into a crouch coming upcourt.

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