Duncan beats stomach flu - and the Hawks

Tim Duncan shook off the stomach flu in a hurry _ and the San Antonio Spurs made quick work of the Atlanta Hawks in the fourth quarter.

Duncan had 17 points, 11 rebounds and two blocks, and Tony Parker scored 27 points in the Spurs' 95-81 home victory over Atlanta on Sunday.

"I thought Timmy did a great job coming off the flu he had yesterday to come back and play like he did," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. "I didn't think he would play."

Duncan's playing status wasn't certain until about 20 minutes before the game. At least five other Spurs have been affected by the bug.

"(Duncan) did a great job, especially with the way he was feeling yesterday," said Manu Ginobili, who missed a game Tuesday night because of the flu.

"When I was first feeling bad, the following day I was feeling terrible. So I was surprised. I didn't expect him to contribute much."

In other NBA games Sunday, it was: Dallas 89, Denver 85; the Los Angeles Lakers 104, Philadelphia 94; Phoenix 108, Detroit 101; Houston 111, Memphis 109; the Los Angeles Clippers 90, New York 80; and Seattle 101, Boston 95.

The Spurs opened the fourth quarter with a 10-0 run to take a 77-61 lead.

"We were feeling pretty good about ourselves at the end of the third period down by only six points," Hawks coach Mike Woodson said. "We need a lot of help offensively. This team is fighting a lack of chemistry."

Joe Johnson led Atlanta with 23 points, and Josh Childress had 19.

Atlanta has lost seven straight and 11 of 12 to drop to 9-20. The Hawks also have lost nine straight in San Antonio dating to Feb. 15, 1997.

Mavericks 89, Nuggets 85

At Denver, Josh Howard had 28 points and 17 rebounds, and Jason Terry added 21 points to lead Dallas to its 10th straight victory

Dallas played with Dirk Nowitzki, sidelined by a sinus infection.

Allen Iverson had 28 points and eight assists for Denver, and Earl Boykins added 20 points. Marcus Camby had 13 points and 13 rebounds in his first game back after missing four games because of a broken finger.

Lakers 104, 76ers 94

At Los Angeles, Kobe Bryant had 35 points, eight rebounds and six assists, and the Lakers overcame another injury to starting center Kwame Brown.

The Lakers were leading 56-48 early in the third quarter when Brown was helped to the dressing room because of a severely sprained left ankle.

Kyle Korver had a season-high 29 points and grabbed eight rebounds for the 76ers, who have lost 19 of their last 23 games and 14 of 16 on the road.

Suns 108, Pistons 101

At Auburn Hills, Mich., Steve Nash had 35 points and 12 assists, and Amare Stoudemire added a season-high 31 points and 13 rebounds for Phoenix.

Nash took advantage of point guard Chauncey Billups' absence to help hand Detroit its third straight loss. Billups is expected to miss two weeks after straining a calf muscle Friday night late in a one-point loss to Indiana.

Richard Hamilton scored 31 points for Detroit.

Rockets 111, Grizzlies 109

At Houston, Tracy McGrady scored a season-high 38 points and had nine rebounds to help the Rockets hand Memphis interim coach Tony Barone his first loss.

Juwan Howard added a season-high 22 points, and Luther Head had 18 in the Rockets' third straight victory. Mike Miller matched a season high with seven 3-pointers and scored 32 points for Memphis in its 12th loss in 14 games. The Grizzlies lost five in a row before winning its first game after Barone replaced the fired Mike Fratello.

Clippers 90, Knicks 80

At Los Angeles, Elton Brand scored 32 points and tied his career high with eight blocked shots to lead Los Angeles to its fourth victory in five games.

Eddy Curry had 15 points for New York. Mardy Collins, back in the lineup after serving a six-game suspension, had 11 points. Collins' flagrant foul against Denver's J.R. Smith triggered a brawl at Madison Square Garden on Dec. 16.

SuperSonics 101, Celtics 95

At Seattle. Chris Wilcox scored a season-high 24 points, and Damien Wilkins added 20 for the SuperSonics.

Tony Allen had 23 points for Boston in its sixth straight loss.