Los Angeles - With two of their brightest stars sidelined by injuries, San Antonio Spurs' Tony Parker seized the opportunity to sparkle in the spotlight.

"The French Flash" tossed in 26 of his 37 points in the opening half, and handed out a season-high 12 assists, carrying the short-handed Spurs past the visiting Dallas Mavericks 93-76 on Tuesday night.

Without Argentine ace Manu Ginobili (stress reaction in his right ankle) and perennial All-Star forward Duncan (sore right ankle) a late scratch, Parker put on an entertaining one-man show.

The speedy All-Star guard made an assortment of spinning layups, soft floaters and long jumpers to keep his flat-footed Texas rivals off-balance throughout the runaway win.

"Sometimes I like it when Manu and Timmy don't play," joked Parker after hitting 15-of-32 field goals.

"I know we're not going to win a championship, but for one game, I have the opportunity to show what I can do. My outside shot was going tonight, so everything was working out pretty well for me."

Michael Finley scored all 16 of his points in the second half against his former team, while Kurt Thomas added 10 with a season-best 15 rebounds in place of Duncan as San Antonio (38-17) improved to 19-6 since January 1.

The Spurs held the Mavericks to their fewest points of the season, while limiting German juggernaut Dirk Nowitzki to just 14 points on 5-of-15 shooting, along with 10 rebounds.

"Our main focus was to keep the ball out of Dirk's hands," Thomas explained. "He's an unbelievable player; he shoots the ball extremely well. When he's going, the Mavericks light up the scoreboard."

Josh Howard scored 19, JJ Barera had 16 and James Singleton contributed 14 points with 14 boards off the bench for Dallas (33-23) which has dropped five of the last six meetings against the four-time NBA Champions.

Elsewhere: LA Lakers 107, Oklahoma City Thunder 93 Kobe Bryant scored 36 points, and the league-best Lakers (47-10) pulled away on the road for their 12th win in the last 13 games.

Kevin Durant tossed in 32 in Oklahoma City's (13-44) sixth straight loss.

Miami Heat 103, Detroit Pistons 91 Dwyane Wade had 31 points and a career-high 16 assists, and the host Heat handed the stumbling Pistons their seventh straight loss.

Allen Iverson scored 22 points, and Tayshaun Prince added 18 with nine rebounds and eight assists as Detroit (27-28) dropped below .500 this late in a season for the first time since 2000-01.

Cleveland Cavaliers 94, Memphis Grizzlies 79 Daniel Gibson scored 19 points, Mo Williams had 18, and LeBron James added 15 before sitting out the final quarter, as the Cavaliers (44-11) improved to 26-1 at home.

Rudy Gay and Hakim Warrick scored 13 points apiece for Memphis (15-41) losers of five in a row

Houston Rockets 98, Portland Trail Blazers 94 Ron Artest scored 21 points, and Aaron Brooks had 20, helping the Rockets to their fifth consecutive victory after holding off the visiting Trail Blazers.

Argentine Luis Scola finished with 15 points and 11 rebounds for Houston (36-21) which jumped past Portland for the fourth spot in the Western Conference.

Brandon Roy scored 24 and LaMarcus Aldridge added 21 for Portland (35-21) which nearly fought its way out of an 18-point hole.

Chicago Bulls 120, Orlando Magic 10 Derrick Rose scored 22 points, recently-acquired Tim Thomas added 17 and the host Bulls shot a sizzling 56 per cent to make the Magic's modest two-game win disappear.

Dwight Howard led Orlando (41-15) with 26 points and 12 rebounds.

Toronto Raptors 118, Minnesota Timberwolves 100 Chris Bosh and Italy's Andrea Bargnani scored 26 points apiece, and the Raptors topped the visiting T-Wolves for the 10th consecutive time.

Randy Foye scored 25, Ryan Gomes had 23 for stumbling Minnesota (18-38) losers in 11 of its last 12 contests

Phoenix Suns 112, Charlotte Bobcats 102 Steve Nash scored 22 points despite suffering an ankle sprain in the second half, Shaquille O'Neal had 20 with 11 boards and the Suns ruined the return of Boris Diaw and Raja Bell.

Diaw led Charlotte (22-35) with a season-best 27 points, Bell finished with 23 against their former team that traded the two veterans in December.