Sacramento, CA (Best E Casino) - Tony Parker scored 32 points and dished out 11 assists to lead the San Antonio Spurs past the Sacramento Kings, 101-98, at ARCO Arena.

Tim Duncan and Michael Finley poured in 19 points each for the Spurs, who have alternated wins and losses for the past seven contests and sit 1/2 game behind the Hornets for the top spot in the Southwest division. The Spurs are the third seed in the West, and hold a one game lead over the Rockets and Jazz for that spot. The Spurs will close out the regular season against the Jazz on Wednesday at the AT&T Center.

Manu Ginobili, who leads the Spurs in scoring (19.6 ppg), did not play in Monday's contest. He has missed San Antonio's last two games with a strained left groin.

John Salmons ended with 29 points and 10 rebounds for the Kings, who saw their two-game win streak halted. Spencer Hawes had 17 points and Beno Udrih 16. Francisco Garcia had 15 points in defeat.

Sacramento leading scorer Kevin Martin missed the game with a strained right knee.

In the waning moments, Salmons missed on a driving layup and Duncan grabbed the rebound. However, Garcia stole the ensuing pass and found Salmons, who connected on a three-point play to make it a 99-98 Spurs advantage with 14.3 ticks showing on the clock.

The Spurs inbounded the ball to Finley, who was immediately fouled and went on to hit 2-of-2, which made it 101-98 with 11.8 seconds remaining.

Sacramento inbounded the ball to Garcia, whose three-point bid caromed off the front of the rim. Salmons, though, grabbed the rebound and found an open Quincy Douby, but his three also bounced off the rim as time expired.

Fabricio Oberto had 17 points in the win.

The Spurs found themselves leading 36-26 after the first frame, but the Kings trimmed their deficit to 56-51 at the half.

In the third, a Salmons layup brought the Kings within two points, though Finley answered with a jump shot that served as the first pair of six unanswered San Antonio points. The run gave the Spurs a 65-57 advantage with just over 8 1/2 minutes left in the third quarter.

The teams traded baskets and the Spurs' deficit was trimmed to 83-76 heading into the final 12 minutes of play.

A 15-2 run, including 13 unanswered points, gave Sacramento a 93-87 lead with 6:04 left in regulation. Sheldon Williams started the run with a tip-in, and Salmons' layup closed it out.

The Spurs responded with a 7-0 run of their own for the one-point lead before Douby connected on a jumper to put the Kings up one. Parker added a free throw with 3:47 on the clock to knot the game at 95.

Neither team could muster any points for two minutes, until Oberto had a put- back layup after Finley missed a three-pointer, and Parker then hit a jumper to put the Spurs up 99-95 with just over a minute left in the game.

"At this point in the year, just having our guys lacing up and play this hard is just a tribute to them," Kings head coach Reggie Theus said.

Game Notes

The Spurs are 3-1 against the Kings this season and have won seven of the last eight contests in the series...The Spurs finished 22-19 on the road, while the Kings ended 26-15 as the host and will finish its season on Tuesday against the Lakers at the Staples Center.