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Tony Parker scored 28 points, driving the short-handed San Antonio Spurs past the visiting Bulls 94-79 on Wednesday night.

 "Lately, I have been just trying to create offence for myself and making the most out of opportunities that present themselves," said Parker, who made 12-of-19 field goals in 33 minutes.

 The Bulls were playing their first game since playing Scrooge on Christmas Eve by giving head coach Scott Skiles his pink slip after guiding the underachieving club to a 9-16 record. However, with assistant Pete Myers calling the shots, they remained in a season- long rut.

 "You've got to have some kind of structure, you've got to have a motor, you've got to have a will," Myers said following Bulls' fourth loss in the last five games. "Over the past few weeks and months, we haven't displayed any of that."

   Michael Finley had 15 points for defending league champion San Antonio (20-7) which improved to 15-1 at home without injured Argentine Manu Ginobili (sprained left index finger) and just eight points and 11 rebounds from Tim Duncan.

 Joe Smith had 19 points and 11 rebounds while Ben Gordon contributed 18 points for the Bulls (9-17), who shot just 41 per cent from the field.

 Trailing by one after the opening quarter, the Spurs blew open the game in the second stanza behind Parker. The flashy Frenchman shredded the Bulls' Swiss cheese defence for a 12 of his 17 first- half points on a variety of spinning layups to give the hosts a 51-39 cushion.

 "He was determined to break us down and get to the rim," Myers said.

 Ahead by 12 with three minutes gone in the final frame, Finley's jumper capped a 17-4 run, pushing the Spurs' lead to 94-69 with just under four minutes remaining.

 Elsewhere:    Boston Celtics 89, Sacramento Kings 69    Ray Allen scored 17 points, Paul Pierce had 14 of his 16 in a pivotal second quarter and the Celtics opened a four-game West Coast road trip by snapping an 11-year losing streak at Arco Arena.

 Kevin Garnett contributed 14 points and 10 rebounds for the league-best Celtics (23-3), who won at Sacramento for the first time since February 16, 1996.

 Ron Artest netted 15 points for the Kings (11-16) who scored a season low.

 Denver Nuggets 125, Milwaukee Bucks 105    Carmelo Anthony scored 29 points while Marcus Camby had a triple double with 10 points, 11 rebounds and 10 blocks as the Nuggets routed the Bucks.

 Mo Williams scored 28 points for the Bucks (11-15) who have lost seven straight road games.

 Utah Jazz 99, Dallas Mavericks 90    Carlos Boozer scored 21 points, including six of Utah's last seven, helping the Jazz end the Mavericks' five-game winning streak.

 Reigning league MVP Dirk Nowitzki led the visiting Mavericks (19- 10) with 20 points and nine rebounds.

 New Orleans Hornets 116, Memphis Grizzlies 98    Chris Paul scored 40 points with five three-pointers and handed out nine assists, carrying the Hornets to their ninth win in the last 10 meetings against the Grizzlies.

 Rudy Gay and Mike Miller netted 19 points apiece for the host Grizzlies (8-20) who have lost 10 of their last 12 overall outings.

 Detroit Pistons 101, New Jersey Nets 83    Richard Hamilton scored 10 of his 22 points in a decisive third quarter when the Pistons made 14-of-18 shots en route to their sixth straight victory.

 Vince Carter scored 21 points for the Nets (12-16) who were outscored 31-18 in the pivotal third stanza.

 Golden State Warriors 105, Minnesota Timberwolves 101    Monta Ellis scored a career-high 35 points and Baron Davis had 27 as the Warriors held off the visiting Timberwolves for their fourth win in the last five games.

 Al Jefferson had 20 points and 19 rebounds for the league-worst Timberwolves (4-23) who rallied after trailing by as many as 22.

 Atlanta Hawks 107, Indiana Pacers 95    Joe Johnson had 26 points and 11 assists, carrying the Hawks to their first five- game winning streak since 1999.

 Troy Murphy led the Pacers (15-14) with 19 points.

 Orlando Magic 110, New York Knicks 96    Turkey's Hedo Turkoglu scored 26 points, Rashard Lewis had 25, helping the Magic end a four-game home losing streak.

 Jamal Crawford tossed in 29 points for the Knicks (8-20) who fell to 1-11 on the road.

 Washington Wizards 108, Charlotte Bobcats 104    Antawn Jamison collected 26 points and 14 rebounds to lead a balanced scoring attack as the Wizards snapped a three-game slide.

 Caron Butler scored 25 points, Roger Mason had a career-high 24 and Brendan Haywood finished with 20 points.

 Gerald Wallace paced the Bobcats (10-16) with 32 points and Jason Richardson added 27.

 Philadelphia 76ers 96, Miami Heat 85    Andre Iguodala scored a season-high 28 points and the Sixers beat the Heat at home for the 13th time in the last 15 games.

 Dwyane Wade scored 27 points for Miami (8-21), which occupies the basement of the Eastern Conference.

By Paul Levine, dpa