Parker spurs on Spurs to end Suns’ 11-game streak

In a statement game between two of the NBA’s elite teams, the San Antonio Spurs spoke loudest.

Tony Parker scored 29 points in 30 minutes, and San Antonio (23-6) shot 52 percent in ending Phoenix’s 11-game winning streak with a 115-94 victory Tuesday night in San Antonio.

In a matchup of the league’s most productive offense (Phoenix) against its stingiest defense (San Antonio), the Spurs managed to assume both roles. San Antonio fell one point shy of its highest point total of the season and held the Suns (24-4) to one point more than their season low.

San Antonio, leading 61-54 at halftime, won the game with a 20-6 run to open the third quarter. Parker scored three baskets in the paint and Bruce Bowen added a pair of 3-pointers during the decisive burst.

Cavaliers 111, Hawks 102: LeBron James finished with 40 points, nine rebounds and seven assists to help visiting Cleveland defeat Atlanta for its third victory in four games.

Jeff McInnis and Zydrunas Ilgauskas each scored 20 points for Cleveland, which won its fifth straight against the struggling Hawks.

James, who entered with a scoring average of 24.6, ranked fifth in the NBA, finished three points shy of his career high set Nov. 24 against Detroit. James, who turns 20 on Thursday, is the youngest player to reach 500 career assists and rebounds.

Lakers 117, Raptors 99: Kobe Bryant scored 48 points in 46 minutes after spraining his left shoulder in the opening period, and Los Angeles enjoyed its highest-scoring game of the season with a win over visiting Toronto.

The Lakers, coming off a 104-102 overtime loss to Miami on Christmas, beat Toronto for the sixth straight time. The Lakers were 13 for 25 from 3-point range after attempting a franchise-record 36 shots from 3-point range against Miami and making 14.

Bryant’s non-shooting shoulder took a beating in the first 5 1/2 minutes. First, he hit the deck after missing a spinning layup and falling over Eric Williams. He staggered off the court wincing again after driving the lane and getting the ball slapped out of his hands by rookie center Rafael Araujo.

Nets 84, Bulls 80: Vince Carter had 25 points and six rebounds to lead visiting New Jersey to a victory over Chicago.

Carter finished 9 of 23 in his second game for New Jersey, one night after limping off the court in an overtime loss at Detroit.

Richard Jefferson and Nenad Krstic each scored 17 points for New Jersey. Kirk Hinrich led Chicago with 30 points.

Mavericks 113, Celtics 94: Dirk Nowitzki totaled 29 points and 11 rebounds, and Michael Finley added 21 points as Dallas built a 28-point first-half lead and eased to a win over visiting Boston.

Erick Dampier matched his season high with 16 points and Jason Terry had 14 assists for Dallas.

Paul Pierce and Jiri Welsch had 17 points each to pace the Celtics, who’ve lost eight of their last nine meetings with the Mavericks.

Bucks 115, Rockets 87: Michael Redd and Desmond Mason combined for 52 points while leading Milwaukee past visiting Houston.

Marcus Fizer added 15 points and seven rebounds for Milwaukee, which won consecutive games for the second time this season. Since starting 3-1, the Bucks are 5-15.

Milwaukee’s previous top offensive output this season was 110 points in a double-overtime loss to Miami on Nov. 14.

Nuggets fire Bzdelik

Following a lackluster loss to Cleveland earlier this month, Denver coach Jeff Bzdelik questioned whether his players were in shape and said he was losing sleep because of the Nuggets’ inconsistent play.

Unfortunately for him, things never improved

Denver fired Bzdelik one day after the Nuggets lost their sixth straight game and failed again to live up to the high expectations that came with the off-season addition of All-Star forward Kenyon Martin. Assistant Michael Cooper took over on an interim basis after Bzdelik became the first NBA coach fired this season.

The Nuggets have been plagued by bad luck, inconsistency and lopsided home losses. The season got off to a horrible start when shooting guard Voshon Lenard, Denver’s only legitimate outside threat, was lost for the season with a torn Achilles tendon in the opener.

Denver has used 10 different starting lineups. Star Carmelo Anthony has missed the past five games with a sprained ankle.

Blazers drop center

The Portland Trail Blazers waived center Vladimir Stepania, who has been on the injured list all season.

The 7-foot-1, 240-pound Stepania played in one preseason game, scoring 11 points and grabbing seven rebounds in 15 minutes against Toronto. He was placed on the injured list on Nov. 1.

Stepania was a first-round draft pick, 27th overall, by the Seattle SuperSonics in 1998.