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BOX SCORE

SAN ANTONIO -- Tony Parker had 22 points and seven assists in his return from a six-game absence, leading the San Antonio Spurs' balanced attack in a 112-106 win over the Dallas Mavericks on Sunday night.

Tim Duncan scored 17 points, Kawhi Leonard added 16 andBoris Diaw had 13 points and 10 rebounds for San Antonio.Manu Ginobili had 15 points and seven assists and Tiago Splitter had 11 points as the Spurs extended their winning streak to three games.

Dirk Nowitzki scored 22 points, Vince Carter added 21 andMonta Ellis had 17 for the Mavericks, who have lost eight straight to the Spurs.

Parker looked refreshed after not playing since Feb. 10 for what was officially listed as "rest," but unofficially was due to a series of lower body maladies.

The French point guard made his first shot, exploding through the lane from the top of the right side of the 3-point line to the left side of the rim for a leaning layup beyond the reach of Samuel Dalembert.

On the ensuing possession, Parker drove into the heart of the paint to draw the defense and fired a pass to Leonard for an open 3-pointer that gave San Antonio a 5-2 lead.

Parker finished the game 10 for 15, punctuating it with a left-handed layup to avoid Dalembert's reach with 45 seconds remaining.

Carter kept the Mavericks in the game almost single-handedly in the first half, draining three straight 3s in the final 4 minutes after missing his first two attempts. He finished the first half shooting 6 for 11 from the field while scoring15 points.

Ellis banked in a 3-pointer to the dismay of Ginobili, pulling Dallas within 48-47 at the half.

San Antonio could not extend their advantage to more than seven points in the third until Ginobili scored eight straight points, including a pair of 3-pointers, for its biggest lead at 78-67 with a minute remaining.

NOTES: The Spurs have had 24 different lineups this season. . San Antonio has won 12 of 14 regular-season games against Dallas. The Mavericks have not beaten the Spurs since a 106-99 victory on March 17, 2012, in Dallas. . Ginobili trails only former Mavericks F Detlef Schrempf for the most games with at least 15 points, five rebounds and five assists off the bench since 1985. Schrempf had 55 games with that stat line and Ginobili has 30. . Dallas is 28-7 when leading after the first half and 8-18 when trailing. . San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich and Nowitzki engaged in somewhat contentious banter during the game. When Nowitzki was whistled for fouling Parker on a drive, he yelled at official Derek Richardson as he left for a substitution, "Just because (Popovich's) yelling doesn't mean there's a foul."