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Final Score: Atlanta 74 - San Antonio 89

San Antonio, TX (Sports Network) - Tim Duncan had 23 points, 10 rebounds and three blocked shots and San Antonio overcame a feeble first quarter to win its sixth straight, 89-74, over the Atlanta Hawks at AT&T Center.

Tony Parker scored 15 to go with his game-high nine assists and Manu Ginobili contributed 13 points. The Spurs managed just five points in the opening 12 minutes, yet found themselves down just 11, and after playing Atlanta even the rest of the half, took control by locking down defensively during a dominating third quarter.

Despite its ugliness, the win didn't lack for significance as far as San Antonio was concerned, as it vaulted the Spurs back into first place in the Southwest Division thanks the Hornets' 95-92 loss to Washington.

"It was a good win," said Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich. "We did a good job of playing for 48 minutes. We got better as the game went along. We had very good team defense. That sustained us until we found a way to make some shots and get some points on the board. Our defense was good."

Joe Johnson led Atlanta with 17 points, but also committed six of his team's 22 turnovers as the Hawks dropped their eighth game in nine tries.

Zaza Pachulia came off the bench to score 14, while Al Horford had 12 and a game-high 13 rebounds for the Hawks, who shot a paltry 33 percent from the floor as a team.

"You are not going to beat anyone in this league turning the ball over like that," Hawks head coach Mike Woodson said. "We have to start taking care of the ball and milking the shot clock. Our main guys turned the ball over way too much and you're just not going to be successful like that."

Atlanta held a 16-5 lead after a first quarter that saw the Spurs set new franchise lows for points and field goals in a period. Ginobili's three just inside the 10-minute mark was San Antonio's only bucket from the field, as they went stone cold the rest of the way.

Kurt Thomas ended the drought of more than 10 minutes with a jumper at the 11:06 mark of the second, and the Spurs rallied to within 37-30 by the half, though the 30-point output marked another season-low.

San Antonio then responded out of the break with intense defensive pressure, stifling the Hawks and pushing its way out to a 10-point lead, at 51-41, when Parker got free for a breakaway lay-in with 4:07 to go in the third.

Atlanta's third-quarter shooting performance mirrored that of the Spurs in the opening period, as Josh Smith's finger roll with 7:45 to go was the only Hawks field goal of the first nine minutes out of the break.

Mike Bibby finally tipped in a Horford miss with less than 2 1/2 to go in the quarter, but Atlanta still trailed, 57-48 going to the fourth.

Michael Finley scored off a dish from Ime Udoka to give the Spurs their largest lead, 64-52, with about nine minutes remaining. Atlanta clawed back to within seven when Josh Childress hit a pair of free throws to trim the margin to 70-63 with 5:24 to go, but couldn't get any closer before the stretch run.

Ginobili then cashed in a three from the right corner and Duncan completed a three-point play to all but put the Hawks to bed, with the margin stretched to 80-65 and less than two minutes remaining.