CHICAGO (AP) -- Manu Ginobili had one of those runs you can't

explain -- or stop.

Ginobili made three straight 3-pointers and scored 14 of his 26

points in the last five minutes of the game Monday night, leading

the San Antonio Spurs to a 96-82 victory over the Chicago Bulls.

"What can I say about it?" Ginobili said. "I took the first

one and I felt good, and then Tony (Parker) called a couple of

plays for me and I just felt really confident. I was going to take

those shots because I was feeling really good."

The rest of the Spurs were in a pretty good groove in the second

half, too. After shooting just 35 percent in the first half, San

Antonio made 24 of 37 shots in the second to finish at 51 percent.

"The first half was awful," Ginobili said. "We looked like we

didn't want to be there, so after halftime, we came out with a

little more aggressiveness and toughness, and everything went

better."

Tim Duncan had 17 points and 14 rebounds, and Rasho Nesterovic

added 17 points and seven rebounds for the Spurs. Parker -- playing

in front of his father, brothers and grandparents -- had 13 points

and seven assists.

Eddy Curry scored all 16 of his points in the fourth quarter,

but it wasn't enough to keep the Spurs from sweeping Chicago for a

third straight season.

"I was the last person who was contributing, so I felt a

personal responsibility to try and give more in the fourth

quarter," Curry said. "And for some reason, the momentum

changed."

Curry had looked lost for most of the first three quarters,

losing the battle of the big men to Nesterovic. He didn't score

until there was 9:55 left in the game, getting his first points on

a pair of free throws.

But those two shots seemed to get him on track. He ripped off

three more baskets, cutting San Antonio's lead to 70-68 on a tip-in

with 8:07 left.

Then he made two huge plays that seemed to turn the momentum in

the Bulls' favor. As Duncan drove for a layup, Curry rose up and

swatted the ball away. Chicago got the ball and, at the other end

of the floor, Curry scored on a driving layup, drawing a foul in

the process.

Curry roared and pumped his fist as the crowd gave him a loud

ovation, and his teammates gave him high-fives. Curry then

converted the three-point play, giving Chicago a 76-75 lead -- its

first since early in the third quarter.

"He has to realize he's capable of doing that. He's capable of

having a 16-point quarter," said Antonio Davis who had 16 points

and 13 rebounds. "We can't tell him that, we can't force-feed him

that. He has to realize that he can win games for us."

But that lesson will have to wait for another day, because it

was Ginobili who won this game. The Bulls let down on him

defensively, and the sweet-shooting guard took advantage. He made

his first 3-pointer from 23 feet. His second was off his back foot.

The third was from 25 feet, and the Bulls could do little but

watch.

"That was great," Duncan said. "He found his rhythm, took a

shoot from over there and knocked them out. He was great for us."

He wasn't bad from inside the arc, either, beating three players

to score on a driving layup. His second layup gave San Antonio an

88-78 lead with 2:16 to play, all but ending the game.

"He's a character," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. "He has

unbelievable confidence and he has no fear."

The Spurs got off to a rough start, scoring only 31 points in

the first half. But they made up for it with a monster third

quarter, shooting better than 72 percent and outscoring the Bulls

30-18.

Jamal Crawford opened the quarter with a long jumper, but Duncan

scored on a finger roll to spark a 16-2 run. The Bulls would manage

only one field goal in the run that lasted nearly 4{ minutes.

"Our third-quarter effort really hurt us. It was very poor, to

say the least," Bulls coach Scott Skiles said. "There's no excuse

for coming out of the locker room soft like that and letting them

thump us."Game notes
Duncan's double-double was his 17th in 18 games. ... Spurs

rookie guard Devin Brown tied his career-high with 10 points. ...

Bulls F Corie Blount missed the second half with a sprained left

knee and will have an MRI on Tuesday. ... Spurs C/F Kevin Willis

was a teammate of Bulls' coach Scott Skiles at Michigan State.

Willis, in his 19th NBA season, was two years ahead of Skiles.