SAN ANTONIO (AP) -- The San Antonio Spurs stretched their winning

streak to eight despite a tough night from the free throw line.

Tony Parker sank a foul shot with 7.9 seconds left to preserve

San Antonio's 73-70 victory over the Toronto Raptors on Wednesday

night.

The Spurs struggled from the line, making only 15 of 27 (56

percent). Tim Duncan was 6-of-14.

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"We got the win and that's good," said Parker, 5-of-6 from the

line. "We're going to shoot better from the line than we have

been."

Parker had 13 points and was overshadowed by Duncan, who had 30

points -- 20 in the first half -- and 13 rebounds as the Spurs

improved to 10-1 against Eastern Conference teams.

"Toronto's weakness was inside, so we tried to get the ball to

Tim as much as possible," Parker said. "It hurt them."

Rasho Nesterovic also grabbed 10 rebounds for San Antonio.

Before their current streak, the Spurs were 9-10 and at the

bottom of the Midwest division. Now they trail Denver by only

percentage points.

Toronto's Donyell Marshall shot a 3-point attempt with a second

left, but the ball rolled off the rim.

"When it left my hands, it felt good," he said. "I thought it

was good. I thought it was in. It just hit back of the iron."

The Raptors, who lost their fourth straight, were led by

Marshall's 19 points and 14 rebounds. He was 3-for-6 from behind

the 3-point arc. Jalen Rose had 14 points, Alvin Williams had 10,

and Vince Carter, bothered by a sore Achilles' tendon, had 16.

Chris Bosh added 12 rebounds.

Toronto, last in the NBA by scoring only 85.1 points per game,

could only muster 10 points in the fourth. They had averaged 99.3

points in their last eight games, but struggled to only 28 field

goals in 70 attempts.

"It was a good win against a very talented and aggressive

club," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. "They're playing good

basketball. They've been scoring over 100 points a game. Our

defense got us through."

Both teams couldn't find the basket in the fourth quarter as San

Antonio scored only 12 points on 3-of-18 shooting.

Down by 15 in the third quarter, the Raptors made a comeback and

took a 60-57 lead on a three-point play by Lonny Baxter. It was the

last time the Raptors were ahead.

"I thought we competed very well in the second half; not so

much in the first," Raptors coach Kevin O'Neal said. "We made

some mistakes down the stretch and when you're playing the NBA

world champions, you have to be letter perfect."

Duncan's layup put the Spurs up for good 61-60 at the end of the

third.

Malik Rose, on the bench during the Spurs' winning streak,

entered the game midway through the third quarter. He had been out

with a strained tendon in his right ankle, and gave the Spurs a

spark getting two points and two rebounds in 10 minutes.

"There is no "Malik effect," said Rose, referring to the

Spurs' winning without him. "We've done what we were supposed to

do over the last eight games and now we have two tough games out

West."

The Raptors also struggled in the second quarter, scoring nine

points on 4-of-16 shooting.

The Spurs, who have held an opponent to 10 points or fewer in a

quarter for four straight games, ended the first half on an 11-3

run. San Antonio was aided by seven points from Duncan, who helped

give the Spurs a 41-28 halftime lead.

Game Notes: Raptors center Mengke Bateer, a member of the Spurs

championship team last season, received his ring before the game.

... Toronto is 5-4 since acquiring Rose, Marshall, and Lonny Baxter

on Dec. 1. ... The Raptors were hurt in the fourth quarter when

Jalen Rose was called for an offensive foul. Angry about the call,

he flopped on the floor and was given a technical foul by referee

Michael Smith. ... Later, a hard foul by Bruce Bowen on Vince

Carter caused the players to face off and get double technicals.