SAN ANTONIO (Ticker) -- Tim Duncan fouled out, but the San Antonio Spurs still had enough defense to extend their season-high winning streak to seven games.
Duncan scored 21 points and grabbed 13 rebounds before fouling out with 2:21 left as San Antonio held on for a 78-67 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies.
"We were solid all night," Duncan said. "A heck of a job defending. Our help side was there. Getting our team defense down is the key to our winning streak."
Lorenzen Wright hit a jumper with 6:01 to go, cutting the Spurs' lead to 72-67. But San Antonio held Memphis scoreless the rest of the way.
Memphis, which beat the Eastern Conference champion New Jersey Nets, 110-63, on Saturday, was held to just 10 points in the final period by the reigning NBA champs.
Tony Parker added 18 points for San Antonio while Rasho Nesterovic had 10 and tied a career high with 15 rebounds.
"It was a big win tonight," Parker said. "Memphis has been winning and they played well. They have one of the best offenses in the league. It was a good test for our defense."
Bonzi Wells led Memphis with 12 points and Pau Gasol, James Posey and Stromile Swift each had 10.
The game proved to be a defensive battle, featuring 10 steals apiece and 39 turnovers, 22 from San Antonio. But neither team could capitalize on the miscues and get easy baskets. The Spurs totaled only 11 points off turnovers while Memphis had nine.
"It was one of those games, a defensive struggle," Memphis guard Mike Miller said. "Had some chances to pull it out. We just didn't do much with the break."
Both teams shot poorly in their first meeting of the season, an 88-80 Grizzlies' victory on November 3. This matchup was no different as San Antonio (27-of-74) and Memphis (28-of-78) both shot 36 percent.
Nesterovic and Duncan played good defense on Gasol, blocking his shots and forcing him into bad attempts. Gasol shot just 5-of-15 while Nesterovic had four blocks.
"They are one of the top defensive teams in the league, so we knew this one wasn't going to be in the 100s, but the 60s?" Grizzlies guard Shane Battier said. "They altered a lot of shots and limited our offensive rebounds."
