Los Angeles  - Nearly seven weeks into the season, the San Antonio Spurs have finally hit their stride, though they nearly stumbled at the finish line.

Tony Parker scored six of his 22 points in the last two minutes of Sunday night's game as the Spurs held off a late charge to slip past the Oklahoma City Thunder 109-104 for their sixth-straight victory.

"We know NBA teams are going to make a run, and they did in the second half," Parker said. "At the end, it was really ugly, but we got the win."

Tim Duncan had 20 points and 12 rebounds, Matt Bonner scored 17 and Roger Mason fired in 14 with four three-pointers for San Antonio (15-8), which moved atop the South-West Division after a dismal 1-4 start.

Despite the victory, Argentine ace Manu Ginobili was upset with the Spurs' play in the second half after nearly blowing a 26-point second-quarter cushion down the stretch against the league-worst Thunder.

"We could finally get the win, but it was a really bad game," said Ginobili, who finished with 14 points, including the game-clinching three-point play with 28 seconds left. "... We let our guard down. We stopped playing. We stopped moving the ball, and defensively, we were not there.

"A win is a win and it counts, but I'm pretty upset with the way we won. I didn't like it. We weren't on the same track as we have been the last five games. I think we took a step backwards."

Jeff Green poured in 33 points, and Kevin Durant had 28 with 13 rebounds and four blocks for the Thunder (2-23), which lost its seventh in a row despite shooting 52 per cent (44-of-85) from the field.

"We just started off this one a little sluggish," Thunder coach Scott Brooks said. "The Spurs are just too good a team to hand a huge lead like that."

Hitting seven three-pointers in the opening period, San Antonio shot into a 20-point lead, which grew to 58-32 en route to 62-44 at the break.

"It's the worst gift a team could get," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said of the big lead. "It's the NBA; there's a 24-second clock, and it's rarely going to stay like that, no matter who you're playing, no matter what their records are."

The Spurs lost their way, and the young Thunder stormed to within 100-97 on Durant's spinning layup with 2:01 left.

Parker responded, though. The speedy Frenchman made a layup and jumper around a thunderous dunk by Green at the other end, making it 104-99 with 54 ticks to go.

Durant looked to bring the Thunder closer, but Duncan blocked his shot, resulting in two free throws by Parker that opened up a 106-99 advantage.

"They were making shots on me all night," Duncan said. "I finally got a finger on one."

After a timeout, Green drilled a three-pointer, and after Ginobili missed two free throws, Durant's layup drew the Thunder to 106-104 with 29 seconds to go.

On the ensuing play, Duncan threw a length of the court pass to Ginobili, who made the layup while drawing the foul. He hit the free throw, completing the three-point play to seal the victory.(dpa)