SAN ANTONIO – Tony Parker missed the second half of the San Antonio Spurs' 25-point victory at Oklahoma City on Tuesday. The stated reason: a tight right Achilles' tendon.

It must have been a precautionary move by Gregg Popovich, whose team led by 22 at the half.

Parker returned to the lineup on Wednesday and looked just fine. Much better than that, in fact. The Spurs' guard scored 27 points during a 110-98 win against Houston.

San Antonio, which has won nine straight, meets the Rockets again Friday in Houston.

The Spurs (53-26) moved into a tie for fifth place with the Los Angeles Clippers in the Western Conference. The Clippers have the tiebreaker advantage for playoff-seeding purposes. The Spurs are only a half game out of second place, a spot occupied by Houston and Memphis at 53-25.

Parker converted 13-of-18 field-goal attempts in the game. He scored 17 in the first half.

Meanwhile, help came from all over the lineup. Forwards Kawhi Leonard and Boris Diaw scored 20 and 15 points, respectively. Leonard also had four steals, an area that has become a specialty. Guard Manu Ginobili scored 13, hitting 3-of-4 3-point attempts.

Fellow guard Cory Joseph helped limit Rockets guard James Harden to nine points in the final three quarters after he scored 13 in the first period. Harden had averaged 36.8 points in his previous four games.

The big men were helpful as well. Forward Tim Duncan had 10 rebounds and four blocks. Center Aron Baynes, subbing for the injured Tiago Splitter, grabbed a team-high 12 rebounds.

Houston scored 33 points in the first quarter and only 38 the next two.

Forward Trevor Ariza scored 19 for the Rockets, sinking 5-of-6 3-point shots.

Rockets center Dwight Howard produced 16 points and 11 rebounds in 22 minutes. Howard has appeared in six games since returning from a right knee injury. He missed 26 straight games.

That was good news for the Rockets. The bad was that forward Donatas Motiejunas will miss the rest of the season, including the playoffs, with a lower back injury. Motiejunas sat out the previous six games before Wednesday with lower-back pain, a condition that did not improve.

The 7-foot Motiejunas averaged 12 points and 5.9 rebounds in 72 games, including 62 as a starter. He was especially important during the absences of Howard and forward Terrence Jones, who missed 49 games with injuries and illness.

Coach Kevin McHale said he feels badly for Motiejunas.

"He is one of those guys that never misses a day," McHale said. "On off days, he's in shooting. The kid loves to play."

NOTES: The Rockets learned Wednesday that F Donatas Motiejunas, who started 62 games, will miss the rest of the season, including the playoffs, with a lower back problem. ... Spurs C Tiago Splitter missed his third straight game with tightness in his right calf, which has bothered him for much of the season. ... Spurs G Marco Belinelli missed the game with tightness in his left groin. ... Three-time NBA Most Valuable Player Magic Johnson said Rockets G James Harden is his No. 2 choice for the award this season, barely behind Golden State G Stephen Curry. "Curry led his team to the NBA's best record & the thing I'm most impressed with is that he makes his teammates better," Johnson wrote on Twitter. ... Spurs F Tim Duncan, G Tony Parker and G Manu Ginobili played in their 730th game together at Oklahoma City on Tuesday, breaking an NBA record for a trio. Boston's Larry Bird, Kevin McHale and Robert Parish were the previous record-holders. ... The Spurs recalled F Kyle Anderson, their 2014 first-round draft pick, from Austin of the NBA Development League.