SAN ANTONIO (Reuters) - Tony Parker had 37 points and 12 assists as the San Antonio Spurs raced to a 93-76 victory over Texas rivals Dallas Mavericks in a Southwest Division showdown on Tuesday.

Parker, San Antonio's offensive spark in the absence of injured standouts Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili, had 26 points in the first half to help the Spurs to a 50-44 advantage.

The hot-shooting Frenchman provided 18 of the Spurs' first 22 points, personally outscoring the Mavericks 18-11 in the opening eight minutes.

"After we found out Timmy was not going to play, I knew I was going to have to step up my game, be aggressive and make plays, make stuff happen, either for myself or my team mates," Parker told reporters.

Even though he had cramps in both legs in the fourth quarter, Parker asked coach Gregg Popovich to keep him on the floor.

"I told Pop just leave me in and I will make stuff happen," Parker said.

Forward Kurt Thomas, starting for Duncan, added 10 points and 15 rebounds with front-court mate Michael Finley, a former Maverick, contributing 16 points.

Josh Howard had 19 points for the fourth-placed Mavericks, who fell five and a half games behind the division-leading Spurs. Reserve James Singleton matched 14 points with an equal number of rebounds, while Dirk Nowitzki finished with 14 points and 10 rebounds.

Duncan warmed up but did not play after his right knee bothered him. Ginobili is expected to miss another two weeks as he recovers from an ankle injury.

"It was very strange," Popovich told reporters when asked about Duncan's knee. "He was good this morning, but this evening he couldn't move on it."

The coach declined to speculate on how serious the injury might be.

(Reporting by Gene Cherry in Raleigh, North Carolina; editing by Nick Mulvenney)