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Since Tony Parker has been absent from the San Antonio Spurs’ lineup, Manu Ginobili has, by necessity, had to step it up a bit. During the time that Parker’s been away, Ginobili has been averaging about 25 PPG and the Spurs have benefited, as a result.

The Spurs had a big task on hand as on Friday night, they hosted the Orlando Magic at AT&T Center, with the big matchup pitting Tim Duncan against Dwight Howard. While Howard was stifled, being held to 10 points, it was Ginobili who have free rein of the court as he scored a season-high 43 points, leading San Antonio to the convincing 112-100 win over Orlando.

Ginobili made his biggest statement around the 3:06 mark of the fourth quarter when he drew a foul on Dwight Howard, effectively taking the Magic’s biggest weapon off the hardwood. He would then drain a pair of free throws – 14 all told for the night. But while Ginobili was the key for the Spurs, there were some tense moments, as well.

When Duncan went to the bench with three early fouls in the first 4 1/2 minutes of the game, Spurs coach Gregg Popovich went postal. Referee Tony Brown ejected Popovich just before halftime while he protested that Ginobili was getting the short shrift on some calls.

Ginobili, by the halfway point of the third quarter, had nearly one-half of San Antonio’s 70 points and the Spurs would cruise after enjoying a big third quarter, outscoring Orlando 33-22.

Ginobili led all Spurs scorers with 43 points (including 3 three-pointers), 6 rebounds, 5 assists and a steal while Duncan added 23 with 8 rebounds, 2 assists, a steal and a block; Matt Bonner came off the bench to score 15 with 6 rebounds and 2 assists.

Rashard Lewis and Mickael Pietrus shared high scoring honors for the Magic with 18 points each – with Lewis connecting on 4 three-pointers, grabbing 3 rebounds, dishing out 3 assists, along with a blocked shot while Pietrus grabbed 6 boards. Jameer Nelson and J.J. Redick each added 15 – with Nelson grabbing 5 rebounds, dishing out 6 assists, along with a steal while Redick grabbed 6 boards, dished out an assist and blocked a shot.

San Antonio (46-29) plays again on Sunday when they fly to Los Angeles to take on the Lakers while Orlando (53-23) returns home to host the Memphis Grizzlies – also on Sunday.