SPORTS> North America
Spurs beat Lakers by a single point
(China Daily)
Updated: 2009-01-16 09:17

SAN ANTONIO - Roger Mason hit a jump shot with 10 seconds left and made a free throw after being fouled by Derek Fisher as the San Antonio Spurs beat the Los Angeles Lakers 112-111 on Wednesday in the first meeting between the teams since the Western Conference finals.

After Mason's three-point play, the Lakers failed to get a shot off when Trevor Ariza was called for traveling.

The Lakers rallied from 11 points behind in the fourth quarter and led when Kobe Bryant hit a 3-pointer with 12 seconds left.

Manu Ginobili led San Antonio with 27 points, and Bryant had 29 for Los Angeles. The Lakers lost for only the second time in their last 12 games.

The Lakers won the playoff series last year in five games losing the NBA finals to Boston. The Lakers and Spurs will play twice more this season.

Hornets 104, Mavericks 97

At Dallas, Chris Paul nearly showed Jason Kidd what a quadruple-double looks like, putting up 33 points, 11 assists, 10 rebounds and seven steals in New Orleans' win over Dallas.

Paul had to settle for his fourth triple-double of the season, one he's certain to savor because it came against Kidd, the active leader in that category and the guy who started ahead of him at point guard on the gold medal-winning US Olympic team.

Dallas' Jason Terry scored 28 points, and Dirk Nowitzki had 20 points and 13 rebounds, but the Mavericks dropped their fourth straight.

Celtics 118, Nets 86

At Boston, Paul Pierce shook off a cold first half and scored 18 points in the third quarter with perfect shooting to lead Boston past New Jersey for its third straight win.

Pierce went 5-for-5 in the period, all 3-pointers, and added three free throws as he scored 22 points two nights after getting a season-high 39 in an overtime win over Toronto. Kevin Garnett scored 20 points for the Celtics, who have emerged from a surprising 2-7 slump after going 27-2, the best 29-game start in NBA history.

Devin Harris led New Jersey with 17 points.

Knicks 128, Wizards 122

At New York, David Lee had 30 points and 10 rebounds, reserve Al Harrington scored 27 points, and New York handed Washington its sixth straight loss.

Quentin Richardson added 26 points for the Knicks, who have piled up the points in the first three meetings with the Wizards this season and can complete a season sweep Friday night in Washington in the back end of the home-and-home series.

Washington's Nick Young scored 33 points, establishing a career high for the third time in four games, and Caron Butler added 25.

Pacers 110, Pistons 106, OT

At Indianapolis, Danny Granger scored 24 points and made the tying shot for Indiana with 3.9 seconds left in regulation to beat Detroit.

T.J. Ford scored 23 points, and Troy Murphy added 18 points and 13 rebounds to help the Pacers snap a three-game losing streak.

Rodney Stuckey led Detroit with 30 points.

76ers 100, Trail Blazers 79

At Philadelphia, Andre Iguodala scored a season-high 29 points, and Lou Williams had 14 to lead Philadelphia past Portland for its fifth straight victory.

Iguodala made four of Philadelphia's season-high 11 3-pointers and just missed becoming the first Sixers player to score 30 points in a game this season.

Brandon Roy led Portland with 27 points.

Bulls 102, Raptors 98

At Toronto, Derrick Rose scored 17 of his 25 points in the fourth quarter and added 10 assists for Chicago, and Luol Deng had 16 points and 14 rebounds in a win over Toronto.

Andrea Bargnani had a career-high 31 points and finished with 10 rebounds for Toronto. Chris Bosh added 25 points for the Raptors.

Agencies