Roger Mason nailed a 3-pointer with just 10 seconds left as the San Antonio Spurs edged the Los Angeles Lakers 112-111 on Wednesday.
After Kobe Bryant drilled a 3-pointer over Mason that gave the Lakers a 111-109 lead with 12 seconds left, the Spurs called a timeout, setting up Mason for the heroics.
Matt Bonner had trouble inbounding the ball, but found Mason in the corner. He faked, then hit a tough shot as he was fouled by Derek Fisher.
Mason made the ensuing free throw, giving the Spurs a one-point lead.
The Lakers had one last chance but Bryant was doubled out high and passed to Trevor Ariza at the top of the key.
Ariza made a move to split Bonner and Manu Ginobili, was bumped by Ginobili but was called for a travel with less than a second left on the clock.
Bryant, who had 20 points and 10 assists, hit a three-pointer with 5:55 left in the fourth that cut San Antonio’s lead to 102-96.
Josh Powell hit two straight 17-footers from the baseline that trimmed the lead to just two points with 4:43 left in the fourth.
Bryant found Lamar Odom for a dunk, and then out of a timeout, France’s Tony Parker missed a three-pointer. Parker finished with 20 points in 34 minutes of playing time.
The Lakers wasted little time, with Gasol hitting a 14-footer that gave the Lakers a 106-105 lead with 2:10 left in the game. Bryant then drove, kissing a shot off the glass for a three-point lead.
Duncan responded, shaking Gasol back and forth until he got his jumphook. The Lakers missed their next shot, and the Spurs went back to Duncan who lost control of the ball, but managed to get his shot up and in for a 109-108 Spurs lead.
Bryant then took over with his long shot over Mason, but Mason was able to hit his second game-winner of the season.
Ginobili scored 16 of his 27 points by closing out the second and third quarters strongly, including six key points in the final 11 seconds of the third.
San Antonio opened up the second half with a quick 7-2 run, while the Lakers missed all but one of their first seven attempts.
The Lakers never let things get out of hand though, and never trailed by more than nine points in the third despite Ginobili’s best efforts.
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.
KINGS 135, WARRIORS 133, 3OT
At Oakland, California, John Salmons hit a 17-foot shot with 1.6 seconds remaining in the third overtime as Sacramento held on to beat Golden State.
Salmons finished with 25 points, a career-best 14 rebounds and seven assists for Sacramento, which has consecutive victories against the Warriors for the first time since taking 15 in a row from 2000-2003.
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 their 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.
In other NBA games it was:
• Knicks 128, Wizards 122
• Pacers 110, Pistons 106, OT
• 76ers 100, Trail Blazers 79
• Bulls 102, Raptors 98
• Thunder 114, Jazz 93
• Heat 102, Bucks 99
• Hawks 97, Clippers 80
The Rakuten Monkeys on Sunday downed the CTBC Brothers 2-1, handing the hosts their second consecutive loss in the best-of-seven CPBL Taiwan Series at the Taipei Dome. Monkeys’ ace starter Pedro Fernandez of the Dominican Republic dominated on the mound, cruising through six scoreless innings before giving up a run on a wild pitch in the bottom of the seventh inning. He gave up only three hits and walked two batters in a 93-pitch outing, giving his Taoyuan-based team an edge. Offensively, the Monkeys’ leadoff batter Lin Li hit Brothers starter Brandon Leibrandt’s pitch over the center-field wall in the game’s first at-bat,
Rafael Leao on Sunday shot AC Milan to the top of Serie A with a brace in a 2-1 win over ACF Fiorentina who were enraged by the “scandalous” awarding of the penalty that decided the game. Portugal winger Leao pushed Milan one point ahead of local rivals Inter, SSC Napoli and AS Roma with a coolly taken spot-kick, given for what looked like a soft foul on Santiago Gimenez by Fabiano Parisi, with four minutes remaining. That goal capped a fine first league start of the season for Leao and came after he drew the hosts level with a brilliantly struck
Sean Dyche on Thursday achieved in his first game with Nottingham Forest what predecessor Ange Postecoglou could not in eight matches in charge: Win. Under its new coach, Nottingham Forest presented a concentrated display resulting in a 2-0 victory over Porto in the UEFA Europa League. It was the first victory for Nottingham in the competition and only the second overall this season, while Porto were defeated for the first time this season. Morgan Gibbs-White converted from the penalty spot in the 19th minute at the City Ground in West Bridgford, England. Igor Jesus doubled the advantage from another penalty in the 77th
The tiny village club of Mjallby AIF on Monday won the top tier Swedish soccer league with a 2-0 away win at IFK Gothenburg, sealing the title with three rounds of matches remaining. Jacob Bergstrom and Tom Pettersson scored the goals in Mjallby’s 20th win in 27 league games. Mjallby has a population of fewer than 1,400 people and plays in an outdated 6,000-seat stadium with stands weathered by the winds of the Baltic Sea. “It’s a huge relief to experience this now, a relief with three games to go,” said Anders Torstensson, a former army officer and secondary-school teacher who coaches the
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