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
Taiwan’s Wu Fang-hsien and Jiang Xinyu of China yesterday won the women’s doubles title at the ASB Classic in Auckland, while Naomi Osaka retired from the women’s singles final with an abdominal injury. Second seeds Wu and Jiang defeated Serbia’s Aleksandra Krunic and Sabrina Santamaria of the US 6-3, 6-4 on ASB Tennis Centre’s Stadium Court in 1 hour, 5 minutes. The WTA 250 victory was 25-year-old Wu’s second WTA Tour title, after winning the 2023 Hua Hin Championships in Thailand with Taiwanese partner Chan Hao-ching. Later that year, Wu and Taiwan’s Hsu Yu-hsiou won the mixed doubles gold at the World
The NHL postponed the Los Angeles Kings’ home game against the Calgary Flames on Wednesday with several massive wildfires burning across the greater Los Angeles area. The Kings and Flames were scheduled to play on Wednesday night at the Kings’ downtown arena. The NBA’s Los Angeles Lakers were scheduled to host the Charlotte Hornets in the same arena last night. “Our hearts are with our entire Los Angeles community,” the Kings said in a statement. “We appreciate the hard working first responders who are diligently working to contain the fire and protect our community. We appreciate the league’s support in keeping our
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Peterborough manager Darren Ferguson said an unnamed Everton player “had a pop” at him after he denied Tyler Young the opportunity to come on as a substitute against his father Ashley in Thursday’s English FA Cup third round match. While former England international Ashley came off the bench in the second half for Everton, Tyler was an unused sub in the game at Goodison Park. Everton won 2-0 against the third-division team. “I’ve got to do what’s best for my team and we’re not a charity case,” Ferguson said. “As much as I wanted Tyler to go on with his dad, one
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