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 New Taipei Kings claimed the inaugural Taiwan Professional Basketball League (TPBL) championship on Sunday, defeating the Kaohsiung FamilyMart Aquas 108-89 in the final. Playing at home, the Kings pulled ahead with Jeremy Lin’s (林書豪) clutch three-pointers, securing their victory over the Aquas in the TPBL final. The Kings came out strong in the first quarter, dominating to build a 35-18 lead. By halftime, they had stretched their advantage to 61-38. In the third quarter, the Aquas narrowed the deficit to 12 points, but Lin stepped up, sinking several tough three- pointers to extend the lead. In the final quarter, the Kings pushed the
In an unlikely Ethiopian outpost of one the most French of pastimes, four men are leaning over their petanque balls, arguing over who is winning. Petanque, the bowling game also known as boules, is more readily associated with French village squares where locals launch metal balls at a jack while enjoying an afternoon drink, but for decades, it has also been a beloved pastime for members of a club near the iconic Meskel Square in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa. It was founded in the early 20th century to cater to French railway workers, who built a line connecting Addis Ababa
Taiwanese women’s doubles star Hsieh Su-wei and Australian teenager Maya Joint on Tuesday eased into the Eastbourne Open quarter-finals in England as Hsieh prepares for the Wimbledon Championships next week. Four-time Wimbledon women’s doubles champion Hsieh and 19-year-old Joint fired two aces and converted five of eight break points to defeat Japan’s Shuko Aoyama and Poland’s Katarzyna Piter 6-3, 6-3 in 58 minutes on the grass court. Hsieh and Joint are today to face fourth seeds Barbora Krejcikova of the Czech Republic and Latvia’s Jelena Ostapenko, who advanced on Monday with a 6-4, 6-3 victory over Quinn Gleason of the US and
BEAT THE HEAT: A brutal heat wave in the US has made cooling breaks standard. Dortmund’s coach said the weather could shape the destiny of the tournament Chelsea on Tuesday beat Esperance of Tunisia 3-0 to set up a FIFA Club World Cup last-16 tie against SL Benfica, who earlier defeated Bayern Munich 1-0, as furnace-link heat and the threat of thunder and lightning wreak havoc at the tournament. Elsewhere, minnows Auckland City claimed a memorable draw against Boca Juniors, while Los Angeles bowed out of the tournament with a stalemate against Flamengo. In Charlotte, Andreas Schjelderup scored the only goal for Benfica in their Group C clash with Bayern in front of 33,287 fans, finishing first-time from a cutback by his fellow Norwegian Fredrik Aursnes in the 13th
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