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
Bologna on Thursday advanced past Empoli to reach their first Coppa Italia final in more than half a century. Thijs Dallinga’s 87th-minute header earned Bologna a 2-1 win and his side advanced 5-1 on aggregate. Giovanni Fabbian opened the scoring for Bologna with a header seven minutes in. Then Viktor Kovalenko equalized for Empoli in the 30th minute by turning in a rebound to finish off a counterattack. Bologna won the first leg 3-0. In the May 14 final in Rome, Bologna are to face AC Milan, who eliminated city rivals Inter 4-1 on aggregate following a 3-0 win on Wednesday. Bologna last reached the
If the Wild finally break through and win their first playoff series in a decade, Minnesota’s top line likely will be the reason. They were all over the Golden Knights through the first two games of their NHL Western Conference quarter-finals series, which was 1-1 going back to Minnesota for Game 3 today. The Wild tied the series with a 5-2 win on Tuesday. Matt Boldy had three goals and an assist in the first two games, while Kirill Kaprizov produced two goals and three assists. Joel Eriksson Ek, who centers the line, has yet to get on the scoresheet. “I think the biggest
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Noelvi Marte on Sunday had seven RBIs and hit his first career grand slam with a drive off infielder Jorge Mateo, while Austin Wynn had a career-high six RBIs as the Cincinnati Reds scored their most runs in 26 years in a 24-2 rout of the Baltimore Orioles. Marte finished with five hits, including his eighth-inning homer off Mateo. Wynn hit a three-run homer in the ninth off catcher Gary Sanchez. Cincinnati scored its most runs since a 24-12 win against the Colorado Rockies on May 19, 1999, and finished with 25 hits. Baltimore allowed its most runs since a 30-3 loss to
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