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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Sunday, December 28, 2008

Spurs win in double OT

Associated Press

Hawaii news photo - The Honolulu Advertiser

San Antonio Spurs forward Tim Duncan grabs a rebound in front of Memphis Grizzlies forward Darrell Arthur.

ERIC GAY | Associated Press

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SAN ANTONIO — The young Memphis Grizzlies looked like they finally figured out how to beat the aging San Antonio Spurs.

Not quite.

Solid defense and experience in the clutch won out again.

Tony Parker scored 32 points, hitting two of San Antonio's three baskets in the second overtime, and Michael Finley blocked Memphis' final shot as the Spurs pulled out a 106-103 victory last night.

"Memphis is a young, athletic, deep team," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. "They play everybody tough."

The Grizzlies weren't nearly so tough in their last visit here, when the Spurs rolled to a 109-89 win back on Nov. 28. This time, rookie O.J. Mayo and his teammates stretched the Spurs to the limit and had plenty of chances of their own to win.

"They know how to win," Mayo said. "Mostly at this point we're still learning how to win. Which is OK."

The Spurs have won five in a row and 11 of their last 13, with Parker leading them in scoring nine times during that stretch. San Antonio also got its third win of the season over Memphis.

Parker's two baskets put the Spurs up by four before Mayo hit a 3-pointer for Memphis with 71 seconds left. The Grizzlies had a chance to send the game into a third overtime when Mayo drove the lane in the final seconds, but he couldn't get off a clean shot. He dished to Rudy Gay, but Finley was able to swat the ball from behind on the layup and San Antonio's Roger Mason came away with the loose ball.

Kurt Thomas, who scored the Spurs' first basket of the second overtime, added a free throw for the last point with 0.5 seconds left on the clock.

Tim Duncan scored 29 points for the Spurs before fouling out in the first overtime and Manu Ginobili scored 20.

"It was huge for us to get this win tonight," said Duncan, who was held to just five rebounds. "Tonight, we just found a way to win."

The Grizzlies, who snapped a four-game losing streak against Indiana on Friday night, fell to 2-12 on the road.

HAWKS 129, BULLS 117

ATLANTA — Joe Johnson scored a season-high 41 points, Josh Smith also set a season high with 24, and Atlanta withstood Ben Gordon's 3-point barrage to beat Chicago.

Gordon scored 33 points and was 6-of-8 behind the arc to pass Scottie Pippen and become the Bulls' career leader in 3-pointers. Pippen made 664 3-pointers in 856 games. Gordon, playing in his 346th game for Chicago, has 669 3-pointers.

WIZARDS 104, THUNDER 95

WASHINGTON — Antawn Jamison scored 29 points, Andray Blatche had 19 points and 15 rebounds, and Washington beat Oklahoma City in a matchup of teams with the two worst records in the NBA.

The Wizards (5-23) broke an eight-game losing streak, their longest since 2001, with just their fifth win against 23 losses. Kevin Durant had 25 points and 11 rebounds to lead Oklahoma City (3-28).

NETS 114, BOBCATS 103

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Vince Carter scored 28 points and New Jersey pulled away in overtime to beat Charlotte, which rallied from an eight-point deficit in the fourth quarter to tie it at 96 and force the extra period.

Devin Harris added 26 points, Jarvis Hayes 14 and Josh Boone 12 for the Nets, who lost to the Bobcats 95-87 in East Rutherford, N.J., 24 hours earlier.

PISTONS 87, BUCKS 76

MILWAUKEE — Tayshaun Prince scored nine of his 19 points in the decisive third quarter and Allen Iverson added 18, lifting Detroit over Milwaukee for the 10th time in 13 meetings since the 2005-06 season.

Rasheed Wallace had 16 points and 12 rebounds for Detroit, which led 46-44 at halftime and took a 73-55 lead into the fourth quarter en route to its third straight victory.

MAGIC 118, TIMBERWOLVES 94

MINNEAPOLIS — Hedo Turkoglu scored 11 of his 26 points in the fourth quarter, including seven during a 20-5 run that opened up a 102-87 lead as Orlando pulled away from Minnesota.

Rashard Lewis added 24 points, Jameer Nelson 20 and Dwight Howard 17 for the Magic, who won their seventh straight and 11th in 12 games — all against the Western Conference.

ROCKETS 120, JAZZ 115

HOUSTON — Ron Artest scored 10 of his 28 points in the second overtime and Houston recovered from blowing a 16-point lead in the second half to beat Utah. The game was tied at 96 at the end of the regulation, and at 101 after the first overtime.

Yao Ming had 26 points and 11 rebounds for the Rockets, who led 59-43 early in the third quarter, then went 3-for-18 from the field in the fourth to help Utah's comeback.

TRAIL BLAZERS 102, RAPTORS 89

PORTLAND, Ore. — Brandon Roy had 32 points and nine assists, LaMarcus Aldridge added 19 points and nine rebounds, and Greg Oden broke out of a slump with 16 points and 10 rebounds to power Portland past Toronto.

Chris Bosh had 29 points and nine rebounds, and Jermaine O'Neal scored 17 points for Toronto, which saw a two-game winning streak stopped.

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