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NBA

Spurs sink Magic with late shot

ORLANDO -- Tim Duncan was too much for the Magic's big men.

Duncan's putback off his miss with four seconds left gave San Antonio a 109-108 victory against Orlando on Friday.

The Magic had a chance to win, but Tracy McGrady's 17-footer at the buzzer fell short. McGrady scored 12 of his 35 in the fourth to reach the 30-point mark for the seventh consecutive game.

"Both teams competed real hard. We just happened to make the last shot, I guess," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. "Lots of games come down to that. We were just fortunate enough to make it."

McGrady's jumper with 13.5 seconds left put the Magic ahead by one, but Orlando couldn't keep Duncan, who had 23 points and 17 rebounds, off the boards as he hit his second winning shot in a week. On Jan. 24 in Utah, Duncan backed down Karl Malone before hitting a turnaround jumper as the horn sounded.

"On my move, I got hit in the eye and didn't think I was going to get it off," said Duncan, who had nine of the Spurs' 16 offensive rebounds.

"I just kind of threw it up there. I just followed it."

Andrew DeClercq blamed himself for not fouling Duncan.

"In that situation," the Magic center said, "we have to make him earn it at the free-throw line."

David Robinson scored a season-high 20, including two go-ahead free throws with 26.9 seconds left. Tony Parker also scored 20, and his 3-pointer with 53 seconds left gave the Spurs a 105-104 lead.

After DeClercq sank a short jump hook over Robinson with 39.6 seconds left, Robinson responded with a strong drive to the basket. Darrell Armstrong grabbed him to prevent the easy basket, and Robinson made both free throws.

NETS 89, HORNETS 72: Kenyon Martin had 23 points and 13 rebounds, and two seldom-used players helped make up for the absence of Jason Kidd and Richard Jefferson for host New Jersey.

Anthony Johnson replaced Kidd, who will miss tonight's game with a strained groin, and Brian Scalabrine filled in for Jefferson (stomach virus). Johnson scored 10 and Scalabrine had five points, seven rebounds and three assists. An 18-6 spurt, capped by Scalabrine's 3-pointer, gave the Nets a 71-53 lead.

RAPTORS 102, PACERS 90: A fight that ended with Raptors coach Lenny Wilkens holding back Pacers coach Isiah Thomas highlighted host Toronto's win. Toronto's Morris Peterson, Indiana's Al Harrington and Thomas were ejected after a fight with 8:02 left. Harrington approached Peterson in an aggressive manner after Peterson tripped Harrington while running down the court.

Peterson appeared to throw a punch, and a shoving match ensued. Thomas ran onto the court and tried to get at Peterson, but Wilkens held him back.

PISTONS 118, CELTICS 66: Host Boston suffered its worst loss in team history, trailing by 60 before scoring the final eight. Detroit led 71-51 with 4:05 left in the third before going on a 35-2 run. It was the second-largest road win in league history, behind Seattle's 136-80 victory at Houston on Dec. 6, 1986.

ROCKETS 121, TIMBERWOLVES 101: Steve Francis scored 27 and Yao Ming had his 14th double double, 24 points and 13 rebounds, for host Houston. The Rockets led 58-51 at halftime, spiced by Yao's dunk at the buzzer, then went on a 18-6 run to start the third.

76ERS 104, HEAT 99: Keith Van Horn scored a season-high 33 and Eric Snow a season-high 21 for Philadelphia, which handed Miami its eighth consecutive road loss. Tied at 83 with 5:44 left, Snow and Van Horn scored four during the Sixers' 8-0 run. Miami's Eddie Jones surpassed 10,000 career points with a 3-pointer 43 seconds into the fourth.

JAZZ 102, WARRIORS 94: Karl Malone had 26 points and 12 rebounds as host Utah improved to 2-0 without suspended coach Jerry Sloan. Down for most of the game, Golden State cut it to 92-87 late. But John Stockton's 3-pointer and Malone's three-point play were part of a 9-3 run.

KNICKS 108, GRIZZLIES 102: Howard Eisley scored a career-high 30 for visiting New York. Eisley was 12-of-15 from the field and scored the Knicks' final seven during the last two minutes. Shane Battier's consecutive 3-pointers were part of a 10-0 run that cut New York's lead to 97-95 before Eisley's spurt.

HAWKS 96, CAVALIERS 91: Glenn Robinson scored 20 for host Atlanta, which has won four of five. Zydrunas Ilgauskas' two free throws pulled Cleveland to within 92-91 with 1:27 left. After Dion Glover was called for an offensive foul, Darius Miles' shot from the top of the key rimmed out. Glover's two free throws then sealed it.

TRAIL BLAZERS 107, BULLS 94: Rasheed Wallace had 28 points and seven rebounds in his return from a seven-game suspension and host Portland took control early in the third quarter with runs of 10-2 and 11-2 to go up by 16.

Raptor wouldn't give up start

TORONTO -- Vince Carter never considered giving up his starting spot to Michael Jordan in the All-Star Game, saying it would be rude to fans who voted for the Raptors star.

Carter was the third-leading vote-getter despite playing in just 10 games before the final ballots were cast because of knee problems. Allen Iverson offered his spot to Jordan last week. McGrady, Carter's cousin, offered to step aside Thursday. Jordan declined the offers.

When asked about the gestures by Iverson and McGrady, Carter said, "Congratulations to them."

"I think I owe it to the fans to be out there on that starting lineup," he said. "For one, because they voted me in with the amount of games that I played. And then to really say, 'Thanks, but no thanks.' Once again, that's a slap in the face to the fans. I might as well not show up then, in my opinion."

BULLS: Rookie guard Jay Williams was activated from the injured list and rookie forward Lonny Baxter (left knee tendinitis) went on the list.

CLIPPERS: Center Michael Olowokandi was placed on the injured list with a sprained left knee. Tests Monday will determine the extent of his injury.

76ERS: Coach Larry Brown said he has no plans to leave. The comments came two days after Brown questioned if he was the right man for the job after a 97-83 loss to Atlanta. He suggested his statement was blown out of proportion.

WIZARDS: Guard Jerry Stackhouse will miss two games because of a nagging groin injury.

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