Los Angeles - The San Antonio Spurs turned up their trademark defense down the stretch to turn back another opponent. Tim Duncan had 19 points with nine rebounds, and Argentine Manu Ginobili blocked Dwyane Wade's shot in the final minutes as the Spurs beat the Miami Heat 91-84 on Monday night en route to their eighth win in the last nine games.
"It was a good defensive game both ways," Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich said. "The defense was sound and we were able to make a couple of shots down the stretch. That's the way we have to be if we want to do anything at the end of the season."
George Hill scored 15 off the bench in a well-balanced attack for San Antonio (23-11) which also received 11 points from Roger Mason and Matt Bonner while Ginobili finished with just 10.
"Coach has us focused on the defensive end," Hill said. "We have a thing called 22 points a quarter, and anytime you can hold a team to that, you are going to win nine times out of 10. The offense is like icing on the cake."
Wade collected 24 points with 12 assists for Miami (18-15) which had its season-high five-game home winning streak snapped as it embarks on a grueling seven-game, 13-day road trip. Rookie Michael Beasley contributed 15 points with 12 rebounds while Shawn Marion also finished with 15.
"It's a heartbreaker. We fight back and get in it, and they just stab you again," Beasley said. "They have been doing it for so long, it's kind of expected."
Looking to sweep the two-game season series for just the second time in franchise, Miami trailed 84-81, when Wade made a steal and streaked down the right side on his way to the basket with only Frenchman Tony Parker in front of him.
However, Ginobili came flying in to block the shot with 1:31 left. Parker picked up the loose ball and pushed it up court, where he found Mason in the left corner for a wide-open jumper, giving the Spurs an 86-81 advantage, just six seconds later.
"Tony Parker did a good job of getting in front of me so I couldn't elevate as high as I can go, and Ginobili came over and made the play," said Wade, averaging a league-best 28.8 points per game "He's an athletic guy, and it was a great block."
"You are definitely thinking Wade has an easy dunk, and Manu comes out of nowhere to make an outrageous block," Spurs teammate Kurt Thomas said. "Without a doubt that was a momentum changer. It got everyone spirited and carried us to the finish line."
After Wade missed a short forced shot, Duncan grabbed his own miss at the other end, leading to Parker's driving layup with 27 seconds remaining. Spurs Michael Finley added two free throws, before Beasley's meaningless three-pointer ended an almost 3 1/2 minute scoreless drought for the Heat.
Elsewhere:
New Jersey Nets 98, Sacramento Kings 90
Vince Carter scored 29 points, China's Yi Jianlian had 22 with a season-high 13 rebounds and the Nets sent the Kings to their 11th straight road loss by posting consecutive victories at home for the first time this season. .
Kevin Martin led Sacramento (8-27) with 36 points.
Denver Nuggets 135, Indiana Pacers 115
Kenyon Martin had 25 points, Chauncey Billups added 13 of his 24 in the final quarter, and the Nuggets shot a sizzling 58 per cent from the field to rock the visiting Pacers with their highest scoring game of the season.
Carmelo Anthony netted 21 points with a season-high nine assists for Denver (24-12) which equaled its best start since joining the NBA in the 1976-77 season.
Danny Granger had 36 points, while Troy Murphy finished with 15 and 12 boards for Indiana (12-22) which was outscored 38-23 in the fourth frame.
Milwaukee Bucks 107, Toronto Raptors 97
Michael Redd poured in a season-high 35 points, Charlie Villanueva added 25 and the Bucks closed on a 13-0 run win for their sixth home win in the last seven games.
Chris Bosh had 31 points with 11 rebounds, while Italy's Andrea Bargnani scored 21 for Toronto (14-21) which was denied its third straight win.
Utah Jazz 119, Golden State Warriors 114
Deron Williams had 25 points and matched a season-high with 15 assists, while Ronnie Brewer scored seven of his 13 in the final minutes as the Jazz beat the visiting Warriors at home for the ninth consecutive time.
Utah (20-15) also received 20 points and 11 rebounds from Turkey's Mehmet Okur while Paul Millsap had 19 with 14 boards.
Jamal Crawford scored 28 points and Corey Maggette added 23 for Golden State (10-26) which fell for the fourth time in last five games after losing Stephen Jackson to a right hamstring injury just before halftime.
