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Spurs rally vs. Pacers to avoid three-game skid

Jan 8, 2011 - 5:23 AM Indianapolis, IN (Sports Network) - Manu Ginobili scored 25 points, including the go-ahead free throws, and the San Antonio Spurs rallied from a 15-point deficit to beat the Indiana Pacers, 90-87, and snap a two-game losing streak.

Ginobili was fouled on a hard drive to the lane with 15.7 seconds left and made both shots, giving the Spurs a one-point lead.

Tony Parker added a pair of free throws that stood as the final margin after Indiana's James Posey missed a turnaround three-pointer at the buzzer with a chance to tie it.

George Hill scored 16 points off the bench and Tim Duncan had 15 points with 15 rebounds for the Spurs, who bounced back from losses in New York and Boston to salvage a 1-2 road trip.

"I was proud of our team for hanging in," said San Antonio head coach Gregg Popovich. "They just kept playing the game and that's a great sign."

Indiana blew a double-digit lead by shooting just 1-for-15 in the fourth quarter, wasting a career night by forward Tyler Hansbrough.

"I'm very disappointed for our guys," said Pacers head coach Jim O'Brien. "We played a solid defensive game. For them to come back and beat us, it's painful."

Hansbrough posted career-highs with 23 points and 12 rebounds. Danny Granger added 15 points and Mike Dunleavy had 14 for the Pacers, who have lost five of their last six games.

The Pacers took a 15-point lead near the end of the third quarter when Dunleavy's layup capped an 8-0 run to make it 75-60. But the Spurs scored four straight points to end the quarter -- the start of a 10-0 burst that pulled them within five.

Indiana stretched its lead to nine points twice after that, the last time when Dunleavy hit a floater for the Pacers' only field goal of the quarter to make it 81-72 with 6:42 remaining.

But San Antonio came back to tie it, getting nine straight points from Duncan and Ginobili. Duncan's bucket at 4:19 knotted the game at 81.

Indiana hung on by making foul shots -- six in a row from Darren Collison gave the Pacers a four-point lead with 71 seconds left -- but it wasn't enough.

Hill converted a three-point play to draw the Spurs within one and Ginobili made his free throws for the lead. At the other end, Roy Hibbert missed a sloppy right-handed hook shot with Duncan in his face and the Pacers were forced to foul Parker to stop the clock.

Getting the ball back with 0.8 seconds left, Indiana put Posey in the game for the first time and his turnaround three from the left wing hit off the front of the rim, ending the game.

"They took their defense to a whole different level in the fourth quarter," said O'Brien. "That's why they are the Spurs."

Hansbrough started his big night with eight points in the first quarter and Indiana carried a 20-19 lead into the second despite shooting only 31 percent from the field.

The Spurs, led by Ginobili's 13 points in the second quarter, came back to take a 48-47 lead at halftime.

Game Notes

San Antonio extended its streak to eight straight wins over the Pacers...The Spurs are an NBA-best 30-6...Indiana shot just 37 percent for the game, while the Spurs weren't much better at 42 percent...Parker had 10 points...Hibbert scored 10 with 14 rebounds...The Spurs lost back-to-back games to the Knicks and Celtics on the heels of a 14-1 stretch.