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Duncan, Spurs hold off Heat

Jan 6, 2009 - 4:20 AM By Christopher Stock PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer

MIAMI (Ticker) -- Tim Duncan scored 19 points and rookie George Hill added 15 off the bench as the San Antonio Spurs won their third straight with Monday's 91-84 victory over the Miami Heat.

Roger Mason and Matt Bonner added 11 points apiece for the Spurs, who were coming off Saturday's 108-106 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers on the strength of Tony Parker's buzzer-beating shot.

With the win, the Spurs have won eight of their last nine games.

Leading, 84-81, with less than two minutes left, San Antonio turned the ball over to Dwyane Wade, who then went in for a layup with Parker in front of him. Manu Ginobili then came flying in to block Wade's shot.

"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 an athletic play," Wade said. "He's an athletic guy, and it was a great block."

"That was an incredible block," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. "I don't know where that came from. I didn't see it coming until the ball was blocked and in the air going the other way."

The Spurs got the ball, pushed it up court and found Mason, who was open on the left baseline and hit a long jumper to give his team an 86-81 lead with 1:25 left.

Parker sealed San Antonio's victory with a floater that dropped in with 27 seconds left as the Heat were held scoreless over a three-minute span before a late 3-pointer by Chris Quinn with the outcome already decided.

"I thought we played defense for 48 minutes," Popovich said. "We made some mistakes here and there on offense, but the defense was sound for 48 minutes. That's the way we have to be if we want to do anything at the end of the season."

Hill received extended playing time in the fourth quarter with the game on the line and scored a team-high seven points in the period.

"I don't think I was surprised, just happy to be out there," Hill said. "Anything to help our team win games."

San Antonio broke a 68-68 tie in the fourth quarter with a 7-0 run, but Miami responded with a pair of jumpers by Wade and Michael Beasley with seven minutes left.

"There's some resiliency with this team. There certainly is," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. "It's something that we've been building, and it's been getting better."

The Spurs took an early 21-11 lead following a pair of free throws by Hill, but the Heat bounced right back with a 9-0 run. The two teams were tied at 39-39 at halftime.

Wade collected 24 points and 12 assists for Miami, which will begin a seven-game road trip Wednesday at Denver.

Beasley recorded his first career double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds for the Heat, who had their season-high, five-game home winning streak snapped.

"I think I should have gotten a double-double 33 games ago," Beasley said.