SAN ANTONIO — Make it eight straight wins for the San Antonio Spurs, who got another huge game from Derek Anderson.
Anderson scored a season-high 30 points as the Spurs defeated the Minnesota Timberwolves 106-100 in overtime Wednesday night.
"It was a heck of a game, just like every time we play each other," said San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich. "The guys just grinded it out. Play by play, possession by possession. They hung in and got it done. You have to get a few like this. We were fortunate."
Tim Duncan backed Anderson with 23 points and 20 rebounds, while David Robinson scored 18 and Danny Ferry 12.
"He (Anderson) was chasing, rebounding, just playing all-out as usual," Popovich said.
Minnesota, which has lost three of its last four games, was led by Kevin Garnett with 24 points and 13 rebounds, while Terrell Brandon chipped in 17. Garnett missed a jumper at the end of regulation that would have won it.
"This is the kind of game you play for," said Anderson, who shot 10-of-22 from the floor. "No NBA player wants a blowout, they're no fun. I'd rather have a competitive game that gets decided down the stretch."
The Spurs, who have won 22 of their last 26 games, never trailed in overtime after Anderson opened with a three-point field goal to give San Antonio a 95-92 lead.
Johnson and Anderson each added a pair of free throws over the final 15.2 seconds as San Antonio scored the win.
"It was a very difficult loss," Garnett said. "We sort of had the game sewn up and they made a run. It just shows you how this game is, you can be doing a great job, then it changes in seconds."
San Antonio, which improved to 45-19, outscored Minnesota 52-36 in the paint.
"This was a great confidence builder and good game experience for us," said Duncan, who had his 52nd double-double of the season. "We haven't had a whole lot of wins in games like this. It was good to be able to grind it out."
Heat 114, Kings 104
Miami Returning from a one-game banishment, Anthony Mason had 25 points and 13 rebounds as Miami beat shorthanded Sacramento. The victory snapped Sacramento's five-game winning streak. The Kings were without Bobby Jackson, Vlade Divac, Scot Pollard and Art Long, who served one-game suspensions for their roles in a fight Tuesday night at Orlando.
Wizards 103, Pistons 96
Washington Richard Hamilton scored a career-high 40 points to make up for the absence of Mitch Richmond, who sat out because of a sprained right knee. After losing six in a row at home, the Wizards have now won back-to-back home games. It's just the third time this season the Wizards have had a winning streak.
Magic 97, Cavaliers 87
Cleveland Pat Garrity scored 13 of his 18 points in the fourth quarter and the Orlando Magic survived without leading scorer Tracy McGrady. Garrity made four three-pointers and finished 7-for-10 from the floor in 19 minutes for the Magic, who learned two hours before tipoff that they wouldn't have McGrady, their star player.
Hornets 100, Grizzlies 95
Charlotte, N.C. Jamal Mashburn had 23 points and David Wesley added 20 to lead six Charlotte players in double figures. The Grizzlies narrowed Charlotte's advantage to 89-84 on Shareef Abdur-Rahim's driving layup with 3:43 left, but the Hornets ran off seven straight points to clinch the victory.
76ers 85, Bulls 67
Chicago Dikembe Mutombo led Philadelphia with 15 points and 12 rebounds as the 76ers, playing without Allen Iverson, routed the injury-depleted Bulls. Iverson, the NBA leader in scoring, steals and minutes, sat out with a left hip pointer. The Bulls played most of the game without Elton Brand and all of it without starters Ron Artest and Bryce Drew. Chicago's 67 points were only three off their season-low, and the 85-67 victory tied Philadelphia's largest margin of the season. Tyrone Hill had 16 points for the 76ers and Aaron McKie added 14.
Nuggets 95, Pacers 83
Denver Nick Van Exel scored 18 of his season-high 37 points in the third quarter, capping it with a spinning 30-footer, and Raef LaFrentz added 22 points and 14 rebounds to help the Nuggets end a six-year, 10-game losing streak to Indiana. The Pacers had not lost to Denver since March 31, 1995. Jermaine O'Neal led the Pacers with 22 points and 13 rebounds as Indiana tried to rebound from a triple-overtime loss at Houston 24 hours earlier.
Suns 84, Trail Blazers 79
Portland, Ore. Shawn Marion had 26 points and 13 rebounds as Phoenix took advantage of Portland's sloppiness down the stretch and handed the Blazers their fifth straight loss. Rasheed Wallace had 29 points and 11 rebounds for the Blazers, who ruined a chance for a thrilling victory by committing five turnovers on their last six possessions.
Jazz 102, Warriors 83
Oakland, Calif. Bryon Russell had 18 points and Donyell Marshall had 15 points and 14 rebounds for Utah. Karl Malone scored 16 points, and the Jazz got big contributions from their reserves in beating Golden State for the 18th time in their last 19 meetings. Utah took a big first-quarter lead and never let it drop below eight points while winning for the fifth time in six games.
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