Dallas ? The Minnesota Timberwolves knew they needed a team effort without top scorer and rebounder Kevin Garnett on Tuesday night, especially on the road against the Dallas Mavericks.

Chauncey Billups and Wally Szczerbiak stepped up to the challenge.

Memphis forward Lorenzen Wright, right, knocks the ball from San Antonio's Danny Ferry. The Spurs defeated the Grizzlies, 99-93 in overtime, Tuesday night in San Antonio.

Billups scored 24 of his career-high 36 points in the third quarter, and Szczerbiak added 31 as Minnesota rallied for a 117-100 victory.

“I had to keep pressure on the offensive end, and I did that,” said Billups, playing his fifth game as the starting point guard since previous starter Terrell Brandon went down with a left leg injury. “The team fed off my energy. Wally started getting hot. Everybody played well. It was a collective effort tonight.”

The victory moved Minnesota within a half-game of first-place Dallas in the Midwest Division.

Garnett was in South Carolina to attend the funeral of his grandfather on Tuesday morning and was unable to get to Dallas for the game.

“I told our guys that even without (Garnett), we wanted to share the ball so that we wouldn’t be predictable,” Minnesota coach Flip Saunders said. “Offensively, I told our guys to be aggressive, and Chauncey and Wally were aggressive. We were going to find a way to hang in there.”

Steve Nash scored 24 points, and Adrian Griffin 15 for the Mavericks, who had won eight of their previous 11 meetings with the Timberwolves.

Dallas led 56-46 at halftime, but Billups paced a third-quarter charge with 11 consecutive points, including three straight three-pointers, to trigger a 21-6 spurt that gave Minnesota a 68-62 lead.

Billups hit five three-pointers during his third-quarter outburst, which set a team record for any quarter, as the Timberwolves grabbed a 82-76 lead entering the fourth quarter.

“I couldn’t be happier for Chauncey because he’s gotten a bum rap so far,” Szczerbiak said. “He’s been on other teams and he’s been traded a lot, but people don’t give him credit for what he can do. He’s come up big for us in big games this year.”

Celtics 109, Lakers 108

Los Angeles Antoine Walker’s three-pointer with 1.2 seconds remaining capped a Boston comeback that gave the Celtics a victory over Los Angeles. Kobe Bryant made a jumper from the right baseline, but after a brief conference, the officials ruled he didn’t release the ball until after time expired.

Walker banked the ball in from the left wing with Robert Horry right on him to cap a 30-point, 14-rebound, 10-assist night his second triple-double of the season.

Paul Pierce had 33 points and eight rebounds as the Celtics handed the Lakers their first three-game losing streak since Phil Jackson became their coach before the 1999-2000 season.

Bryant had 27 points and nine assists and Shaquille O’Neal, playing his first game in 16 days, had 25 points and 17 rebounds.

A free throw by Bryant with 3:40 left gave the Lakers a 103-91 lead, but the Celtics outscored them 18-5 after that.

Spurs 99, Grizzlies 93, OT

San Antonio Tim Duncan scored 23 points, including the last six points in overtime, and had 12 rebounds as San Antonio beat Memphis. Antonio Daniels added 19 points, David Robinson added 14 points and 14 rebounds for the Spurs, who have defeated the Grizzlies 17 straight times. Pau Gasol and Shane Battier each scored 26 points for Memphis, which has lost four of its last five.

Kings 99, Hawks 79

Sacramento, Calif. Chris Webber had 19 points and 12 rebounds as Sacramento pulled away in the fourth quarter. Vlade Divac added 14 points and 10 rebounds for the Kings, who outscored Atlanta 30-13 in the fourth quarter. Bobby Jackson scored 10 of his 13 points in the fourth quarter, while Mike Bibby, Peja Stojakovic and Doug Christie each had 12 points.

Sonics 103, Suns 91

Phoenix Rashard Lewis and Brent Barry each scored 18 points as Seattle beat Phoenix, handing the Suns their fourth straight loss. Gary Payton added 16 points, and Predrag Drobnjak 15 for Seattle, which won its third in a row and fifth straight on the road. The loss was the second in as many games since Frank Johnson replaced Scott Skiles as Suns coach on Sunday, and dropped the Suns (25-28) three games under .500 for the first time this season.

Nets 123, Warriors 115

East Rutherford, N.J. Jason Kidd had 26 points, 12 assists and 12 rebounds for his league-high sixth triple-double, and 44th of his career, to lead New Jersey over Golden State.