SAN ANTONIO ? Stephen Jackson made five baskets in the first quarter of Sunday night’s game against Boston, but after that it seemed that his shooting touch had abandoned him.

But, despite having missed seven straight shots, Jackson didn’t hesitate when he found himself with the ball 25 feet from the basket and the San Antonio Spurs down two with 9.6 seconds left.

Jackson’s confidence paid off as he hit the three-pointer, giving the Spurs an 81-80 win over the Celtics.

“All my teammates were telling me that I had one more shot, just take it with confidence,” Jackson said. “I shot it with confidence.”

After Jackson’s basket, Paul Pierce twice had the ball with Bruce Bowen guarding him. Bowen, a defensive specialist, fouled Pierce with five seconds, and clung tightly to him on the next play when Pierce’s 17-foot jumper from the right wing bounced off the rim.

The Celtics scored only 10 points in the fourth quarter on 4-for-20 shooting after scoring 30 in the third.

“We had some great looks in the fourth quarter — they just didn’t fall,” Boston’s Antoine Walker said.

Tim Duncan led San Antonio with 21 points and Jackson added 18. The winning three-pointer was Jackson’s only basket of the second half. Tony Parker had 12 points for the Spurs.

Pierce led Boston with 25 points, but was only 9-for-24 from the floor. Walker scored 15 but also shot poorly (7-for-20) while J.R. Bremer added 10 points. Walker led all rebounders with 10.

“This is one of the hardest battles to lose,” Pierce said. “I thought the worst would be we’d go into overtime.”

Trailing by seven at the half, Boston opened the third period with a 14-7 run that was capped by a layup by Walker which tied the score at 54 with 6:51 left in the quarter.

Boston forward Antoine Walker, left, grabs a rebound over San Antonio guard Tony Parker. The Spurs won, 81-80, on Sunday in San Antonio.

San Antonio rebuilt a small lead before the Celtics ended the period with an 11-2 spurt. Pierce opened the run with a three-pointer and Walker followed with an 11-foot jump hook. Bremer put Boston ahead, 70-65, by driving past Parker for a layup in the final seconds of the quarter.

San Antonio ran its lead into double-digits late in the first quarter behind Jackson, who made a pair of three-pointers early and finished the period with 12 points.

Boston fell behind by 17 points early in the second quarter, but a late Celtics’ rally cut San Antonio’s lead to five in the final minute of the period.

J.R. Bremer hit a pair of three-pointers and Tony Delk made another from behind the arc for a 9-0 Celtics run that made the score 45-40 with 29 seconds remaining in the half.

Mavericks 96, Clippers 90

Los Angeles — Steve Nash scored 24 points, Dirk Nowitzki scored 23 and Michael Finley added 21 as Dallas held off the Clippers to win its sixth straight and improve on the NBA’s best road record. After two earlier blowout losses at Dallas this season, the Clippers put a scare into the Mavs in the fourth quarter. Neither team led by more than three points for much of the period until the Mavs, 13-3 on the road, gained some breathing room with seven unanswered points to take the lead for good.

Raptors 105, Timberwolves 91

Toronto — Morris Peterson scored 20 points and Toronto snapped a 12-game losing streak with a victory over Minnesota. Toronto’s backcourt of Peterson, Alvin Williams, Lindsey Hunter and newcomer Rafer Alston combined for 53 points as the Raptors won for the first time since Dec. 17 at Milwaukee. Jerome Williams added 17 points and 14 rebounds for the Raptors, who won despite missing All-Star Vince Carter, who missed his 17th straight game with a strained right knee.

Magic 107, 76ers 105

Philadelphia — Tracy McGrady had 34 points and was 13-of-16 from the foul line and Mike Miller scored 27 as Orlando handed struggling Philadelphia its sixth straight loss. Miller had 11 points, including three three-pointers, in the fourth quarter when the Magic overcame an eight-point deficit.

Suns 107, Jazz 99

Phoenix — Stephon Marbury scored 38 points — 22 in the second half — and Shawn Marion added 31 as Phoenix won its 10th home game in a row. Rookie Amare Stoudemire had 17 points and 13 rebounds. He scored nine in the fourth quarter when the Suns pulled away to beat Utah for the first time in three tries. Eighteen of Marion’s points came in the second half.

Kings 106, Grizzlies 98

Sacramento, Calif. — Peja Stojakovic scored a season-high 30 points and had eight rebounds as Sacramento won for the fifth time in six games. The Kings built a 14-point halftime lead and went into the fourth quarter ahead 90-74.

Cavaliers 87, Sonics 79

Seattle — Ricky Davis scored 22 points as Cleveland snapped a 15-game losing streak against Seattle. The Cavaliers trailed 71-66 to open the fourth quarter.

Lakers 106, Heat 81

Los Angeles — Kobe Bryant scored 36 points, and Samaki Walker had a season-high 16 rebounds as the Lakers took command in the third quarter. The win extended the Lakers’ longest winning streak of the season to four games and avenged a 97-85 loss at Miami on Nov. 26.