SAN ANTONIO — Coming back to his hometown just isn't the same for Shaquille O'Neal now that he's traded purple for black.
O'Neal was a non-factor at the end of the Miami Heat's 93-84 loss to the San Antonio Spurs on Friday night. That was quite different, too.
His last basket cut San Antonio's lead to one point with nearly five minutes left, but the Spurs held their longtime nemesis scoreless down the stretch en route to a victory.
Manu Ginobili scored 29 points for San Antonio.
When he was with the Los Angeles Lakers, O'Neal said, games against San Antonio always meant something.
"This is different now," he said. "When I was in the purple and gold, it was always two teams fighting for a chance to play in the Finals and win a title."
O'Neal, a high school standout in San Antonio in the 1980s, finished with 23 points and 21 rebounds. Twelve of his points came in the third quarter before he sat down after picking up his fourth foul.
His last hurrah was a putback with 4:44 remaining that pulled Miami within 77-76.
The Spurs then took control with a 13-3 run. The highlight came when Ginobili rebounded his missed free throw in the corner and, unchallenged, calmly lined up and made a three-pointer to extend San Antonio's lead to 83-76.
San Antonio's Tim Duncan, left, is fouled by Miami's Shaquille O'Neal. Duncan had 17 points and 13 rebounds, and O'Neal had 23 points and 21 rebounds as the Spurs defeated the Heat, 93-84, Friday night in San Antonio.
"I grabbed it, nobody was covering me, so I took a shot," Ginobili said. "It wasn't a miracle shot. It was just a read."
Teammate Tony Parker said it was more than that.
"Manu is playing with unbelievable confidence," said Parker, who finished with 18 points. "Shooting with so much confidence, you can do a lot of stuff."
Miami coach Stan Van Gundy said Ginobili's rebound/shot "was definitely a backbreaker for us."
Tim Duncan added 17 points and 13 rebounds for the Spurs.
Rasual Butler and Udonis Haslem each scored 11 for Miami, which played without guard Dwyane Wade, who sprained his left ankle in Thursday night's loss in Dallas.
The victory was the 400th for Spurs coach Gregg Popovich, all with San Antonio.
The game was touted as Duncan vs. O'Neal, but neither did much in the first half.
O'Neal, roundly booed by Spurs fans who remember the All-Star center's years with the Lakers, dunked on his first shot, but then his missed six of his last seven of the half. He had six points at the break.
Duncan shot 3-for-7 in each half, and he missed five of six free throws in the second half.
Grizzlies 96, Warriors 67
Memphis, Tenn. -- Pau Gasol had 14 points and 11 rebounds, and Memphis beat winless Golden State (0-6), which is off to its worst start since dropping nine straight to open the 1997-98 season. The Warriors had their poor shooting to blame, making only 25 of 91 attempts.
Celtics 91, Bobcats 74
Boston -- Gary Payton and Ricky Davis turned a tight game into a runaway in the third quarter. Payton had 10 points, and Davis added six in the quarter as the Celtics used an up-tempo attack to break a 41-all halftime tie.
Magic 122, Lakers 113
Orlando, Fla. -- Steve Francis scored a season-high 32 points, and Grant Hill added 27 points and 12 rebounds to rally Orlando to a comeback victory over Los Angeles.
Hawks 96, Hornets 95
New Orleans -- Antoine Walker scored 27 points, and Atlanta won its first game of the season, a victory over winless New Orleans. Kenny Anderson and Al Harrington each added 17 to help Atlanta hand Byron Scott his fifth straight loss as Hornets coach. The five-game losing streak to start the season matched the franchise record, set in 1989-90.
76ers 106, Pacers 104, OT
Philadelphia -- Allen Iverson sank a 14-footer as time expired in overtime and scored 15 points, leading Philadelphia over Indiana. Iverson, who sent a game into overtime in the final seconds earlier this week, took the ball the length of the court and beat the short-handed Pacers with a shot from the free-throw line.
Sonics 88, Raptors 87
Seattle -- Antonio Daniels' driving eight-foot shot with 7.2 seconds left gave Seattle a victory over Toronto. Vince Carter of the Raptors missed a driving reverse layup as time expired. The Sonics (5-1) won their fifth consecutive game after a 30-point, season-opening road loss to the Los Angeles Clippers.
Knicks 110, Clippers 96
New York -- Stephon Marbury had 21 points, 10 assists and seven rebounds before sitting out the fourth quarter, getting a little extra rest before beginning a tough road trip as New York defeated Los Angeles. The Knicks never trailed as they won their second in a row after opening with two losses.
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