NBA – Ginobili beats buzzer as Spurs hold on to best record

SAN ANTONIO (NBA) – Manu Ginobili buried a step-back jumper at the buzzer to help the San Antonio Spurs edge out the Milwaukee Bucks 92-90.

In the process the Spurs won their sixth game in a row and improved to an NBA-best 21-3.

Ginobili finished with 26 points and accounted for the hosts’ last six points.

“I had the opportunity, the trust of my team-mates that I could hit the shot,” he said afterward. “Most of the time it doesn’t go in. it’s not a high-percentage shot but I’m glad we won.”

With the clock winding down and the score tied at 90, the Argentinian guard uncharacteristically decided not to drive to the basket but instead to take a midrange jumper.

The decision likely was a result of being denied twice at the rim in the fourth quarter by Australian centre Andrew Bogut, who had seven blocks on the night and leads the league with 3.1 swats per game.

Frenchman Tony Parker added 16 points and eight assists in the winning cause. Bogut had 15 points and seven rebounds for the Bucks who on Tuesday had ended the Dallas Mavericks’s 12-game winning streak. Turkey’s Ersan Ilyasova added 13.

Meanwhile, the Boston Celtics extended their winning streak to 11 games and moved to 20-4 on the season by besting the New York Knicks 118-116 at Madison Square Garden.

Paul Pierce hit a jumper over Amar’e Stoudemire with 0.4 seconds left to play. The latter then made a desperate three-pointer at the other end, but it did not count as video replay showed the ball was clearly still in his hands as the buzzer sounded. The result saw the Knicks’ eight-game winning streak come to an end.

Pierce had 32 points for the visiting Celtics who played from behind most of the game. Ray Allen added 26 and Kevin Garnett had 20 points and 13 rebounds.

Stoudemire matched a season-high with 39 points for his ninth consecutive game of 30 or more points. Italy’s Danilo Gallinari had all 20 of his points in the second half.

The Miami Heat won their 10th game in a row with a 101-95 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers in South Beach.

The Cavs, entering the contest trying to snap an eight-game losing streak, used a 14-2 run in the second quarter to take a 47-37 lead and were up 49-46 at the break.

However, Miami rallied in the second half with 2008 Beijing Olympics gold medalists Dwyane Wade and LeBron James doing much of the damage to go up by as many as 14 before holding off a late rally by the visitors.

Wade had 17 of his 28 points in the final frame and James added 21 to go along with 13 rebounds.

Elsewhere, Kevin Durant scored 32 points to power the Oklahoma City Thunder past the Houston Rockets 117-105 a few hours after being named USA Basketball Male Athlete of the Year for his impressive play at the 2010 FIBA World Championship.

Other results (home team first): Indiana Pacers 94 Los Angeles Lakers 109; Philadelphia 76ers 105 Los Angeles Clippers 91; Toronto Raptors 93 Chicago Bulls 110; Memphis Grizzlies 113 Charlotte Bobcats 80; New Orleans Hornets 94 Sacramento Kings 91; Phoenix Suns 128 Minnesota Timberwolves 122; Dallas Mavericks 103 Portland Trail Blazers 98.

FIBA