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NBA: Spurs crush the Trail Blazers 102-77
( 2003-12-11 17:34) (Agencies)

Tim Duncan had 18 points and 14 rebounds to lead the defending NBA champion San Antonio Spurs past the Portland Trail Blazers 102-77 on Wednesday night. Despite the win, their fourth straight, the Spurs are still in last place in the Midwest Division, percentage points behind Utah.

"We're confident but we're still building," said Duncan, who shot 6-for-14. "We know we aren't peaking but we are getting better and playing with a lot more confidence than we were. We are building on the wins and getting more confident."

Every team in the Midwest Division has an above-.500 record, led by the Houston Rockets at 13-7. None of the other six teams are more than 1 1/2 games out of first place.

The Memphis Grizzlies, in fourth place in the Midwest, won their sixth in a row to match the longest winning streak in franchise history with a 103-90 victory over Atlanta.

Elsewhere, the Los Angeles Clippers edged Dallas 100-99, Orlando beat Washington 95-91, Boston defeated Seattle 126-112 and Milwaukee topped Golden State 94-89 in overtime.

The Spurs, who never trailed, placed five players in double figures as Tony Parker and Rasho Nesterovic added 17 points apiece. Manu Ginobili added 11 points, six rebounds and a career-high six steals.

Portland, which dropped to 0-8 on the road, was led by Rasheed Wallace's 23 points and Zach Randolph's 22.

"They were better than we were in every facet of the game," Portland coach Maurice Cheeks said. "It's another road loss. I kept trying to get the fight out of us and I couldn't. We were very flat. We have guys who can play, we just have to find a way to play better. We know we can win 10 or 11 straight, but right now we're not playing well."

San Antonio, which led 29-18 after one, closed the second quarter with a 12-5 run and led 47-36 at halftime as Duncan had 14 points. The Spurs opened the third quarter with a 12-5 run.

Jazz 95, Knicks 73

At Salt Lake City, Andrei Kirilenko sparked the Jazz with another spectacular stat line.

The lanky Russian had 10 points, 12 rebounds, five blocks, six assists and six steals as the Jazz improved to 11-2 at home.

Greg Ostertag scored a season-high 16 points with 12 rebounds and the Jazz barely missed getting four double-doubles. Raul Lopez scored 12 points with nine rebounds and nine assists, and Matt Harpring had 22 points and nine rebounds.

The Knicks, who lost their sixth straight, were without leading scorer Allan Houston (sore knee) for the third straight game.

Clippers 100, Mavericks 99

At Los Angeles, Glen Rice hit a jumper from the top of the key as time expired to spoil Dirk Nowitzki's return to the Mavericks.

Corey Maggette scored 20 of his 30 points in the first half for Los Angeles, which overcame a 22-point deficit.

The loss was the fourth straight on the road for the Mavericks, leaving Don Nelson still needing one more win to tie Pat Riley for second place on the career coaching victories list behind Lenny Wilkens.

Grizzlies 103, Hawks 90

At Memphis, Mike Miller scored a season-high 22 points, including 11 in a key third-quarter rally.

Earl Watson added 20 points, also a season high, and nine assists as regular starter Jason Williams missed his fifth consecutive game due to back spasms.

"I expected big improvements with this team, but not this big," Memphis forward Pau Gasol said. The Grizzlies also won six straight late last season.

Magic 95, Wizards 91

At Washington, the team that began the week with a 19-game losing streak got 27 points from Tracy McGrady and a season-high 17 from Shammond Williams to win its second in a row.

"It's been a while since we've been on a streak on the winning side," McGrady said.

Larry Hughes scored 19 for Washington.

Celtics 126, SuperSonics 112

At Boston, Paul Pierce scored 36 points and grabbed 13 rebounds while Mike James added a career-high 24 points to lead the Celtics to their third straight victory.

The 126 points were a season-high for Boston, which beat its third straight Western Conference opponent.

Seattle tied a franchise record with 17 3-pointers.

Bucks 94, Warriors 89, OT

At Milwaukee, Michael Redd scored 25 points and Dan Gadzuric had career highs of 19 points and 13 rebounds.

The Warriors lost to an Eastern Conference team for the first time in six games this season. The Bucks scored the first six points of overtime, and the Warriors didn't score in the extra period until 10 seconds remained.

 
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