Porter, Spurs Pay Back Mavericks

Terry Porter refused to be burned by the Dallas Mavericks again.

Ten days after an overtime loss at San Antonio, Porter pulled the Spurs past the Mavericks by scoring 22 points, including two free throws with 5.1 seconds left, for a 105-103 victory Saturday night at Dallas.

“Terry Porter’s been huge for years now and he did great for us tonight,” said Tim Duncan, who had 29 points and 17 rebounds. “He’s a big-game and a big-shot player, and he showed it.”

Porter, a 17-year veteran, was needed because Duncan fouled out with 1:49 left and David Robinson stumbled as the Spurs couldn’t preserve a 103-95 lead.

Dallas scored eight consecutive points to tie the score with 9.3 seconds left on a tip-in by Dirk Nowitzki, who had 28 points and 14 rebounds. Robinson missed two free throws and committed an offensive foul during the Mavs’ run.

With their Midwest Division lead on the line, the Spurs brought the ball in to Porter and as he drove to the basket he knocked heads with Dallas’ Steve Nash. Nash came away from the collision with a foul and a bloody gash over his left eyebrow.

“It’s easy to second guess,” Nash said. “Sometimes, that’s the way it goes.”

Porter made the two free throws.

The Mavericks lost their second in a row after a 10-game winning streak and lost Michael Finley, who re-injured the strained left hamstring that kept him out of two of the previous three games. He left with 8:36 to play.

The Interstate 35 matchup is rapidly developing into a nice rivalry.

“It’s going to be like that over and over and over,” Spur Coach Gregg Popovich said. “Nobody has the upper hand over anybody else.”

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Sacramento 118, Phoenix 112--Chris Webber scored 22 of his 35 points in the second half and the Kings withstood a fourth-quarter rally at Phoenix to win their sixth in a row.

“You just jump on his back and ride him because he’s such a special player,” said Doug Christie, who scored 12 of his 20 points in the first quarter when Webber was two for seven from the floor. “He draws so much attention, it gives opportunities to some other guys.”

Webber was five for five from the field in the fourth quarter after an eight for 22 start.

“I’m getting healthy,” Webber said. “Even though we got off to a good start [this season], we’re playing better now.”

Peja Stojakovic scored 25 points for the Kings, who blew a 16-point first-quarter lead before rebounding to pull within a half-game of the idle Lakers in the Pacific Division.

Stephon Marbury scored a season-high 35 points to lead the Suns, who have dropped three consecutive. Rodney Rogers had 19 points and Shawn Marion scored 14 for Phoenix.

Webber scored five consecutive points to start the fourth quarter and give the Kings a 90-78 lead with 10:31 to play.

Boston 90, New York 81--Paul Pierce scored 28 points and contributed to a strong defensive effort that led the Celtics at New York.

Antoine Walker scored 22 points for Boston and Tony Battie had 13.

Marcus Camby led the Knicks with 21 points and 19 rebounds.

The Celtics defeated the Knicks at Madison Square Garden for the second time this season.

New York has made a habit of blowing double-digit leads at home, and the Knicks wasted no time doing it again. The Knicks scored the first 10 points, but the Celtics responded with a 21-5 run.

The Celtics outscored New York, 29-12, in the fourth quarter, holding the Knicks to two for 18 shooting.

“I thought we played outstanding defense,” Boston Coach Jim O’Brien said. “We tried to make sure their touches were further away from the basket than normal, so we double-teamed them until they were about 17 or 18 feet away.”

Utah 113, Chicago 111--John Stockton made three free throws in the final 42 seconds of overtime and the Jazz held off the Bulls at Chicago.

Karl Malone scored 32 points for Utah and Donyell Marshall added 25, including two of the Jazz’s first three baskets in overtime. Scott Padgett tied his career high with 16 points.

The victory was Utah’s eighth in a row over the Bulls, dating to 1997.

After trailing by 15 points in the third quarter, Chicago rallied, tying the score, 100-100, on Marcus Fizer’s three-point play with 34 seconds left.

Ron Mercer led the Bulls with 29 points and Ron Artest had 23 points, six rebounds and six steals before fouling out with 1:14 left in regulation.

New Jersey 89, Charlotte 80--Jason Collins had 18 points and 12 rebounds, both career highs, and fellow rookie Richard Jefferson had 16 points for New Jersey at Charlotte, N.C.

The Nets played without Kenyon Martin, suspended for two games earlier in the day for a flagrant foul and throwing a punch at Tracy McGrady on Friday, and Keith Van Horn, who had a stomach virus.

Elden Campbell led Charlotte with 26 points and 13 rebounds.

Minnesota 112, Atlanta 96--Wally Szczerbiak scored 23 points and Kevin Garnett had 22 points and 14 rebounds at Atlanta for the Timberwolves, who won their fourth in a row.

Minnesota outrebounded the Hawks, 56-34, and outscored them, 48-36, in the key.

Garnett didn’t notice that the Hawks seemed to concede inside matchups in the second half.

“I noticed right off the bat when we got up they felt like they had to play catch-up. Then once that fatigue set in, it made it that much harder for them,” Garnett said.

Shareef Abdur-Rahim scored 20 points for the Hawks.

Detroit 101, Cleveland 91--Jerry Stackhouse scored 22 of his game-high 29 points in the second half at Auburn Hills, Mich., and the Pistons won for the second time in 11 games.

Stackhouse’s biggest play might have been a fourth-quarter block of Zydrunas Ilgauskas’ shot.

Detroit led by six points when Stackhouse swatted the 7-foot-3 Ilgauskas’ shot from behind and turned the resulting fastbreak into two free throws.

Cliff Robinson had 22 points and nine rebounds for the Pistons, and Corliss Williamson had 14 points and a season-high 11 rebounds.

Ilgauskas led Cleveland with 20 points.

Orlando 118, Golden State 109--Reserve Troy Hudson scored a season-high 26 points, making four of the Magic’s 13 three-point baskets at Orlando, Fla.

Orlando won for the fourth time in five games. Golden State has dropped four in a row.

Golden State’s Bob Sura had a steal and a layup in the first minute of the fourth quarter to tie the score, 88-88. Orlando got four three-pointers--two each by Pat Garrity and Hudson--to move ahead, 100-93.

Indiana 81, Houston 79--Jermaine O’Neal scored 28 points, including three in the final 39 seconds, to lead the Pacers at Houston.

O’Neal, who had 15 rebounds, made a 10-foot jumper with 39 seconds remaining to put the Pacers ahead. He then made one of two free throws with seven seconds remaining to make it a two-point lead.

Steve Francis and Eddie Griffin led the Rockets with 13 points apiece.

Portland 96, Philadelphia 88--Rasheed Wallace scored 30 points and Damon Stoudamire had 19 points and 11 assists for the Trail Blazers at Portland.

Scottie Pippen had nine assists for the Blazers, who ended a six-game losing streak, their longest since December 1995.

Philadelphia’s Allen Iverson was held to 18 points. Derrick Coleman had 21 points for the 76ers.