Duncan Rises to Occasion

In front of a hostile crowd, San Antonio’s quiet man led his team to victory at the free-throw line.

Tim Duncan, a dismal free-throw shooter, made seven of eight in the fourth quarter to finish with 25 points, and Tony Parker had 26 as the Spurs beat the Midwest Division-leading Minnesota Timberwolves, 94-92, on Sunday at Minneapolis.

San Antonio snapped Minnesota’s five-game winning streak. The Spurs also ended a season-high seven-game trip at 6-1.

“We knew it was important because they had four games on us [in the division], and we might see them again in the playoffs,” said Duncan, two of six from the line before the fourth quarter.

Kevin Garnett led Minnesota with 28 points.

Cleveland 92, New York 86 -- Zydrunas Ilgauskas had 31 points and 15 rebounds, and LeBron James made his Madison Square Garden debut with 22 points as the Cavaliers prevailed before a crowd that took turns booing the Knicks and chanting the name of the traded Keith Van Horn, especially after they fell behind, 81-58.

Stephon Marbury had 30 points on 13-for-34 shooting for New York, which lost for the fourth time in its last five games.

Orlando 87, Detroit 86 -- Juwan Howard’s three-point play with 3.5 seconds left at Auburn Hills, Mich., left the Pistons with the eighth loss in their last nine games.

Rasheed Wallace missed at the buzzer. He had 14 points in his first full game for Detroit, two days after he was forced to miss the second half of a loss to Minnesota because paperwork from his trade from Atlanta had not been certified.

Howard led the Magic with 20 points.

Sacramento 96, Toronto 81 -- Peja Stojakovic scored 27 points, and Mike Bibby had 21, 18 of them in the second half, to lead the Kings at Toronto.

Indiana 94, Utah 80 -- Jermaine O’Neal had 21 points, 10 rebounds and seven blocked shots as the Pacers used a 17-2 run over the third and fourth quarters to prevail at Indianapolis.

Milwaukee 113, Washington 85 -- Michael Redd scored 25 points to help the Bucks end a seven-game road losing streak. Wizard guard Jerry Stackhouse was ejected in the third quarter for throwing the ball in frustration over a foul call.

Seattle 108, Boston 87 -- Rashard Lewis had 28 points, including six three-pointers, to send the visiting Celtics to their sixth straight loss. The Celtics fell to 1-11 under interim Coach John Carroll.

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Nursing a sore right shoulder, Allen Iverson will be a game-time decision tonight for the Philadelphia 76ers against the Pistons. ... Orlando’s Tracy McGrady was fined $10,000 by the NBA for kicing a basketball into the stands twice in Friday’s game victory against Denver. ... Washington Coach Eddie Jordan was fined $7,500 for failing to leave the court in a timely manner after Friday’s loss to Indiana. Jordan berated referee Leon Wood after the final buzzer before security intervened.