Spurs Are Not Sharp at End

It was a finish where the San Antonio Spurs could have really used their go-to guy.

But with the injured Tim Duncan in street clothes, the Spurs’ final minute of Monday’s night 81-80 loss to the visiting Memphis Grizzlies consisted of a shot-clock violation followed by a desperate, falling-down shot that couldn’t clear the front of the rim.

Lorenzen Wright provided the margin of victory for the Grizzlies when he put back his own missed four-footer with 19 seconds left.

Earl Watson had 13 points for Memphis, which went mostly with reserves down the stretch after disappointing efforts from its starters.

Wright’s layup capped a 14-point rally by Memphis in the fourth quarter, as the Spurs managed only one field goal in the final 9:27 in their second of at least five games without Duncan, who has a leg injury.

“We have to give them credit, though, for the great defensive pressure,” said the Spurs’ Manu Ginobili, who finished with 15 points and a career-high nine assists. “We stopped moving the ball.... There was no movement, so we couldn’t take open shots.”

Malik Rose drove in the waning seconds, but he took his shot while falling backward. It hit off the front of the rim, and Memphis’ James Posey rebounded it as time expired.

Washington 111, New Orleans 106 -- Gilbert Arenas scored eight of his 35 points in overtime, and the Wizards recovered after blowing a 21-point second-half lead at Washington.

Arenas made a pair of three-point shots and a pair of free throws in overtime as the Wizards scored more points in the extra period (15) than they did in the fourth quarter (10).

Arenas, flourishing since his 3 1/2-quarter shooting boycott last week, added 10 assists and four steals. He is averaging 30.3 points in three games since declining to shoot for most of a game at Toronto because of accusations of selfishness.

Baron Davis had 18 of his 33 points in the fourth quarter and overtime and had 11 assists for the Hornets, who have lost four straight road games.

Utah 94, Detroit 86 -- In his best game since being traded to Utah on Feb. 19, reserve Gordan Giricek scored 24 points at Salt Lake City, and the Jazz turned a 14-4 game-ending run into its fourth victory in a row.

Giricek made 10 of 17 shots, including all four of his three-point attempts.

Rasheed Wallace scored 27 points in his best outing since being traded from Atlanta.

Boston 117, Orlando 96 -- Mark Blount had career highs of 28 points and 21 rebounds -- the Celtics’ first 20-20 game in 10 years -- and the Celtics scored the first 25 points of the fourth quarter in beating the Magic at Boston.

The Celtics won their third game in a row and only their fourth under interim Coach John Carroll.

Tracy McGrady, the NBA’s leading scorer, had 29 points for Orlando after playing only two minutes in the first quarter because of foul trouble.

Orlando pulled within 87-82 at the third-quarter buzzer. But the Magic did not score again until Drew Gooden made two free throws with 4:19 left.

Chicago 92, Cleveland 81 -- Kirk Hinrich had 22 points, eight rebounds and seven assists at Chicago to steal the show from his more-heralded rookie counterpart LeBron James.

Hinrich had 11 points during a pivotal third-quarter spurt and made several shots worthy of a highlight reel -- including a rare dunk.

James had 18 points on seven-for-17 shooting with three rebounds and three assists. Zydrunas Ilgauskas led Cleveland with 19 points.