Spurs Regain Duncan but Lose to the Jazz

A healthy Tim Duncan is worth more to San Antonio than home-court advantage in the playoffs.

Duncan returned after sitting out 12 games because of a sprained ankle and scored 17 points, but played only three minutes of the fourth quarter in the Utah Jazz’s 93-91 victory over the Spurs on Wednesday night at Salt Lake City.

The loss dropped the Spurs 1 1/2 games behind Phoenix for the top record in the Western Conference. Phoenix has four games remaining to San Antonio’s three, but the Spurs will happily settle for the No. 2 slot if they know Duncan is healthy.

“I don’t want to fall for fool’s gold now and put him in a position where that ankle’s too weak and have something happen to him,” Spur Coach Gregg Popovich said. “Sure we wanted to put him in, but I don’t think that would have been wise.”

The Spurs could have used Duncan in the final minute. Utah won it on Mehmet Okur’s layup with 2.4 seconds left.

San Antonio had a final chance, but Manu Ginobili missed a baseline shot.

Duncan, who also had seven rebounds in his 20 minutes, said his ankle felt “pretty good.”

Okur led Utah with 25 points and 16 rebounds. Ginobili had 21 points for San Antonio.

Washington 93, Chicago 82 -- Larry Hughes scored 23 points, and the Wizards led by 22 points in the first quarter at Washington to earn their first playoff berth since 1997.

Washington also earned the head-to-head tiebreaker over Chicago in a potential playoff series.

*

Detroit 103, Orlando 94 -- Ben Wallace became the fifth player in NBA history to have 100 blocked shots and 100 steals in five consecutive seasons to lead the host Pistons to their season-high tying eighth victory in a row.

Wallace, who had two steals and no blocks, joined Hakeem Olajuwon, Julius Erving, Sam Lacey and David Robinson on the list, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

*

Dallas 95, Seattle 90 -- Dirk Nowitzki scored 31 points at Seattle to lead the Mavericks to their fifth victory in a row and keep the SuperSonics from clinching the Northwest Division. Seattle, which has lost six in a row, needs one win or a loss by Denver for its first division title since 1998.

*

Indiana 90, New Jersey 86 -- Reggie Miller scored seven of his 22 points in a late 22-second flurry at Indianapolis to help the Pacers rally from a six-point deficit and clinch their eighth consecutive playoff berth. New Jersey fell 1 1/2 games behind idle Philadelphia in the race for the final Eastern Conference playoff spot.

*

Boston 111, Milwaukee 108 -- Paul Pierce scored 32 points, including the winning basket with 19 seconds left, and the Celtics clinched a playoff berth at Milwaukee.

*

Minnesota 116, Golden State 100 -- Kevin Garnett posted his first triple-double of the season, finishing with 21 points, 15 rebounds and 11 assists in a victory at Minneapolis.

*

Houston 100, Memphis 92 -- Yao Ming scored 28 points at Houston to lead the Rockets to their fourth victory in a row. Mike Miller led Memphis with a career-high 37 points on 15-for-24 shooting.

*

Denver 116, New Orleans 102 -- Carmelo Anthony had 19 points to lead seven Nuggets in double figures at Denver in their season-high ninth victory in a row.

*

Charlotte 105, Atlanta 84 -- Emeka Okafor had 17 points and 11 rebounds at Charlotte, N.C., to help the expansion Bobcats guarantee they would not finish with the NBA’s worst record.