NBA Wrap: Mills shines as Spurs escape Bobcats

CHARLOTTE, North Carolina (AP) — Australian Patty Mills scored 18 of his season-high 32 points in the fourth quarter and Tim Duncan had a double-double to lead the San Antonio Spurs to a 104-100 victory over the Charlotte Bobcats on Saturday night (Sunday Manila time) for their fourth win in five games.

Mills was 10 of 13 from the field, including 5 of 5 in the fourth quarter. He also connected on 8 of 9 foul shots and had four 3-pointers to help the Spurs defeat the Bobcats for the sixth straight time.

Duncan finished with 16 points and 13 rebounds for his 22nd double-double of the season.

The Spurs trailed by one entering the fourth quarter when Mills took over, knocking down jumpers and floaters in the lane to push the lead to nine.

The red-hot Al Jefferson led the way for the Bobcats with 26 points and nine rebounds. Gerald Henderson had 23 points.

The crucial play came with the Spurs leading 99-95 with 26 seconds left when Josh McRoberts stole the ball from Duncan at the top of the key. But an overanxious McRoberts, looking ahead to Michael Kidd-Gilchrist for a fast break, threw the ball away.

Charlotte got the lead down to 102-100 when Henderson knocked down a 3-pointer from the corner after corralling an offensive rebound with 3.1 seconds left, but Nando De Colo sealed the victory with two free throws.

Jazz 95, Heat 89

In Salt Lake City, Marvin Williams scored 23 points and rookie Trey Burke hit a jumper with 24 seconds remaining to lift the Utah Jazz to a 94-89 upset victory over the Miami Heat in Salt Lake City.

Trailing 87-79 after Williams hit two 3-pointers, the Heat used a 10-4 run to draw within two points when Ray Allen made a 3 from the corner with 46 seconds to play.

Burke, who had 13 points, rose up and drained the clutch 19-foot jump shot to beat the shot clock and Gordon Hayward's free throw clinched the win for the Jazz, who have beat the Heat at home three straight times.

Dwyane Wade had 19 points for the Heat, who missed their last four shots from the field to thwart their comeback. LeBron James was 4 of 13 from the field for 13 points, his lowest scoring total since he had 13 points in a 104-88 win over Atlanta on Nov. 19.

Pistons 126, Nuggets 109

In Auburn Hills, Brandon Jennings had a season-high 35 points to go with 12 assists, Josh Smith had 30 points and the Detroit Pistons rolled to a 126-109 win over the Denver Nuggets.

Rodney Stuckey added 19 points for Detroit, while Andre Drummond had 18 points and 15 rebounds.

Randy Foye led the Nuggets with 25 points, while Wilson Chandler scored 20.

Grizzlies 79, Hawks 76

In Atlanta, Zach Randolph scored 20 points and the Memphis Grizzlies continued their pattern of winning on the road with strong defense, shutting down the Atlanta Hawks 79-76, while LaMarcus Aldridge scored 26 points to help the Portland Trail Blazers hold off the injury-depleted Minnesota Timberwolves 117-110.

Also Saturday, the Phoenix Suns beat the Golden State Warriors, 122-109, and the Houston Rockets edged the Milwaukee Bucks, 101-95.

Suns 122, Warriors 109

In Phoenix, Goran Dragic scored 13 of his career-high 34 points in the final seven minutes and Phoenix pulled away for a victory over depleted Golden State.

Dragic, who also had 10 assists, topped 30 points for the sixth time this season as the Suns (30-20) pulled a half-game ahead of the Warriors (30-21) for the sixth-best record in the Western Conference.

Gerald Green added 25 points and P.J. Tucker had 16 points and a career-best 15 rebounds for Phoenix.

Stephen Curry had 28 points and Harrison Barnes 23 for the Warriors, who were without front-line starters Andrew Bogut and David Lee.

Trail Blazers 117, Timberwolves 110

In Minneapolis, LaMarcus Aldridge scored 16 of his 26 points in the second half and Wesley Matthews added 21 to help Portland hold off injury-depleted Minnesota.

Aldridge had six points during Portland's game-deciding 13-1 run in the fourth quarter.

Corey Brewer led Minnesota with 26 points and Ricky Rubio scored a career-high 25 for the Wolves, who were without All-Star Kevin Love, Nikola Pekovic and Kevin Martin.

Despite trailing for much of the game, the short-handed Wolves showed plenty of grit, getting 19 points from Chase Budinger, 14 from Dante Cunningham and a season-high 12 from rookie Shabazz Muhammad.

Rockets 101, Bucks 95

In Milwaukee, Dwight Howard scored 27 points, including three crucial free throws in the closing seconds, and James Harden scored 10 of his 22 points in the decisive third quarter to help Houston hold off short-handed, scrappy Milwaukee to win its fifth straight.

Jeremy Lin added 18 as the Rockets tied their longest winning streak of the season, a mark set in late November.

Brandon Knight scored 23 points for the Bucks and Khris Middleton had 20, including three free throws after being fouled behind the arc with 46.6 seconds remaining as Milwaukee came back to trail 98-95. Howard made three of four free throws for Houston's final points and seal the win.