Mason's 3-pointer gives Spurs 91-90 win over Suns

PHOENIX(AP) Roger Mason didn't play at all in
the fourth quarter until there were 4.3 seconds left. Then he came in
and made the biggest shot of the game.Mason's 3-pointer from the corner at the buzzer Thursday gave the San Antonio Spurs a 91-90 victory over the Phoenix Suns."As
a shooter, you're always prepared,'' Mason said. "Coach put me in in
that situation, and I knew if I had it, I was going to shoot it.''The Suns had taken the lead on Grant Hill's layup on an out-of-bounds play with 4.3 seconds to go.After
a timeout, Tony Parker drove toward the basket for San Antonio and
threw to Mason, who was wide open because defender Jason Richardson had
sagged toward the basket."As I beat Grant Hill, Jason Richardson
came in,'' Parker said. "Roger was wide open, and that's his shot. He's
been knocking them down all season, so I trusted him.''Parker
scored 27 and Tim Duncan had 25 points and 17 rebounds as the Spurs won
their fourth straight. Amare Stoudemire had 25 points and 13 rebounds
and Shaquille O'Neal 23 points and 12 boards for the Suns, who led most
of the afternoon but never by more than eight in the second half.Despite foul trouble, Duncan stopped Stoudemire on three straight late drives to the basket."I
thought Timmy down the stretch was absolutely spectacular,'' Spurs
coach Gregg Popovich said. "With five fouls, the defense he played down
low when they were going at him - making the stop, getting the rebound
and getting it out - I thought he was just magnificent.''Duncan knew the Suns would go after him "no matter who I was guarding, whether it was Shaq or Amare.''"They chose Amare,'' Duncan said. "I was physical with him. I didn't back down or change my defense in any way.''Hill
added 16 for the Suns, the last two coming on the same play Phoenix
used to beat Orlando this season. After a timeout, he inbounded to
Stoudemire, than ran to the baseline and toward the basket, where
Stoudemire found him for the uncontested layup.But the Spurs had
the last shot. When Parker drove toward the basket, Richardson came in
to help on defense. That left Mason, a 48 percent 3-point shooter who
hadn't scored since the second quarter, alone for the winner, sending
San Antonio to its 10th win in its last 12 games."We just had a
breakdown,'' Phoenix coach Terry Porter said. "I mean, Grant did a good
job on guarding the guy, the guy in the corner (Richardson) got
suckered in too much and allowed Mason to get some space. Give Tony
Parker some credit. He found him and Mason hit a wide-open shot.''O'Neal was 9-of-16 at the foul line to become the only player other than Wilt Chamberlain to miss 5,000 career free throws.Steve
Nash had 13 points. His eight assists made him the 13th NBA player to
reach 7,000 for his career. Porter is among the other 12.It was the kind of tight game that has become typical between the two teams."We played good enough to win,'' Stoudemire said. "Every time we play the Spurs some type of big shot ends up happening.''Stoudemire's
three-point play to start the fourth quarter put the Suns ahead 79-71.
But the Spurs stayed close and Parker scored twice, on a layup and
18-footer, to give San Antonio its biggest lead, 88-84, with 3:27 to
go. Phoenix led nearly all the game but never by more than eight in the
second half.Richardson's 3-pointer from the corner cut to 88-87
with 3:07 to go then, after a flurry of missed shots, Parker was called
for a technical and Nash's free throw tied it at 88-88 with 1:01
remaining.The Suns hit their first five shots to go up 11-0 on
O'Neal's dunk and led 23-10 after Richardson made one of two free
throws. But the Spurs scored the next eight, then started the second
quarter with a 9-2 run to cut the lead to 29-27 on Duncan's baseline
hook with 8:02 left in the half.O'Neal scored the first six
points, capped by a nifty spin move in the lane, in a 10-2 Phoenix run
that boosted the lead to 41-31 on Hill's layup on a pass from Matt
Barnes 3:35 before the break. The Suns led 45-39 at the half.San
Antonio took its first lead with a 9-2 run, Duncan's 21-footer putting
the Spurs up 54-52 with 6 1/2 minutes left in the third quarter.
Phoenix scored the next seven.Popovich employed the
"hack-a-Shaq'' strategy in the last minute of the third quarter, but
O'Neal made 5-of-6 at the line to put the Suns ahead 76-71 entering the
fourth.Notes: Chamberlain missed 5,805 free throws. ... O'Neal
played on Christmas Day for the 11th time. ... The Suns had won five
straight at home. ... The Spurs bench outscored the Suns' 15-2.