DPA/Los Angeles

 

Tony Parker and the San Antonio Spurs had to work two extra shifts to stay perfect on their current road trip.

The Frenchman poured in 11 of his 32 points in both overtimes, including six in the second five-minute session, carrying the Spurs past the Toronto Raptors 111-106 on Sunday. The Spurs moved to 3-0 on their six-game road trip and improved to 11-3 overall, including a league-best 7-1 mark away from home. “We had to work hard for this one, the game could have gone either way,” said Parker, averaging 30.3 points during the trip. “In the second overtime I was just trying to get a rhythm and be aggressive on (Andrea) Bargnani.”

Tim Duncan had 26 points and Argentine ace Manu Ginobili finished with 15 and seven rebounds for the Spurs, who are getting accustomed to Parker’s late-game heroics. “Tony’s our closer,” Duncan said. “He’s been that way for the last couple of years. He steps up and makes big shots for us.”

DeMar DeRozan tallied 29 points and Lithuanian rookie Jonas Valanciunas had 22 for the Raptors (3-11), who have dropped four in a row, including consecutive one-point losses before suffering another heart-breaker to San Antonio.

Bargnani, however, finished with just four points - 14 below his team-leading average - on a nightmarish 2-of-19 shooting. “It’s a loss but we’ve been able to get close on a few of them,” said Spanish guard Jose Calderon, who finished with nine points and as many as assists in a losing effort. “We’re not that far from being a very good team. We have to keep working but we’re right there.”

Valanciunas made two free throws to square the game at 88-88 with 24 seconds left in regulation that eventually forced overtime, when Parker’s three-point try fell short with about a second left after Bargnani knocked the ball loose.

The Spurs led 94-90 after Parker turned a steal into a layup 24 seconds remaining and at 97-95. But DeRozan put back his own miss with nine tenths of a second left to force another overtime knotted at 97-apiece. The Spurs never trailed in the second extra stanza after Danny Green opened with a three-pointer. Parker drilled three jumpers in the final three minutes to put the finishing touches on the win. Carmelo Anthony exploded for 15 of his 29 points in the opening quarter, Steve Novak had a season-high 18, including five of New York’s 17 triples, as the Knicks dropped the visiting Pistons to stop a modest two-game slide.

JR Smith and Rashard Wallace scored 15 apiece while Raymond Felton finished with 14 and 10 assists for the Knicks, who improved their Eastern Conference best-record to 9-3. Brandon Knight netted 21 points for the Pistons (3-11), who lost for the sixth straight time at Madison Square Garden.

Rajon Rondo collected 15 points, 16 assists, nine rebounds and the go-ahead layup midway through the overtime session, sending the visiting Celtics past the Magic. Kevin Garnett had 24 points with 10 rebounds, Paul Pierce scored 23 for Boston, which has won two in a row overall and six straight meetings in the series. J J Redick topped the Magic with 21 points and Jameer Nelson finished with 20.

Joe Johnson put in 21 points, Brook Lopez had 15 while Deron Williams chipped in with 14 and 10 assists as the Nets pulled away to beat the visiting Trail Blazers for their fifth consecutive home-court victory. Wesley Matthews scored 20 points, while J J Hickson had 19 with 10 rebounds for the Trail Blazers, who were outscored 28-15 in the decisive fourth quarter.

 

 

 

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