By PAUL J. WEBER, The Associated Press
SAN ANTONIO (AP) â€" Not since the old days does Tim Duncan remember having the ball run through him so many times. But forget the old days. He was just relieved to get the San Antonio Spurs back to how they looked last week.
Making good on a guarantee that the West's second-winningest team would start playing like it again, Duncan had 28 points and 12 rebounds and the Spurs shook off their funk to top the surging Memphis Grizzlies 107-97 on Thursday night.
Duncan matched his season-high a night after the Kobe Bryant-less Los Angeles Lakers humiliated the Spurs on their home court. Lakers center Andrew Bynum made Duncan look particularly outplayed while becoming just the second NBA player in the last dozen years to corral 30 rebounds in a game.
"We got back on track. That was the key to the whole thing, getting back on track," Duncan said. "Played awful against the Lakers. Got blown out, came back in there tonight against another good team. A much better effort."
Manu Ginobili added 20 points and Tony Parker scored 13. The Spurs had won 11 in a row before losing their last two â€" the Big Three didn't play at all the first one against Utah â€" and narrowly escaped their first three-game slide this season.
Rudy Gay led Memphis with 19 points. The Grizzlies had their four-game winning streak halted after their rally from a late 14-point deficit fizzled in the final minutes, and fell 1½ games behind the Los Angeles Clippers for the No. 4 playoff seed.
It was only the third loss in 12 games for the Grizzlies since the return of Zach Randolph.
"We got close. We were there," Memphis coach Lionel Hollins said. "It was a ball game until the end."
Duncan, who scored 20 in the second half, guaranteed after the Lakers game that the Spurs would respond from their listless performance. So frustrated was Duncan following Wednesday's night 98-84 loss that he said he was grateful to be playing a back-to-back, which the health-conscious Spurs typically greet with groans.
San Antonio steadily fed Duncan through their signature "4-Down" system in the second half, to the point that Duncan said afterward that it felt like the old days.
"He stepped it up to a whole other level," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. "He was phenomenal. He was a monster."
The Spurs (41-16) are a half-game behind Oklahoma City (42-16) for first place. San Antonio owns the tiebreaker.
After looking helpless against Bynum, the Spurs matched Memphis in rebounding and held Randolph to 10 points and 11 boards. Gay shot just 7 of 22 one night after he had 32 points against Phoenix.
The Grizzlies whittled an 88-74 deficit down to two points with 3 minutes left before losing steam. Memphis staged its comeback despite shooting just 29 percent in the fourth.
O.J. Mayo scored 16 points and Marreese Speights added 15 for the Grizzlies.
"No matter what we do, no matter what success we have, we're still going to have to prove ourselves," Gay said. "You know, I like being in that position. I think everybody on this team likes being in that position."
Hollins arrived in San Antonio reiterating that he has no intention of returning Randolph to the starting lineup anytime soon.
"I don't know that we're ever going to do that," Hollins said. "Zach can come in and score anytime. He's getting his double-doubles, so what else is there?"
Randolph missed 43 games after injuring his right knee on New Year's Day in Chicago. Since combing back and taking an off-the-bench role for the first time since his second NBA season a decade ago, Randolph is averaging 10.3 points and eight rebounds, well below his All-Star numbers last year.
Yet Hollins said Randolph is nowhere close to being fully back in shape, and he's not complaining with a 9-3 record since his big man returned.
Danny Green added 10 points for the Spurs. Parker had nine assists and shot 5 of 12 after scoring just four points against the Lakers.
NOTES: The Spurs swept the Grizzlies 4-0 this season. ... San Antonio's Matt Bonner, who led the NBA in 3-point shooting last season, was 1 of 6 from behind the arc. He has made just 10 of his last 29 attempts.
Mavericks survive late run, top Warriors
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) â€" Sweating out the last month of the playoff chase might be just what the Dallas Mavericks need to regroup for another run at an NBA title.
Dirk Nowitzki scored 27 points and former Golden State lottery pick Brandan Wright had 16 points and nine rebounds, leading the Mavericks past the Warriors 112-103 on Thursday night in another unexpectedly tight game for the defending champions.
"We'd rather have this than resting guys," said Jason Terry, who had 16 points and made some big shots late.
Jason Kidd added 12 assists, 10 rebounds and nine points to pace the Mavericks to a 19-point lead before hanging on late, moving 1½ games behind Memphis for the Western Conference's fifth playoff seed. The Grizzlies lost 107-97 to San Antonio earlier in the night.
The Mavericks are just a half-game ahead of Denver and Houston and trying to regain that rhythm that propelled them to an improbable title last summer.
"It's the kind of pressure that you like," Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle said. "It brings you to higher levels and we embrace it. We embraced it last year in the playoffs and it got us a ring."
They'll take a better seeding, for now, even if it comes in shaky wins against an overmatched opponent.
David Lee had 30 points and eight rebounds and rookie Klay Thompson finished with 24 points, eight assists and seven rebounds for the shorthanded Warriors. Golden State has lost three straight and is already eliminated from playoff contention.
"We, for some reason in the first half, were a step behind on every play defensively, and you could just see it sometimes as a coach and as a player," Warriors coach Mark Jackson said.
Dallas survived late behind its usual playmakers.
After the Warriors whittled the deficit to three early in the fourth quarter, Nowitzki returned and took charge. The 7-footer made a difficult fadeaway and backed down defenders for a layup to start an avalanche of offense.
Terry followed by swishing a walk-up 3-pointer in front of the Warriors' bench. Then Nowitzki passed out of a double-team to find Vince Carter for another 3 and put away Golden State for good.
These Warriors had little chance of a lasting comeback.
Point guard Stephen Curry (sprained right ankle) and center Andrew Bogut (fractured left ankle) are likely out for the season. Leading scorer Monta Ellis and forward Ekpe Udoh departed in the trade that netted Bogut from Milwaukee, and Jackson has only a shattered roster remaining to explain why his misguided playoff prediction predictably flopped.
Not until Nate Robinson swished a jumper and a 3-pointer and Brandon Rush dunked to open the fourth did Warriors fans â€" who still packed Oracle Arena with an announced crowd of 17,929 to cheer a franchise with one playoff appearance since 1994 â€" get riled up for anything other than next season. The shots sliced Dallas' lead to 89-86, giving the defending NBA champions a scare.
"It means nothing when you give up 112 points," Thompson said.
The scare was brief.Â
The site of another familiar face â€" a constant theme in these parts â€" ripping the home team did most of that early. Wright, drafted eighth overall by the Warriors in 2007, bullied and bruised his way around the paint against Golden State's undersized frontline. He had 12 points and six rebounds off the bench by halftime, including a pair of dunks.
The Mavericks, who plucked the injury-riddled Wright â€" traded to New Jersey by the Warriors after 2 ½ seasons â€" out of free agency in December, opened the game open behind patches of open space with the forward drawing so much attention. Nowitzki followed with a flurry of jumpers, giving Dallas a 60-41 lead late in the second quarter to take complete control.
"It's a race to the finish line," said Mavericks forward Shawn Marion, who scored 7 points. "Every game counts here on out."
NOTES: Bogut was shooting around before the game without his walking boot for the first time since being acquired in the March 13 trade. ... The Mavericks improved to 12-5 against the Warriors since being upset by Golden State in the first round of the 2007 playoffs, when Dallas was the top seed and coming off an NBA finals loss to Miami a year earlier. ... The Warriors held the team's second annual Bollywood Night, which featured Indian-themed music, outfits and other entertainment during intermissions.
-- Antonio Gonzalez
Other NBA Capsules
Watson, Bulls beat Heat in OT
CHICAGO (AP) â€" C.J. Watson scored 16 points, including the game-tying 3-pointer at the end of regulation, and the Chicago Bulls pulled away in overtime to beat the Miami Heat 96-86 on Thursday night.
Carlos Boozer led the Bulls with 19 points and Kyle Korver added 17 points for the Bulls, who outscored Miami 12-2 in overtime to boost their lead in the Eastern Conference to four games.
LeBron James scored 30 points for Miami, but missed a free throw that would have made it a two-possession game late in regulation. Dwyane Wade added 21 points, Chris Bosh scored 20, but the Heat lost for the sixth time in 11 games.
CLIPPERS 95, TIMBERWOLVES 82
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) â€" Blake Griffin had 19 points and 13 rebounds and Caron Butler scored 17 points to lead the Clippers to a victory over the Timberwolves.
Mo Williams had 14 points and five assists in his return for the Clippers, who are a game behind the Lakers for the third seed in the West and 1½ game ahead of Memphis for the fourth seed.
Michael Beasley had 14 points and 10 rebounds and J.J. Barea had 10 points and 11 assists for the Timberwolves, who have lost eight straight games. They've lost 24 in a row in the month of April dating back to 2009.
The Wolves were playing without All-Star Kevin Love, who missed the game with a mild concussion.
PISTONS 109, BOBCATS 85
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) â€" Greg Monroe had 25 points and 11 rebounds to help the Pistons salvage a four-game road trip with a rout of the woeful Bobcats.
Brandon Knight added 21 points and seven assists while Jason Maxiell was a perfect 8-for-8 from the field and finished with 17 points. Monroe was 11-for-14 from the field.
The Pistons had won six of seven games before embarking on a road trip that included losses to Atlanta, Miami and Orlando, the final two by a combined margin of 53 points.
But they had no such problems with Bobcats, who became the first team this season to lose 50 games.
Detroit shot 61 percent from the field over the first three quarters and led by as many as 36.
Other NBA News
Mayor: Sacramento will not renegotiate arena deal
Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson is ready to meet with Kings owners at the NBA Board of Governors' gathering under one stipulation: the city will not renegotiate the proposed arena deal.
In a letter to the Maloof family released late Thursday night, Johnson put pressure on the team â€" and the league â€" to follow through with its commitment. He said Sacramento has "done our part" and now it's up to the team to do the same, setting the stage for a critical gathering after taking the city's hardest stance yet.
"Your handshake is your handshake. Your promise is your promise," Johnson said.
The two sides reached a tentative deal last month to fund the estimated $391 million arena, which would keep the team from relocating, as it almost did last year to Anaheim. The Sacramento City Council already passed its end of the deal, brokered by the league and tentatively agreed to by the Kings.
The team has to sign off so all parties can enter into binding contracts.
Kings owners Joe, Gavin and George Maloof have since taken issue with some of the terms â€" particularly environmental and pre-development costs. Under the agreement, the Kings and arena operator AEG each agreed to pay about $3.25 million in pre-development costs with the city paying the remaining $6.5 million.
George Maloof has since said that he does not believe the team should pay $3.25 million in pre-development costs because they're "playing the role of the tenant." All are expected to meet Friday with NBA Commissioner David Stern â€" who helped negotiate the original deal â€" and other league representatives in New York.
"We are 100% committed to moving forward under the framework laid out in the term sheet," Johnson said. "And there should be no expectation in (Friday's) conversation that this deal is subject to further negotiation. In light of these facts, the ball is in your court."
The strongly worded letter followed a day of tension from California's capital to the Big Apple.
In another letter signed by about two dozen of Sacramento's most powerful businesses leaders sent to Stern, the group asked the league to "strongly encourage" the Maloofs to sell. It also accused the Maloofs of not negotiating in good faith and questioned whether the owners have the finances â€" and motivation â€" to keep the team in Sacramento.
"We feel it is time for the Maloofs to sell their ownership of the franchise, for the good of the city and in the interest of advancing Sacramento's effort to build a downtown arena," a portion of the letter reads.
The timing of the letter was no accident.
The Maloofs were giving an update on the project to the NBA Board of Governors during its annual spring meeting in New York. It was exactly a year ago when Johnson and the city's business leaders convinced owners â€" along with presenting more than $10 million of new sponsorship and ticket sales for this season to the team â€" at the same Manhattan hotel to keep the Kings from moving to Anaheim, Calif.
Sacramento city officials were not in attendance Thursday. Johnson, who was taken an overnight flight to New York, had said the city had done its part and it's up to the Kings and the NBA to resolve the issue.
Family spokesman Eric Rose said the Maloofs were "saddened and disappointed" by the letter from the business leaders. He said the Maloofs are not selling the team and are committed to help fund the arena, which would open for the 2015-16 season in the downtown Sacramento rail yards.
"We share in the community's frustration on forging a workable agreement on what is ultimately a $400 million transaction that will impact the region for many years to come," Rose said in a statement. "However, we must all remember what is at stake in the development of a new arena in Sacramento, and must insure the agreement works for all parties involved, and most importantly, the residents of the City."
Sacramento's place on the NBA map seemed secured only a few weeks ago.
Under the non-binding term sheet, Sacramento will contribute $255.5 million, mostly by leasing out parking garages around the facility. The Kings agreed to pay $73.25 million and arena operator AEG will contribute $58.75 million. The remaining gap will be covered by a ticket surcharge, advertising around the facility, the sale of public lands and a sponsorship campaign to sell bricks and plaques around the complex.
The NBA agreed to pay about $200,000 to cover the initial pre-developmental costs and keep the project on schedule. Whether the rest will be covered â€" and who will cover it â€" was among the items expected to be discussed this week in New York during two days of meetings, which end Friday.
The league said it will refrain from comment until after the board meeting ends.
"Given all that the people of Sacramento have endured and achieved on your behalf," Johnson said, "we deserve nothing less than a partner who will work with the city in good faith and as a true partner."
-- Antonio Gonzalez
Hip surgery for Blazers' Aldridge; done for season
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) â€" Trail Blazers forward LaMarcus Aldridge will have surgery on his right hip and miss the rest of the season.
The team said Thursday no date has been set for the arthroscopic procedure, which will repair a slight labral tear. Aldridge says he has had pain for about two weeks and is unsure how the injury occurred.
"I'm just happy we know what it is now and we can move forward," said Aldridge, who traveled to Vail, Colo., his week for a closer look at the injury after an earlier MRI didn't show it.
Aldridge is averaging 21.7 points, 8.0 rebounds and 2.4 assists this season while shooting a career-high 51.2 percent.
The 6-foot-11 power forward in his sixth year called the tear "minor" and said he was being proactive in having the procedure. Aldridge had surgery to repair torn cartilage in his left hip when he was at Texas in 2005. He said that injury was much more severe.
"LaMarcus' priority is that he's 100-percent healthy going into training camp this fall and we all feel this is the best course," Blazers acting general manager Chad Buchanan said in a statement. "He's had an All-Star year and his long-term health is the most important thing to consider."
Aldridge is a finalist for the U.S. men's basketball team that will play in the London Olympics. He told reporters on Thursday that he was unsure if he'd be recovered in time to play, and wouldn't rush his rehab.
Aldridge's surgery is the latest blow to the Blazers in what has been a turbulent season. Before it started, Aldridge had to undergo a procedure to treat a heart condition that kept him out of training camp. On the same day that his procedure was announced, All-Star guard Brandon Roy revealed that he was retiring because of problems with both his knees, and the team said that former No. 1 draft pick Greg Oden had suffered a setback in his recovery from knee surgery.
The Blazers struggled in the lockout-shortened season, and the team dismissed popular coach Nate McMillan at the NBA trade deadline. Two starters, Marcus Camby and Gerald Wallace, were traded, and Oden was waived on the same day.
Although Portland (28-31) has not been eliminated from the playoffs, they are 4 1/2 games out of the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference. The team has seven games remaining.
The Blazers have gone 8-8 since McMillan's firing under interim coach Caleb Canales, who has been juggling his lineups to give younger players a look. Portland was coming off a 118-110 victory over Golden State on Wednesday night.
"I'm very disappointed," Aldridge said. "I feel we have a really good group of guys here. I feel like everybody's getting being. I feel we're starting to find a really good rhythm together. So it's definitely hard to do right now."
-- Anne M. Peterson
Love out vs. Clippers with concussion
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) â€" Minnesota Timberwolves All-Star Kevin Love sat Thursday night against the Los Angeles Clippers, and coach Rick Adelman said it was too soon to tell if Love would return to the court at any point this season.
Love was cleared to return to Minnesota on Thursday after spending the night in a Denver hospital. He sustained a mild concussion and a neck strain when Nuggets forward JaVale McGee inadvertently elbowed him in the head in the first quarter Wednesday night.
Once Love arrives back in Minnesota, he will be further evaluated by Timberwolves doctors before his status is determined for the six remaining games on the schedule. New NBA concussion rules require him to pass an exam from an independent neurologist before he is cleared to play again.
"You've got to wait and see. I have no idea," Adelman said when asked if Love could miss the rest of the season. "He's got to get back here, have our doctors look at him and see how he feels. With the situation we're in right now, if he's out five days he's going to miss three or four games so the season is pretty well gone by then anyway. They'll give us a better inclination of that when he gets back tonight."
Love is fourth in the NBA in scoring at 26 points per game, second in rebounding (13.3) and second in minutes played (39). He is the heart and soul of the team, and when he went down on Wednesday night it was the latest in an incredible list of injuries that gutted the Timberwolves' once promising playoff hopes.
The Wolves were right in the playoff race in the West when point guard Ricky Rubio tore the ACL and LCL in his left knee on March 9. What followed were injuries to starting center Nikola Pekovic (ankle), forward Michael Beasley (toe), point guard Luke Ridnour (ankle), point guard JJ Barea (groin) and now Love â€" the team's six best players.
Adelman said he's never seen anything like it in his 20-year coaching career.
"It's just been one thing after the other," Ridnour said. It seems like the way this season has gone, as a coach I took the first 40-something games and saw the progress we made and now I'm seeing it go in the other direction quickly."
The Wolves lost seven in a row heading into the game against the Clippers. Love was due to arrive back in the Twin Cities on Thursday night and would be evaluated further in the coming days. The Wolves host the Oklahoma City Thunder on Saturday night.
-- Jon Krawczynski
Bobcats shutting down Maggette for the season
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) â€" The Bobcats are shutting down forward Corey Maggette for the season. The injury-plagued Maggette will miss the remaining 10 games due to the continued strain in his right Achilles tendon that he initially suffered on March 30 against Denver. He missed a total of four games with that injury, but returned to play in the Bobcats' last three contests in a reserve role.
Coach Paul Silas hoped Maggette would become the team's veteran leader this season, but Maggette appeared in just 32 games. He averaged 15 points, 3.9 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game in his first year in Charlotte. Maggette missed 19 games with a left hamstring injury and one with a lower back contusion earlier this year. The Bobcats (7-49) host Detroit Thursday night.
Williams returns to Clippers after 11 games
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) â€" Los Angeles Clippers guard Mo Williams returned to the lineup against Minnesota on Thursday night after missing the previous 11 games with a sprained big toe on his left foot.
Williams was injured March 22 at New Orleans and entered at the start of the second quarter against the Wolves. Williams is averaging 13.6 points this season and has been one of their offensive leaders for the second unit all season.
The Clippers have hardly missed their quick-scoring guard, winning nine of their past 11 games. Randy Foye was averaging more than 17 points per game over the previous seven games, taking advantage of the increased playing time and shots. It's nice timing for Williams, who has eight games to get back in the groove before the playoffs begin.
Rose returns to Bulls' lineup
CHICAGO (AP) â€" Star point guard Derrick Rose is back in the Chicago Bulls' lineup for Thursday's game against the Miami Heat after missing a game because of a sprained right ankle.
Rose was injured in the first half Sunday in an overtime loss at New York, when he returned after missing 12 games because of a groin problem. He stayed in that game but sat out Tuesday's win at home over the Knicks. The Bulls were leading the second-place Heat by three games in the Eastern Conference heading into Thursday's game.
International Women
U.S. to train for three days in Seattle
The U.S. women's basketball team will play China in an exhibition game on May 12 as part of a three-day training camp in Seattle.
The Americans, who will also scrimmage Japan on May 13, have already announced 11 members of their Olympic roster which will compete in London this summer. That squad includes Seattle Storm star Sue Bird, Diana Taurasi, Swin Cash, Maya Moore and Tina Charles.
Joining the five UConn alums on the team is two-time Olympic gold medalist Tamika Catchings. Also returning for a second straight Olympics are Candace Parker, Seimone Augustus and Sylvia Fowles. Lindsay Whalen and Angel McCoughtry will be at their first Olympics and trying to help the U.S. win a fifth straight gold medal.
"I'm looking forward to it because it'll be the first time that the entire team will be together," U.S. national team coach Geno Auriemma said. "It's been kind of difficult with everybody's schedules to have many training camps. So, I'm really looking forward to it from that standpoint."
The U.S. will train in July for a few days in Washington D.C. before heading overseas to play an exhibition game against Britain. The Americans will then play in a tournament in Istanbul. The Olympics begin July 27.
International Men
Wade says money not an Olympic motivator
MIAMI (AP) â€" Heat guard Dwyane Wade says money is not his motivation for the London Games this summer. In a statement Thursday, Wade said, "I do not want to be paid to go to the Olympics."
Wade was quoted Wednesday saying he thinks "guys should be compensated" for playing over the summer and noted the schedule demands of being an Olympian. He said he was responding to a question about Olympians being paid, and never said he needed to be paid to play. Wade later tweeted that pride for his country "motivates me more than any $$$ amount."
Wade played for the U.S. at Athens in 2004 and Beijing in 2008, and has said the London Games would be his last.
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