Ginobili gets 22, Spurs hang on to beat Heat 88-76

[March 17, 2010]  MIAMI (AP) -- Manu Ginobili scored 22 points, George Hill had 16 and the surging San Antonio Spurs wasted most of a 25-point, third-quarter lead before beating the Miami Heat 88-76 on Tuesday night.

Richard Jefferson added 15 points and Tim Duncan had 12 points and 11 rebounds for the Spurs, who've won eight of their last nine and ensured they would end the night no worse than No. 7 in the Western Conference standings.

Dwyane Wade scored 28 points for Miami, which lost for the first time in its last seven home games. Jermaine O'Neal added 13 points and Udonis Haslem finished with 10 points and 12 rebounds for the Heat, who missed a chance to move past Charlotte for the No. 6 spot in the East race. Charlotte lost at Indiana.

San Antonio led by 26 in the first half and by 25 with 2 1/2 minutes left in the third quarter, before Miami made things wildly interesting with a 21-2 run. Ginobili stopped it with a long 3-pointer with 7:58 left, then added another 3 about a minute later, essentially ending any Miami comeback hopes right there.

The Spurs outrebounded Miami 46-36.

A 26-6 San Antonio run in the first half turned the game into a runaway. And it only took about 5 minutes.

The Spurs made seven of their first nine shots during the run, including a pair of 3-pointers and a layup by Keith Bogans. By the time Hill made jumpers on consecutive possessions midway through the second quarter, San Antonio's lead had ballooned to 46-20.

Miami was stunned, probably for a lot of reasons.

The Heat hadn't trailed by more than one point in any of their three previous games, and hadn't faced anything more than a 12-point deficit during the run of six straight wins on their home floor. The Spurs' 26-point lead matched the sixth-biggest deficit Miami faced in any game this season, including the 34-point hole they dug at San Antonio on Dec. 31.

Unlike that night, the Heat didn't totally stop in the second half.

Quite the contrary.

San Antonio was still leading 69-44 after Duncan's 10th point of the third quarter with 2:24 left, when somehow, the Heat mustered up a rally try. Back-to-back layups by Wade got it started, and his 3-pointer with 5.4 seconds left in the quarter trimmed San Antonio's lead to 71-54 entering the fourth.

That 3-pointer started a 14-0 run by Miami, helped by Haslem -- who played through stomach flu -- getting three baskets within a 1 1/2-minute stretch, as the Heat got within 71-65 with 8:23 left.

Ginobili then connected on a long 3-pointer from the left wing on the next San Antonio possession, starting to swing the tide back toward the Spurs, who held a double-digit lead most of the rest of the way.

NOTES: Heat F Quentin Richardson went 0 for 3 in both games against San Antonio this season, all but one of the five misses from 3-point range. ... It was "Noche Latina" in Miami, meaning the home team wore black "El Heat" uniforms and San Antonio donned white "Los Spurs" jerseys. ... After going scoreless against the Knicks four games ago, Jefferson has scored at least 15 points in every outing since. ... Heat G Kenny Hasbrouck was inactive, hours after signing a 10-day contract with Miami.

[Associated Press; By TIM REYNOLDS]

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