James Posey scored 16 points, including seven in the closing two minutes, to lead the Memphis Grizzlies to a 99-95 victory Saturday night in Memphis, Tenn., over the Indiana Pacers.
Posey's three-point play with 1:29 remaining came late in a 12-0 run that gave the Grizzlies a 97-90 lead. A layup by Ron Artest, a steal by Al Harrington and a 3-pointer by Jamaal Tinsley made it 97-95.
Indiana got a chance to go for a tie or the win after Jason Williams missed a jumper with 19 seconds left, but Reggie Miller missed a short running jumper with seven seconds to go. Posey drew a foul and ended the scoring by hitting two free throws.
Pau Gasol and Stromile Swift had 17 points each for Memphis. Mike Miller, playing for the first time since hurting his back on Feb. 17, had 13 points in 25 minutes. Williams added 10 points and 10 assists.
The Pacers were led by Jermaine O'Neal with 28 points and Artest with 23. Jeff Foster had 17.
Memphis took the lead for good, 91-90, on Bo Outlaw's two free throws with 2:20 left.
Indiana held a 56-52 halftime advantage after leading by 13 points three times in the first quarter, the last time with 35 seconds to go on a 14-footer by Al Harrington.
In the opening period, the Pacers hit 15 of 18 shots. Artest and O'Neal had 10 points each in the quarter, which ended with the Pacers ahead 36-25.
But the Grizzlies scored the last points of the period on two foul shots by Swift and then began the second with 10 unanswered points. Memphis tied the score for the first time at 41-all on a 3-pointer by Posey with 5:58 left in the second quarter.
While the Pacers shot 83 percent from the field in the first quarter, they were only 6-of-20 in the second period. For the night, the Pacers shot 50 percent to Memphis' 53.
SPURS 103, CELTICS 87: At San Antonio, Tim Duncan marked his return to San Antonio's starting lineup with 26 points and 15 rebounds, and the Spurs beat the Celtics for the 12th straight time.
Manu Ginobili added 26 points in 24 minutes for San Antonio, which narrowed Minnesota's lead in the Midwest Division to 1 1/2 games.
After missing nine games with a knee injury, Duncan came off the bench for the first time in his NBA career in the Spurs' victory over the Timberwolves on Thursday.
Back in his customary position, he shot 10-for-13 and made all six of his free throws while leading a defense that limited Boston to 34 second-half points.
BULLS 87, KNICKS 81: At Chicago, Jamal Crawford hit a baseline jumper with 3.6 seconds left, completing a 25-point effort and sealing the Bulls' win.
Crawford and Eddy Curry, who had 25 points on 9-for-11 shooting to go with 14 rebounds, helped Chicago to its 20th victory.
Kurt Thomas paced the Knicks with 17 points. New York, which dropped a half-game behind Miami for sixth place in the Eastern Conference, played without injured guard Allan Houston and lost Tim Thomas to a groin strain after the first quarter.
The Knicks trailed by 14 in the third quarter before rallying. After a jumper by Thomas cut the deficit to two with 26 seconds to go, the Bulls worked the clock, and Crawford dribbled to the corner and sealed the win by arching in his jumper over two defenders.
HEAT 101, 76ERS 69: At Miami, Dwyane Wade and Eddie Jones scored 17 points apiece to lead the Miami Heat to their fourth consecutive victory and seventh in eight games.
The 76ers have lost four in a row to fall further back in the race for the final playoff spot in the East.
The Heat proved once again that when they are healthy, they are one of the Eastern Conference's best teams. They improved to 14-7 with a starting lineup of Wade, Jones, Caron Butler, Lamar Odom and Brian Grant.
Odom added 14 points, Udonis Haslem chipped in 12 points and 10 rebounds off the bench, and Rafer Alston hit three 3-pointers to finish with 12.
SUNS 123, BUCKS 111: At Phoenix, Amare Stoudemire scored 27 points and the Phoenix Suns reached a season high in points and broke a five-game home losing streak.
The victory was the Suns' 16th in a row at home over the slumping Bucks. Overall, the Suns have won only seven of their last 27 games, while Milwaukee has lost seven of eight.
Joe Johnson added 21 points for the Suns, Shawn Marion had 19 points and nine rebounds, rookie Maciej Lampe scored a season-high 17 and Casey Jacobsen had 12.
TRAIL BLAZERS 92, MAGIC 73: At Portland, Ore., Derek Anderson scored 24 points and Theo Ratliff added 14 points and six blocked shots.
The win moved Portland within a half-game of Denver and Utah in the race for the final Western Conference playoff spot.
The Magic were without All-Star swingman Tracy McGrady, who left the team to attend his great-grandmother's funeral.