Maybe too relaxed.

Jermaine O’Neal had 22 points and 13 rebounds, Wesley Johnson hit a 3-pointer at the end of regulation to force overtime and the Phoenix Suns rallied to upend San Antonio 105-101, stunning a raucous crowd that had begun celebrating midway through the third quarter only to exit in silence.

Tony Parker had 22 points to lead San Antonio, which had not lost at home since Nov. 19 against the Los Angeles Clippers. Tim Duncan had 19 points and 11 rebounds, and DeJuan Blair and Kawhi Leonard added 15 points apiece.

Luis Scola added 15 points and Goran Dragic had 13 points and 13 assists for Phoenix, which snapped a six-game losing streak against the Spurs.

“We are all very upset, especially after the performance we had on the road,” San Antonio guard Manu Ginobili said. “Coming back home and losing the first one is hard, but it happens. We got relaxed after such a long road trip, but this is what happens in the NBA when you do not play your best.”

After going 7-2 on the road trip due to the San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo, the league-leading Spurs (45-14) appeared to have the game well in hand following a strong third quarter by Parker.

Amid cries of “MVP,” Parker had 10 points in the period as San Antonio extended its lead to double digits. His assist to Duncan with 10 minutes left in the third gave the Spurs a 56-45 lead and his 10-foot jumper put them up 69-58.

Leonard’s 3 with 1.1 seconds gave San Antonio a 77-67 lead entering the fourth.

Trailing by 11 points with 11:29 left in the game, the Suns rallied behind O’Neal. The veteran center had 13 points and five rebounds as Phoenix (20-39) outscored San Antonio 33-23 in the fourth.

“For us, we’re obviously not in the playoff run, but it’s about trying to be a better team,” O’Neal said. “Games like these are what build character and put us in the right direction. That’s what we’re trying to do.”

The Suns pulled within 97-95 with less than a minute remaining on Marcus Morris’ 3. Parker attempted to keep the Spurs ahead, tossing in a floater, a jump shot and feeding Duncan for a jumper that gave San Antonio a 99-97 lead with 11 seconds left.

Ginobili made one of two free throws with 3.7 seconds left to make it 100-97. O’Neal rebounded Ginobili’s second free throw attempt, firing a pass down court to Johnson, whose 3 at the buzzer tied the game at 100 and sent it to overtime.

“Overall we made a lot of mental errors,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. “Especially on that last play on the free throw line when Johnson went all the way down the court and he wasn’t picked up. That cost us the game.”

Johnson’s 3 seemed to stun the Spurs even more so than the fans.

“I think we were kind of surprised that Manu missed that last free throw, but they made a great play,” Parker said. “Wesley made a big 3.”

San Antonio went 0-for-10 in overtime, its only points in the extra period coming when Parker made 1 of 2 free throws.

“I think they missed some shots they normally make, so defensively we did some things great that worked great for us,” Phoenix coach Lindsey Hunter said.

The teams combined to go 0-for-14 to open overtime. Marcin Gortat’s tip follow was the first basket of overtime, giving Phoenix a 102-101 lead with 1:07 left.

Game notes

After three weeks on the road, the Spurs were finally able to honor Parker as the NBA Player of the Month for January, doing so prior to the game. … San Antonio observed a moment of silence in honor of Dr. Jerry Buss, the Los Angeles Lakers owner who died Feb. 18. … The Spurs have won 64 games overall on its rodeo road trips, which began in 2003. … A video highlighting the Spurs’ recent road trip played prior to the game to Phillip Phillips’ “Home.” … Dragic and reigning MVP LeBron James of Miami are the only players leading their team in points, assists, steals and free throw attempts. … Scola, Gortat and Markieff Morris have played all 58 games for Phoenix, with Gortat starting each.

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The Pacers (22-14) have won 12 of 15 and have swept the other two Eastern Conference division leaders — Miami and the Knicks — this week.

New York (23-12) was led by J.R. Smith with 25 points and Tyson Chandler had 12 points and 15 rebounds, but they clearly missed Anthony’s presence. The NBA’s second-leading scorer was banned by the league for Monday’s postgame confrontation with Boston’s Kevin Garnett.

Without Anthony, one of the league’s highest-scoring and best shooting teams, hardly resembled itself. New York finished with a season-low point total, nine fewer than its previous low, and shot just 34.8 percent from the field and 20 percent from 3-point range.

But Smith kept the Knicks close for three quarters.

After falling behind 49-38 early in the third quarter, Smith scored eight points during a 13-3 run that got the Knicks to 52-51. And he closed the quarter by scoring the last four points to give the Knicks a 60-58 lead.

That’s when George poured it on.

He drove in for a layup, then stole the ball and drove in for a dunk to tie the score at 62. After Gerald Green’s 3-pointer broke the tie and Ian Mahinmi hit a 20-foot jumper, George came up with another steal and layup. Mahinmi finished the run with a dunk that gave Indiana a 71-62 lead with just under 5 minutes to play.

The Pacers never trailed again, and the Knicks never seriously challenged again.

Indiana won despite playing without the still injured Danny Granger, losing Roy Hibbert twice with a back injury and with George Hill playing with bronchitis.

New York lost Marcus Camby in the second half after he re-injured his left foot, and Amare Stoudemire played 21 minutes, 31 seconds after doctors told coach Mike Woodson to limit his playing time. Stoudemire is trying to work his way back from surgery on his left knee.

But it was a game that was definitely played at the Pacers tempo.

After New York jumped to an 11-4 lead in the first 5 1/2 minutes, the Knicks managed only three points the rest of the quarter. Indiana led 16-14 after one.

Things weren’t much better the second quarter. After New York closed to 24-23 with 6:27 to go, the Pacers extended the lead to 39-31. Jason Kidd’s 3-pointer with 9.5 seconds left, New York’s first 3 of the game, made cut the deficit to 39-34 at the half.

The post Pacers knock off Knicks as Carmelo Anthony serves suspension appeared first on IdealCapper.

Kobe Bryant scored 38 points and Dwight Howard had 21 points and 15 rebounds for the Lakers, who lost for the second time this season to their Staples Center co-tenants.

Bryant carried the Lakers in the fourth quarter when they closed to 99-97 on his 23-foot jumper with 1:29 left. But Paul scored the Clippers’ final eight points to seal the victory and drop the Lakers two games below .500. The Clippers lead the Lakers by 10 games in the standings.

The Lakers continue to struggle under new coach Mike D’Antoni. They’ve lost three of their last four games.

The Clippers shot 50 percent and outscored the Lakers 52-36 in the paint.

Bryant scored 16 points in the fourth, when the Lakers rallied from 19 points down. The Clippers fouled for much of the final 5:51, and the Lakers made 10 of 12 free throws. Howard missed two foul shots but then made two to get the Lakers within four before Bryant’s jumper got the Lakers the closest they had been since early in the game.

But Paul closed with a flourish, including a 6-for-6 stretch at the line, while Bryant’s 3-pointer went in and out with 43 seconds to go.

The Lakers got within three early in the third only to have the Clippers push their lead to 10 points. It was a similar situation in the second, when the Lakers got within five points on Bryant’s 3-pointer before the Clippers ran their lead back to 10 points by halftime.

The first three quarters were punctuated with several highlight dunks from both sides. Paul fed DeAndre Jordan and Griffin on alley-oop slams that had the sellout crowd of 20,179 roaring.

The Clippers had dropped two consecutive road games earlier in the week, when their 17-game winning streak was snapped.

Jodie Meeks scored 14 points for the Lakers and fellow reserve Jordan Hill had 13 before he sprained his right ankle early in the fourth.

Game notes

Clippers F Jamal Crawford missed the game with a sore left foot that he hurt in Denver. … Clippers G Chauncey Billups will start working out Saturday after being out most of the season recovering from surgery. … Clippers F Grant Hill is expected to return next week after missing all season because of surgery.

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