Duncan had 30 points, 12 rebounds and five blocks, and the Spurs beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 119-113 on Saturday night.

Kawhi Leonard added 24 points and 13 boards, and Manu Ginobili added 14 points and 10 assists for San Antonio (51-16), which is 1 1/2 games ahead of Oklahoma City for the top seed in the Western Conference.

“Tim saved our (butt),” said Spurs coach Gregg Popovich, who was ejected midway through the second quarter. “He obviously carried the whole night for us. He was great. It shouldn’t have to be that way.”

Nando De Colo had 11 points and Tiago Splitter 10 for the Spurs.

Playing without its top two players in point guard Kyrie Irving and center Anderson Varejao, Cleveland (22-44) led 103-102 with 5 minutes left in the game.

Opponents were averaging 96.2 points against the Spurs entering Saturday’s game, but the Cavaliers had 90 after three quarters. For a franchise and a coach that has won four NBA titles on the shoulders of its defense, the lack of focus is troubling to say the least.

“We’ve got to step up and play better,” Ginobili said. “The playoffs are around the corner; 15 games to go and we are doing worse than at the beginning of the season. We’ve got to go by this slump and get our things together.”

Wayne Ellington had 21 points and fellow reserve Marreese Speights added 19 for Cleveland. Shaun Livingston had 16 points, and Alonzo Gee and Dion Waiters added 15 apiece.

Neither offense was slowed by the loss of its starting All-Star point guards. Parker is expected to miss another two weeks with a Grade 2 left ankle sprain and Cleveland will be without Irving (shoulder) for another three weeks.

It was defense that both teams were lacking.

“We’ve been emphasizing for two and half weeks and it hasn’t done any good,” Popovich said. “I need to learn another language or I don’t know what. But, very disappointed in our defensive execution in the last two to three weeks after we raised our stock from being a middle of the road defensive team last year to one of the top two or three this year.

“Then in the last three weeks, we decide to toss it; that it’s not important. I’m really concerned and disappointed in that.”

Frustration with that defense may have led to Popovich’s ejection. He was ejected with 6:33 left in the first half after arguing a charge Ed Malloy called on Boris Diaw against Luke Walton. After the initial technical, Popovich was quickly assessed a second and ejected after storming onto the court, yelling and pointing at Malloy.

San Antonio outscored Cleveland 19-12 down the stretch, but the Cavs shot 51 percent from the field.

Duncan blocked Tristan Thompson’s layup attempt with the Spurs leading 113-109 and 54.9 seconds remaining. Duncan also blocked Waiters’ shot with 17.9 seconds left and San Antonio leading 116-111.

It was two of the few defensive highlights for the Spurs.

“It’s not been great and I don’t know why,” Duncan said. “I think the effort is there. We’re playing hard. We’re giving up too many straight drives right to the rim. We’ve got find a way to kind of counter that; find a way to clean that up.”

Duncan had 13 points in the first quarter, going 6 for 9 and collecting six rebounds.

He tossed in a 2-foot jumper that gave the Spurs a 30-21 lead with 3 minutes left in the first quarter. Leonard picked up an assist on the basket, hustling in from out of bounds to tip his own missed shot to Duncan.

“We’re moving the ball and it’s gone to the post a little more,” Duncan said. “That’s where I’m a little more effective. I still haven’t gotten my shot back the way I want it. I’m just trying to be aggressive.”

Waiters’ 3 with 7 minutes left in the first half capped a 13-5 run that gave the Cavaliers a 48-44 lead.

After CJ Miles made both free throws on Popovich’s technicals, the Spurs closed the first half on a 22-11 run to take a 66-61 lead. Ginobili had eight points in the run and Duncan added seven.

Cleveland shot 61 percent from the field in the first half.

“I think they’re the best team in the league,” Cavaliers coach Byron Scott said. “I don’t know if they’re going to win it. They have the best talent and the best coach, so they have a great shot of winning another championship. I think for us, we played this game really well.”

The Spurs never trailed in the third quarter, but Livingston’s layup with 1:20 left tied the game at 90 to set up the fourth quarter.

Game notes

Varejao, who missed his 41st game, will not return after being diagnosed with a blood clot in his lung. . Splitter is the only player to appear in every game for San Antonio this season, having started 45 of 67 games. . The Spurs continue to use their D-League affiliate to develop their young reserves, sending De Colo and Aron Baynes to the Austin Toros on Friday. De Colo was recalled prior to Saturday’s game, playing 24 minutes while going 4 for 6 from the field. . San Antonio is 34-6 overall at home against Cleveland. . Ellington (ankle) played 22 minutes after being listed as a game-time decision.

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Irving, who has dealt with several injuries during his brief NBA career, sprained his shoulder Sunday night in a loss to Toronto. He collided with Raptors rookie forward Jonas Valanciunas while trying to drive the baseline. Irving stayed in the game, but was taken out after he was unable to raise his left arm while shooting free throws.

The Cavaliers said an MRI revealed a left AC (acromioclavicular) sprain. He is projected to miss 3 to 4 weeks, but the Cavs have just 19 games left this season, so it’s possible Irving will not play again.

Cavs coach Byron Scott would not speculate if Irving’s season is over.

“We’ll have to wait until it’s completely healed and then just go from there,” Scott said after Monday’s practice.

Irving has already missed 14 games this season with a broken index finger and hyperextended knee. He broke his right hand last summer when he punched a padded wall during a practice in Las Vegas. He missed 14 games last season — four with a concussion and 10 with a sprained right shoulder — when he was chosen the league’s top rookie.

Irving played with a broken jaw earlier this season, wearing a protective mask.

Despite the injuries, Scott doesn’t believe his young star is fragile.

“He’s still very young and his body hasn’t fully developed,” Scott said. “I’m just not that concerned about it, to be honest with you,” Scott said. “All the injuries that he has gotten have been legitimate injuries. It’s not something that keeps recurring over and over again.”

Irving played just 11 games as a freshman at Duke because of a toe injury.

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Irving skipped Friday’s morning shootaround with symptoms from a stomach flu that has coursed its way through Cleveland’s team and also sickened family members of players and coaches.

“He’s a little under the weather,” Cavs coach Byron Scott said, adding Irving will be re-evaluated before tipoff against the Memphis Grizzlies. The team listed Irving as “doubtful.”

Irving was recently held out of three games to rest a hyperextended right knee, and following Wednesday’s win over Utah, the 20-year-old said the injury was still bothering him. Those comments prompted Scott to say he would consider shutting down Irving again, rather than risk him making it worse.

However, after speaking with Irving and trainer Max Benton, Scott isn’t as worried.

“I don’t think the knee is that big of an issue,” said Scott, who had no explanation to why Irving would say his knee was not 100 percent.

“You’ll have to ask him,” Scott said.

This virulent flu bug has bitten the Cavs hard.

Rookies Dion Waiters and Tyler Zeller as well as Daniel Gibson and team trainer Max Benton all missed games earlier this week with the stomach virus. Waiters is expected back after sitting out two games, and both he and Gibson are listed as “probable” to play against the Grizzlies.

Zeller returned on Wednesday after being sick and losing five pounds. He and Waiters became so ill last weekend that they had to be taken to the hospital.

Scott has been leery of making any unnecessary contact with his players.

“I’m not touching their hands right now,” he said. “We’re doing a lot of knuckles stuff. I’m trying to stay away from them as much as possible. Hopefully, this thing will be over today or tonight. It’s made its way through our team.”

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Irving made it through a full practice on Sunday and took part in the Cavs’ morning shootaround Monday. Barring any setbacks, Cavs coach Byron Scott said Irving will start against the Knicks. The Cavs rested Irving all last week, holding him out of games against Chicago, Toronto and the Los Angeles Clippers.

The Cavs listed Irving as “probable” for the game with the Knicks, who were beaten at home on Sunday by the streaking Miami Heat, winners of 14 straight. Cleveland also listed rookie guard Dion Waiters and center Tyler Zeller as “questionable” because of illness.

The Cavs went 2-1 last week without Irving, who has missed 14 games in his second NBA season because of injuries. He banged knees in practice last month with teammate Omri Casspi and played in two road games despite soreness before the team sat him out. Irving missed 11 games with a broken index finger.

The NBA’s Rookie of the Year in 2012, Irving is averaging 23.3 points, 5.6 assists and 3.6 rebounds.

He scored a career-high 41 points on Dec. 15 in a loss to the Knicks at Madison Square Garden. Irving played that game wearing a protective mask over a broken jaw.

The Knicks have lost 10 consecutive games in Cleveland.

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Both were huge breaks for the Miami Heat.

James scored 28 points, Wade scored 11 of his 24 in the final five minutes – when Miami needed him most – and the Heat extended the NBA’s longest current winning streak to 11 games, beating the Cleveland Cavaliers 109-105 in a back-and-forth matchup Sunday night.

The Heat blew a 22-point second-half lead, then rallied from eight down with 5:16 left.

“We’re a veteran ballclub and we’ve been in every situation that an NBA game can offer us,” James said. “We don’t get too high, we don’t get too low, we just play the 48 minutes out and see where it takes us.”

Dion Waiters scored 26 points, C.J. Miles added 19 and Kyrie Irving scored 17 for Cleveland, which outscored Miami by a stunning 30 points over a 17-minute stretch of the second half, yet still came up empty.

The Cavaliers are now 1-8 against the Heat since James signed with Miami in July 2010.

“We had a very good chance against a very good basketball team, the world champions, and we lost the game because of mental mistakes,” Cavaliers coach Byron Scott said. “That’s just something that we can’t have happen again.”

In fairness, it wasn’t just mental mistakes that doomed Cleveland late. There was a bit of luck involved for the Heat.

Miami was up by two and held possession with 1:03 remaining. The shot clock was running down and Chris Bosh was open to try a 16-footer from the right wing. As Bosh was about to release, James got inexplicably free under the basket, thrusting both his arms skyward. Bosh threw him the pass — and James, enjoying the best shooting season of his career, did the unthinkable: He missed the easy one.

This is where the luck comes into play.

The rebound found its way back to Bosh, the Heat ran down another shot clock, and Wade got loose for a two-handed dunk that pushed Miami’s lead to 105-101 with 24.4 seconds left.

It was a double-whammy for Cleveland. Miami scored and took nearly 40 seconds off a dwindling clock in the process.

“Hey, I’m a smart player. That’s what basketball IQ is all about,” James said afterward, unable to hold back a sly grin. “I have no idea how I blew that layup. But it did work out for us. Got an extra possession, D-Wade was able to turn the corner and get a slam.”

Said Heat coach Erik Spoelstra: “I liked that play.”

Wade started what turned into a 16-4 run with a fadeaway with just under 5 minutes to go, then added a three-point play on the next Miami possession to cut the Cavs’ lead to 97-94.

And after Irving missed a layup with 1:35 left, Wade got the rebound and set up Battier for a 3-pointer that put Miami on top again — and for good.

“I thought that we had the game,” Cavaliers forward Alonzo Gee said.

Sure looked like that was the case, after a ridiculously good third quarter.

Down 68-46 early in the third, the Cavaliers looked finished — last-place team, on the road, against the reigning NBA champions who just happened to have the league’s longest current winning streak.

Midway through the third, Miami’s lead was still 17.

With two minutes left in the period, the cushion was 10.

By the start of the fourth, it was nonexistent.

The C.J. Miles Show lasted for all of 63 seconds. And they were a scintillating 63 seconds.

It starts with 1:35 left, a 3-pointer from Miles getting the Miami lead down to seven. Then he got a rebound, came downcourt and connected on another 3-pointer. Lead down to four. Another stop by the Cavs on one end, then another 3-pointer for Miles on the other — that one coming both with him drawing a foul from Chalmers, and with Spoelstra getting hit with a technical from referee Ed Malloy for arguing.

Miles made the technical free throw to tie the game, the free throw for the Chalmers hit to put the Cavs ahead, and they carried that 82-81 lead into the fourth, having closed the quarter on a 36-13 run.

“Guys just finally decided to start playing,” Miles said.

Miami used a 23-4 run in the first half to take what looked like a commanding 42-22 lead — with more than 9 minutes left until the break. And after Cleveland got within seven, Miami answered with another burst.

James didn’t miss in the final 4:29 of the half, scoring 10 points on a 4-for-4 run from the floor and fueling what became 16-5 spurt that gave Miami a 64-46 lead going into the locker room. And for good measure, Miami got the first two baskets of the second half, pushing the lead to 22, the biggest of the night.

Over, right?

Not even remotely close. Not until the final frantic seconds, as the Heat not only extended their win streak but won for the fourth time in five nights.

“We found a way,” Wade said. “I felt like in the first three quarters, I couldn’t move. But in the fourth, you just find it. … We just turned that other switch on.”

Game notes

Miami’s two wins over Cleveland this season, both at home, have come by a combined six points. … The Cavs were without Daniel Gibson (personal) and Omri Casspi, who remained hospitalized in Orlando after surgery to remove his appendix. … Heat F Mike Miller (ear infection) was back with the team Sunday, though did not play. “He can’t hear anything we’re saying,” Spoelstra quipped before the game. … The Heat held a moment of silence pregame for Los Angeles Lakers owner Dr. Jerry Buss, the moment ending with warm applause from the crowd.

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Spoelstra hinted two weeks ago that he would remain loyal to the Heat regarding any decisions he had to make in his first assignment as an All-Star coach.

Bosh will replace injured guard Rajon Rondo, who is recovering from season-ending knee surgery

All-Star starters are chosen through fan voting.

Bosh will start alongside Heat teammates Dwyane Wade and LeBron James, with Carmelo Anthony and Kevin Garnett.

There was a possibility that Spoelstra would have taken a conventional approach by replacing Rondo with another guard, with Kyrie Irving being a popular alternative.

But Spoelstra announced his decision to the Heat’s team-run website Friday about an hour before he was set to meet with reporters for the scheduled All-Star media availability for players and coaches.

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It’s easy to see why Rivers holds such an opinion after Irving scored 15 of his 40 points in the fourth quarter, including several key late baskets, to lead the Cleveland Cavaliers to a 95-90 victory over the Celtics on Tuesday night.

“He has all the numbers to be an All-Star, for sure,” Rivers said. “Whether he makes it or not is another story. … He’s a tough kid, which I don’t think people give him enough credit for.”

The reserves, who are picked by the respective coaches in each conference for the Feb. 17 game in Houston, will be announced Thursday. Irving, who made a strong final case to be on the team, has Rivers’ vote despite the fact the Cavaliers have struggled all season.

“It’s a hard one for me to pick a guy from a team with 11 wins, but he’s just playing so well,” Rivers said.

Cleveland coach Byron Scott also thinks Irving belongs in the game.

“If you look at the point guards in the Eastern Conference, name one that’s having a better season,” he said. “I’ll wait.”

Irving scored 11 points in the final 2:33 on four layups and three free throws to give Cleveland back-to-back wins at home for the first time this season and send Boston to its season-high fourth straight loss.

Irving shot 16 for 24 — setting a career high for field goals made — and fell one point short of his career-best scoring total, set at New York on Dec. 15.

Asked if he was making a statement to be included on the All-Star team, Irving said, “I was just trying to get a win. It was more of a statement game for the Cavaliers.”

Rivers was hoping the Celtics would make a statement, but instead he watched another frustrating loss. The Celtics have dropped four in a row since winning six straight. Rivers blasted his team following Sunday’s 103-88 loss in Detroit, a game which Boston never led. The latest loss dropped Boston to 20-21.

“I believe we should be better than that — and we’re not — so it’s hard,” Rivers said before Tuesday’s game.

Rivers still had a matter of fact attitude following the game.

“You’ve got to make your own breaks, and we’ve got to make ours,” he said.

Rajon Rondo led Boston with 17 points while Kevin Garnett scored 16. Paul Pierce, who scored 40 points in a 103-91 win over the Cavaliers in Boston on Dec. 19, finished with 12 points on 3-for-15 shooting.

“We’ve just got to be better, period,” Garnett said. “We’ve got to try to figure this thing out because it’s not going to change itself. I want it so bad, but I’ve got to find a balance. I’ve got to do better for 48 minutes, man.”

Irving’s layup gave Cleveland an 84-83 lead with 2:33 remaining. He followed with another layup after Rondo’s turnover to put the Cavs up three. Four free throws by Garnett sandwiched around a basket by Alonzo Gee left Cleveland with an 88-87 lead.

After Garnett missed a baseline jumper, Irving dribbled past midcourt and drove to the basket for a three-point lead with 52 seconds remaining.

Following another miss by the Celtics, the Cavaliers called time out. Irving dribbled into the lane and hit a twisting shot while being fouled by Jared Sullinger. He made the free throw to put Cleveland ahead 93-87 with 22.8 seconds left.

After Pierce shot an airball, Irving made two more free throws with 18.2 seconds left to put the game away.

Tristan Thompson added 21 points for the Cavaliers.

The Cavaliers acquired three players and a future first-round draft pick from Memphis earlier in the day. Cleveland picked up forward Marreese Speights and guards Wayne Ellington and Josh Selby in exchange for forward Jon Leuer. Speights will help replace Anderson Varejao, who will miss the remainder of the season after developing a blood clot in his right lung. Varejao had had surgery on Jan. 10 to repair a split leg muscle. He was expected to miss two months, but the blood clot was discovered last week and he has been placed on blood thinners.

Irving, who was 7 of 20 from the field in Saturday’s loss to Utah, had a strong start against Boston with 19 points in the first quarter, hitting 8 of 10 from the field.

Cavaliers starting guard C.J. Miles didn’t play because of an illness that has hit several players and a couple of assistant coaches.

Sullinger, who played at Ohio State, scored 12 points and had 10 rebounds for Boston.

The Cavaliers’ new players were expected to arrive in Cleveland on Tuesday night. They must first pass physicals and Scott hopes they will be able to practice Thursday and possibly play Friday against Milwaukee.

Game notes

Bradley, who scored seven points, continues to play with sore ribs. “I feel for Avery because that’s a hard injury to play through,” Rivers said. “It hurts to breathe and it hurts every time you get hit anywhere near your ribs.” Scott has traded text messages with Varejao, who remains hospitalized in the Cleveland Clinic. … The Cavaliers waived G Jeremy Pargo and recalled C Kevin Jones from Canton of the Developmental League.

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