Australian Patty Mills scored 18 of his season-high 32 points in the fourth quarter, as Tim Duncan had a double-double to lead the San Antonio Spurs to a 104-100 victory over the Charlotte Bobcats on Saturday for their fourth win in five games.
Mills was 10-of-13 from the field, including five-of-five in the fourth. He also connected on eight of nine foul shots and had four three-pointers to help the Spurs defeat the Bobcats for the sixth straight time.
Duncan finished with 16 points and 13 rebounds for his 22nd double-double of the season.
The Spurs trailed by one point entering the fourth quarter when Mills took over, knocking down jumpers and floaters in the lane to push the lead to nine.
A red-hot Al Jefferson led the way for the Bobcats with 26 points and nine rebounds, while Gerald Henderson had 23 points.
The crucial play came with the Spurs leading 99-95 with 26 seconds left when Josh McRoberts stole the ball from Duncan at the top of the key. However, an overanxious McRoberts, looking ahead to Michael Kidd-Gilchrist for a fast break, threw the ball away.
Charlotte got the deficit down to 102-100 when Henderson knocked down a three-pointer from the corner after corralling an offensive rebound with 3.1 seconds left, but Nando De Colo sealed the win with two free-throws.
In Salt Lake City, Marvin Williams scored 23 points and rookie Trey Burke hit a jumper with 24 seconds remaining to lift the Utah Jazz to a 94-89 upset victory over the Miami Heat.
Trailing 87-79 after Williams hit two three-pointers, the Heat used a 10-4 run to draw within two points when Ray Allen made a three-pointer from the corner with 46 seconds to play.
Burke, who had 13 points, rose up and drained the clutch 19-foot jump shot to beat the shot clock, while Gordon Hayward’s free-throw clinched the win for the Jazz, who have beat the Heat at home three straight times.
Dwyane Wade had 19 points for the Heat, who missed their last four shots from the field to thwart their comeback. LeBron James was 4-of-13 from the field for 13 points, his lowest scoring total since Nov. 19 last year.
Elsewhere in the league, Brandon Jennings had a season-high 35 points and 12 assists, while Josh Smith had 30 points as the Detroit Pistons rolled to a 126-109 win over the Denver Nuggets.
Rodney Stuckey added 19 for Detroit, while Andre Drummond had 18 points and 15 rebounds.
Randy Foye led the Nuggets with 25 points, while Wilson Chandler scored 20.
In other NBA play, Zach Randolph scored 20 points as the Memphis Grizzlies continued their winning from on the road to edge the Atlanta Hawks 79-76, while LaMarcus Aldridge scored 26 points to help the Portland Trail Blazers hold the injury-depleted Minnesota Timberwolves 117-110.
Also on Saturday, the Phoenix Suns beat the Golden State Warriors 122-109, as the Houston Rockets edged the Milwaukee Bucks 101-95.
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