Manu Ginobili had 26 points as the San Antonio Spurs avoided their fourth overtime loss at home in a month, escaping with a 95-93 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans on Wednesday.
Ginobili had seven points in overtime, helping the Spurs (20-14) overcome an early six-point deficit in the extra period.
San Antonio star Tim Duncan had 16 points and 10 rebounds, tying Hall of Famer Karl Malone for fifth in career double-doubles with 814.
Anthony Davis had 21 points and 12 rebounds for New Orleans (16-16). It was his 19th double-double of the season.
Ryan Anderson added 18 points and 11 rebounds for the Pelicans, while Tyreke Evans had 15 points.
Jimmer Fredette finished with 14 points.
The Spurs played five overtime games last month, including consecutive triple-overtime losses to Memphis and Portland at home.
It appeared as if they were headed for a regulation loss when Davis followed Evans’ miss with an emphatic dunk, giving New Orleans an 84-82 lead with 0.7 seconds left, but Duncan sent the game to overtime, tipping in Boris Diaw’s inbounds pass at the rim that Pelicans center Omer Asik appeared to help tap in.
New Orleans are 7-10 in back-to-back games this season, including four losses in the second contest. The Pelicans’ reserves averaged 37.6 points in the previous 10 games, outscoring all but four of their counterparts during that stretch.
Jrue Holiday has played and started every game for the Pelicans this season, while Davis and Evans have each missed just one game.
After finishing with a league-best 62-20 record last season, San Antonio have already lost 14 games through 34.
The Spurs tied a franchise record for most games in December, finishing 8-10 last month.
The schedule included five straight games against teams with a .700 winning percentage, marking the first time a team has done so in league history.
San Antonio’s Kawhi Leonard (bruised right hand) missed his 11th straight game and Tony Parker (strained left hamstring) missed his 12th.
Coach Gregg Popovich expects Parker to return before Leonard, who he said would be back “later rather than sooner.”
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