Thanks to Parker's stellar play, the Spurs remained close for much of this contest. In fact, they trailed 104-102 with 2:30 left in the fourth quarter. Manu Ginobili nailed three of four free throws and Parker made a back-door cut to the basket for a wide-open layup, propelling San Antonio to a 107-104 lead with 1:03 remaining in regulation. The Spurs held that 3-point advantage and the ball when Courtney Lee intercepted a George Hill pass and converted the fast-break layup to cut the Rockets' deficit to 107-106. Duncan missed one of two free throws with 18 seconds left, opening the door for Kyle Lowry to drain a game-tying mid-range jumper with 3.9 seconds remaining. On the last possession of regulation, Ginobili made a strong drive to the hoop but released his potential game-winner after the buzzer sounded.
This defeat allows the Lakers to draw closer for the top spot in the Western Conference. Kobe (21 points) and co had the better of the Utah Jazz and are now 1,5 game for San Antonio. This was their 9th straight win while the Jazz have lost seven in a row and are already out of the playoff race. One that is well alive in this playoff hunt is Indiana who hanged on to a 89-88 over the Bucks and to its 8th spot in the east as Charlotte went down against Orlando.