West's late shot lifts Hornets
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David West swished a 17-foot fadeaway shot with 0.5 on the clock to give the New Orleans Hornets a 91-89 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Monday and their ninth straight NBA win.
Chris Paul made a critical steal with 10 seconds left and finished with 24 points, nine assists and three steals.
West had 20 points for New Orleans, which overcame a 15-point first-half deficit and then held Oklahoma City to one basket during the final 4:19. He hit the Hornets' final four baskets with jump shots of 16 feet or more.
Kevin Durant scored 22 points for the Thunder but missed all five of his shots in the fourth quarter, including several in the final minutes as the Hornets erased a late four-point deficit.
In Oakland, San Antonio endured Tim Duncan's brief injury scare before beating Golden State 113-102.
Duncan went down with a left knee injury in the second quarter that had the entire Spurs bench worried. He returned to finish with 16 points and seven rebounds, alleying fears after what initially appeared to be a serious fall.
Manu Ginobili had 20 points and seven assists as the NBA-leading Spurs cruised to an otherwise stress-free victory that clinched the Western Conference's best record through games of February 6.
That means Spurs coach Gregg Popovich will coach the West squad in the All-Star game on February 20.
In Chicago, Kurt Thomas scored 22 points to lead Chicago 92-83 past Milwaukee.
Thomas scored his most points since January 25, 2005. He also had nine rebounds and five assists. Derrick Rose added 21 points and 10 assists for the Bulls.
The Bucks were led by Chris Douglas-Roberts, who scored a season-high 30 points, one shy of his career high.
In Orlando, Tracy McGrady, Tayshaun Prince and Austin Daye each scored 20 points to help Detroit beat Orlando 103-96.
The Pistons scored 26 points off 16 Orlando turnovers and shot 50 percent from 3-point range to earn their first victory of the season over the Magic.
Orlando got 21 points off the bench from Ryan Anderson but the Magic shot poorly from beyond the arc, connecting on just seven of 27 attempts as they lost their first game in four.
In Philadelphia, Thaddeus Young scored 24 points as the Sixers downed the Phoenix Suns 105-95.
Elsewhere in NBA, it was: Knicks 115, Wizards 106; Grizzlies 100, Raptors 98; Kings 96, Trail Blazers 81; Rockets 129, Timberwolves 125; and Nets 103, Cavaliers 101.
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