Nash drilled a 3-pointer with less than a second to go in overtime to give the Dallas Mavericks a 126-123 victory over the San Antonio Spurs, who received an NBA season-high 53 points from Duncan.
Duncan scored seven straight points, including a three-point play, as San Antonio grabbed a 123-120 lead with 1:14 remaining in the extra session. He missed a chance to extend the lead with 37 seconds left and Tim Hardaway tied it with a 3-pointer eight seconds later.
After Malik Rose turned over the ball on the Spurs' next possession, Dallas held for the final shot. Nash, who scored 27 points, pulled up from way beyond the arc and drilled the jumper with six-tenths of a second left.
 Tim Duncan did score an NBA-best 53 points, but it came in a losing effort. D. Clarke Evans NBAE/Getty Images |
Terry Porter, whose 3-pointer with five seconds left forced overtime, missed a desperation shot at the buzzer as Dallas extended its season-high winning streak to seven games.
Nash had 14 points after the third quarter.
Duncan scored 21 points in the fourth quarter as he singlehandedly kept San Antonio close. He was so unstoppable that the Mavericks twice fouled Bruce Bowen late in regulation to prevent the ball from reaching Duncan.
"I thought he played great," San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich said. "It's great to see him taking charge. He's telling me what to run some of the times."
Duncan made 19-of-28 shots and converted all 15 free throws to go with 11 rebounds. He eclipsed his previous career high of 46 points against Utah on January 10, 2000 and topped Shareef Abdur-Rahim's NBA season-high of 50 points on November 23 against Detroit.
"We had to answer for Timmy today, that was probably a career high for him," Dallas coach Don Nelson said. "We withstood it and we were good defensively. Everyone but Timmy, we were able to stop."
"A guy like that can make shots. He's 7-1, can dribble up the floor," Hardaway gushed. "Anything close, he can bank it. He's mobile. He's got the whole package."
Michael Finley led Dallas with 28 points on 11-of-16 shooting. Dirk Nowitzki added 26 points and 11 rebounds for the Mavericks, who shot 56 percent (47-of-84).
After Duncan scored 13 straight points for San Antonio, including a pair of three-point plays, Dallas tried something different. The Mavs fouled Bowen twice and he split a pair of free throws both times late in regulation, leaving the Spurs behind, 110-107, with 2:05 remaining.
"We couldn't stop Tim at the time and that is one way to make sure he didn't score," Nelson said. "Hitting them one at a time instead of two at a time was one way to do it."
The strategy seemed to work after a pair of foul shots by Juwan Howard with 33 seconds to go gave the Mavs a 116-111 lead. Duncan sank a pair at the line, San Antonio forced a turnover by Nash and Porter knotted it with a 3-pointer.
"We did a good job making up for those turnovers," Nash said. "I think we earned this win."
Dallas committed 20 turnovers, including six apiece by Hardaway and Finley. However, it made 7-of-15 shots from beyond the arc and held a 41-37 edge on the glass.
David Robinson scored 13 points and Bowen added 12 for San Antonio, which has lost consecutive home games for the first time since January 17-20.
"We've had trouble," Popovich admitted. "Teams have been hot. They've really shot well and we haven't shot well."