Los Angeles - Roger Mason broke the hearts of the Los Angeles Lakers.

Mason converted a game-winning three-point play with 10.5 seconds left as and the San Antonio Spurs held off the Lakers for a dramatic 112-111 victory on Wednesday night.

In the first meeting of the season since Los Angeles eliminated San Antonio in the Western Conference finals last spring, the Lakers grabbed a 111-109 lead on Kobe Bryant's 25-foot three-pointer over Mason with 12.9 seconds left.

After a timeout, Matt Bonner in-bounded the ball to Mason in the left corner. He pumped-faked before making a 16-footer while being fouled by Derek Fisher, and hit the ensuing free throw to give the Spurs a 112-111 edge.

"Matty had no other options," said Mason, who finished with 18 points, including his third game-winner of the season. "We ran the play for Manu (Ginobili), Tony (Parker) and Tim (Duncan). I was open, so I grabbed the ball and made a good shot."

The Lakers had a final chance, but with Bryant double-teamed on the left side, he passed to Trevor Ariza at the top of the key.

Ariza split two defenders, and appeared to be tripped up by Ginobili. Instead, he was called for traveling violation with eight tenths of a second remaining, and the Spurs escaped with their 10th win in the last 12 games.

"Everybody wants at least a chance," Ariza said. "To get a call like that, that's kind of a tough one. But that's the call he made and you can't argue with him."

Ginobili matched his season-best with 27 points for Southwest Division-leading San Antonio, which connected on 57 per cent (44-77) from the field. Duncan had 20 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists, while Parker also scored 20.

"This was a big challenge for us, because they beat us last year in the playoffs, and they were the best team in the league until today," Ginobili said. "Roger made a crazy shot. We're very proud of him and it was a great, great win."

Bryant collected 29 points and 10 assists for the Lakers (31-7) who lost for just the second time in the last 12 games. Spaniard Pau Gasol scored 21, Andrew Bynum had 18 while Fisher finished with 16.

"It's tough to lose a game like that," Bryant said. "One of those wild games, but that's why it's fun. Hopefully, they got it out of their system before the playoffs."

Elsewhere: Boston Celtics 118, New Jersey Nets 86 Paul Pierce scored 18 of his 22 points in the game-turning 37-19 third quarter, Kevin Garnett added 20 and the Celtics (32-9) rolled to their third straight win after a 2-7 slump.

New Orleans Hornets 104, Dallas Mavericks 97 Chris Paul collected 33 points, 11 assists, 10 rebounds and seven steals as the Hornets stopped a 13-game regular-season losing streak at Dallas since January 24, 1998. Jason Terry scored 28 points, while German wunderkind Dirk Nowitzki finished with 20 points and 13 rebounds in the Mavericks' (22-17) fourth straight loss.

New York Knicks 128, Washington Wizards 122 David Lee scored 30 points, Al Harrington had 27 and Quentin Richardson 26 as the hosting Knicks (15-22) sent the Eastern Conference-worst Wizards (7-31) to their sixth straight loss, despite a career-high 33 points by Nick Young.

Indiana Pacers 110, Detroit Pistons 106 (OT) Danny Granger scored 24 points, T. J. Ford added 23, including a game-sealing jumper with 38.5 seconds in overtime, and the Pacers ended an eight-game slide against the visiting Pistons. Rodney Stuckey led Detroit (22-15) with 30 points.

Philadelphia 76ers 100, Portland Trail Blazers 79 Andre Iguodala tossed in a season-high 29 points, leading the hosts to their fifth straight victory.

Chicago Bulls 102, Toronto Raptors 98 Derrick Rose had 17 of his 25 points in the final quarter, and the Bulls overcame a career-high 31 points by Andrea Bargnani to break a modest two-game skid.

Oklahoma City Thunder 114, Utah Jazz 93 Jeff Green scored 23 points, Russell Westbrook had 22 and Kevin Durant added 21 as the league-worst Thunder (7-33) thumped the visiting Jazz.

Miami Heat 102, Milwaukee Bucks 99 Sharpshooting Daequan Cook scored a career-high 24 points, while league's top scorer Dwyane Wade had just 17 with 13 assists as the visiting Heat edged the Bucks.

Atlanta Hawks 97, LA Clippers 80 Josh Smith scored 26 points, Joe Johnson added 21 and the visiting Hawks ended a four-game losing streak, by sending the sinking Clippers to their 12th straight loss. Al Thornton scored 25 points for the injury-decimated Clippers (8-30), who last won on December 19.

Sacramento Kings 135, Golden State Warriors 133 (3 OT) John Salmons hit the game-winning jumper with 1.6 seconds left in the third overtime to cap a 25-point, 14-rebound effort as the Kings outlasted the Warriors. Brad Miller topped Sacramento (10-30) with a season-high 30 points and 22 boards. Jamal Crawford scored 35 points and CJ Watson added a career-high 26 for Golden State
(11-29), losers in six of its last seven games. (dpa)