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Wednesday, Mar. 14 8:00pm ET
San Antonio posts its eighth consecutive victory

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SAN ANTONIO (AP) -- Make it eight consecutive victories for the San Antonio Spurs, who got another huge game from Derek Anderson.

Derek Anderson
San Antonio's David Robinson, left, and Derek Anderson enjoy winning their eighth game in a row.

Anderson scored a season-high 30 points as the Spurs defeated the Minnesota Timberwolves 106-100 in overtime Wednesday night.

"It was a heck of a game, just like every time we play each other," said San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich. "The guys just grinded it out. Play by play, possession by possession. They hung in and got it done. You have to get a few like this. We were fortunate."

Tim Duncan backed Anderson with 23 points and 20 rebounds, while David Robinson scored 18 and Danny Ferry 12.

"He (Anderson) was chasing, rebounding, just playing all-out as usual," Popovich said.

Minnesota, which has lost three of its last four games, was led by Kevin Garnett with 24 points and 13 rebounds, while Terrell Brandon chipped in 17. Garnett missed a jumper at the end of regulation that would have won it.

"This is the kind of game you play for," said Anderson, who shot 10-for-22 from the floor. "No NBA player wants a blowout, they're no fun. I'd rather have a competitive game that gets decided down the stretch."

The Spurs, who have won 22 of their past 26 games, never trailed in overtime after Anderson opened with a 3-pointer to give San Antonio a 95-92 lead.

Leading 100-98, Avery Johnson connected on a driving layup to give San Antonio a 102-98 lead with 25.1 seconds remaining. Johnson and Anderson each added a pair of free throws over the final 15.2 seconds as San Antonio scored the victory.

"It was a very difficult loss," Garnett said. "We sort of had the game sewn up and they made a run. It just shows you how this game is, you can be doing a great job, then it changes in seconds."

After being down by as many as seven points in the fourth quarter, Minnesota rallied behind five 3-pointers -- four by Anthony Peeler -- to grab a 91-88 lead with 23.6 seconds remaining on a 3-pointer by Peeler.

After a free throw by Chauncey Billups put the Timberwolves ahead by two with 8.1 seconds left, Robinson tied the game 92-92 on a driving layup with 3.7 seconds remaining.

Garnett misfired on a 15-foot jump shot as time expired.

"We didn't execute well in the last 24 seconds when you need to in order to win," Minnesota coach Flip Saunders said. "We should have ended it. We had opportunities to finish it off with free throws."

After trailing for most of the game, Minnesota grabbed a 71-69 lead on a jump shot by Garnett with 9:44 to play in the fourth quarter.

San Antonio surged ahead behind a 8-0 run to grab a 78-71 lead on a 3-point field goal by Ferry with 7:04 remaining.

Behind three 3-point field goals by Peeler, Minnesota responded with a 12-6 run to cut San Antonio's lead to 84-83 with 3:13 to play.

San Antonio, which improved to 45-19, outscored Minnesota 52-36 in the paint.

"This was a great confidence builder and good game experience for us," said Duncan, who had his 52nd double-double of the season. "We haven't had a whole lot of wins in games like this. It was good to be able to grind it out."

Game notes
San Antonio's eighth consecutive victory tied a season-high. ... Tim Duncan's double-double was the 205th of his career. ... The game marked the one-year anniversary of San Antonio forward Sean Elliott's return to the court following a kidney transplant. Elliott, who is currently nursing a sore left knee, did not play. ... Prior to the game, San Antonio activated forward Ira Newble and placed forward Derrick Dial on the injured list with a sprained right wrist. ... Garnett had his 45th double-double of the season and ranks third behind Duncan and Antonio McDyess.

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Washington 103
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Philadelphia 85
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Golden State 83


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