eliminating two minutes from the Bulldogs extended penalty

NEW ORLEANS -- Tony Parker was causing the Pelicans so much trouble with his dazzling dribble drives that New Orleans best defender, agile big man Anthony Davis, stepped out to challenge the shifty San Antonio point guard on the perimeter during the critical final five minutes. With a shoulder fake to his right and a cross-over dribble to the left, Parker wrong-footed Davis and exploded down an open lane for yet another easy layup. Parker scored 21 of his 32 points in the second half and also doled out nine assists, and the Spurs overcame a 14-point deficit en route to a 102-95 victory over the Pelicans on Monday night. "Tony pretty much carved them up," said Spurs coach Gregg Popovich, referring to Parker as "a monster" down the stretch. Tim Duncan scored 16 of his 21 points in the second half, and Marco Belinelli added 13 against his former club. Davis had 17 points, 16 rebounds and four blocks, Anthony Morrow added 20 points and Eric Gordon scored 19 for the Pelicans, who appeared in line for their fifth win in six games when they led by 14 near the end of the third quarter. The Spurs had other plans, outscoring New Orleans 38-19 in the final period. "Finally, in the fourth quarter, we were more physical and played better defence," Parker said. "And we just know how to win. ... In the fourth quarter, when its tight, we know how to execute and we know what we want to do on offence." Duncan had a difficult first half, hitting only two of his first eight shots and even missing a dunk, but looked like his usual self when it mattered. He opened the third quarter by making 5 of 7 shots. Parker added 10 points in the quarter, and his scoop shot had San Antonio as close as 65-62 with 3:13 left in the period. But New Orleans regained its rhythm once more while the Spurs briefly came unhinged. Shortly after Morrows 3 made it 70-62, Parker and Duncan were called for technical fouls on the same offensive possession. Morrow made both free throws, then got fouled and made two more free throws, and New Orleans went back up by 14 on Greg Stiemsmas tip-in. San Antonio simply wouldnt go away, suffocating New Orleans shooters and forcing four turnovers in the first six minutes of the final quarter. "We had some costly turnovers," Pelicans coach Monty Williams said. "A number of our guys, you look at our numbers, we just did not shoot the ball well across the board, in the fourth quarter for sure." The Pelicans has 16 turnovers in all, leading to 18 San Antonio points, and New Orleans made only 8 of 21 shots (38 per cent) in the final period. That, combined with Parkers clutch play, was too much to overcome. "Tony Parker got it going and we didnt corral him enough when he got in the paint," Morrow said. "He just made more plays down the stretch." The Spurs, meanwhile, took over the game with a 12-0 run that began when Patty Mills hit a 19-foot jumper and followed that with a 3. Then Danny Green, back from a broken left hand to play for the first time in 10 games, made his first shot -- a 3-pointer -- on his seventh attempt with 7:24 to go to pull the Spurs to 82-78. Parker completed the comeback a few plays later with his driving floater that tied it at 82 with 5:48 to go. "We played badly for 24-plus minutes -- made a lot of mistakes and finally put a stretch together," Duncan said. "We finally made some shots, honestly. We made, I think, two 3s in a row during the run that were big for us. We just needed something. We needed some kind of spark, some kind of stop-and-score. ... We had a crew in there that did it well." The Pelicans shot nearly 57 per cent in the first half (21 of 37) and led for most of it. Morrow made five of his first six shots and Gordon had 12 early points, including a 3 that put the Pelicans up 54-42 at halftime. NOTES: Green finished with 7 points in 30 minutes in what was his first action since Jan. 12. ... Pelicans G Tyreke Evans played only five minutes, leaving the game for good shortly after hurting his right ribs in a collision with Matt Bonner. ... The halftime performer, tight-rope artist Fletcher Runyan, drew empathetic groans from the crowd when he fell and straddled the rope. After sitting on the rope with a pained expression on his face for several seconds, he gingerly got back up, landed a successful backflip, then smiled and waved as he walked off the court to applause. Brad Ziegler Jersey . Smith, an eighth overall pick, had two goals in only 276 minutes of playing time over 16 appearances last season. The left side midfielder played only 43 minutes in three games this season. Kyle Barraclough Jersey . Meanwhile, the Jets extended their winning streak to four and remain perfect under Paul Maurice. Its the Jets second four-game winning streak of the season, the other coming in mid-November. http://www.marlinsteamproshop.com/Marlins-Jose-Fernandez-Kids-Jersey/ . The former world No. 1 Djokovic, who is the top seed here despite being ranked No. 2, snuck past 35-year-old Czech showman Radek Stepanek in four high- quality sets, 6-4, 6-3, 6-7 (5-7), 7-6 (7-5), on Centre Court. Djokovic appeared relieved when he converted on his first match point by swatting a cross-court forehand winner that just caught the line to end an affair that featured only two service breaks. Miguel Rojas Jersey . Catch the action live on TSN2 at 7:30pm et/4:30pm pt. The Wild lead the Northwest Division and look to get back into the win column after having a season-high seven-game winning streak cut short with Tuesdays 2-1 loss at Winnipeg in the finale of a five-game road trip (4-1-0). Justin Bour Jersey . After Mondays comments by Coach Claude Noel that its work first and skill second, and that more “A” games are needed, the Jets responded with a 47-shot effort. If not for terrific goaltending by Braden Holtby the Jets would have had two points in regulation.HAMILTON, Ont. -- The Hamilton Bulldogs scored four unanswered goals in the third period en route to a 6-2 victory over the Lake Erie Monsters in American Hockey League play Sunday. Gabriel Dumont had two goals and an assist, and Patrick Holland also had a three-point night for the Bulldogs (12-10-3) with one goal and two assists. Nick Tarnasky, Stefan Fournier and Louis Leblanc also scored for Hamilton, and Robert Mayer made 28 saves. Bryan Lerg and Markus Lauridsen had goals for the Monsters (12-10-1). Calvin Pickard stopped 22 shots in a losing effort. With the win, Hamilton climbed to first place in the AHLs North Division. A subdued start to Sundays game saw the two teams combine for just six shots on goal through the first ten minutes of play. But after successfully killing two penalties, the Bulldogs took advantage of their first power-play opportunity of the afternoon to open the scoring at 14:20 of the first period. Dumont shovelled the puck toward Pickard on the backhand, and he kicked it out wide and into the path of St. Pierre on the right. The wingers wrist shot never made it through a screen, but the loose puck bounced back to Dumont, who made good on his second attempt. The Monsters had their best chance to level the game at a goal apiece with four minutes to play in the period. Breaking into the offensive zone with a 3-on-1 advantage, Lake Erie forced a pad save from Mayer before hitting the far post with the follow-up shot. Hamilton doubled its lead early in the second period, striking at 5:06 when Darren Dietz shot from the point hit Lake Erie defender Matt Hunwick in front of the net and fell to Tarnasky. The winger turned and swept a low shot toward Pickard that trickled through the goaltenders legs and in. A moment of rage from Mike Blunden cost the Bulldogs, as the winger retaliated after being checked from behind and was assessed three minor penalties at 13:29 of the second.dddddddddddd With a six-minute power play ahead of them, the Monsters wasted little time finding their first goal of the afternoon. Hunwick controlled the puck along the blue-line and released a rising shot that Lerg tipped down and past Mayer at 14:31 of the second period. Hamiltons task was made easier when Lake Eries Garrett Meurs was penalized for hooking, eliminating two minutes from the Bulldogs extended penalty kill. Mayer made several saves as the Bulldogs survived the stretch without conceding a tying goal. Insurance arrived for the Bulldogs when Holland struck to restore their two-goal lead at 2:50 of the third period. Jordan Owens fought off a defender and centred the puck from the right, and Holland bent to meet the puck and one-timed it past Pickard at the near post. It was the wingers third goal, and fifth point, in five games since returning from injury. Hamilton scored its fourth goal of the afternoon just 48 seconds later, as Stefan Fournier struck for his first professional goal at 3:38 of the third period. The winger was stationed in front of Pickards crease and corralled a rebound before shifting to his backhand and sliding it past the goaltender. With Hamilton on the power play, Dumont pounced on a loose puck for his second goal and third point of the game at 9:41 of the third period. Leblanc stretched Hamiltons lead to five goals when he tipped Maxime Macenauers wrist shot past Pickard at 15:21 of the third. Lauridsen found a consolation goal for the Monsters with 44 seconds to play, firing a high wrist shot past Mayer. ' ' '