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Argentine Manu Ginobili scored eight of his 26 points Sunday during a decisive 19-0 third-quarter run, and the defending NBA Champion Spurs rallied past their Western Conference rival 88-81.

 "When a player like Dirk goes off, it is a big motivation for us because they have one less go-to guy," said Ginobili, who added eight rebounds and six assists.

 The Mavericks lost Nowitzki for an expected two weeks, media reports said, after the league's reigning Most Valuable Player suffered a left leg and ankle injury.

 It occurred at the 3:18 mark in the third quarter after the Spurs (47-23) reeled off 14 of 19 unanswered points that erased a 12-point deficit and put them ahead for good 61-54.

 Nowitzki went up to block a driving layup by Ime Udoka. The two collided in midair, and the 2.13-metre Nowitzki crashed to the floor with his left leg underneath him.

 The German wunderkind clutched the ankle and put his hand over his face while writhing in pain as the sellout crowd at the American Airlines Center went silent. Several minutes later, he limped off the court with the help of his teammates.

 Nowitzki - who finished with 11 points, seven rebounds and four assists in 26 minutes - tried to put some weight on the leg before taking X-rays.

 "I fell awkwardly, and my left leg got caught underneath me," Nowitzki said in a press release Sunday. "I am going to get re-evaluated in the morning, and I hope to have more information then."

   Trailing by eight, Jason Kidd nailed a three-pointer, pulling the Mavericks within 82-78 with 50 seconds left. However Tim Duncan made a free throw, and Ginobili added five more to seal the victory.

 Duncan had 19 points despite missing 11 of his first 12 shots to go along with 13 rebounds for the Spurs' third-straight victory after a season-high four-game slide tied the idle Houston Rockets for fifth place in the Western Conference standings.

 Jerry Stackhouse had 19 points, and Jason Terry added 17 for the Mavericks (44-26), who dropped their third straight at home for the first time since December 2004.

 The Mavericks lead the Golden State Warriors by a half game for the seventh spot in the Western Conference playoffs race. However, without their best player, they would have to scramble to remain in a hunt in which the top eight teams are separated by four and a half games.

 "Hopefully, they'll come into practice tomorrow with a renewed sense of optimism knowing that the season is not over," Mavs coach Avery Johnson said.

 Elsewhere:

Golden State Warriors 115, LA Lakers 111:

   Stephen Jackson buried two crucial three-pointers in the final 39 seconds, and the Warriors regrouped to edge the Lakers after blowing a 23-point halftime cushion.

 Jackson and Monta Ellis scored 31 points each for Golden State, (43-36) which ended a nine-game slide at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.

 Kobe Bryant led Los Angeles with 16 of his 36 points in the final frame along with 14 rebounds and eight assists.

 Lamar Odom collected 19 points with a career-best 22 boards for the Lakers (48-22), who had their three-game winning streak snapped and dropped per centage points behind idle New Orleans atop the Western Conference standings.

 Twice in the last minute, Bryant nailed threes to pull the Lakers within a point. His second with 30.5 seconds remaining made it 112-111.

 However, Jackson drained his sixth triple of the night with 8.1 ticks, sealing the Warriors' second win in the past 11 meetings against their Western Conference rivals.

Denver Nuggets 109, Toronto Raptors 100:

   Allen Iverson scored 36 points, and Carmelo Anthony had 33, rallying the visiting Nuggets to their fifth victory in the past seven games.

 Trailing 98-96, Iverson fueled a 13-2 closing run with seven points, including a three-pointer in the final two and a half minutes.

 Argentine Jose Calderon scored 17 points while Chris Bosh also had 17 along with 12 rebounds and nine assists in the Raptors' seventh loss in the past eight games.

Washington Wizards 95, Detroit Pistons 83:

   Antawn Jamison had 24 points with 12 rebounds as the host Wizards rolled to their sixth win in the past seven games.

 Caron Butler added 17 points while Brendan Haywood finished with 16 for the Wizards (36-33), who delayed the return of three-time All-Star guard Gilbert Arenas and his surgically repaired knee for another week.

 Richard Hamilton scored 19 points while Chauncey Billups had 11 along with 11 assists for the Central Division-leading Pistons (49-20), who failed to join Boston as the only teams with 50 victories this season.

By Paul Levine, dpa