(Reuters) - The Boston Celtics won the battle of the NBA's best on Wednesday with a thrilling 105-103 victory over the San Antonio Spurs.

Ray Allen scored a game-high 31 points for the Celtics, who led 105-96 with less than a minute left but needed a Paul Pierce block as time expired to fend off the charging Spurs.

San Antonio ran off seven successive points in the final seconds to pull within two but Manu Ginobili's 24-footer was blocked by Pierce.

"You knew it was going to be a nip-tuck game pretty much all night," Pierce told reporters after scoring 18 points. "You got two heavyweights battling and it was fun to be a part of it. I'm just glad we won."

Boston had a chance to clinch the game with eight seconds left but Allen missed two free throws. It was a pair of rare misses for Allen, who made 13 of 16 field goal attempts for the game.

Ginobili finished with a team-high 24 points for the Spurs (29-6), who lost consecutive games for the first time this season.

Playing in his third game back from injury, point guard Rajon Rondo recorded his 11th career triple-double with 12 points, 22 assists and 10 rebounds to help Boston (27-7) win their third game in a row.

The NBA leader in assists per game, Rondo's sizzling performance included a season-high six steals. He ignited the team to 61 percent shooting from the field.

Glen Davis added 23 points while starting in place of the injured Kevin Garnett who suffered a leg injury December 29 and is expected to miss at least another week.

With the game tightly contested through the first three quarters, the Celtics used a 9-0 run to seize control in the final minute before San Antonio answered.

Tim Duncan and Tony Parker had 18 points each for San Antonio, who still owns the best record in the NBA.

"We're very hard on ourselves. We're not satisfied with where we are and honestly, I don't care what our record is," Duncan said. "We're definitely not satisfied with where we are at defensively right now."

The Spurs were coming off a 128-115 loss to the New York Knicks a night earlier.

(Editing by Peter Rutherford)

(Reuters) - Untried rookie quarterback Joe Webb led the Minnesota Vikings to a shocking 24-14 upset victory over the Philadelphia Eagles on Tuesday.

Making his first NFL start in place of the injured Brett Favre, Webb threw for 195 yards without an interception and ran for a touchdown.

Adrian Peterson ran for 118 yards and a score as the Vikings (6-9) snapped the explosive Eagles' three-game winning streak.

"You always have to have composure as a quarterback," Webb told reporters.

"You always have to show (your team mates) that you have confidence no matter the score. My team mates were rallying behind me the whole game and I have to give those guys credit."

Philadelphia (10-5), who clinched the NFC East Division with the New York Giants' loss on Sunday, were coming off a stunning comeback from 21 points down in the final eight minutes to beat the Giants last week.

MVP candidate Michael Vick threw for 263 yards and accounted for two touchdowns against Minnesota but was held in check and sacked six times.

He also threw an interception and spilled two fumbles as he was harassed all game by the visiting defense.

"You have to take the good with the bad," said Vick, who limped most of the night and appeared to suffer a minor injury early.

"I've got to do a better job of protecting the football. The thing to do now is to regroup, look at our mistakes and get better.

The Eagles had a chance to clinch a bye in the first round of the playoffs by winning their final two games of the season and having the Chicago Bears lose their finale, but fell short.

Minnesota defensive back Antoine Winfield forced a fumble from Vick and returned it 45 yards for a touchdown in the second quarter. Webb added a nine-yard score in the third to give the Vikings a 17-7 lead.

Vick scored on a 10-yard run to pull the Eagles within 17-14 with 10:17 remaining but the Vikings responded with a 60-yard drive that led to Peterson's game-clinching 1-yard TD.

Peterson returned to action after he was sidelined with a thigh injury in last week's loss to the Bears.

Favre suffered a concussion in that game and has said his career would come to a close after the Week 17 season finale whether he played or not.

The game was the first Tuesday contest in the NFL since 1946. It was originally scheduled for Sunday but postponed due to snow blizzards in Philadelphia.

(Editing by John O'Brien)

(Reuters) - Benched quarterback Donovan McNabb feels the Washington Redskins "disrespected" him in demoting him last week, he said Tuesday.

"When you get in that situation, and all of a sudden you get this news a couple days before a game, you know you do feel somewhat disrespected," McNabb said on his radio show.

The comments, reported on the team's website (www.redskins.com), were McNabb's first since the former starter was benched for the remainder of the season last week.

Despite the demotion, McNabb said he would like to return to the team in 2011.

"I definitely hope so and I expressed that," the six-time Pro Bowler said. "I don't want to go anywhere."

Redskins coach Mike Shanahan, in announcing McNabb's benching, said he could not guarantee the quarterback would be back in Washington next season.

"I really wasn't looking for a guarantee," McNabb said. "I wanted to hear ... 'What are you thinking?'"

Shanahan said he wanted to take a closer look at quarterbacks Rex Grossman, an eight-year NFL veteran who will now start, and 2007 Miami Dolphins second-round draft pick John Beck.

McNabb, 34, had started every game for the Redskins (5-9) before Sunday's 33-30 loss to the Dallas Cowboys. He had been traded to Washington by the Philadelphia Eagles in April.

He signed a five-year, $78 million extension with Washington last month, but the deal only guaranteed him an extra $3.5 million this year. He could be cut before next season without any additional payment.

McNabb said he expected it would be the offseason before his future with the Redskins was resolved.

(Writing by Gene Cherry in Salvo, North Carolina. Editing by Steve Ginsburg. To query or comment on this story email sportsfeedback@thomsonreuters.com)

By Larry Fine –

(Reuters) - The New York Giants and Philadelphia Eagles are getting ready for round two of their NFC East divisional series with first place on the line again Sunday at the New Meadowlands Stadium.

Giants safety Deon Grant said he and his team mates have been waiting for the rematch from the time they walked off the field in Philadelphia after New York's 27-17 loss in November.

"We were upset going to the locker room," Grant said about squandering a 17-16 fourth-quarter lead. "We couldn't wait to get to play those guys again."

Said Giants offensive lineman David Diehl: "This game has always been about a 60-minute fight."

Eagles coach Andy Reid told reporters in Philadelphia that he expected a high caliber contest.

"Those are always great football games when two rivals have an opportunity to play each other," said Reid, whose team has won five in row against the Giants.

"It's kind of neat that both teams are in a position where the game is important this late in the season. It's a tribute to both teams and how they've played."

The last time the teams played they were tied for the division lead at 6-3. Now the NFC East co-leaders are both 9-4 with Sunday's winner earning the inside track to a possible playoff bye or home field advantage in the first round.

Even stoic Giants coach Tom Coughlin was charged up.

"In the division. For the lead in the division. Mid-December. It's exciting, very exciting," Coughlin said in opening his news conference Wednesday.

Both defenses shined in that first contest.

The Giants limited the scrambling threat posed by Philadelphia quarterback Michael Vick by applying disciplined pressure to limit him to 34 yards on 11 runs.

Philadelphia held the Giants to a season-low 208 yards of offense and registered five turnovers on three interceptions and two fumble recoveries, leading coach Coughlin to lament his team's "disregard for the ball."

Since that defeat, the Giants have leaned on the double-barreled running threat of Brandon Jacobs and Ahmad Bradshaw, who expect to play a pivotal role in the game plan with wide receiver Steve Smith lost to injury.

"We've got to get the running game going," said Bradshaw. "That's our primary focus."

Manning said he had to limit turnovers that could fuel the Eagles' explosive attack.

"With their offense, you don't want to give them anything easy. Our defense is playing great football and you don't want to give the opposing team a short field," he said.

Said Vick: "We all know the magnitude of the game. We know it's a big one. Where else would you want to be?

"Come Sunday, it's going to have to be lights out on both sides."

(Editing by Steve Ginsburg)