updated 1:38 a.m. ET Jan. 15, 2009

SAN ANTONIO - The San Antonio Spurs made it clear to the Los Angeles Lakers that they’re still a major player in the Western Conference.

Roger Mason hit a jumper with 10 seconds left and made a free throw after being fouled by Derek Fisher, and the Spurs beat the Lakers 112-111 on Wednesday night in the first meeting between the teams since the Western Conference finals.

After Mason’s three-point play, the Lakers failed to get a shot off and Trevor Ariza was called for traveling with 0.8 seconds left.

The Lakers rallied from 11 points down in the fourth quarter, taking a two-point lead when Kobe Bryant hit a 3-pointer with 12 seconds left.

The Spurs called timeout and worked the ball over the Mason in the corner, where he was bumped from behind by Fisher while shooting from about 16 feet.

“I saw him try to reach for the ball,” Mason said. “I wanted to get a little contact and then get the shot off. When I fell down, I looked up and saw it go in.

“I just didn’t want to ruin it. I knew we needed that point.”

Mason, signed by the Spurs as a free agent after playing in Washington, finished with 18 points, going 3-of-4 from 3-point range and 7-of-11 overall. On Christmas, he hit a last-second 3-pointer to beat Phoenix on the road.

“He has the confidence to do it, and he has the license to do it,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. “We all trust him.”

The late foul spoiled the game for Fisher, who was 4-of-4 from 3-point territory and scored 16 points.

“Hopefully, next time we’re back, it won’t be that way,” Fisher said. “It’ll be the other way around.”

“It was too close to our bench to see what happened,” Lakers coach Phil Jackson said. “I thought Mason received the ball and there was a collision. I don’t know whether he created the collision or Fisher did.”

Manu Ginobili led San Antonio with 27 points, and Bryant had 29 for Los Angeles. He added 10 assists. Both teams are 10-2 in their last 12 games.

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Bryant was double-teamed on the Lakers’ last play, so he swung the ball to Ariza. But Ariza was called for traveling.

“He got tripped,” Bryant said. “They’re not going to make that call. So what? It was just a wild game.”

Tony Parker and Tim Duncan each added 20 points for the Spurs. Duncan also had 10 rebounds and eight assists.

Pau Gasol scored 21 points for Los Angeles after hitting eight of this first nine shots.

It was a hot shooting night. The Spurs shot 57 percent from the floor. The Lakers shot 56.6.

“Both teams shot the heck out of the ball,” Bryant said. “I mean, its tough to lose a game like that.”

The Lakers won the playoff series last year in five games before losing the NBA finals to Boston. The Lakers and Spurs will play twice more this season.

The Spurs led 102-91 early in the fourth quarter on Tony Parker’s layup. But the Lakers scored nine straight points to cut it to 102-100 with 4:45 left.

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Ginobili and Bryant were dominant at some points of the game. Bryant scored 10 of the Lakers’ final 14 points in the first half. At the same time, Ginobili scored 10 of the Spurs final 13 points before halftime as San Antonio led 63-61 at the break.

The Spurs led 95-87 after scoring 30 or more points the first three quarters.

Notes: Robert Horry, who won NBA titles while playing for both the Lakers and Spurs, attended the game. ... Bryant wore a small bandage along his right eye to protect the stitches put in after he was cut during a head-to-head collision with Miami’s Dwyane Wade on Sunday. ... Lakers G Sasha Vujacic sat out his second straight game because of back spasms.

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