Yet, that still wasn't good enough. Even after holding Wallace in check and leading the Spurs to a 99-87 win over Portland on Monday night, Duncan made sure to point blame where blame was due.

"The one shot that was given up to him," Duncan said, smiling, "was from Malik Rose."

"Yeah, it was me," Rose said. "But Rasheed's from Philly. I had to look out for my man. I couldn't have him holding that record."

Wallace wasn't the only one who narrowly avoided going down in infamy Monday. The Spurs nearly blew a 29-point third-quarter lead before holding on to beat the Blazers in front of a slightly relieved crowd of 28,278 at the Alamodome.