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NEW ORLEANS -- Staggered by a shoulder pad to the head and ripped down by a forearm hit across the neck, Drew Brees was crumpled on the turf with blood on his chin. Yet the vicious sack by San Franciscos Ahmad Brooks also drew a flag that cancelled out Brees lost fumble with 3:12 left and gave the Saints prolific quarterback one chance too many. Brees guided New Orleans to two late Garrett Hartley field goals -- the second as time expired -- and the Saints upended the 49ers 23-20 on Sunday. "All I remember is just getting clothes-lined in the chin and as Im on the ground, Im saying, Thats got to be a flag," Brees said. "One of my teammates kind of picked me up and said, Are you all right? and he said, Dont worry, theres a flag. "I said, All right, good. Just took a moment, and youve got to get ready to go." The Superdome crowd grumbled each time the Saints settled for high-pressure field goals in the fourth quarter, apparently nervous that Hartley, whod missed four of six attempts in the previous three games, would slip up again. Instead, Hartley made all three of his field goal attempts in the final quarter to wipe out New Orleans 20-14 deficit. His 42-yarder with 2:06 left tied it. His game-winner was from 31 yards. He also hit from 21 yards earlier. "This team and this coaching staff and this organization never took their foot off the gas with me and here we are sitting at 8-2 and getting ready for Atlanta," Hartley said. The Saints trailed 20-17 when Brooks levelled Brees. The Niners protested the resulting flag vigorously. "It was very frustrating. The game could have gone a totally different direction than what it went," Brooks said. "I was just mad because that was a big play in the game. We lost, and thats probably the reason why." The Saints (8-2) improved to 6-0 at home despite three turnovers and a failed fourth down conversion. "Youre going to have games like this," Brees said. "You still find way to win against a playoff-calibre opponent with a lot at stake at this point in the season. That says a lot." The victory guaranteed the Saints would remain at least a game ahead of Carolina -- which plays Monday night -- for first place in the NFC South. It also kept New Orleans one game in the loss column behind top NFC seed Seattle (10-1). Marques Colston finished with five catches for 80 yards to become the Saints all-time leader in yards receiving with 7,923, passing Eric Martins two-decade-old mark of 7,854. "Its definitely an awesome accomplishment," said Colston, a 2006 seventh-round draft choice out of Hofstra. "It had a lot to do with some of the guys in this locker room and this coaching staff, but were in the midst of something a lot more meaningful right now." Colin Kaepernick passed for two scores, but finished with only 127 yards and was sacked three times as the Niners (6-4) lost their second straight. "The greater the challenge, the greater the glory," Niners coach Jim Harbaugh said. "Thats the way I look at it. Im proud of our guys for the way they fight, and if we continue to do that, were going to win a lot of games." The Saints defence, one of the worst in NFL history a year ago, played well enough to keep the Saints within striking distance despite what appeared to be a number of seemingly costly mistakes. Junior Galettes sack helped stall the Niners last drive. Niners running back Frank Gore managed only 48 yards on 13 carries. Kaepernick completed 17 of 31 passes and scrambled three times for 25 yards. His last run was a 16-yarder on third-and-long that came up 3 yards short of a first down with less than two minutes to go. Brees completed quick three passes on his final series: a 9-yarder to Graham, the 20-yarder to Colston and then another 12-yarder to Graham. Brees finished 30 of 43 for 305 yards and one touchdown, a 3-yard connection with rookie tight end Josh Hill. That was enough to overcome New Orleans turnovers, which began with Lance Moores muffed fair catch, setting up an 11-yard touchdown drive capped by Kaepernicks pass to Anquan Boldin. Boldin was covered by Corey White, whod come in after what appeared to be a serious left leg injury to Jabari Greer. White briefly made up for it with a diving interception, but when he tried to run for a score, he fumbled the ball through the end zone for a touchback. The Niners then drove for Phil Dawsons 55-yard field goal, which gave them a 10-7 lead. New Orleans regained the lead at 14-10, thanks to Travaris Cadets 82-yard kickoff return, which set up Jed Collins 1-yard touchdown run. But in the third quarter, Brees, scrambling right, tried to lob a pass to Graham, only to have Brooks leap up and tip the ball to himself for an interception he returned to the Saints 22. Soon after, Vernon Davis 17-yard TD catch made it 17-14. NOTES: Injuries forced 49ers CB Tarell Brown (ribs) and Niners LG Mike Iupati (knee) from the game. ... Colston also now has 7,930 career yards from scrimmage, breaking Martins record of 7,865. Joe Carter Jersey . -- Houston Rockets coach Kevin McHale searched more than three quarters for five guys who would play well together. Steve Pearce Jersey .Former NBA forward Morris Peterson has been added to TSNs Toronto Raptors broadcast team. http://www.officialbluejaysgearshop.com/Blue-Jays-Josh-Donaldson-Kids-Jersey/ .com) - Stanley Johnson had 18 points and No. Jack Morris Jersey . The Kings paraded the Stanley Cup through downtown Los Angeles on Monday to celebrate their second NHL title in three seasons. Roberto Alomar Jersey . -- Andy Dorman and Kelyn Rowe scored in the second half to lead the New England Revolution to a 2-1 victory over Sporting Kansas City in the first leg of their Eastern Conference semifinals series on Saturday night.SAN ANTONIO - The San Antonio Spurs knew the Philadelphia 76ers were coming in on a long losing streak. They had no intentions of taking it easy on them. Austin Daye had 22 points and Tim Duncan added 19 as the Spurs earned their 14th straight win with a 113-91 victory Monday night that sent the 76ers to their 25th consecutive loss. Philadelphia will face Houston on Thursday with the dubious distinction of being a loss shy of tying the NBA record for consecutive losses set by the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2010-11. Before the game, Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said he felt terrible for former assistant Brett Brown, now the 76ers coach. But he added that he did not feel sorry for "one of my best friends," because pity would upset his former protégé. "Obviously, its a rough season for them," Duncan said. "Its a rebuilding season for them. (Brown) knows that, they know that. They have a lot of young guys. Hes just trying to get the system in place that has them playing the way he wants them playing. Its a process. He knows that." Kawhi Leonard and Patty Mills scored 15 points each and Cory Joseph added 12 for San Antonio, which maintained the leagues best record at 54-16. The Spurs did not play starters Tony Parker, Tiago Splitter and Danny Green, but did not need them against the lowly 76ers. Thaddeus Young and Michael Carter-Williams each scored 19 points, Byron Mullens added 15 and Elliot Williams had 14 for Philadelphia (15-56). Daye, who was averaging 2.3 minutes while playing in only four games since being acquired from Toronto on Feb. 20, finished 6-for-10 on 3-pointers and had six rebounds in 29 minutes. It was familiar to Brown, who served as an assistant under Popovich for seven seasons. "Hes lucky," Brown said, "and Ive seen this over so many years — people can come into that system and shine. This system creates opportunities for everybody, and he took advantage of those. The attention you have to give others and the movement that they have in their structure allowed him to get freed up a lot. "He reaped the benefit of playing in that system." The Sixers kept pace early against the Spurs, with Carter-Williams fearlessly driving into the paint for a series of short jumpers and Hollis Thompson hitting a pair of 3s. Popovich called timeout with 3:44 left in the first quarter after Williams dunked over Duncan to tie it at 19. Philadelphias early success awoke the Spurs and brought out the best in Daye. His athleticism and energy were just what San Antonio needed after a listless sttart.dddddddddddd "Hes a skilled guy," Popovich said. "Obviously he can shoot it. But hes also a good passer. He knows how to play the game. It was good to be able to get him some time tonight." San Antonio went on a 26-5 spurt bridging the first and second quarters, capped by a 19-0 run. Daye first ran down Carter-Williams, swatting his layup attempt from behind, leading to Leonards driving layup for a 23-19 lead with 3 minutes left in the opening quarter. Mullens 3-pointer snapped a 6 1/2-minute drought, but the Spurs were up 45-27 with 6:35 left in the first half. Daye then stole an outlet pass on the run, driving directly at a backpedalling Mullens on a 3-on-1 break. Daye faked a behind-the-back pass to Duncan on the left and dished to Joseph on the right, who fed an open Duncan for a layup and a 47-27 lead. "He got an opportunity," Duncan said. "He really stepped up and shot the ball really well. The boy is really long. He made some great plays defensively (and) rebounded the ball. He did a lot of good things out there." The Spurs started Ginobili to give the team another facilitator on the court with Parker out. Ginobili did that and more, scoring seven points and grabbing two rebounds in eight minutes. He drove to the basket for a series of reverse layups, but was blocked by the rim on a one-handed dunk attempt in starting 2 for 3 from the field. San Antonio finished with 31 assists while shooting 56 per cent from the field. "Its tough," Carter-Williams said. "They move the ball really well with the extra pass. They try to move the ball and almost tire you out on defence. You got to be able to rotate and play throughout the shot clock." The victory did little to satiate the Spurs or Popovich, who are hoping to return to the NBA Finals after falling to Miami last season in a heartbreaking seven-game series. "Were playing well through this stretch and winning some games," Duncan said. "Pop is still not satisfied, obviously, with what were doing. We want to stay healthy. We want to stay moving in the right direction. "Hopefully we can ride this into the playoffs and feel good going into the playoffs." NOTES: San Antonios Big Three of Duncan, Ginobili and Parker have played for 39 seasons, which is seven years more experience than the entire Philadelphia roster combined. The 76ers have six rookies on this years roster. ... Former Spurs F Malik Rose, a Philadelphia native, now serves as an analyst for 76ers television. He filled in for the Spurs in the same capacity before joining Philadelphias broadcast team. ' ' '