Boris Diaw had 20 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists in one of the best playoff performances of his National Basketball Association career, as the Phoenix Suns stayed alive with a 105-86 rout of the San Antonio Spurs on Sunday.
Raja Bell scored 21 of his 27 points in a dominant first half to help Phoenix bring a one-sided end to the defending NBA champions’ nine-game playoff winning streak. The Suns were 11-0 in the regular season when Bell scored at least 20.
Phoenix still trails the first-round series 3-1, with Game 5 tonight in San Antonio. No NBA team has come back from 0-3 to win a series.
PHOTO :AFP
Tony Parker led San Antonio with 18 points and Manu Ginobili scored 10.
Hornets 97, Mavericks 84
In Dallas, David West let out his pent-up frustration over a poor Game 3 with a determined effort in Game 4, scoring 10 of his 24 points in a quick stretch early in the second half to help New Orleans pull away and take a 3-1 lead in the first-round series over Dallas.
The Hornets hadn’t won in Dallas over 14 tries since January 1998. This victory means they might not have to come back until next season. They can eliminate the Mavericks by winning Game 5 tonight in New Orleans.
Dirk Nowitzki had 22 points and 13 rebounds and Jason Terry scored 20 points, but they didn’t get much help. Josh Howard was three-for-16 and Jason Kidd had only three points, three assists and four rebounds before getting ejected with 7 minutes, 16 seconds left for a flagrant foul on Jannero Pargo. Thousands of fans bailed out soon after, then a guy down the row from team owner Mark Cuban got tossed, too.
Cavaliers 100, Wizards 97
In Washington, LeBron James had 34 points and 12 rebounds, and passed to Delonte West for a tiebreaking three-pointer with 5.4 seconds left on Sunday, helping Cleveland beat Washington to take a 3-1 lead in their Eastern Conference series.
Cleveland led by 15 in the third quarter, but Gilbert Arenas led Washington’s rally.
He made two free throws with 57 seconds left to get Washington within two points, and after James missed a jumper, Arenas’ 8-foot fadeaway with 28 seconds remaining tied the game 97-97. James dribbled out the clock before finding West, whose career playoff-high 21 points included five of Cleveland’s 13 three-pointers.
The series moves to Cleveland tomorrow for Game 5 in the best-of-seven series.
Pistons 93, 76ers 84
In Philadelphia, Tayshaun Prince scored 23 points and made all but one shot from the field, and Detroit played with a purpose and dominated the second half to even the best-of-seven Eastern Conference playoff series at 2-2.
The Pistons erased a 14-point, first-half deficit against the upstart 76ers and will host Game 5 tonight.
Rasheed Wallace finished with 20 points and 10 rebounds, and Richard Hamilton bounced back from a 1-for-10 first half to finish with 18 points. Chauncey Billups also scored 18 points.
Andre Iguodala missed 10 of his final 11 shots and scored 12 points. Samuel Dalembert had 12 points and 12 rebounds for the Sixers, while Andre Miller and Willie Green each scored 13 points.
Shohei Ohtani and Clayton Kershaw on Friday joined their Los Angeles Dodgers teammates in sticking their fists out to show off their glittering World Series rings at a ceremony. “There’s just a lot of excitement, probably more than I can ever recall with the Dodger fan base and our players,” manager Dave Roberts said before Los Angeles rallied to beat the Detroit Tigers 8-5 in 10 innings. “What a way to cap off the first two days of celebrations,” Roberts said afterward. “By far the best opening week I’ve ever experienced. I just couldn’t have scripted it any better.” A choir in the
After fleeing Sudan when civil war erupted, Al-Hilal captain Mohamed Abdelrahman and his teammates have defied the odds to reach the CAF Champions League quarter-finals. They are today to face title-holders Al-Ahly of Egypt in Cairo, with the return match in the Mauritanian capital, Nouakchott, on Tuesday next week. Al-Hilal and biggest domestic rivals Al-Merrikh relocated to Mauritania after a power struggle broke out in April 2023 between the Sudanese army and a paramilitary force. The civil war has claimed tens of thousands of lives and displaced more than 12 million people, according to the UN. The Democratic Republic of the Congo-born Al-Hilal
Shohei Ohtani, Teoscar Hernandez and Tommy Edman on Thursday smashed home runs to give the reigning World Series champions the Los Angeles Dodgers a 5-4 victory over Detroit on the MLB’s opening day in the US. The Dodgers, who won two season-opening games in Tokyo last week, raised their championship banner on a day when 28 clubs launched the season in the US. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts shuffled his batting lineup with all four leadoff hitters finally healthy as Ohtani was followed by Mookie Betts, then Hernandez and Freddie Freeman in the cleanup spot, switching places with Hernandez. “There’s a Teoscar tax to
Matvei Michkov did not score on Monday, but the Philadelphia rookie had a hand in both goals as hosts the Flyers earned a 2-1 victory over the Nashville Predators. Ryan Poehling and Jamie Drysdale got the goals for the Flyers (31-36-9, 71 points), who won their third straight. Michkov and Travis Konecny assisted on both. Ivan Fedotov stopped 28 shots to earn his first win since March 1, ending a personal six-game losing streak. Zachary L’Heureux got the lone goal for Nashville. Michael McCarron and Brady Skjei got the assists for the Predators (27-39-8, 62 points), who have just four goals in their
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