The Dallas Mavericks completed a surprise series victory over the higher-ranked San Antonio Spurs on Tuesday, while the Rockets’ bid for a second-round berth was grounded when Houston lost to the Portland Trail Blazers.
The sixth-seeded Mavericks rode Dirk Nowitzki’s 31-point performance to a 106-93 Game Five victory in San Antonio to claim their best-of-seven Western Conference series by a 4-1 margin.
Houston, who could have joined the Mavericks in the second round with a win, lost 88-77 at Portland but still lead the series 3-2.
PHOTO: AFP
In other games, the Boston Celtics overcame the stubborn Chicago Bulls 106-104 in overtime and the Orlando Magic cruised to a 91-78 win over the Philadelphia 76ers, giving both winning teams 3-2 advantages in their Eastern Conference match-ups.
In San Antonio, Nowitzki hit 11-of-17 shots for game scoring honors but the German forward received plenty of support as the Mavericks turned back San Antonio’s two-man tandem of Tim Duncan and Tony Parker.
Duncan finished with 30 points and Parker added 26 points and 12 rebounds, but the remainder of the team had just 37 points.
Dallas backed up Nowitzki with five other players in double figures as the Mavs advanced to the second round for the first time in three years. They will play the winner of the Denver-New Orleans series in the conference semi-finals.
“We’re not finished yet,” Dallas’s Jason Terry told reporters after completing a 19-point effort.
Birthday boy Josh Howard added 17 and center Erick Dampier contributed 11 points and 12 rebounds.
“This is our best basketball of the year,” Dampier said. “That’s a big key for us, to be playing well at the right time.”
San Antonio, who were without Manu Ginobili, failed to make it past the first round for the first time since 2000.
“They’re a better team than we are right now,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. “We made runs, but every time we got back into the game, they made more big shots. That’s why they won the series.”
In Boston, Paul Pierce’s jumper with 3.4 seconds to play in overtime earned a narrow victory for the Celtics.
Pierce, who had 26 points, made three successive jumpers in the final 77 seconds. He had earlier sent the game into overtime with another jump shot with 10.5 seconds to play in regulation.
Rajon Rondo paced Boston with 28 points and 11 assists. Glen Davis added 21 points and Kendrick Perkins provided 19 rebounds and 16 points.
Ben Gordon had 26 points for Chicago, who host Game Six today.
In Orlando, Dwight Howard delivered 24 points and a career-playoff best 24 rebounds to help the third-seeded Magic dominate the Sixers.
Rashard Lewis also had 24 points for Orlando, while Andre Iguodala paced Philadelphia with 26.
Game Six is scheduled for Philadelphia today.
In Portland, the Trail Blazers went on a 15-0 fourth-quarter run to stop the Rockets.
Brandon Roy and LaMarcus Aldridge both scored 25 points for Portland.
Luis Scola led the Rockets with 21 points, while Yao Ming added 15 points and 12 rebounds.
The series moves back to Houston for Game Six today.
Taiwan kept their hopes of advancing to next year’s World Baseball Classic (WBC) alive with a 9-1 victory over South Africa in a qualifier at the Taipei Dome on Saturday, backed by solid pitching. Taiwan last night played against Nicaragua. As of press time, Nicaragua was leading 6-0. Bouncing back from Friday’s struggles on the mound, when Taiwanese pitchers surrendered 15 runs to Spain, Team Taiwan on Saturday kept the visiting team in check, allowing just one run in the bottom of the fourth inning. Starting pitcher Sha Tzu-chen struck out one and allowed no hits, except for a hit-by-pitch over
Team Taiwan are set to face Spain in a win-or-go-home match tonight for the final berth at the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC), despite losing to Nicaragua 6-0 in the WBC qualifier at the Taipei Dome on Sunday. The home team’s loss on Sunday means Nicaragua finish first in the qualifier round in Taipei with a perfect 3-0 record and advances to next year’s finals. After crushing South Africa 9-1 earlier on Sunday, Spain took second place in the four-team qualifier with a 2-1 record. With a 1-2 record, Taiwan finished third while South Africa placed at the bottom with
Team Taiwan avoided missing the World Baseball Classic (WBC) for the first time by defeating Spain 6-3 in a do-or-die game in Taipei last night. After narrowly escaping a mercy-rule loss to Spain in the WBC Qualifiers opener on Friday last week, the home team — winner of last year's WBSC Premier12 title three months ago — got their revenge against the 2023 European champions at Taipei Dome. "It felt quite different from when we won the Premier12," Taiwan captain Chen Chieh-hsien (陳傑憲) said after the game, recalling the ups and downs the team has experienced over the past few days. Unlike in
Team Taiwan are set to face Spain in a win-or-go-home match tomorrow for the final berth at next year's World Baseball Classic (WBC), despite losing to Nicaragua 6-0 in the WBC qualifier at the Taipei Dome yesterday. The home team's loss means that Nicaragua finishes No. 1 in the qualifier round held in Taipei with a perfect 3-0 record and advances to the games. After crushing South Africa 9-1 earlier yesterday, Spain took second place in the four-team qualifier with a 2-1 record. With a 1-2 record, Taiwan, competing under the name Chinese Taipei, finished third, while South Africa placed at the bottom
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