Dominating the rebounding matchup and scoring almost half their points from inside, the Philadelphia 76ers got back into their second-round series by defeating the Detroit Pistons 93-83 Saturday night.
The 76ers still trail the second-round series 2-1; Game 4 is Sunday night in Philadelphia.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Led by big men Kenny Thomas and Tyrone Hill, the 76ers outrebounded the Pistons 48-30 and scored 27 second-chance points in a one-sided game that offered little suspense in the second half.
Thomas had 10 points and 14 rebounds before pulling a leg muscle late in the third quarter. Hill had nine points and six rebounds in just 22 minutes, but that was still more than Detroit's Ben Wallace managed to contribute in 36 minutes. The NBA's leading rebounder was held to six points and six rebounds.
Allen Iverson had 25 points and 11 assists, and Keith Van Horn had his best game of the series with 17 points.
Richard Hamilton scored 24 points to lead the Pistons, and Tayshaun Prince had 17.
Detroit point guard Chauncey Billups missed his second straight game with a sprained ankle, but the team hopes to have him back for Sunday night's game.
Mavericks 141, Kings 137
In Sacramento, California, Walt Williams scored all 10 of his points in two overtimes as the Dallas Mavericks defeated the Kings 141-137 to take a 2-1 lead in the Western Conference semifinals.
Nick Van Exel scored 40 points off the bench and Steve Nash had 31 to lead four players with 20 or more points for the Mavericks.
The Mavs rallied from a 10-point fourth-quarter deficit, then prevailed in two back-and-forth extra periods to beat an inspired Kings team determined to show it could win without star Chris Webber, who is out for the rest of the playoffs with an injured knee.
"It was a really tough loss," Sacramento coach Rick Adelman said. "We had three or four chances to win. We couldn't get it done. You can say it was our missed free throws or it was their 3-point shooting. We didn't do enough to win the game, and they did."
Dirk Nowitzki, averaging 27.9 points in the playoffs, had 25 points and 20 rebounds. He scored 24 in the Mavs' 132-110 victory in Game 2 on Thursday, in which they scored an NBA playoff-record 83 points in the first half. Nowitzki made several pretty turnaround jumpers on Saturday night, and almost always did it with a hand in his face.
Dallas put up 42 shots from 3-point range, breaking the NBA playoff record by eight. The Mavs made 19 of them, falling short of Houston's 1996 mark by one. Van Exel went 6-of-12, and Nash and Michael Finley each went 5-of-10.
Peja Stojakovic delivered the brilliant performance the Kings desperately needed, but Sacramento couldn't convert when it counted the most.
Stojakovic scored a career playoff-high 39 points to go with eight rebounds and four assists. Six other players scored in double figures for Sacramento, with Vlade Divac finishing with 20 points and 10 rebounds. Doug Christie added 18 points, including two big 3-pointers in the first overtime.
Phil Jackson has angioplasty
Coach Phil Jackson of the three-time defending champion Los Angeles Lakers underwent an angioplasty on Saturday after experiencing chest pains during the last week.
The procedure, which lasted over two hours, was necessary to open Jackson's left anterior descending artery that had an over 90 percent blockage, team spokesman John Black said.
A balloon was inserted to open the artery and a stent was placed in it, Black said.
Jackson, slated to be kept at Centinela Hospital Medical Center on Saturday night, has not ruled out coaching Sunday's Game 4 at home.
"If all goes well, he'll be able to coach the game," Black said.
Jackson, 57, had been bothered by tightness and pain in his chest for several days. He underwent tests Friday before the Lakers beat San Antonio 110-95 in Game 3 of the Western Conference semifinals. Los Angeles trails the best-of-seven series 2-1.
Doctors wanted to complete all tests Friday, but Jackson decided to wait until after the game. Jackson told assistant coach Jim Cleamons to run Saturday's practice. Cleamons would also lead the team if Jackson is unable to coach.
Jackson, the winningest coach in NBA playoff history with 161 victories, missed three games because of a kidney stone that was removed on Feb. 24. He had coached 1,249 regular-season and playoff games without missing one in 13 seasons. He is in his fourth season with the Lakers and has won 25 straight playoff series, dating to his years with the Chicago Bulls.
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