One of the luckiest bounces of Vince Carter's career -- five or six bounces, actually -- couldn't keep the New Jersey Nets from falling behind 3-0 to the Miami Heat.
Carter forced double overtime with a shot that danced all around the backboard and rim before dropping through, but there was no more magic for the Nets after that in a 108-105 double-overtime loss to the Heat on Thursday night.
"Man, this team is very resilient," said Heat center Alonzo Mourning, who grabbed a key rebound late in the second overtime. "This just shows the toughness and character of this team in digging out a win like this."
PHOTO: AFP
Now, the problem confronting New Jersey is one that no NBA team has ever solved -- overcoming a 3-0 deficit in a best-of-seven series.
Shaquille O'Neal had his best game of the series with 25 points, Udonis Haslem had the final go-ahead basket among his 14 points and 19 rebounds, Dwyane Wade had 22 points and 10 rebounds, and Eddie Jones added 20 points for the Heat.
Carter scored 36, Richard Jefferson had 23 and Jason Kidd had a triple-double of 16 points, 13 assists and 16 rebounds for the Nets, whose best chance to win came at the end of regulation when Kidd had an open shot from 3-point range.
But he couldn't connect, and Carter's crazy bounce only ended up prolonging the Nets' plight for another five minutes.
Pacers 99, Celtics 76
In Indianapolis, Reggie Miller scored 33 points, including 15 in the fourth quarter, and Indiana pulled away for a 2-1 lead in the series. Game 4 will be here Saturday night, and the series will return to Boston on Tuesday.
Boston coach Doc Rivers said earlier this week that Miller may be getting "sympathy calls" from the officials as he makes his final NBA tour before retiring.
Jermaine O'Neal, playing with a sore right shoulder and taking a pounding inside almost the whole game, had 21 points, 11 rebounds and three blocked shots. Paul Pierce led Boston with 19 points, Gary Payton finished with 15 and Antoine Walker added 14.
Mavericks 106, Rockets 102
In Houston, a rejuvenated Dirk Nowitzki emerged from a two-game slump to score 28 points and keyed a 17-0 run in the fourth quarter to lead Dallas past Houston and into the first-round series.
Michael Finley scored 20 points, Jerry Stackhouse added 18 and Josh Howard had five big points in the late comeback, ending Houston's nine-game win streak and finally giving the Mavericks confidence that they can keep up with the surging Rockets.
Dallas has a chance to even the Western Conference series in Game 4 tonight. Game 5 is in Dallas on Monday night.
Tracy McGrady had another big game for the Rockets, finishing with 28 points, nine rebounds and six assists, while Bob Sura added 21 points, 10 rebounds and six assists.
spurs 104, Nuggets 76
The San Antonio Spurs made nine of their first 10 shots Wednesday and then outscored the Denver Nuggets by 20 points in the second quarter en route to a 104-76 win that evened their first-round playoff series at one win each.
Tony Parker scored 12 points in the first period, matching his total for all of Game 1. He finished with 19 points. Duncan had 24 points, while reserve Manu Ginobili added 17 points in 18 minutes. Barry, who started in Ginobili's place, made all four of his 3-pointers for 16 points.
Game 3 will be tonight in Denver.
Bulls 113, Wizards 103
In Chicago, Kirk Hinrich found his shooting touch and Chicago is headed to Washington with a 2-0 lead in their opening-round playoff series.
Hinrich scored 21 of his 34 points in the fourth quarter and the Bulls overcame a strong start by the Wizards. Hinrich rebounded from a tough 8-for-23 shooting night in Chicago's 103-94 win in the opener Sunday night, hitting 12 of 15 shots and spearheading key runs at the end of the first half and beginning of the final quarter.
Antonio Davis added 18 points and Ben Gordon 14 for the Bulls.
Games 3 and 4 of the best-of-seven series will be played at the MCI Center today and Monday.
Suns 108, Grizzlies 103
In Phoenix, Amare Stoudemire, who scored just nine points in the series opener, had 34 points and 10 rebounds, including 18-of-22 shooting at the foul line as Phoenix erased a five-point deficit to take a 2-0 playoffs lead over Memphis.
The physical Grizzlies sent Phoenix to the line 40 times, and the Suns made 32 of them.
Shawn Marion, playing with a sprained right wrist, added 22 points for Phoenix, including a pair of 5m shots that tied the game, then put Phoenix ahead for good. He also grabbed 13 rebounds.
Quentin Richardson had 15 points, and had a big blocked shot in the final minute.
Joe Johnson scored 20, while Steve Nash had 12 points and 15 assists.
Pau Gasol overpowered the smaller Suns most of the night for 28 points and 16 rebounds, both career playoff bests. Jason Williams scored 21, also a career playoff high, but was scoreless in the fourth quarter.
Bobby Simmons of the Los Angeles Clippers was an easy winner of the NBA Most Improved Player award on Thursday, easily topping Miami All-Star Dwyane Wade and Detroit standout Tayshaun Prince despite playing on a losing team.
Simmons is the first Clippers player to win the award that started following the 1985-1986 season.
Simmons received 59 first-place votes and 384 points in voting by sports writers and broadcasters.
The 24-year-old Simmons averaged career highs of 16.4 points, 5.9 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 1.4 steals and 37.3 minutes in 75 games, including 74 starts.
A year earlier, in his first season with the Clippers, he averaged 7.8 points, 4.7 rebounds and 24.6 minutes in 56 games, including eight starts.
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