Regular season play in the Super Basketball League came to an end on Sunday with the Yulon Dinos taking the season finale against the Dacin Tigers in an 87-83 decision at the Taipei Physical Education College Gymnasium.
The defending champs ended with a league-best record of 24-6, taking an eight-game winning streak into the upcoming postseason, which begins on Friday.
Sunday's match began with the Dinos overcoming a shaky start to finish the opening quarter with a 24-23 lead.
PHOTO COURTESY OF SBL
Then came a furious 10-2 run by the Tigers that helped them regain a brief lead, only to see the Dinos counter with an 18-point run to close out the first half leading by a dozen (50-38).
The Tigers managed to chip away at the Dinos lead with a sound perimeter attack that drained four 3-pointers in the third quarter to come within four of the Dinos late in the quarter.
A resilient Dinos squad held off a Tigers rally in the fourth quarter to preserve the win.
All-Star Tseng Wen-ding and Chou Shih-yuan each had 18 points to lead a balanced Dinos offense that placed four players in double-digit scoring.
Tigers icon Tien Lei achieved a game-high 36 points and 19 rebounds, as the cats head into the playoffs on the heals of a three-game losing skid.
Taiwan Beer 89, YMY 88
Taiwan Beer edged the 3-26 YMY 89-88 to beat out the Tigers for a second-place finish with a regular season record of 20-10.
The victory came with a scare, as the brewers' leading scorer, Lin "The Beast" Chih-jeh, went down hard in what appeared to be a serious-looking ankle injury that has since been reported as "moderate" following X-rays that indicated that there were no breaks.
Behind second-year guard Wu Guan-luen's 10 first-quarter points, the brew crew was able to jump to an early 25-20 lead after the opening quarter.
But veteran point guard Luo "The Natural" Hsin-liang, with a incredible 25-point first half, kept YMY in the game as they ended the evenly fought first half down by just four.
An eventful third quarter, highlighted by Lin's departure from the game with under four minutes to play, breathed new life into YMY as they finished out the quarter with an 11-3 run to keep pace with Taiwan Beer.
The young YMY squad led with less than three minutes remaining in the fourth quarter before the brewers responded with five unanswered points to take an 88-all tie down the wire.
It took a clutch free throw by Wu in the game's closing seconds to break the tie and put the brewers up for good.
Five different Taiwan Beer players scored in double-figures, with Wu leading the pack on a 20-point night.
Luo led YMY shooters with 36 points.
NBA
Luol Deng scored 17 of his 26 points to spearhead Chicago's first-half rally from an early 15-point deficit, and the Bulls also got 18 points apiece from Andres Nocioni and Ben Gordon to beat the Miami Heat 117-93 Sunday and clinch an NBA Eastern Conference postseason berth.
Chicago's win not only spoiled Miami's home finale, it eliminated any hope Orlando had of sneaking onto the East's playoff bracket.
Antoine Walker had 22 points and O'Neal added 14 in 20 minutes for Miami. Wade had only eight points on 2-for-12 shooting in 20 minutes, ending his team-record streak of 78 straight games in double figures.
Spurs 103, Timberwolves 90
In Minneapolis, San Antonio moved closer to clinching first place in the Western Conference behind 57 points from its backups.
Tim Duncan had 10 points and eight rebounds in 20 minutes for the Spurs (61-19), who left the arena needing one more win or one more Dallas loss to seal the Southwest Division title and secure home-court advantage until the NBA Finals with the West's top seed.
Tony Parker had 11 points in 17 minutes for San Antonio, which met little resistance from the depleted Timberwolves.
Mavericks 111, Jazz 95
In Dallas, Dirk Nowitzki scored 14 of his 22 points on free throws and Jerry Stackhouse added 20 points in his return to the sixth-man role, helping Dallas eliminate Utah from the postseason chase.
The Mavericks kept alive their faint hopes of earning the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference. To get it, Dallas must win its finale Wednesday night at home against the Los Angeles Clippers, and the San Antonio Spurs must lose at home Monday night to the Jazz and on the road Wednesday night to Houston. If any of those games goes the other way, San Antonio will finish atop the conference.
Carlos Boozer had 21 points and 11 rebounds for Utah.
Wizards 104, Cavaliers 92
In Washington, Gilbert Arenas scored 35 points, leading Washington past LeBron James and Cleveland to end a five-game losing streak and clinch consecutive postseason berths for the first time since 1988.
Antawn Jamison added 16 points and 11 rebounds for Washington, and Caron Butler added 21 points after being out for five games with a right thumb injury. Butler sparked Washington with constant energy at both ends, and his 3-pointer at the buzzer ending the third quarter put the hosts ahead 88-62.
Kings 96, Hornets 79
In Sacramento, California, Mike Bibby hit five 3-pointers and finished with 23 points, and the Kings celebrated their eighth consecutive playoff berth.
Bonzi Wells scored 16 points in three quarters for the Kings, who got their eighth win in 10 games to surge into the postseason. Sacramento's playoff spot was clinched midway through the fourth quarter when ninth-place Utah lost at Dallas.
Rookie Chris Paul had 12 points and seven assists for the Hornets.
Pistons 103, Knicks 97
In Auburn Hills, Michigan, Richard Hamilton scored 28 points and Tayshaun Prince added 20 as Detroit set a franchise record for wins.
The Pistons (64-16) broke the mark of 63 wins set by the 1988-89 Bad Boys NBA champs, a team led by current Knicks president Isiah Thomas. The Knicks (22-58) need to win their final two games to avoid matching a franchise record for losses.
Nets 95, Celtics 93
In East Rutherford, New Jersey, Nenad Krstic scored 18 points to pace a balanced attack, Richard Jefferson added 15, and New Jersey held on to beat Boston.
The win was the 17th in the last 20 games for the surging Nets (49-31), who have already clinched the Atlantic Division title and the No. 3 seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs. The Celtics, playing without All-Star guard Paul Pierce, have lost four straight and five of six.
SuperSonics 114, Clippers 98
In Los Angeles, Ray Allen had 21 points, seven rebounds and six assists, and Seattle humbled the playoff-bound Clippers in their final regular-season home game.
Elton Brand had 22 points and seven rebounds for Los Angeles, which finished its home schedule with a 27-14 record -- the same as last season.
Lakers 109, Suns 89
In Los Angeles, Kobe Bryant made a late-season case for league MVP honors, scoring 43 points and helping the Lakers clinch a playoff berth.
The Lakers are back in the postseason for the first time since losing the 2004 NBA Finals to Detroit.
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