Steve Nash played like an MVP down the stretch and Amare Stoudemire had 41 points and 10 rebounds, carrying the Phoenix Suns to a 129-127 double-overtime victory over the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday in a tense, thrilling game between the NBA's top teams.
Nash scored 10 points in the final minute of regulation, forcing overtime with a three-pointer in the closing seconds. Then Dallas' Jason Terry had five points in the final 48 seconds of the first extra period, including a long 3 with time running out to force another period.
The Suns led throughout the second OT, but it took a missed 8-footer by Dirk Nowitzki as time expired to secure a win that ended Dallas' 23-game home winning streak and tightened the race for the top seed in the Western Conference. Nash had 32 points, 16 assists and eight rebounds, sending Phoenix to its sixth straight win and 11th in 12 games. That moved the Suns within two-and-a-half games of the Mavericks for the best record in the league.
Nowitzki, considered Nash's top challenger in the MVP race, had 30 points, 16 rebounds and six assists.
Wizards 112, Pacers 96
At Indianapolis, Gilbert Arenas scored 28 of his 35 points in the second half as Washington extended Indiana's losing streak to 11 games.
Antawn Jamison added 27 points and eight rebounds for the Wizards, who had lost their previous three games by a combined six points. The only negative for Washington was that forward Caron Butler left the game early in the second quarter with stiffness in his left knee and did not return.
Cavaliers 118, Grizzlies 96
At Memphis, Tennessee, LeBron James recovered from a back injury to score 29 points, leading seven Cavaliers in double figures and helping Cleveland win its season-high seventh straight. Memphis, with the league's worst record, lost its second straight and eighth in the past nine.
Rudy Gay led Memphis with 24 points, while Pau Gasol finished with 23 points and 10 rebounds.
Bulls 88, 76ers 87
At Philadelphia, Kirk Hinrich made the go-ahead jumper with 26.7 seconds left and Luol Deng scored 20 points to lead Chicago past Philadelphia for its fourth straight victory.
Andre Iguodala made all 10 free throws and scored 19 points. Willie Green had 16 points and Samuel Dalembert added 15 for the Sixers, who lost their second straight and saw their slim playoff hopes continue to dim.
Raptors 104, Knicks 94
At Toronto, Chris Bosh scored 22 points, T.J. Ford matched a career high with 18 assists, and Toronto beat New York to strengthen its hold on the Atlantic Division lead.
Jorge Garbajosa had a career-high 20 points, while fellow rookie Andrea Bargnani added 18 for Toronto (36-29). Ford also scored 18 points for the Raptors, including an 8-for-8 showing at the free throw line.
Magic 101, Jazz 90
At Orlando, Florida, Dwight Howard had 31 points and 15 rebounds, and Orlando downed Utah to end a three-game losing streak.
Howard also won the battle of the boards against Carlos Boozer, who is right behind the Magic star in the league rebounding statistics. Both are among the NBA's top four -- Howard third with 12 per game, Boozer tied for fourth with Charlotte's Emeka Okafor averaging 11.7.
Bobcats 111, Kings 108
At Charlotte, North Carolina, Sean May had 20 points and 12 rebounds, and hit the go-ahead 3-pointer with 16 seconds left to lead Charlotte over Los Angeles.
May, who had been 0-of-6 on threes in his two-year career, hit both of his 3-point attempts. Matt Carroll added 22 points and Raymond Felton scored 16 points, including two free throws with 9 seconds left to put Charlotte ahead by three.
Kevin Martin scored 26 points for the Kings. Ron Artest added 21 points, but was called for a charge with 10 seconds left and the Kings trailing by one.
Celtics 109, Hawks 88
At Boston, Al Jefferson had 23 points to lift Boston over Atlanta for its fifth victory in its past seven home games.
Atlanta lost its first game without leading scorer Joe Johnson after winning four straight. The Hawks have also dropped seven straight on the road.
Rockets 109, Clippers 105
At Houston, Luther Head hit a 3-pointer with 12.2 seconds left and Yao Ming (
Elton Brand scored a season-high 37 points and drove for a dunk with 1:01 left that put the Clippers up 105-104. Yao was whistled for an offensive foul barreling down the lane, but Brand missed a shot from the wing to give Houston another chance. Tracy McGrady, who led the Rockets with 21, drew the defense to him and found Head wide open in the corner for the go-ahead three-pointer.
Pistons 87, Trail Blazers 75
At Portland, Oregon, Richard Hamilton scored 21 points and Detroit fended off a second-half challenge to beat Portland.
Bologna on Thursday advanced past Empoli to reach their first Coppa Italia final in more than half a century. Thijs Dallinga’s 87th-minute header earned Bologna a 2-1 win and his side advanced 5-1 on aggregate. Giovanni Fabbian opened the scoring for Bologna with a header seven minutes in. Then Viktor Kovalenko equalized for Empoli in the 30th minute by turning in a rebound to finish off a counterattack. Bologna won the first leg 3-0. In the May 14 final in Rome, Bologna are to face AC Milan, who eliminated city rivals Inter 4-1 on aggregate following a 3-0 win on Wednesday. Bologna last reached the
If the Wild finally break through and win their first playoff series in a decade, Minnesota’s top line likely will be the reason. They were all over the Golden Knights through the first two games of their NHL Western Conference quarter-finals series, which was 1-1 going back to Minnesota for Game 3 today. The Wild tied the series with a 5-2 win on Tuesday. Matt Boldy had three goals and an assist in the first two games, while Kirill Kaprizov produced two goals and three assists. Joel Eriksson Ek, who centers the line, has yet to get on the scoresheet. “I think the biggest
The Minnesota Timberwolves, with so many promising performances spoiled by late mistakes fresh in their memory bank, sure timed this strong finish well. Jaden McDaniels scored a career playoff-high 30 points and spearheaded Minnesota’s stifling defense on an ailing Luka Doncic, and the Timberwolves beat the Los Angeles Lakers 116-104 to take a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven Western Conference first-round series in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on Friday night. “Jaden never looks tired. He looks like he could play 48 minutes,” said teammate Anthony Edwards, who had 29 points, eight rebounds and eight assists. Julius Randle added 22 points for the Wolves, who outscored
From a commemorative jersey to a stadium in his name, Argentine soccer organizers are planning a slew of tributes to their late “Captain” Pope Francis, eulogized as the ultimate team player. Tributes to the Argentine pontiff, a lifelong lover of the game, who died on Monday at the age of 88, have been peppered with soccer metaphors in his homeland. “Francisco. What a player,” the Argentine Football Federation (AFA) said, describing the first pope from Latin America and the southern hemisphere as a generational talent who “never hogged the ball” and who showed the world “the importance of having an Argentine captain,
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