Boris Diaw had 20 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists in one of the best playoff performances of his National Basketball Association career, as the Phoenix Suns stayed alive with a 105-86 rout of the San Antonio Spurs on Sunday.
Raja Bell scored 21 of his 27 points in a dominant first half to help Phoenix bring a one-sided end to the defending NBA champions’ nine-game playoff winning streak. The Suns were 11-0 in the regular season when Bell scored at least 20.
Phoenix still trails the first-round series 3-1, with Game 5 tonight in San Antonio. No NBA team has come back from 0-3 to win a series.
PHOTO :AFP
Tony Parker led San Antonio with 18 points and Manu Ginobili scored 10.
Hornets 97, Mavericks 84
In Dallas, David West let out his pent-up frustration over a poor Game 3 with a determined effort in Game 4, scoring 10 of his 24 points in a quick stretch early in the second half to help New Orleans pull away and take a 3-1 lead in the first-round series over Dallas.
The Hornets hadn’t won in Dallas over 14 tries since January 1998. This victory means they might not have to come back until next season. They can eliminate the Mavericks by winning Game 5 tonight in New Orleans.
Dirk Nowitzki had 22 points and 13 rebounds and Jason Terry scored 20 points, but they didn’t get much help. Josh Howard was three-for-16 and Jason Kidd had only three points, three assists and four rebounds before getting ejected with 7 minutes, 16 seconds left for a flagrant foul on Jannero Pargo. Thousands of fans bailed out soon after, then a guy down the row from team owner Mark Cuban got tossed, too.
Cavaliers 100, Wizards 97
In Washington, LeBron James had 34 points and 12 rebounds, and passed to Delonte West for a tiebreaking three-pointer with 5.4 seconds left on Sunday, helping Cleveland beat Washington to take a 3-1 lead in their Eastern Conference series.
Cleveland led by 15 in the third quarter, but Gilbert Arenas led Washington’s rally.
He made two free throws with 57 seconds left to get Washington within two points, and after James missed a jumper, Arenas’ 8-foot fadeaway with 28 seconds remaining tied the game 97-97. James dribbled out the clock before finding West, whose career playoff-high 21 points included five of Cleveland’s 13 three-pointers.
The series moves to Cleveland tomorrow for Game 5 in the best-of-seven series.
Pistons 93, 76ers 84
In Philadelphia, Tayshaun Prince scored 23 points and made all but one shot from the field, and Detroit played with a purpose and dominated the second half to even the best-of-seven Eastern Conference playoff series at 2-2.
The Pistons erased a 14-point, first-half deficit against the upstart 76ers and will host Game 5 tonight.
Rasheed Wallace finished with 20 points and 10 rebounds, and Richard Hamilton bounced back from a 1-for-10 first half to finish with 18 points. Chauncey Billups also scored 18 points.
Andre Iguodala missed 10 of his final 11 shots and scored 12 points. Samuel Dalembert had 12 points and 12 rebounds for the Sixers, while Andre Miller and Willie Green each scored 13 points.
Boston Red Sox pitcher Connelly Early on Tuesday struck out 11 in five shutout innings to match a franchise record during his MLB debut against the Oakland Athletics. “Pretty sick performance,” teammate Romy Gonzalez said. “It was fun to watch.” The only other Red Sox starter to rack up 11 strikeouts in his first career game was Don Aase versus the Milwaukee Brewers on July 26, 1977. “It was amazing, just to go out there and have that first opportunity,” Early said after getting the win in a 6-0 victory. “A long day of travel yesterday and just getting to the field, seeing
‘DEVASTATED’: Argentina’s win was a reversal of their 28-24 defeat last week, with Australian forward Fraser McReight adding that ‘we did the same thing last week’ Argentina flyhalf Santiago Carreras punished an undisciplined Australia with 23 points off the tee as the Pumas held on grimly for a 28-26 win in Sydney yesterday to breathe new life into their Rugby Championship campaign. A try-fest beckoned in afternoon sunshine at Sydney Football Stadium, but Argentina needed only one through captain Julian Montoya, with Carreras doing the damage with seven penalties and a conversion in front of a sell-out crowd. A week after letting a 14-point lead slip in a 28-24 defeat to Australia in Townsville, Argentina saw most of a 21-point advantage erased in the final quarter as the
ELEVEN STRIKEOUTS: Blake Snell allowed two singles and two walks against the Rockies as he ended a personal three-game skid with his first win since Aug. 16 Blake Snell on Wednesday struck out a season-high 11 in six innings, while Mookie Betts hit a grand slam in the eighth as the Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the Colorado Rockies 9-0 for their fourth straight win. Helped by their third series sweep of the Rockies this MLB season, the Dodgers increased their National League West lead to three games over the San Diego Padres, who lost 2-1 at home to the Cincinnati Reds. Betts went four for five with five RBIs, capped by his seventh career slam on a 3-0 pitch from reliever Anthony Molina to make it 8-0. Andy Pages and
Captain Vijay Kumar led the way yesterday as the Hsinchu Titans claimed the Taiwan Premier League title at the Yingfeng Cricket Ground in Taipei’s Songshan District (松山), beating PCCT by 27 runs. The weather was a topic again, but not the rain that played a role in previous matches in the often-delayed tournament. Kumar, who made 80 not out from 63 deliveries, and teammate Vishwajit Kumar (58 from 43) rescued the Titans from a precarious state at the end of the power play in the T20 match. The visitors were put in to bat and struggled to 26-3 as PCCT
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