Defending NBA champion San Antonio ousted Phoenix and New Orleans dumped Dallas on Tuesday to book a second-round playoff showdown against each other.
But the Utah Jazz could not join the Spurs and Hornets in advancing as the Houston Rockets kept their title hopes alive with a 95-69 triumph as the focus became clear in the Western Conference playoff chase.
Frenchman Tony Parker scored 31 points and Tim Duncan added 29 points and 17 rebounds to power San Antonio past Phoenix 92-87, giving the Spurs a four to one triumph in their best-of-seven first-round playoff series.
PHOTO: AFP
The Spurs scored seven of the last nine points to break a deadlock at 85 and book a date with the Hornets, who used a supreme performance by Chris Paul to defeat Dallas 99-94 to capture that series four to one.
“The whole series I was trying to be aggressive, get to the basket,” Parker said. “Now it’s New Orleans. They are very good. It’s going to be a great challenge for me to play against Chris Paul.”
The Hornets and Spurs split four regular-season meetings, but each managed to dominate an opponent that made a major mid-season trade, the Suns landing star center Shaquille O’Neal and the Mavericks obtaining guard Jason Kidd.
“We weren’t overconfident but we have a different mentality,” Paul said. “We expect to win. We expect a lot from ourselves. We’re trying to set a new standard.”
The Spurs closed the first half with an 18-6 run for 54-45 half-time lead, but Phoenix closed the third quarter on a 20-9 run to seize a 72-69 lead.
The Suns fell apart when it mattered most, however, hitting only 5-of-15 shots in the final period while making seven of their 14 turnovers in the last quarter. Phoenix missed 17 free throws, 13 of them in the first half.
“We were struggling. We had a bad third quarter,” Parker said. “In the fourth quarter, we played like it was a game seven.”
France’s Boris Diaw led Phoenix with 22 points while Amare Stoudemire added 15 points and 11 rebounds.
Canadian Steve Nash hit a 3-pointer to equalize at 85, but Nash made three key late turnovers and Diaw gave away another. Parker took advantage for a key jumper for an 88-85 Spurs lead and the others set up three Ginobili free throws and two more by Duncan that sealed the triumph.
“We didn’t play too well,” Nash said. “We should have slowed it down. I take responsibility for that. I made a couple key turnovers that cost us.
“On paper we have more talent than they do but their commitment and understanding of what they do is what made them better. They make the little plays that make them better. That’s why they are the champions.”
At New Orleans, Paul scored 24 points, passed out 15 assists and grabbed 11 rebounds for his first career playoff “Triple Double” to spark the Hornets to their first playoff series victory since moving from Charlotte.
“It feels great to know we are out of the first round,” Paul said. “We showed a lot of poise at the end. We let them back in the game but we pulled it out. We’re always going to fight.
“We stick together as a team. That’s what makes this really special.”
Tracy McGrady scored 29 points to lead Houston past Utah, trimming the Jazz lead to 3-2 in that series with game six Friday at Salt Lake City. The series winner will face the Los Angeles Lakers in the second round.
“It feels good. Our backs were against the wall. If we lose our season is over,” McGrady said. “This was like a game seven.”
Luis Scola added 18 points and 12 rebounds for Houston, which also got 14 points from Rafer Alston. Carlos Boozer led Utah with 19 points.
At New Orleans, David West scored a game-high 25 points for the Hornets, who also had 10 points and 14 rebounds from Tyson Chandler and 17 points from Jannero Pargo.
Paul ignited a 22-7 Hornets run to end the first half that gave New Orleans a 54-39 lead at half-time, but the Mavericks sliced the deficit to 71-63 after three quarters and 73-66 early in the fourth.
That’s when the Hornets erupted for an 11-1 run for an 84-67 edge, but the Mavericks rallied, Brandon Bass hitting two free throws with 33 seconds remaining to pull Dallas within 97-94 before Peja Stojakovic hit two free throws with 5.2 seconds remaining to seal the victory.
The Mavericks were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs for the second year in a row, although being ousted this year as a seventh seed was less humbling than last year when they had the NBA’s top regular-season record.
■EASTERN CONFERENCE
AFP, AUBURN HILLS, MICHIGAN
Chauncey Billups scored 21 points and Richard Hamilton added 20 Tuesday to lead the Detroit Pistons past Philadelphia 98-81 in the NBA playoffs.
Billups also contributed 12 assists for the second-seeded Pistons, who took a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven Eastern Conference first-round playoff series.
The Pistons, who trailed 2-1 in the series, can advance to a second-round matchup against Orlando with a victory today in Philadelphia. The 76ers must win at home to force a seventh game back here on Saturday.
“You definitely want a repeat performance,” Billups said. “Elimination games are always the hardest to win because that other team who is facing elimination is going to be fighting, scratching and clawing.
“It’s going to be a good challenge for us.”
Rasheed Wallace had 19 points and six blocks for the Pistons while Tayshaun Prince added 17 points and Jason Maxiell grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds.
“We did what we were supposed to do. We won at home,” Pistons coach Flip Saunders said. “When we got the ball to our people, we shot the ball well and played good offensive basketball. We got back to playing a little bit grittier defensively and offensively we started moving the ball.”
Andre Iguodala scored 21 points on 8-of-13 shooting for the 76ers while Louis Williams came off the bench to score 16 points for seventh seed Philadelphia.
“The series is not over until someone gets four wins,” 76ers coach Maurice Cheeks said. “We’ve got to play a little better, obviously. We have to play a little better on the defensive end - can’t turn the ball over as much.”
The Pistons hit 43-of-74 shots from the field and forced 18 turnovers. Billups played tough defense on 76ers guard Andre Miller in addition to his offensive contributions.
Shohei Ohtani and his wife arrived in South Korea with his Los Angeles Dodgers teammates yesterday ahead of their season-opening games with the San Diego Padres next week. Ohtani, wearing a black training suit and a cap backwards, was the first Dodgers player who showed up at the arrival gate of Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul. His wife, Mamiko Tanaka, walked several steps behind him. As a crowd of fans, many wearing Dodgers jerseys, shouted his name and cheered slogans, Ohtani briefly waved his hand, but did not say anything before he entered a limousine bus with his wife. Fans held placards
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