Taiwan's Super Basketball League action resumed after a three-week break to accommodate the University Basketball Association playoffs, with the Videoland Hunters defeating YMY 71-65 at the Taipei Physical Education College Gymnasium Friday night.
Despite a dismal 2-for-22 shooting from behind the three-point arc, the Hunters managed to keep their postseason hopes alive with an attack led by power forward Lee Chi-yi's 5-for-7 shooting inside the paint and center Lai Guo-hong's 7-for-12 night, also from close range.
The game began with both clubs appearing a bit rusty in a low-scoring first quarter that had the Hunters holding on to a 18-17 lead.
PHOTO COURTESY OF THE SBL
Poor shooting by YMY, in addition to a series of unforced turnovers on their part in a dreadful, eight-point second quarter helped the Hunters build a 37-25 lead to end the first half.
Ten straight points by veteran guard Luo "The Natural" Hsin-liang at the start of the third quarter brought YMY to within one of the Hunters (42-41), before a strong Videoland rally, highlighted by Lai's buzzer-beating deuce, made it 49-44 in favor of the Hunters.
YMY took a brief one-point lead with six points in a row to start the fourth quarter, but a Lee-led attack produced a 12-2 run for the Hunters, sending YMY to its 24th consecutive loss.
PHOTO: EPA
Three different Hunters players scored in the double digits. Lee had 20 and Lai and guard Yang Tseh-yi each had 15 points.
Two YMY players scored in double-digits -- Luo, with his game-high 23, and forward Wang Chuan-jien with 15 points.
Dinos 85, Taiwan Beer 68
The Yulon Dinos secured a first-seed berth in the postseason after dominating Taiwan Beer 85-68 in Game 2 on Friday.
A near-eight minute scoring drought by the brew crew led to a commanding 25-6 lead for the Dinos by the end of the opening quarter.
It took five big three-pointers in a 25-point second quarter against a steady Dinos attack (19 points in the quarter) to close out the first half with some respect for Taiwan Beer, who trailed 44-31.
The second half had Taiwan Beer off to a good start, which got them to within 10 points of the defending champs. But the Dinos pulled away toward the end of the third quarter with a 14-4 run.
Two Dinos players ended with double-double efforts. All-Star center Tseng Wen-ding had a game-high 14 points, along with with 10 rebounds, and second-year forward Liu Sheng-yao had 11 points and also 10 rebounds.
Brewer star Lin "The Beast" Chih-jeh was unusually flat for the night with 13 points in 5-for-20 shooting -- well below his season average of 24-plus points per game prior to Friday's contest.
NBA
Dirk Nowitzki scored 30 points to lead the Dallas Mavericks to a 92-86 victory over the San Antonio Spurs in a showdown of the top two teams in the Western Conference on Friday night.
The Mavericks (57-19) cut the Spurs' lead to one game in the Southwest Division with both teams having six games left to play.
At stake is the top seed in the Western Conference, with the team that finishes second getting the No. 4 seed. The Mavericks and Spurs split the season series, which is the first tiebreaker. Dallas has a half-game lead in the second tiebreaker, which is won-loss record in the Southwest Division.
Josh Howard scored 20 of his 22 points in the first half for the Mavericks.
Manu Ginobili led San Antonio (58-18) with 22 points.
The Mavericks limited Tim Duncan to 13 points on 5-for-15 shooting in 38 minutes. Tony Parker, the Spurs leading scorer this season, had 10 points and three assists in 31 minutes.
Celtics 109, 76ers 99
At Philadelphia, Paul Pierce had 33 points and 12 rebounds, and Gerald Green scored a career-high 17 points for Boston.
The Sixers lost their third straight game this week and wasted a fantastic opportunity to gain ground in the Eastern Conference. They lost by 33 at Cleveland, by seven points against Chicago in a game that knocked them out of the final playoff spot and squandered this one against the Celtics.
While Philadelphia (34-41) has shown little reason to believe it can turn its season around down the stretch, it still has a chance to move back into a tie for the eighth spot with a win at Chicago on Saturday night.
Allen Iverson scored 37 points for the Sixers, who have lost 13 of their last 17 games overall and a distressing seven of nine at home.
Magic 89, Pistons 87
At Orlando, Florida, Jameer Nelson hit two last-minute shots, the second a fadeaway jumper with 6.5 seconds left, and Hedo Turkoglu had 26 points and seven rebounds to help Orlando beat Detroit.
Trailing by two with 3 seconds remaining, Detroit's Tony Delk missed two free throws. Antonio McDyess corralled the rebound and put up a 12-foot airball, which Dwight Howard grabbed as time expired.
The win was the Magic's ninth straight at home and snapped the Pistons' six-game winning streak.
Howard had 12 points and 10 rebounds and Tony Battie had 11 points for Orlando.
Chauncey Billups led Detroit with 25 points and eight assists, while Delk scored 18 and Tayshaun Prince chipped in 15.
Hawks 114, Wizards 101
At Atlanta, Josh Smith scored 25 points and hit a key late 3-pointer to help the Hawks end an eight-game losing streak against the Wizards.
Gilbert Arenas scored 41 points and Antawn Jamison added 24 for the Wizards, who couldn't match the Hawks' superior balance. Backup center Brendan Haywood scored 11 points and was Washington's only other scorer in double figures.
Joe Johnson scored 11 of his 20 points in the fourth quarter for the Hawks, who had seven players score in double figures.
Jazz 103, Timberwolves 95
At Minneapolis, Carlos Boozer had 30 points and nine rebounds and Mehmet Okur had 19 points and 13 boards to lead the Jazz over the Timberwolves.
Thanks to Timberwolves coach Dwane Casey's pledge to play his younger players more down the stretch of another lost season, the Jazz had it relatively easy in the fourth quarter.
Leading by three points to start the period, the Jazz slowly increased their lead to nine as Timberwolves star Kevin Garnett watched from the bench.
With fans chanting, ``We Want KG!'' as Utah built its lead in the fourth, Garnett sat on the bench quietly, staring blankly ahead.
Garnett, who finished with 14 points and 13 rebounds in 24 minutes, sat the entire second and fourth quarters.
Knicks 98, Pacers 96
At New York, Jamal Crawford hit his second game-winning basket in three nights, making a jumper with 0.5 seconds left to lift the Knicks over Indiana.
Though the Knicks (21-54) don't win often, Crawford is developing a reputation as a clutch player. All of New York's last three victories have come with him hitting the go-ahead basket in the closing seconds, including Wednesday's 96-94 victory over Cleveland.
Crawford finished with 23 points and Nate Robinson had 16 for the Knicks, who broke open the game midway through the final quarter, but needed more heroics from Crawford after the Pacers fought back with their 3-point shooting.
Peja Stojakovic scored 32 points and Jermaine O'Neal added 25 for the Pacers, who have lost seven straight road games.
Hornets 95, Raptors 89
At Oklahoma City, David West scored 19 points and Chris Paul added 16, including a jumper in the final minute, to help New Orleans beat Toronto.
New Orleans led the entire game but couldn't put the Raptors away until a 12-2 run midway through the fourth quarter.
Mike James finished with 36 points -- two short of his career high -- on 7-for-10 shooting from 3-point range for the Raptors.
Grizzlies 100, Bucks 90
At Memphis, Tennessee, Pau Gasol had 33 points and 14 rebounds and Chucky Atkins made two key 3-pointers in the fourth quarter for Memphis.
Gasol, held to one point in the third quarter, scored six points in the final 3 minutes to help the Grizzlies sweep their three-game homestand and move closer to clinching the franchise's third straight playoff berth.
Michael Redd led Milwaukee with 25 points. The Bucks have lost six straight on the road since a March 20 victory in Portland.
SuperSonics 121, Trail Blazers 108
At Portland, Oregon, Ray Allen scored 38 points and moved into second place on the career 3-pointers list.
Juan Dixon matched his season high with 28 points and Theo Ratliff added 14 points and nine rebounds for the Blazers, who couldn't avenge a 122-83 loss to the Sonics on Sunday in Seattle.
Chris Wilcox had 20 points, 10 rebounds and six assists for Seattle, which has won three games in a row for the first time since Dec. 4.
Allen moved past former Sonic Dale Ellis on the 3-point list, hitting the 1,720th of his career in the second quarter. A 10-year veteran, Allen is still more than 800 3's short of all-time leader Reggie Miller.
Suns 107, Lakers 96
At Phoenix, Kobe Bryant's arena record 51 points weren't enough to keep Phoenix from beating the Los Angeles Lakers for the seventh time in a row.
Steve Nash had 25 points and eight assists but was on the bench when the Suns pulled away with an 18-4 run to start the fourth quarter after Los Angeles had closed to within one.
Bryant, who made 19-of-33 shots, broke the U.S. Airways Center record of 50 held by Amare Stoudemire and Cliff Robinson. The former America West Arena opened in 1992.
Only two players have scored more against the Suns -- Wilt Chamberlain with 66 for the Lakers on Feb. 9, 1969, and Michael Jordan with 53 for Chicago on Jan. 21, 1989.
Kings 96, Clippers 93
At Los Angeles, Mike Bibby scored 30 points, Ron Artest scored 14 of his 23 points in the fourth quarter to offset Sam Cassell's late scoring spree, and Sacramento prevented the Los Angeles Clippers from clinching their first playoff berth in nine years.
Sacramento swept the Clippers for the third straight season, beating them for the 13th consecutive time and 18th time in 19 meetings. They have won the last seven times they've faced each other in Los Angeles. The Clippers haven't beaten the Kings since Jan. 18, 2003.
Cuttino Mobley led the Clippers with 19 points.
Rockets 100, Warriors 93
At Oakland, California, Yao Ming had 30 points and 14 rebounds for the Houston Rockets, who beat Golden State 100-93 to snap a three-game road losing streak.
Yao has scored 60 points and grabbed 30 rebounds combined in his two appearances in the Bay Area.
"I didn't do anything," Yao said. "I just did what I'm supposed to do. In the third quarter our patience wasn't good enough. If we don't play with patience we're not leaving here with a victory.''
Luther Head added 26 points, two off his career high, and eight rebounds for the Rockets. Even with the victory, the Rockets were still eliminated from playoff contention when the Sacramento Kings beat the Los Angeles Clippers.
Head, Juwan Howard and Yao combined for all 25 points in the first quarter to give the Rockets a 25-19 lead.
J.R. Richardson scored 29 points for the Warriors, who lost their seventh straight.
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