The Detroit Pistons made 10 3-pointers in the first half -- one shy of an NBA playoff record -- to open up a 21-point lead at halftime before cruising to a 113-86 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Sunday in Game 1 of their second-round series.
LeBron James scored all of his 22 points in the first half, but had to work for each one. Defended by three players at times, James was forced to take tough shots or defer to teammates who didn't respond by making shots of their own.
The 21-year-old star didn't play in the fourth quarter after he was held scoreless in the third. Tayshaun Prince made James work on defense, too, scoring 16 of his 24 points in the first half.
PHOTO: EPA
The two-time defending Eastern Conference champions turned the game into a rout with a franchise playoff-record 43 points in the second quarter against a team in the second round for the first time since 1993.
Spurs 87, Mavericks 85
In San Antonio, Tim Duncan scored 20 of his 31 points in the first half to boost his worn-out teammates and Bruce Bowen topped his stifling defense on Dirk Nowitzki by hitting the game-winning 3-pointer with 2:15 left.
The Spurs were playing just 36 hours after closing out their first-round series in Sacramento, while the Mavs had been off since May 1.
Dallas tied it at 84 on a free throw by Josh Howard, but managed only one free throw the rest of the way. The Mavericks' final possession was ruined by Bowen forcing Nowitzki to pass it to Jerry Stackhouse in the left corner. Tight defense by Manu Ginobili, who nearly stole the pass, resulted in Stackhouse stepping back for a 3-point try that came up way short.
Duncan made 12 of 24 shots, getting all three of Dallas' centers in early foul trouble, and grabbed 13 rebounds. Tony Parker scored 19 points and Ginobili added 15.
Nowitzki was 8-of-20 -- and only 1-of-4 in the fourth quarter. Stackhouse led the Mavericks with 24 points.
Steve Nash won the National Basketball Association's Most Valuable Player award for the second straight year Sunday, beating runner-up LeBron James by a comfortable margin.
The award was presented Sunday at a news conference at US Airways Center, where Phoenix won Game 7 of its first-round series against the Los Angeles Lakers on Saturday night.
"I have to pinch myself," the South African native said. "I can't believe that I'm standing here today. I couldn't believe it last year, and to do it again is even more difficult to understand -- but I'm not going to give it back."
The Phoenix Suns point guard received 57 first-place votes and 924 points overall from a panel of 125 sports writers and broadcasters in the US and Canada.
James of Cleveland had 16 first-place votes and 688 points overall. Nash's close friend Dirk Nowitzki of Dallas was third with 14 first-place ballots and 544 overall. Kobe Bryant of the Lakers had the second-most votes for first place (22), but was fourth overall with 483 points.
"Steve is not just a great player," Suns chairman Jerry Colangelo. "He's one of the few players who I believe have ever played who makes everyone better around him. There are very few players who have the ability to directly control the flow of the game, and he does it as well as anyone ever has."
The 32-year-old Canadian is the ninth player to win consecutive MVP awards and 11th to win it more than once.
"Steve's a leader," Suns owner Robert Sarver said. "He's the face of our team, he's the face of the organization. He's a role model for a lot of people, including me, who look up to him for his ability to constantly motivate the people around him with positive encouragement, even in the face of adversity and when things aren't going well."
Nash praised his teammates and coaching staff for ``a perfect environment for me to succeed and for our team to succeed, and for me to stand here today.''
Last season, he directed the Suns to an NBA-best 62 victories. This year, the Suns lost Amare Stoudemire to injury and traded Joe Johnson and Quentin Richardson. Yet they still won 54 games and a second straight Pacific Division title.
This season, Nash had career highs in scoring (18.8 points), rebounding (4.2), field goal percentage (.512) and free throw percentage (a league-leading .921). He led the league in assists at 10.5 a game and finished sixth in 3-point percentage at 43.9.
"There was no way he had a better year than last year," Suns coach Mike D'Antoni said. "He just had another phenomenal year."
DEFENSE
Detroit center Ben Wallace won the NBA's Defensive Player of the Year award for the fourth time in five years, a person within the Pistons organization told AP Sunday.
The source, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the award has not been announced, said Wallace will be presented with the award tonight before Game 2 of the second-round series against the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Wallace joins Dikembe Mutombo as the only four-time Defensive Player of the Year in league history. He also won the award last year in 2003 and 2002.
Detroit won an NBA-high and franchise-record 64 games during the regular season, helped by the work Wallace did while being honored as an All-Star for the fourth straight year.
Wallace ranked fourth in the NBA in rebounding (11.3), ninth in blocks (2.2) and 10th in steals (1.78) -- the only player among the top 10 in all three categories -- and led one of the NBA's top teams at the defensive end of the court.
He became the fifth player in league history to have 100 blocks and 100 steals in six straight seasons, a list that includes Hakeem Olajuwon, Julius Erving, Sam Lacey and David Robinson.
Wallace has made the Pistons one of the NBA's best teams in recent years.
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