Suns need to kick-start offense

Sporting a small wound over his right eye, Phoenix point guard Steve Nash was backed up against a wall as he met with reporters after practice Monday.

That's where Nash's Suns will find themselves if they don't play better in Game 4 of the Western Conference finals Tuesday night. They're feeling bruised, but not beaten, after a 95-88 Game 3 loss to Dallas on Sunday left them trailing 2-1.

Afterward Nash, who got cut early in the game, said the Suns needed to show more fight. On Monday, Nash said he wasn't trying to send a message through the media because he had told his teammates the same thing.

Sportsbook

"I think at times we've been a little too passive," Nash said.

The Suns have to change that quickly or they will be eliminated one step short of the NBA Finals for the second consecutive season.

"It's a must-win-game situation Tuesday night," Phoenix coach Mike D'Antoni said. "We win that, it's a two-out-of-three series. Obviously they have home court, but we've shown that we can win there."

Nash said one reason for the Suns' struggles is the absence of guard Raja Bell, who has missed the last two games with a strained left calf. Bell is not expected to play in Game 4.

Bell scored only eight points in Phoenix's 121-118 Game 1 victory at Dallas. But he brings a fire that the Suns have lacked in the last two games. It was Bell who floored Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant in Game 5 of the opening round, drawing a flagrant foul and a one-game suspension. The Suns won that game and the next two to rally from a 3-1 deficit.

Bell said he agreed with Nash's assessment that the Suns had their shoulders slumped in the second half Sunday night, when they scored only 36 points.

"I did see it a little bit, and I don't know what to attribute that to," Bell said. "I think we have to find that (energy) from whoever's suited up."

Phoenix seemed to slump after an altercation late in the first half between the Mavericks' Jason Terry and the Suns' Tim Thomas. Thomas had drawn a flagrant foul from Josh Howard, who hit Thomas in the face as the Phoenix forward drove to the basket. As Thomas headed to the foul line, he walked through a group of Mavs, and he and Terry exchanged shoves. Both players were assessed technicals.

"It's just a situation where we're standing together and he walks right through us," said Terry, who had been suspended for one game for throwing a punch in the second round against San Antonio. "Hey, stuff happens in a game. It's the Western Conference finals and guys are going to do whatever it takes.

"That was just a situation where it was kind of edgy," Terry said. "The momentum was shifting either way. They benefited from it more than we did."

Internet Sportsbook

Actually, the altercation sparked the Mavs. They trailed by 10 points after Thomas made his free throws but pulled to 52-47 at the half. Including a 12-2 burst at the start of the third quarter, Dallas outscored the Suns 17-2 after the technicals were assessed.

In each of the series' first three games, the Mavs have trailed at halftime but rallied to lead in the fourth quarter. In Game 1 they let the Suns come back to win, but in the last two games the Mavs have outscored Phoenix by a combined 106-82 after intermission.

That gap indicates that the Mavericks are adjusting to the Suns' up-tempo style, and that the Suns have been unable to cope.

Phoenix had only 13 assists in Game 3 after averaging 23.5 the first two games. The Suns did not record a steal Sunday night, which was a big reason why they managed only four fast-break points (Dallas had 14).

When the Suns don't run, the Suns are done. The Mavericks sense that, which is why they've committed to hustling back on defense.

"We still had some malfunctions, and they just didn't make some of their shots," Dallas coach Avery Johnson said. "Sometimes stats are a little bit misleading. We think, compared to Game 1, which was pretty bad, our transition defense has improved, but it wasn't flawless."

Internet Sports Betting

Throughout their 54-win season and the first two rounds of the playoffs, the Suns have maintained that they don't worry about their opponents' strategy, and that they can dictate the pace whenever they want.

They still believe that, even though the Mavericks have proved them wrong in the last two games.

"We're not working the ball," Nash said. "We're kind of just falling asleep at the wheel. We're not playing our style."

Dirk powers Mavs to 2-1 series lead

As Dallas prepared for Game 3 of the Western Conference finals, Mavericks coach Avery Johnson urged his team to play with the same desperation it showed in a Game 2 victory.

The Mavericks did just that, and now they're two victories away from the first NBA Finals appearance in franchise history.

Sparked by a first-half shoving match between Dallas guard Jason Terry and Phoenix forward Tim Thomas, the Mavericks defeated Phoenix 95-88 to take a 2-1 lead Sunday night.

Sportsbook

Dirk Nowitzki had 28 points and 17 rebounds for the Mavs, who overcame an 11-point first-half deficit and regained home-court advantage they lost in the series opener. Josh Howard added 22 points and 12 rebounds for the Mavericks.

"We tried to hang in there," Johnson said. "We just battled for 48 minutes. The game is never over against the Suns.

"Teams are so evenly matched at this time of year," he said. "It comes down to will. This team is very resilient."

Game 4 is Tuesday night in Phoenix.

Phoenix's 88 points are playoff low for the highest-scoring team in the playoffs. The Suns hadn't lost consecutive games since they dropped three in a row to the Los Angeles Lakers in the first round. They dropped their second straight game without Raja Bell, who is out with a strained left calf, and dropped to 1-5 with Bell out in the regular season and playoffs.

"We kept battling, but we just didn't get the thing done," Phoenix coach Mike D'Antoni said. "We didn't play real smart."

Steve Nash had 21 points and seven assists for the Suns and Boris Diaw added 20 points.

Tempers flared late in the first half, when Howard was called for a flagrant foul for hitting Thomas in the face as the Phoenix forward drove to the basket. As Thomas walked to the foul line, he and Terry exchanged shoves, and both players were assessed technicals.

Internet Sportsbook

Terry had been suspended for one game for throwing a punch in the second round against San Antonio.

Thomas made both free throws to give Phoenix a 52-42 lead with 2:05 left in the half.

After the scuffle, the Mavericks scored the last five points of the quarter to cut it to 52-47 at halftime.

Dallas kept rolling after intermission, outscoring the Suns 10-2 to take a 57-54 lead.

The Mavericks outscored the Suns 15-2 in a seven-minute stretch after the technicals were called. A three-pointer by Nash ended the spurt, but Phoenix managed only 16 points in the third quarter, a series low.

"We really resorted to a lot of one-on-one play," D'Antoni said.

Dallas took a 72-68 lead into the fourth quarter and appeared ready to reclaim home-court advantage. But the Suns tied it at 72 on a jumper by Diaw and Shawn Marion's dunk on a missed lay-up by Leandro Barbosa.

Internet Sports Betting

The Mavericks answered with an 11-2 run, capped by Keith Van Horn's three-point play to take an 83-74 lead with 6:12 left.

With Dallas leading 90-84 and less than two minutes to play, Nowitzki appeared to miss the rim as the shot clock expired. The Mavericks grabbed the rebound and were allowed to keep possession even as the Suns' bench exploded in protest.

Terry's 12-footer in the lane put the Mavericks up 92-84 with 33 seconds to go.

Pistons win Game 2, pull even with Heat

The Detroit Pistons got off to a great start, had a double-digit lead with less than a minute left and barely hung on.

Dwyane Wade and Shaquille O'Neal were spectacular for the Miami Heat.

Ultimately, however, all that matters is that the Eastern Conference finals are even.

Sportsbook

Tayshaun Prince tied a career playoff high with 24 points and had 11 rebounds, Richard Hamilton scored 22 points, and Detroit bounced back - as usual - and beat Miami 92-88 Thursday night in Game 2.

"They came in here and won a game, now it's our turn to go down there and do the same thing," Detroit point guard Chauncey Billups said.

Game 3 is Saturday night in Miami.

The Heat almost took a stunning and commanding 2-0 lead with a frantic rally - scoring 17 points in the final 1:46 after trailing by 12.

"I'm going to go to that offense in the beginning of the night," Miami coach Pat Riley joked.

Wade had 32 points, seven rebounds and five assists, while O'Neal was dominant with 21 points, 12 rebounds and four blocks.

"I've got a busted lip and a black eye," Detroit center Ben Wallace said after defending O'Neal for much of the night. "But you do what you have to do."

O'Neal wants to inflict more damage.

"I think we need to focus on getting it inside," O'Neal said. "We took way too many jump shots."

Detroit, which led by as much as 14 points in the first half, went ahead 57-39 early in the second half on Hamilton's layup after Billups scored his first points on a 3-pointer and a layup.

A 10-2 run pulled Miami within six points midway through the fourth quarter. Rasheed Wallace's 3-pointer gave the Pistons an 81-71 lead with 2:41 left.

While thousands of fans headed home, Miami wasn't ready to concede even though it trailed 85-75 with just under a minute to go.

Wade's 3-pointer with 9.8 seconds left made it 90-88 after Prince was called for a 5-second violation on an inbounds pass, though the lanky forward said he called timeout.

"We were desperate - we should've played that way from the start," Wade said.

The Pistons sealed the victory when Billups connected on two free throws and Lindsey Hunter made a steal.

"When you start playing not to lose, you don't play aggressive," Pistons coach Flip Saunders said. "You wait for the clock to keep rolling."

The Heat had won four straight road games and five in a row overall.

Billups had 18 points and eight assists, Rasheed Wallace scored 16 and Ben Wallace added nine points and 12 rebounds.

"When we play that way as a team, we're tough to beat," Ben Wallace said.

Internet Sportsbook

Miami beat Detroit 91-86 in Game 1 and snatched home-court advantage away from the top-seeded team in the NBA playoffs. The Heat's new-look surrounding cast came through in that win - while its superstars were in foul trouble - with Antoine Walker, Gary Payton and Jason Williams combining for 41 points.

In Game 2, that trio contributed just 25 points.

"You have to have four or five guys play well," Riley said.

Miami led 11-0 in the series opener in its first game in a week, while Detroit missed its first six shots playing two days after being pushed to seven games by the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Game 2 provided a stark contrast, with the Pistons appearing to have much more energy - until the final minutes.

Detroit got off to such a good start that offensively challenged Ben Wallace was outscoring the Heat 7-6 midway through the first quarter. Prince made a 3-pointer that capped a 13-0 run to put Detroit up 18-6.

The Pistons led 25-12 after making 56 percent of their shots and holding Miami to 25 percent. It was the Heat's lowest scoring quarter of the playoffs, and the fewest points a team has scored against the Pistons in the first quarter this postseason.

Detroit had success in the first quarter keeping Wade out of the lane, forcing him to settle for three missed jumpers, and he had two points on free throws. He had 13 of his 25 points in the first quarter of Game 1 after making all six of his shots.

Wade got closer to the basket in the second quarter and also connected from the outside, scoring 14 points on 6-of-9 shooting.

Detroit scored the last seven points of the first half to take a 48-37 lead.

Internet Sports Betting

Wade and O'Neal combined for 26 points on 11-of-20 shooting in the first half, while the rest of the Heat had just 11 points after missing 14 of 18 shots.

"Guys had shots, but they didn't go down," Wade said.

Even though Billups didn't score in the first half, he had five assists and directed a free-flowing offense that helped Hamilton score 20, Prince 12 and Ben Wallace nine on 4-of-4 shooting.

Diaw's efforts cap Suns' thrilling Game 1 win

So far in the playoffs, the Dallas Mavericks have pushed around Pau Gasol and outlasted Tim Duncan.

But Steve Nash and an agile big man? They still haven't figured that one out.

With Nash picking up where he left off against his former team last postseason and Boris Diaw filling the role of Amare Stoudemire, the Phoenix Suns erased a late nine-point deficit and beat the Mavericks 121-118 Wednesday night in a thrilling, fast-paced start to the Western Conference finals.

Nash scored 10 of his 27 points in the final 3:26, then set up Shawn Marion on a go-ahead basket with 43 seconds left. After Dallas regained the lead on a jumper by Devin Harris with 4.8 seconds to go, Diaw swished a turnaround 7-footer with a half-second remaining on a play originally designed for Nash.


Sportsbook

"I saw their bench basically yelling out exactly what was going to happen, so I was like, 'OK, Plan B,"' Nash said. "I was about to call timeout, but ... Tim (Thomas) got it inside and Boris made a heck of a play."

Diaw scored a career-high 34 points, showing on a big stage why he was voted the league's most improved player and why the Suns are back in the conference finals for the second straight year despite having had Stoudemire for only three games.

"At one point there was a label on him that he was a soft, non-competitive player," Phoenix coach Mike D'Antoni said. "I'm telling you he's just the opposite. ... He's one of the most competitive guys we have, just an intelligent basketball player that knows how to play."

Harris scored a career-high 30 and Dirk Nowitzki had 25 points and 19 rebounds, but the Mavericks blew their late lead with a spurt of turnovers and a lack of defensive stops when they needed them most.

"We were just bad tonight in a lot of different areas that we have to improve on in a hurry," coach Avery Johnson said.

It shouldn't have been too much of a surprise, though, because the combination of Nash and Stoudemire carried the Suns past the Mavs in the second round of last year's playoffs. Stoudemire scored between 30 and 40 each of the first three games, then Nash burned them with between 34 and 48 over the last three games.

Dallas fans might not be able to take more of these heart-stopping finishes this postseason. The Mavericks were coming off a second-round series against San Antonio that included six games decided at the end, including Game 7 in overtime.

One consolation for the Mavs is that they also lost the opener to the Spurs. Another is that Game 2 is in Dallas on Friday night.

For Phoenix, this furious finish stuff is becoming fun.

The Suns lost all seven regular-season games decided by three points or less, then dropped another early in the playoffs. But now they've won two nail-biters, having also beaten the Clippers 94-91 in Game 3 of the previous round.

Both teams lost starters to leg injuries - Josh Howard for Dallas (sprained right ankle) and Raja Bell (strained left calf) for Phoenix. The Suns also are concerned about Marion, who had 24 points and 13 rebounds but appeared to hurt his left ankle in the final minutes.

Asked if he'll be able to play Game 2, Marion said, "Hey, I don't have a choice."

Howard is having an MRI on Thursday to determine if and when he'll return. Bell left the locker room on crutches.

"I felt it pop," he said. "It's pretty painful. But I've got to be optimistic. I want to play. We'll see how it feels in the morning."

Internet Sportsbook

Johnson said Howard's absence creates "a big void" on both ends of the court. Besides covering Marion, he's one of Dallas' best attackers. He scored six points in his six minutes; Dallas is 21-0 this season when he scores 20 points.

Although both teams were coming off Game 7 wins Monday night, there was no emotional or physical letdown either way. The track meet everyone expected was off and running from the start.

It was 62-58 at halftime and both teams were making at least half their shots. They were even more accurate in the third quarter, surpassing the Game 1 scoring total from the Eastern Conference final between Miami and Detroit before the fourth even began.

Dallas went ahead for the first time with Harris leading a 13-2 run midway through the third quarter. Then a 13-0 burst at the end of the third and start of the fourth looked like it was going to be the difference, especially with the Mavs still up 114-105 with 3:43 left.

Then, Nash - the league's two-time MVP - decided it was time to stop distributing and start scoring. He scored Phoenix's next 10 points on a pair of 3-pointers, a layup and two foul shots.

"I guess, in a way, I tried to be a little more aggressive," said Nash, who had 16 assists, the most by anyone this postseason and one shy of his career high.

Harris, now in Nash's old role of driving the Mavs' up-tempo attack, nearly made Nash's big effort a side note with his shot. But there was still plenty of time for the Suns.

Internet Sports Betting

After Diaw's shot, Dallas had a throw-in from near the Phoenix bench, but Marquis Daniels missed Nowitzki and threw the ball out of bounds. The Suns tacked on two more points with 0.2 left on a pair of free throws by Thomas, who scored 17.

While officials took their time deciding how much time was remaining, fans began streaming out and Nowitzki threw the ball at the front of the scorers table in anger.

Jerry Stackhouse scored 16 points for the Mavs and Jason Terry added 15. Daniels had nine and Keith Van Horn, who is likely to see a lot of time this series, scored seven on 3-of-11 shooting. He was 1-of-7 on 3-pointers.

Harris, who had only nine points the two previous games, made eight straight shots in the second half and finished 12-of-17.

Raptors win the lottery, get No. 1 pick

Bryan Colangelo's rebuilding job as president and general manager of the Toronto Raptors got a little easier.

Colangelo and the Raptors had their first major breakthrough Tuesday night, winning the NBA lottery and the right to pick first in the June 28 draft in New York.

"There's some jockeying that can be done," Colangelo said. "Maybe we'll trade down and end up with two players out of the draft. We'll see. We've got a lot of options. This is a great day and an exciting day for this organization."

Sportsbook

With the Raptors coming off a 27-55 season, it was easy to see how important the lottery was to Colangelo, hired in February after leaving the Phoenix Suns.

When the contenders for the top pick were reduced to Toronto, Chicago and Charlotte, Colangelo got fidgety during a commercial break at the NBA Entertainment Studios, taking a drink of water and straightening his tie and jacket several times.

"All of a sudden some thoughts and ideas started racing through my mind when we got passed over with the No. 5 announcement," Colangelo said. "My heart started to beat a little more. I wanted to win it. Holding this ball with the No. 1 on it is a lot better than holding it with No. 2."

Figuring out what to do with it will be his first major decision.

"Right now we've got a month to go and we'll see what comes our way and see what we can dig up," said Colangelo, whose team only had an 8.8 percent chance of winning the lottery.

There doesn't seem to be a definitive No. 1 pick for the June 28 draft to be held in New York.

Gonzaga forward Adam Morrison, Texas center LaMarcus Aldridge and LSU forward Tyrus Thomas - all underclassmen - are considered top candidates.

Under the NBA's new collective bargaining agreement, this is the first year high school players won't be eligible for the draft.

The Raptors have some nice pieces to build on with All-Star Chris Bosh, Charlie Villanueva and Joey Graham. And they have salary cap room.

"We go into this draft not only holding the No. 1 pick but with the cap flexibility to take on a pretty large contract," Colangelo said. "So the combination of those two is pretty powerful. Hopefully, we can manipulate it the right way and make some good decisions. I think at this point we're in a no-lose situation."

Internet Sportsbook

Colangelo has a proven track record. He was voted the NBA's 2005 executive of the year for retooling the Suns, who won a league-high 62 games. He left Phoenix after not getting a contract extension.

Toronto fired general manager Rob Babcock on Jan. 26.

The biggest losers in the lottery were the New York Knicks and the Portland Trail Blazers, the NBA's two worst teams.

Portland (21-61) slipped all the way to fourth despite having a 25 percent chance of winning the top pick.

Trail Blazers President Steve Patterson believes his team will still get a good player.

"You may find a player with as big an impact at No. 4 or even No. 6 as you may at No. 1," Patterson said.

New Orleans guard Chris Paul was the fourth pick in last year's draft and he won the rookie of the year award.

The Knicks (23-59) were losers even before the lottery. They gave their No. 1 pick to Chicago in a preseason deal for center Eddy Curry, and then they posted their worst season since 1985-86, Patrick Ewing's rookie season.

The Bulls (41-41) struck a bonanza, getting rid of an unhappy player, making the playoffs in the process and getting the No. 2 pick overall.

John Paxson, the Bulls executive vice president, said getting the Knicks' first-round pick was the key to the trade.

Internet Sports Betting

"This is kind of like found money," Paxson said. "I had no idea I would be here."

NBA commissioner David Stern refused to be drawn into the Knicks' problems, which include rumors that Hall of Fame coach Larry Brown won't be back for a second season.

"You'd rather that franchises not be in turmoil," Stern said.

Charlotte will have the third pick, which coincides with its third-worst record. Atlanta dropped from No. 4 to fifth overall. The other nine teams in the lottery stayed in the same order as their records.

Minnesota is sixth and will be followed by Boston, Houston, Golden State, Seattle, Orlando, New Orleans, Philadelphia and Utah.

Spurs rally, but lose Game 7 at home in OT

Dirk Nowitzki and the Dallas Mavericks squandered every opportunity they had to finally overtake the San Antonio Spurs - except the last one.

They lost the season-long battle for home-court advantage. They squandered a 3-1 series lead in the Western Conference semifinals and watched a 20-point lead in Game 7 dry up as well.
Then, just as another opportunity was getting away, Nowitzki slashed to the basket for the game-tying layup and free throw in the final seconds of regulation. Then he made a game-saving block at the other end.

Five minutes later, Nowitzki and the Mavericks had finished off the Spurs with a 119-111 overtime victory Monday night.

Sportsbook

"I told Dirk, 'Did you see that? It just ran out of the door," Mavericks owner Mark Cuban said. "The monkey that's been on our back for so long, it's gone."

Not just shaken off the Mavericks' backs, but kicked off with a resounding blow that Dallas had failed to deliver in the previous two games.

"This is a testament to our perseverance," said Mavericks guard Jason Terry, who came back from his Game 6 suspension for punching former Maverick Michael Finely below the belt to score 27 points.

"We showed a lot of character."

What they really showed was they could put away a championship-caliber team.
"It was a special series," Nowitzki said after scoring 37 points. "We just believed it was our time to win it."

Tim Duncan scored 41 to lead San Antonio.

Dallas advanced to the Western Conference finals for second time in four years, but with almost an entirely new team. Nowitzki is the only remaining starter from the team that was eliminated by the Spurs in 2003.

"We battled against a championship team, a team with a lot of guts," Dallas coach Avery Johnson said. "Now we haven't won the championship, but how about those Mavs?"

The Mavericks have never made it to the NBA Finals, but they'll go into the next round as the favorites against the Phoenix Suns, who eliminated the Los Angeles Clippers in another Game 7 on Monday.

The Spurs won a franchise-record 63 games, grabbed the West's top seed and were thinking this would finally be the year they repeated as champions. Instead, they'll have to try again next year to add to the titles they won in 1999, '03 and '05.

The Mavericks nearly kept pace. They won 60 games in a regular season that was only a hint of their superb meeting in the playoffs.

"This is the best series I've ever played," Duncan said. "Both teams gave it their all."
The tight games and taught emotions boiled over with Terry punching Finley, and the volatile Cuban admitting to the Dallas Morning News before the final that he cursed the Spurs' Bruce Bowen after Game 6.

Internet Sportsbook

The Mavericks built their 20-point lead early by spreading the floor and getting to the rim, only to watch San Antonio change the pace and rally with defense and Duncan.

Nowitzki blew past Duncan for a soft dunk for the first basket and the Mavericks blistered the Spurs with 15-of-18 shooting for 37 points in the opening quarter.

The Spurs changed the pace in the second half by pushing the ball to Duncan, who had his fifth game of the series with at least 30 points compared to just twice during the regular season.
"He's unbelievable and unguardable," Nowitzki said. "He was amazing all series. We never could find and answer for him."

Duncan's free throws and layup cut the Mavericks' lead to 84-82 as the home crowd chanted "M-V-P!" The Spurs hit 33 of 39 free throws in the game. Duncan was 17-of-23.

"The first half was the worst half of basketball we've played all season," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. "We dug down and gave ourselves a chance to win."

The Spurs, who trailed almost the entire game, led 104-101 on Manu Ginobili's 3-pointer with 32 seconds left in regulation. Nowitzki then drove around Bowen, who blocked his potential game-winner in Game 5, for a layup and was fouled by Ginobili at the basket.

The 7-foot German, who finished third in the MVP voting in the regular season, hit the free throw to tie it with 21 seconds remaining.

"He willed it to the basket," Mavericks guard Jerry Stackhouse said. "Everybody did something special in this game. It was great to have (Jason Terry) back in the lineup. He came up big."
The Spurs had a chance to win it in regulation. Ginobili drove the basket with about six seconds left. His shot missed, Duncan grabbed the rebound and Nowitzki got a hand in to block what would have been a point-blank game-winner.

It was a redeeming final few seconds for Nowitzki, who had the ball in his hands in Dallas' three losses with a chance to win or tie it in the final seconds.

"I saw everything slipping away, the great season we had," Nowitzki said. "If there's a drive to the lane, just take it in there."

Dallas opened overtime with baskets by Josh Howard and Stackhouse, and Terry's two free throws quickly pushed the lead to 114-108.

Internet Sports Betting

Howard, who scored 18 points, became the third Dallas player to foul out in overtime. But after their furious rally to take the lead, only to watch it disappear in the final seconds of regulation, the Spurs had little left in overtime.

Duncan missed three close shots and DeSagana Diop, in the game late because of Dallas' foul troubles, ripped down a pair of key rebounds on both ends of the court to help preserve the win.

Finley missed two long 3-pointers in the final seconds as Spurs fans started leaving the building.

"We put ourselves in a position to win the game," Duncan said. "We fought all the way back and in overtime we didn't have much left in the tank."

Pistons reach fourth straight East finals

In a single half, the Detroit Pistons taught LeBron James everything he needs to know about defense in the playoffs - and finished off yet another series comeback.

While Detroit moves on to its fourth straight Eastern Conference finals, the 21-year-old Cleveland Cavaliers superstar is left to ponder his dizzying lesson.

"They trapped me, they went under screens, they went over screens," said James, who was held to one second-half field goal Sunday in the Cavs' 79-61 Game 7 loss to Detroit. "I've seen almost every defense that I could possibly see for the rest of my career in this series.

Sportsbook

"That's why they're Eastern Conference champions, and that's why they keep winning."

Playing in his first postseason, James was sensational at times for Cleveland, pushing the NBA title favorites to the brink of elimination.

"There's nobody on his level that can get his teammates involved like he does," said Tayshaun Prince, who led the Pistons with 20 points. "He sees the plays before they even happen, and no one else does that. That's the reason this went seven games."

The Cavs were down by only two at halftime; then Detroit simply smothered James in the second half and took command with a 19-6 run that started in the third quarter and ended with a 67-52 lead midway through the fourth. James and the upstart Cavaliers were rendered helpless when it mattered most.

Typical Pistons.

The Cavs led 3-2 in the second-round series and had a chance to eliminate the Pistons at home in Game 6 largely because James, who didn't live up to the hype - he surpassed it. But what the Pistons can do on defense - when they choose to play with intensity, like in a closeout game - probably is just as frightening for opponents.

Detroit held Cleveland to the lowest-point total in any Game 7 in NBA history; the third-lowest total in any playoff game since 1955; and 23 points in the second half, which tied the fewest scored in a postseason half since the shot clock was introduced a half-century ago.
The Cavs made just 31 percent of their shots and scored fewer points than any team has this postseason.

Take a look at low-scoring records in NBA history, and you'll see Detroit frequently on almost every list.

"In a pressure situation, you do what you do best, and for us, that's defending," Detroit coach Flip Saunders said. "We locked down."

In a rematch of last year's conference finals, Detroit hosts Miami on Tuesday night in Game 1. The Heat have been resting since eliminating New Jersey last Tuesday.

"We can catch our breath for about eight hours," Saunders said.

The Pistons are the first team to reach the conference finals in four straight years since the Chicago Bulls did it from 1990-93. Detroit has remained among the NBA's elite in recent years by clamping down on defense when necessary; that time arrived in the second half Sunday against a franchise in the second round for the first time since 1993.

Internet Sports Betting

James carried the Cavs in the first half, scoring 21 points and outscoring the rest of his teammates, but Cleveland struggled to find open spots after halftime. James finished with 27 points on 11-of-24 shooting.

The Pistons held the Cavs to a franchise playoff-low 10 points in the third quarter, and James didn't make a field goal in the second half until his three-point play with 4:42 left in the game. By then, it was too late.

James' teammates didn't help much, with the only double-figures scorer being Larry Hughes, who scored 10 points in his first action since his 20-year-old brother's funeral.

Meanwhile, the Pistons had their usual balance on offense, with Prince's 20 points followed by Richard Hamilton (15), Rasheed Wallace (13) and Chauncey Billups (12).

The previous 12 times the Pistons had a chance to win a series, dating to the 2003 playoffs with four of their current starters, they lost only once - last year in Game 7 at San Antonio, where they fell just short of repeating as champions.

Detroit's current nucleus is 4-1 in Game 7s, with that lone setback last year motivating them to win a league- and franchise-best 64 victories during the regular season.

The Cavs are 2-1 in Game 7s, with the last decisive game coming in 1992 when James was a 7-year-old kid.

Detroit started and closed the series strong. In between, the teams had one of the tightest matchups in NBA history.

The Pistons won Game 1 by 27 and the next game by six points. After the Cavs won Game 3, they took the next two by two points each and the Pistons avoided a playoff flop with a two-point victory at Cleveland on Friday night.

Boston and Philadelphia, in the 1981 Eastern Conference finals, were the only teams to have more than three straight games decided by two or fewer points, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

Internet Sportsbook

James shot 10-of-15 in the first half, while his teammates combined for just 17 points and missed 19 of 24 shots.

James wasn't outscored by the rest of the Cavs until Drew Gooden made two free throws in the middle of the third quarter to pull Cleveland to 46-45. Detroit responded by building its first comfortable cushion since the opening minutes, scoring 10 of the last 12 points of the third quarter to go ahead 58-48.

"They took it up to another level in the second half," Cleveland's Zydrunas Ilgauskas said. "We got real stagnant on offense and they showed us a level we hadn't seen in these playoffs."

L.A. saves season, forces Game 7

Elton Brand and the Clippers became the second team from Los Angeles to take the Phoenix Suns to the limit in these playoffs.

Unlike the Lakers, the Clippers will take some momentum into Game 7.Brand had 30 points, 12 rebounds and five blocked shots, Corey Maggette came off the bench to score 13 of his 25 points in the fourth quarter, and the Clippers beat the Suns 118-106 Thursday night to even the Western Conference semifinal series at three games apiece.

Sportsbook

"After six games in the playoffs and four in the regular season, we know each other pretty well," Brand said. "It comes down to who plays the best in Game 7."

The Suns seemed a step slower than usual at times, understandable since they've played every other day since April 26 - a total of 12 games in 22 days.

"I'll definitely give them credit for a terrific game," Suns star Steve Nash said. "It just didn't seem like we had a lot of pop tonight."

The Suns will get some time off now, since Game 7 isn't until Monday night in Phoenix, where they beat the Clippers in two of the three previous playoff meetings, including a 125-118 double-overtime triumph in Game 5.

The Clippers sounded like they can use the time off, too. Neither team will practice Friday.
"Sam Cassell's legs are tired, and he's 58, so I think the days off will help him," Clippers coach Mike Dunleavy said with a smile.

Cassell, actually 36, said he could have used some extra time off after extending himself in Tuesday night's double-overtime game.

"It took its toll on me," Cassell said after getting 15 points and eight assists but committing six of his team's 19 turnovers.

"I want the championship for us. My crew is ready," he said. "You have to take advantage of these opportunities because you never know when they're going to come back."

The teams have alternated victories in the series, with the Suns winning Games 1, 3 and 5 and the Clippers winning Games 2, 4 and 6.

The Lakers took a 3-1 lead in the first round before the Suns came back, becoming the eighth NBA team to overcome such a deficit.

The home team has a 76-17 advantage in NBA playoff Game 7s, including Phoenix's 121-90 victory over the Lakers on May 6. But the Clippers played the Suns tough in all three postseason games in Phoenix, winning one and coming close in the other two.

"We have no road fear at all," Dunleavy said. "We feel we can play with anybody."

The Suns are trying to reach the Western Conference finals for the second straight season and the eighth time overall. They lost to the eventual NBA champion San Antonio Spurs in five games in the conference finals last spring.

Internet Sportsbook

The Clippers have won two playoff series in their history, and are looking to make it past the second round for the first time.

Quinton Ross, starting in place of Maggette, added a career-high 18 points and Chris Kaman had 15 points and 10 rebounds for the Clippers, who shot 61.5 percent and outrebounded the Suns 48-28.

"We just couldn't stop them," Suns coach Mike D'Antoni said. "I don't know if it's energy, but they played well. Give them credit, they played a good game. We got ourselves in trouble because we didn't make shots.

"You play all year to get home-court advantage, and we're at home in Phoenix."

Shawn Marion had 34 points, nine rebounds and six steals to lead the Suns, who shot 44 percent. Leonardo Barbosa added 25 points, Nash had 17 points and 11 assists, Boris Diaw had 14 points, nine rebounds and seven assists and Raja Bell scored 13.

"We have to figure out something by Monday," Barbosa said. "If we don't, we're done."

Bell, who averaged 22.2 points and shot 55.6 percent in the first five games of this series, shot 2-of-9 in this game. And Tim Thomas, a big factor for the Suns throughout the playoffs, was held to three points.

Maggette scored 10 points, including the Clippers' only two 3-pointers of the game during a 17-7 run to begin the fourth quarter, giving the Clippers a 105-88 lead.

"I felt some of their guys were tired," Maggette said. "I just tried to attack."

The Clippers scored six straight points for a 16-point lead late in the third quarter - the largest of the game to that point. It was 86-70 when Barbosa made two 3-pointers and Marion another in a 70-second span to draw the Suns within seven. But that's as close as the Suns would get in the second half.

Internet Sports Betting

Ross scored 16 points in the first half - one more than his previous career high in two seasons plus these playoffs.

Cavs stun Pistons, take 3-2 series lead

All series long, the Detroit Pistons huffed and puffed. On Wednesday night, it was LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers who blew their house in.

A stunning role reversal on the Cavs' fairy tale ride?

Maybe not.

"It's just basketball," James said. "They're not the Big, Bad Wolf. And we're not the Three Little Pigs."

Sportsbook

James scored 32 points and assisted on Drew Gooden's game-winning shot to lead the Cavs to an 86-84 victory over Detroit - their third straight win en route to a 3-2 lead in the second-round series.

The Pistons, on the brink of elimination after two straight trips to the NBA Finals, have not been giving much respect to the Cavs, who are in the second round for the first time since 1993.
That should change now, but will it be too late for the big, bad Pistons?
Game 6 in the best-of-seven series is Friday night in Cleveland, and if the Pistons force a Game 7, they will be back on their home court Sunday.

"LeBron is playing unbelievably, and they're playing with a lot of confidence," Detroit coach Flip Saunders said. "But it doesn't mean the series is over, we just have to revert to what we did for much of the season."

Ben Wallace blew a chance to give the Pistons the lead for the first time since early in the second quarter when he missed two free throws with 40 seconds left. That left one of the NBA's worst free-throw shooters 0-for-7 for the game, which remained tied at 84.

James deferred to Gooden on the ensuing possession, and the power forward came through with a low-post basket to put the Cavs ahead by two with 27 seconds left.

"I took a picture of the basket," Gooden said. "That's what my freshman coach in high school used to tell me, take my time and make the shot."

After a timeout, Donyell Marshall blocked Tayshaun Prince's shot in the lane and James tipped a rebound - off Lindsey Hunter's missed jumper - to teammate Eric Snow, who tossed the ball down the court to kill time.

The Pistons had the ball back with 1.9 seconds left, but could not get a shot off to try to force overtime - or win the game they didn't seem to deserve.
"That was about as perfect a game of basketball as you can play against that team," Marshall said.

Cleveland beat Detroit 74-72 and 86-77 to even the series after being routed in Game 1 and losing Game 2 by six points after a big early deficit.

After losing Game 3 in Cleveland, Rasheed Wallace guaranteed Game 4 would be the last game played there because the Pistons would close out the series in Game 5.
Oops.

"Everybody wrote us off, but we started to get some confidence in the second half of Game 2 and we've just kept it going," Cavs reserve Damon Jones said.

Detroit hopes to draw from its postseason experience. Before the Pistons beat the Los Angeles Lakers in the 2004 NBA Finals, they fell behind New Jersey 3-2 - with three straight losses - before winning on the road and at home to advance to the conference finals.
"I'm still not concerned because I know what we're capable of," Chauncey Billups said. "We've been there before.

Internet Sportsbook

"We can't be looking for a Game 7 because if you're not careful, there won't be (a Game 7)."
James played like a star - again - in his first postseason appearance, and many of his teammates chipped in throughout Game 5.

Zydrunas Ilgauskas scored 14 before fouling out, Marshall had 14 points and 13 rebounds off the bench and three other players added at least six points apiece.

Prince scored 21, Billups had 17 before fouling out, Richard Hamilton scored 15, Rasheed Wallace added 10 while battling foul trouble and reserve Antonio McDyess chipped in with 11 points.
The Cavs went ahead 63-53 midway through the third quarter on James' 3, leaving Prince holding his jaw. Then, the Pistons punched back, perhaps fearing elimination for the first time in the series.

A 13-3 run tied the game before Cleveland went back ahead 68-66.

The Cavs scored the first six points of the fourth, the last point coming on a free throw when Rasheed Wallace was called for a technical after his fifth foul.

McDyess - who was held to six total points in Games 3-4 in Cleveland - made three straight shots to tie the game at 77 with 5:10 left.

After the score was knotted again, Jones was fouled as he made a 3-point shot, but he missed the ensuing free throw, then had a shot blocked, leading to Billups' layup that made it 82-81.
McDyess sat on the bench for several minutes following the game - putting his hands behind his head, staring across the court in disbelief.

The Pistons began the playoffs as the favorites to win it all after falling just short of repeating as champions last year in Game 7 at San Antonio.

The first quarter Wednesday ended 20-all, the fifth tie of the game after 10 lead changes.
Cleveland went ahead on Marshall's 3-pointer with 8:57 left in the first half, and the Pistons didn't have the lead the rest of the game.

The Cavs led 50-45 at halftime.

Ilgauskas gave James plenty of support in the first half. He had nine points - surpassing his point totals from the previous two games - and seven rebounds along with four blocks, which tied a Cleveland playoff record for blocked shots in a half. Ilgauskas finished with six blocks, tying a franchise postseason record.

While the Cavs were warming up at halftime with a 50-45 lead, James leaned against the scorer's table checking out the box score.
He had to like what he saw.

Internet Sports Betting

The 21-year-old phenom scored 22 first-half points on 9-of-17 shooting; Ilgauskas was off to a strong start; and the Cavs' reserves were outscoring Detroit's 17-2.

For the third straight game, the Cavs were without starting shooting guard Larry Hughes, who has been with his family since the death of his 20-year-old brother. The entire team attended Justin Hughes' funeral in St. Louis on Tuesday, the morning after winning Game 4, then flew to suburban Detroit without a practice between games. Cavs general manager Danny Ferry said there was still no timetable for Hughes to return.

Suns earn win in grueling Game 5

The Phoenix Suns mixed exhaustion with elation Tuesday night, and are one victory away from a second straight trip to the Western Conference finals.

Shawn Marion had 36 points and a career playoff-high 20 rebounds in 54 grueling minutes, and Raja Bell sank a dramatic 3-pointer to help the Suns beat the Los Angeles Clippers 125-118 in two overtimes.

Sportsbook

The Suns, who blew a 19-point third-quarter lead before regrouping, took a 3-2 lead in the series and can advance with a victory in Game 6 Thursday night in Los Angeles.

"So many guys gutted it out for us," Phoenix coach Mike D'Antoni said. "We weren't brilliant. But a lot of the time in the playoffs it's not about being pretty and making all the right plays. It's about perseverence and a little sweat, and I think we did that."

Bell added 22 points, including a 3-pointer from the corner with 1.1 seconds left to tie it in the first overtime. He told his teammates during a timeout that he was going to make the shot.
"That's kind of out of character for me," Bell said, "but I called it."

Leandro Barbosa scored five of his 15 points in the second overtime for Phoenix.

Elton Brand had 33 points and 15 rebounds in 54 minutes, and Sam Cassell scored 32 - 27 in the second half and two overtimes - but the Clippers never led in the second extra session.
"That's the most disappointing game I've been a part of," Brand said. "We had it."
Marion's rebound stuff with 3:17 to play put Phoenix ahead 115-113. He landed awkwardly in traffic and limped off the floor with an apparent left ankle injury. But he was back less than a minute later.

Barbosa's first 3-pointer of the game gave Phoenix a 119-115 lead, then Brand's rebound and three-point play cut it to 119-118 with 1:22 left. After a timeout, Steve Nash fed Marion for a layup 1:05 from the end. Barbosa's two free throws made it 123-118 with 52.3 seconds to play.
Nash sealed it with two free throws 19.5 seconds from the end.

Nash had 17 points and 13 assists but was 0-for-5 on 3-pointers. He hasn't made a 3 since the series opener, going 0-for-13 since.

Playing his 11th playoff game in 20 days, Nash acknowledged that his body is hurting.
"I'm physically not really able to shoot a good percentage at this point in time," Nash said. "Even mid-range shots are a long way for me now the way I feel physically. I'm just trying to fight through it."

Internet Sportsbook

Tim Thomas had 25 points for Phoenix, including 5-of-8 on 3-pointers, but fouled out with 1:12 to play in the first overtime.

Cassell sent the game into overtime with a 3-pointer with 39.8 seconds to play in regulation, then sank a 16-footer to put Los Angeles ahead 109-106 with 39.8 seconds left in the first overtime.

Nash, who had two turnovers in the final 54 seconds of the first overtime, scored inside to cut it to 109-108, then Cassell's two free throws put Los Angeles up 111-108 with 3.6 seconds to go.
After two timeouts, the Suns got the ball to Bell in the corner, and his 3-pointer over Daniel Ewing - playing for the first time all night - tied it with 1.1 seconds remaining. Although the Clippers had a foul to give, Bell caught the ball and shot it. Ewing said he didn't want to foul Bell to risk a four-point play.

Coach Mike Dunleavy said he understood Ewing's thinking.

But Cassell, on the bench at the time, saw it otherwise.

"We had a young guy in the game. It's not his fault that Raja made his shot, but we've got to know better in that situation," Cassell said. "We've got a foul to give, we've got to put Raja Bell in the fifth row with the popcorn man, but we didn't do it."

Shaun Livingston threw the inbounds pass away and the Suns got the last chance of the first OT, but Marion's heave from just inside midcourt bounced off the rim.

The end of regulation wasn't pretty.

Cassell was called for an 8-second backcourt violation with 31 seconds to play in the fourth quarter. Nash missed a 3-pointer with 9.2 seconds to go, then Cassell missed a 3 at the other end with 3 seconds left.

Thomas, apparently unaware there was that much time left, heaved the ball downcourt as coach Mike D'Antoni screamed at him for a timeout, and the game went to overtime.

Bell boosted the lead to 101-96 with a 3-pointer with 3:38 left in the fourth quarter, then the Suns didn't score again the rest of regulation.

Internet Sports Betting

Nash missed a 20-footer and Brand sank two free throws to cut it to 101-98 with 2:22 remaining.

Brand missed two free throws with 1:46 to play, but again Phoenix couldn't take advantage. Marion muffed an inside shot, then couldn't control the rebound. Cassell's game-tying 3-point try misfired, but the Suns knocked the rebound out of bounds with 42.5 seconds remaining.
Cassell sank a 3-pointer from the corner with 39.8 seconds to go to tie it at 101. Then Marion had a breakaway but was fouled hard from behind by Brand and missed both free throws.
Chris Kaman, who sat out Game 4 with a strained right shoulder, had two injections of Toradal, a pain killer and anti-inflammatory, on Tuesday and was in the starting lineup. He had 11 points and 10 rebounds early, but had only two points and one board after that, sitting out most of the second half.

Suns earn win in grueling Game 5

The Phoenix Suns mixed exhaustion with elation Tuesday night, and are one victory away from a second straight trip to the Western Conference finals.

Shawn Marion had 36 points and a career playoff-high 20 rebounds in 54 grueling minutes, and Raja Bell sank a dramatic 3-pointer to help the Suns beat the Los Angeles Clippers 125-118 in two overtimes.

Sportsbook

The Suns, who blew a 19-point third-quarter lead before regrouping, took a 3-2 lead in the series and can advance with a victory in Game 6 Thursday night in Los Angeles.

"So many guys gutted it out for us," Phoenix coach Mike D'Antoni said. "We weren't brilliant. But a lot of the time in the playoffs it's not about being pretty and making all the right plays. It's about perseverence and a little sweat, and I think we did that."

Bell added 22 points, including a 3-pointer from the corner with 1.1 seconds left to tie it in the first overtime. He told his teammates during a timeout that he was going to make the shot.
"That's kind of out of character for me," Bell said, "but I called it."

Leandro Barbosa scored five of his 15 points in the second overtime for Phoenix.

Elton Brand had 33 points and 15 rebounds in 54 minutes, and Sam Cassell scored 32 - 27 in the second half and two overtimes - but the Clippers never led in the second extra session.
"That's the most disappointing game I've been a part of," Brand said. "We had it."
Marion's rebound stuff with 3:17 to play put Phoenix ahead 115-113. He landed awkwardly in traffic and limped off the floor with an apparent left ankle injury. But he was back less than a minute later.

Barbosa's first 3-pointer of the game gave Phoenix a 119-115 lead, then Brand's rebound and three-point play cut it to 119-118 with 1:22 left. After a timeout, Steve Nash fed Marion for a layup 1:05 from the end. Barbosa's two free throws made it 123-118 with 52.3 seconds to play.
Nash sealed it with two free throws 19.5 seconds from the end.

Nash had 17 points and 13 assists but was 0-for-5 on 3-pointers. He hasn't made a 3 since the series opener, going 0-for-13 since.

Playing his 11th playoff game in 20 days, Nash acknowledged that his body is hurting.
"I'm physically not really able to shoot a good percentage at this point in time," Nash said. "Even mid-range shots are a long way for me now the way I feel physically. I'm just trying to fight through it."

Internet Sportsbook

Tim Thomas had 25 points for Phoenix, including 5-of-8 on 3-pointers, but fouled out with 1:12 to play in the first overtime.

Cassell sent the game into overtime with a 3-pointer with 39.8 seconds to play in regulation, then sank a 16-footer to put Los Angeles ahead 109-106 with 39.8 seconds left in the first overtime.

Nash, who had two turnovers in the final 54 seconds of the first overtime, scored inside to cut it to 109-108, then Cassell's two free throws put Los Angeles up 111-108 with 3.6 seconds to go.
After two timeouts, the Suns got the ball to Bell in the corner, and his 3-pointer over Daniel Ewing - playing for the first time all night - tied it with 1.1 seconds remaining. Although the Clippers had a foul to give, Bell caught the ball and shot it. Ewing said he didn't want to foul Bell to risk a four-point play.

Coach Mike Dunleavy said he understood Ewing's thinking.

But Cassell, on the bench at the time, saw it otherwise.

"We had a young guy in the game. It's not his fault that Raja made his shot, but we've got to know better in that situation," Cassell said. "We've got a foul to give, we've got to put Raja Bell in the fifth row with the popcorn man, but we didn't do it."

Shaun Livingston threw the inbounds pass away and the Suns got the last chance of the first OT, but Marion's heave from just inside midcourt bounced off the rim.

The end of regulation wasn't pretty.

Cassell was called for an 8-second backcourt violation with 31 seconds to play in the fourth quarter. Nash missed a 3-pointer with 9.2 seconds to go, then Cassell missed a 3 at the other end with 3 seconds left.

Thomas, apparently unaware there was that much time left, heaved the ball downcourt as coach Mike D'Antoni screamed at him for a timeout, and the game went to overtime.

Bell boosted the lead to 101-96 with a 3-pointer with 3:38 left in the fourth quarter, then the Suns didn't score again the rest of regulation.

Internet Sports Betting

Nash missed a 20-footer and Brand sank two free throws to cut it to 101-98 with 2:22 remaining.

Brand missed two free throws with 1:46 to play, but again Phoenix couldn't take advantage. Marion muffed an inside shot, then couldn't control the rebound. Cassell's game-tying 3-point try misfired, but the Suns knocked the rebound out of bounds with 42.5 seconds remaining.
Cassell sank a 3-pointer from the corner with 39.8 seconds to go to tie it at 101. Then Marion had a breakaway but was fouled hard from behind by Brand and missed both free throws.
Chris Kaman, who sat out Game 4 with a strained right shoulder, had two injections of Toradal, a pain killer and anti-inflammatory, on Tuesday and was in the starting lineup. He had 11 points and 10 rebounds early, but had only two points and one board after that, sitting out most of the second half.

Spurs on brink of elimination after Game 4 loss

Sportsbook

Jason Terry is no longer the guy who replaced Steve Nash in Dallas.

He's the Mavericks' latest playoff star and half of a suddenly unstoppable backcourt duo.
Terry made a crucial basket with 23 seconds left in regulation, opened overtime with a go-ahead layup, then protected the lead with a pair of rainbow jumpers. That pushed the Mavericks past the San Antonio Spurs 123-118 Monday night to take a commanding 3-1 lead in their second-round series.

"Our will and our desire to never give up came through," Terry said.

Dallas has won three straight since Devin Harris joined Terry in a two-point-guard lineup. The Mavs are one win from knocking out the reigning champs and making the conference finals for the second time in four years.

It could happen as soon as Game 5 Wednesday night in San Antonio.

"It's going to take a tremendous effort," Terry said. "We like our chances."

Should Dallas win again, fans might be disappointed to see the series end. Expectations have been building since it became obvious in December this would be a second-round matchup, and four games later it's close to being a classic. This was the third one decided at the end, the first that required overtime.

The Spurs came out with a surprising lineup featuring Tim Duncan and four players 6-foot-7 or shorter. Tony Parker made it work by repeatedly blowing past Harris, putting San Antonio up by nine early. He finished with 33 points, his most in a playoff game.

Duncan was at his best again with 31 points, 13 rebounds, six assists and three blocks. And, again, it wasn't enough.

Dirk Nowitzki shook off a twisted ankle to score 28 points, including a pair of free throws that tied it with 8.5 seconds left in regulation.

Jerry Stackhouse added 26 and Harris had 18 points, six rebounds and six assists. Erick Dampier had eight points, nine rebounds and a strong defensive stand that forced Duncan to come up short on a potential winning shot at the end of regulation.

"It's a heavyweight fight, a slugfest and, boy, each team was throwing punches," Mavs coach Avery Johnson said. "Fortunately, we had a little more in the tank."

San Antonio played well enough to win the last two games. A crucial mistake at the end of Game 3 hurt and this time coach Gregg Popovich lamented getting outrebounded 10-2 in overtime, starting with allowing Dallas a pair of offensive rebounds on the first possession. The Spurs never led in the extra period.

Internet Sports Betting

"It's not a situation where we're getting blown out and getting our hats handed to us," forward Bruce Bowen said. "It's the small things. If we do the small things we're going to be successful. ... We're right there. I feel like we're on the cusp of doing great things."

Only eight teams have recovered from a 3-1 deficit to win an NBA series, including Phoenix this season. The Spurs' history makes them a long shot to become No. 9.

Since Duncan joined the club in 1997, San Antonio is 0-5 when trailing this deep into a playoff series. They've also lost every time they've faced an elimination game to keep a series going.

The only time they won when facing elimination was Game 7 of last year's finals.

"We have to keep pushing," Robert Horry said. "The good thing is we're going home."
But can they find a way to handle Harris & Terry?

Terry stopped himself last season, getting burned by Nash on the deciding play of Dallas' final game. Nowitzki yelled at him on the court, although they've become tight off it.

He showed why this time, repeatedly hitting shots the Mavericks absolutely had to have.

"He's one of the best clutch players I've ever played with," Nowitzki said. "He doesn't care what time it is on the clock, he makes those shots."

Harris set up the late go-ahead jumper in regulation by grabbing a loose rebound and throwing a cross-court pass. He got one of the early rebounds to set up Terry's first OT layup, then came barreling down court for a finger roll that stretched the lead.

Johnson said he was proud of Harris for not getting discouraged by Parker's strong start.
"He showed me something tonight," Johnson said.

San Antonio's Manu Ginobili, coming off the bench for a second straight game, made 8 of 11 field goals and all six of his free throws for 26 points. He fouled out with 2:28 left.

Former Mavs star Michael Finley almost was the hero in his first playoff start for San Antonio.
He scored eight of his 14 points in the fourth quarter, including a 3-pointer with 15.4 seconds left that put the Spurs ahead 111-109.

Internet Sportsbook

"We're still breathing," Finley said. "We have the opportunity to go back to San Antonio. I hope we're fortunate enough to make the trip back here."

Clippers, Suns head to Phoenix all even

Sportsbook

Elton Brand dominated the inside again. And Sam Cassell bounced back from a dreadful performance with a beauty.

Brand had 30 points, nine rebounds and eight assists, Cassell added 28 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists and the Los Angeles Clippers beat the Phoenix Suns 114-107 Sunday night to even the Western Conference semifinals 2-2.

Game 5 in the best-of-seven series is Tuesday night in Phoenix.

Phoenix star Steve Nash was held to eight points and 11 assists. He shot 3-of-11, and didn't make a field goal after halftime.

The Suns scored 11 straight points to move within one before Brand made an 18-foot jumper with 56 seconds remaining and Cassell hit a 3-pointer with 27 seconds left to clinch the victory.
Brand scored 67 points in the first two games, but was held to 20 in Game 3, when the Suns won 94-91 for a 2-1 series lead.

The 36-year-old Cassell, who entered the postseason with more playoff experience than the rest of his teammates combined, shot 2-of-10 for six points in Game 3 and played only 35 seconds in the fourth quarter.

He began the final period of this game on the bench, but returned with 7:19 to play and made a pair of 3-pointers down the stretch.

The Clippers won without starting center Chris Kaman, sidelined because of a sore right shoulder. Kaman, injured in Game 3, suited up and was available, according to a team spokesman, but never left the bench.

Corey Maggette had 18 points and 15 rebounds, Vladimir Radmanovic scored nine of his 13 points in the fourth quarter, and Shaun Livingston added 11 points for the Clippers.

Internet Sports Betting

Raja Bell led the Suns with a career playoff-high 33 points - two more than his regular-season career best. Boris Diaw added 21 points, seven rebounds and eight assists; Shawn Marion had 14 points and 10 rebounds, and Leonardo Barbosa added 15 points.

It was 100-93 when Radmanovic and Cassell made back-to-back 3-pointers, giving the Clippers a 13-point lead with 5:54 left - largest of the game for either team.

That's when the Suns began their rally, which Barbosa finished by making a 3-pointer with 2:36 left and a layup with 1:12 to go.

At that stage, the Clippers' big two made the two biggest plays of the game.
Even without the 7-foot Kaman, the Clippers dominated the backboards, outrebounding the Suns 55-37. Los Angeles outrebounded Phoenix 57-26 in winning Game 2, but just 47-46 in losing Game 3.

The Clippers shot 48.8 percent to the Suns' 45.5 percent. Phoenix committed only five turnovers to nine for Los Angeles.

Marion picked up two fouls in the opening 1:11 of the second half to give him four. Thomas picked up his fourth less than 2 minutes later, and joined Marion on the bench.

But the Suns hung tough, and thanks to 15 points by Bell in the third quarter, they trailed by only eight entering the final period, when Marion and Thomas returned.

Internet Sportsbook

Radmanovic started in Kaman's place, and Maggette replaced Quinton Ross, giving the Clippers additional scoring punch.

The Maggette-for-Ross move paid big dividends in the first half, when Maggette had 16 points and eight rebounds to spark the Clippers to a 61-51 lead.

The Suns led 26-21 before Maggette and Mobley scored four points each during a 12-0 run that put the Clippers ahead by seven. They were on top the rest of the way.

Clippers rout Suns, pull even in series

Sportsbook

The Los Angeles Clippers turned playground bully in Game 2 of the Western Conference semifinals.

Elton Brand & Co. pushed the smaller Phoenix Suns around all night Wednesday, dominating the boards 57-26 in a 122-97 rout that evened the best-of-seven series.

Game 3 is in Los Angeles on Friday night.

"We're little and you have to fight," Phoenix coach Mike D'Antoni said, "and if you don't have the fight in you, big guys are going to punish you - and they did."

Brand, coming off a 40-point performance in Game 1, had 27 points and 10 rebounds as all five Clippers starters scored in double figures.

Cuttino Mobley, held to three points on 1-for-6 shooting in Game 1, scored 23 points, as did Sam Cassell, the Clippers' 36-year-old point guard. Chris Kaman added 14 points and 16 rebounds and Quentin Ross scored 11 points.

"We feel good about going home," Brand said. "They didn't do what they had to do on their court, now we shift it to our home court advantage."

It was the second most one-sided home playoff loss in Suns' history, eclipsed only by their 129-90 first-round rout by Utah in 1991.

Phoenix also lost at home in Game 2 of the first-round series against the Los Angeles Lakers, then had to rally from a 3-1 deficit to win the series. The Suns had won four straight playoff games going into Wednesday night.

Raja Bell, who opened the game 0-for-5, led the Suns with 20 points, while Leandro Barbosa added 19 and Tim Thomas 15. Steve Nash had 14 points and eight assists, then sat out the final 5:44.

But the story of this game was rebounding. The Clippers dominated the offensive boards 19-5, leading to a 31-6 advantage in second-chance points.

"We've got a size advantage down there," Clippers coach Mike Dunleavy said. "As long as we keep our bigs down there, that's what's supposed to happen."

Internet Sports Betting

Los Angeles led by as many as 20 points in the first half and 21 in the third quarter.

"For whatever reason, we didn't play with a lot of energy tonight," Nash said. "I thought we were elsewhere much of the game. We didn't have a great focus. We need that. We're smaller than every team we play. We need to scrap and we need to focus."

Cassell scored eight points as the Clippers bolted to a 20-6 lead. Cassell's three-point play with 33 seconds left put Los Angeles ahead 38-22 after one quarter, and the Clippers scored the first four points of the second to take a 42-22 lead on Corey Maggette's inside basket with 11:17 left in the half.

Barbosa, who had 10 points in the second quarter, scored seven in a 9-0 Suns spurt that cut it to 42-31 on his three-point play 9:12 before halftime. The Brazilian's 3-pointer sliced the lead to 50-41 with 5:16 left in the second. The Suns never got within single digits again.

Shaun Livingston's tip-in with 1:47 left in the half put Los Angeles up 63-46. Shawn Marion scored on a drive and was fouled, but missed the free throw. Then Bell's 3-pointer cut it to 63-51 with 1:10 to play. Marion missed a wide-open layup that would have sliced the lead to 10, then Livingston scored inside just before the halftime buzzer and the Clippers led 65-51.

Phoenix never cut into that 14-point lead in the second half.

"There was a little fatigue out there," said Marion, who had 13 points and six rebounds. "But even though we were fatigued, we didn't give ourselves a chance to win. We just got killed on the boards."

Ross' three-point play on an offensive rebound gave Los Angeles an 86-65 lead with 5:54 left in the third quarter.

Internet Sportsbook

D'Antoni, whose teams are 1-4 in Game 2s the past two seasons, thought it was a natural letdown.

"I think it's understandable for our guys, and they will regroup and we'll lay it on the line next game," he said. "It is size obviously but to negate that and to not get killed, you have to have that second effort, which we had on Monday and didn't have tonight."

Bonds comes up just short in Giants' win

Sportsbook

Barry Bonds was ready to make history. Juan Pierre made him wait a little longer.

Pierre's leaping catch against the wall in center robbed Bonds of home run No. 714, and the San Francisco slugger remained one shy of tying Babe Ruth for second place after the Giants' 6-1 victory over the Chicago Cubs on Tuesday night.

"I know I ruined about 40,000 people's nights tonight," Pierre said.

Bonds, who had the night off for Monday's makeup game with Houston, went 1-for-4 with a single two nights after hitting 713 with a 450-foot shot in Philadelphia. He drew a five-pitch walk in the first, flied out to center leading off the fourth, then watched Pierre's catch in the fifth before singling in the seventh.

He left the ballpark without talking to reporters and was hugged from behind by 7-year-old daughter Aisha outside the clubhouse as he made his way out. His entourage included Sacramento Kings' owner Gavin Maloof the same day his NBA team fired coach Rick Adelman.

Pierre went against the wall to snag Bonds' long line drive seemingly destined for the other side of the center-field fence.

"I thought it was gone," said Moises Alou, Bonds' injured teammate who watched that at-bat on a clubhouse TV. "I don't know if the ball would have been over, but when he hit it I thought it was gone."

Bonds flied out to right in the eighth.

Two of his teammates did hit homers.

Lance Niekro had a two-run shot and singled in a run and Randy Winn added a solo drive for San Francisco to help Jason Schmidt (3-2) win his sixth straight decision against the Cubs and earn his third victory in a row. Schmidt has pitched back-to-back complete games and is the first Giants pitcher to do it since he got three straight from June 19-30, 2003.

Schmidt allowed five hits, struck out six and walked none.

"That was nice for a change," Schmidt said. "I think one of the great things playing here, any time Barry is going for a certain milestone, it creates a playoff atmosphere, a little extra. The team feeds off that."

Internet Sports Betting

In the fifth, Bonds smoked a 92 mph fastball - the fastest pitch he saw all night from rookie Rich Hill - to straightaway center and Pierre leaped to catch the ball on the top of the 8-foot wall.

"He's (Hill) probably seen Bonds more than Bonds has seen him," said Cubs skipper Dusty Baker, Bonds' manager for his first 10 seasons in San Francisco. "Juan brought the ball back that one time but he went after him and pitched him good. None of the guys backed away from him."

Bonds thought he had it and took off, then made a dismissive wave toward center as he rounded first before heading back to the dugout. The fans booed Pierre when he came to the plate the next half-inning.

Bonds nodded to his fans from the on-deck circle and stepped into the batter's box in the first inning to chants of "Barry! Barry!" He received a warm standing ovation and cameras clicked with each pitch - then the boos rang out when Hill (0-2) walked him.

Schmidt retired 19 of the first 20 batters he faced - allowing only a solo homer to Michael Barrett in the second before getting 15 straight outs until Todd Walker's seventh-inning single.

The viewing portwalk beneath the right-field arcade where fans can get a glimpse of the game without buying a ticket was completely full from first pitch on. A few Bonds No. 25 jerseys could be spotted on the downtown streets during the work day.

Thirty kayaks and boats packed McCovey Cove hoping for a souvenir splash home run - Bonds has hit 31 of his homers into the water. A surfer standing on his board and paddling even joined the action.

Mike Matheny hit a pair of RBI singles and Steve Finley doubled, tripled and scored twice for the Giants, who won their second in a row following a four-game skid and sent the Cubs to their season-worst eighth straight loss.

Hill avoided becoming the 420th different pitcher to surrender a home run to Bonds.

The 41-year-old Bonds was lighthearted and laughing with reporters swarmed around his locker only hours before resuming his pursuit of Ruth.

Internet Sportsbook

Bonds' godfather, Willie Mays, sat in the stands near the dugout between team owner Peter Magowan and Giants executive vice president Larry Baer. Another Hall of Famer named Willie - Willie McCovey - also attended the game. Adding Ron Santo and Baker, all those men's home runs coupled with Bonds equaled 2,478 homers between them in the ballpark.

The Cubs are winless so far in their nine-game West Coast trip after being swept in two games at Arizona and four at San Diego.

Nash leads Suns to Game 1 win

Sportsbook

The Los Angeles Clippers wanted to waltz. Phoenix came to boogie.

In the end, the Suns had their way in a 130-123 victory, outscoring the Clippers 74-62 in the second half in the opener of their Western Conference semifinal series on Monday night.

"Tempo wasn't exactly what we needed," Clippers coach Mike Dunleavy said.

Steve Nash, presented with the MVP trophy by commissioner David Stern before the game, had 31 points and 12 assists, and the Suns pulled away over a five-minute stretch of the fourth quarter.

Shawn Marion had 20 points and 15 rebounds, including 10-of-10 free throws for the Suns, who were 24-of-25 at the line. Raja Bell added 22 points, Boris Diaw 19 and Leandro Barbosa 17 for a Phoenix team playing 48 hours after eliminating that other team from Los Angeles, the Lakers, in seven games.

"We weren't tired," Bell said. "We felt good."

Elton Brand scored 40 on 18-of-22 shooting, but scored only two in the final 8:33 for the Clippers, who hadn't played in a week since beating Denver in five games for their first playoff series triumph in 30 years.

"It must be a difficult loss for Elton," Nash said. "He was phenomenal. I thought he was trying to get them to change the MVP at halftime."

Sam Cassell added 28 points and Corey Maggette 20.

Dunleavy said before the game that the score needed to be in the 90s for his team to win. Both teams had passed that by the end of the third quarter.

Internet Sports Betting

Los Angeles shot 59 percent and still couldn't keep up with the Suns, who shot 55 percent. Phoenix has averaged 122 points in winning its last four playoff games after falling behind the Lakers 3-1.

"To get the tempo in our favor, we really need to limit our quick shots," Brand said. "That is their game plan. It can't be fool's gold. We need to take it down and run our plays."

Brand's dunk with 8:33 to go tied the game for the last time at 101. Diaw scored the next four on a driving layup and a running, 10-foot bank shot to trigger an 11-2 run that gave Phoenix a 112-103 lead on Nash's 17-footer with 5:35 remaining.

Dunleavy gave Brand a minute on the bench early in the outburst, and neither the big forward nor his teammates could recover.

"I was hoping he would be out a little longer," Phoenix coach Mike D'Antoni said. "Once in a while he has to catch his breath, I would hope, but he was terrific."

The surge reached 19-6 on Nash's 3-pointer that made it 120-107 with 2:56 left.

Cassell kept the Clippers in it, and his layup cut the lead to 122-115 with 1:45 to go. But Nash converted a three-point play with a minute left, and the game was over.

The Clippers outscored the Suns 16-2 over the final four minutes of the first half to go up 61-56 at the break. Phoenix didn't have a field goal in the last 4:10 as its usually high-powered offense turned stagnant.

Internet Sportsbook

Brand scored 23 in the first half on 10-for-13 shooting.

The Suns scored nine in a row to go up 68-65 on Marion's stuff with 8:49 left in the third. Dunleavy called a timeout, and Cassell scored nine in a 13-2 run that put Los Angeles back on top, 78-70, with 6:18 to go in the quarter.

The Suns rallied and Bell's 3-pointer with 2.1 seconds to go in the third put Phoenix ahead 93-91 entering the fourth quarter.

Despite 50 from Kobe, Suns force Game 7

Sportsbook

Better put that Battle of L.A. on hold.

Boris Diaw and Shawn Marion each scored six points in overtime, Tim Thomas made two huge 3-pointers, and the Suns beat the Los Angeles Lakers 126-118 Thursday night to force a Game 7 in the first-round Western Conference playoff series.

Kobe Bryant scored all but one of the Lakers' 13 points in overtime, and finished with a career-playoff high 50.

Game 7 will be played Saturday night in Phoenix, where the second-seeded Suns beat the Lakers 114-97 to send the series back to Los Angeles for Game 6. The home team has a 75-17 advantage in NBA playoff Game 7s.

The winner of the series will face the Clippers - co-tenants of Staples Center with the Lakers. Two teams from Los Angeles have never met in postseason play in the NBA, NFL or major league baseball.

Steve Nash led the Suns with 32 points and 13 assists. Leonardo Barbosa, starting for the suspended Raja Bell, scored 22 points for Phoenix. Thomas had 21 points and 10 rebounds, Marion had 20 points and 12 rebounds, and Diaw added 19 points and seven assists.

Bell was suspended for one game after clotheslining Bryant in Game 5. Bell was the Suns' best defender against Bryant, a job Barbosa had Thursday.

"Leandro was great," Nash said. "He stepped up offensively and battled Kobe. Kobe made a lot of shots but they weren't easy. We did this for Raja."

The Lakers had won eight straight games at Staples Center including Games 3 and 4 of this series.

Thomas forced the overtime by making a 3-pointer with 6.3 seconds left in the fourth quarter. Bryant, the hero in Game 4, tried for another game-winner at the buzzer, but Marion got a piece of the ball and it fell short of the basket as time ran out.

Two baskets by Diaw and another by Marion gave the Suns a 113-109 lead with 2 1/2 minutes remaining in overtime, and Thomas' 3-pointer with 1:41 put Phoenix ahead by seven. The Lakers weren't closer than five points after that.

Internet Sports Betting

Lamar Odom added 22 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists for the Lakers. Kwame Brown had 17 points and nine rebounds and Devean George game off the bench to score 14 points.

Only four No. 7 seeds have won playoff series in 42 opportunities counting this series since the current playoff format was adopted in 1985.

The Suns shot 56.8 percent to the Lakers' 55.3 percent. Los Angeles won the rebounding battle 39-31, but committed 20 turnovers to 14 for Phoenix.

Nash made two free throws with 2:11 left in the fourth quarter to give the Suns a two-point lead, but Bryant scored the next five points. The Suns missed a couple shots but got the rebounds, and Marion got the ball to Thomas for the game-tying shot from the top of the key.

The Suns went on a 14-6 run early in the third quarter for a 74-65 lead. Bryant kept the Lakers in the game, scoring their first 11 points of the period.

George made two 3-pointers during a 13-4 run that put the Lakers ahead before the Suns scored the final five points of the third quarter for an 88-85 lead.

After being outscored 21-5 to finish the first quarter, Phoenix went on a 19-7 run to begin the second period, putting them ahead by five. The Suns led 60-57 at halftime.

Internet Sportsbook

After a miss by Marion, the Suns made nine straight shots including four from 3-point range for a 22-12 lead in the opening five minutes.

It was 25-16 when Phoenix cooled off and the Lakers got hot. Bryant banked in a shot from about 28 feet away as the first quarter ended, putting the Lakers ahead 37-30.

Ortiz's home run helps spoil Damon's return

Sportsbook

Johnny Damon stepped to the plate to lead off the game and was booed for 30 seconds by the crowd at Fenway Park.

Somewhere in there, though, were just enough cheers to make him raise his new Yankees helmet.

"I planned on doing it if I heard enough cheering, and I did," Damon said.

But the Red Sox fans saved their loudest cheers for David Ortiz, who hit a three-run homer into a strong wind, giving the Red Sox a 7-3 win over the New York Yankees on Monday night and spoiling Damon's return to Boston.

Damon was booed in each of his other three at-bats and went 0-for-4.

"You know they're booing a uniform now," he said. "They don't boo bad players. They boo good players."

Damon could only stand and watch from a few feet away as Ortiz's 11th homer of the season sailed into Boston's bullpen in right-center field in the eighth.

Mark Loretta, in a 1-for-17 slump, had broken a 3-3 tie with an RBI single earlier in the inning in his first game as part of baseball's biggest rivalry. The first series of the season between the teams wraps up Tuesday night.

"What an atmosphere," said Loretta, traded from San Diego in the offseason. "Every game at Fenway Park has been electric, but tonight was extra electric and (there was) a great buzz out there."

That usually happens when the teams face each other. Throw in Damon's return after four years as a fan favorite - before he left as a free agent - and the crowd was excited even before the first pitch.

"It was kind of sad," Boston's Kevin Youkilis said of the reaction to Damon. "He acknowledged the crowd (with his helmet) and they didn't want any part of it."

Fans even taunted Damon, chanting "Johnny! Johnny!" after Ortiz's homer.

Damon couldn't do much with the previous batter either. He could only trot in to pick up Loretta's single through the middle off Tanyon Sturtze.

Internet Sports Betting

Mike Timlin (3-0) got the win with help from Jonathan Papelbon, who retired the side in order in the ninth with two strikeouts and is unscored upon in 15 1-3 innings this season. Aaron Small (0-1) took the loss after going 10-0 for the Yankees last season.

It was a bad night for another former Red Sox player. Mike Myers, Boston's lefty specialist last year, entered the game after the single by Loretta and gave up Ortiz's drive on a full count.

"You had to hit it good with the wind blowing like 100 miles an hour," Ortiz said.

Manager Joe Torre marveled at Ortiz's power.

"If anybody is going to do it, Big Papi is going to find his way through the wind," Torre said. "I just thought the count was probably the difference. He had to throw a strike."

Another returning player who had a more pleasant night was Boston catcher Doug Mirabelli, reacquired earlier Monday from San Diego where he had been traded for Loretta last December. Boston obtained him to resume his role as knuckleballer Tim Wakefield's personal catcher after Josh Bard, who went to the Padres, had 10 passed balls in Wakefield's four previous starts.

Mirabelli arrived at Fenway 13 minutes before the game and went 0-for-4 but didn't have a passed ball and threw out a runner trying to steal.

"You can't even imagine how much work went into just getting here," he said. "I don't think I have been that nervous in a ballgame ever in my career."

Before the game, Damon, who spent the past four seasons with Boston, said, "I'm just really excited about taking the field" and he wasn't nervous.

When he was retired in the first on an easy popup to right fielder Trot Nixon, the crowd roared when he reached second and turned back toward the visitors' dugout. Damon was retired easily in his next three at-bats on a groundout to Wakefield, a popup to third and a groundout to second.

When he took the field in the bottom of the first, fans threw pieces of green paper on the warning track behind him. Most of it was fake money but some real bills were mixed in. Damon signed a four-year contract with New York worth $52 million, $12 million more than Boston offered over the same span.

The Red Sox took a 1-0 lead in the first when Youkilis led off with a walk, took second on a groundout and scored on a single by Ortiz.

Wakefield allowed just a hit and a walk through three innings before falling behind 3-1 in the fourth. The Yankees loaded the bases with no outs on a single by Derek Jeter and walks to Jason Giambi and Alex Rodriguez.

Hideki Matsui's groundout to Youkilis drove in one run and Robinson Cano singled in two.

Boston tied it in the fourth when Alex Cora and Youkilis singled before Loretta bunted into a forceout at third. Ortiz loaded the bases with a single before Manny Ramirez singled in one run and Nixon tied it with an RBI groundout to first.

In the eighth, Cora walked and Youkilis was hit by a pitch before Loretta's single to Damon broke the tie.

Internet Sportsbook