Danny Granger scored 24 points, and the host Indiana Pacers stalled the Detroit Pistons' bid for a higher playoff seed with a 106-102 victory Saturday.
Indiana led by 12 early in the final quarter, but Detroit rallied to take a 102-101 lead on a basket by Richard Hamilton with 56 seconds left. The Pacers went back in front on a spinning layup by Jarrett Jack and iced the game with a free throw by Troy Murphy with 16 seconds left and two by Granger with five seconds left.
With two games left, Detroit already has clinched its eighth playoff berth in a row but fell a game behind the seventh-place Bulls in the East. Detroit hosts the Bulls on Monday.
The loss could force the Pistons into a first-round matchup against Cleveland, which has the best record in the Eastern Conference.
- Vince Carter had 27 points and nine assists, and the host New Jersey Nets ended Orlando's bid for the No. 2 seed in the East by beating the Magic 103-93.
- LaMarcus Aldridge scored 21 points, and the Portland Trail Blazers beat the host Los Angeles Clippers 87-72 to tie for third in the Western Conference.
HOCKEY
CANUCKS TAKE NORTHWEST
Henrik Sedin scored 40 seconds into overtime, and Roberto Luongo stopped 22 shots for his second shutout in a row, helping Vancouver clinch the Northwest Division title with a 1-0 victory against host Colorado.
- Thomas Vanek scored two goals, including his 40th, in the host Buffalo Sabres' season-ending 6-1 victory against the Boston Bruins that clinched the Presidents' Trophy for the San Jose Sharks.
- Jacques Lemaire said he won't return to Minnesota for a ninth season behind the Wild's bench. Lemaire made the announcement after Minnesota's season-ending 6-3 victory against Columbus.
- Detroit kept forward Johan Franzen off the free-agent market, signing him to an 11-year, $43.5 million deal.
- The Wolves closed their season with a 5-2 victory against the Rockford IceHogs before a season-high 16,019 fans at Allstate Arena.
- Trailing by two goals with less than a minute left in regulation, the top-seeded Boston Terriers stormed back to force overtime, then beat Miami (Ohio) 4-3 on a goal that went in off a RedHawks player in the extra session of the NCAA championship game in Washington.
BOXING
WILLIAMS BATTERS WRIGHT
Paul Williams battered Winky Wright with an avalanche of punches to win a unanimous decision, dominating the matchup of middleweights in Las Vegas.
Williams (37-1, 27 KOs) worked Wright's formidable defensive posture like a speed bag from the opening bell at the Mandalay Bay Events Center. Wright (51-5-1) was returning after a 21-month ring absence.
NFL
BILLS DB ZAPPED, ARRESTED
Buffalo Bills defensive back Donte Whitner was shocked with a stun gun and arrested by officers trying to control a rowdy crowd outside a Cleveland nightclub, police said.
Whitner, 23, was jailed for aggravated disorderly conduct and resisting arrest, Lt. Thomas Stacho said. The former Ohio State star was released later in the day and hadn't been charged, police said.
MISCELLANEOUS
NASCAR TEEN TRIUMPHS
Teen star Joey Logano raced to his second career NASCAR Nationwide Series victory, holding off Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Kyle Busch in the Pepsi 300 at Nashville Superspeedway.
- Lleyton Hewitt reached his first clay-court final in a decade with a 7-6 (7-4), 6-4 victory against Evgeny Korolev at the U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships in Houston. Hewitt will meet Wayne Odesnik in the title match today.
- General Quarters, a 14-1 underdog, earned a spot in the Kentucky Derby by winning the $750,000 Blue Grass Stakes at Keeneland.
Photo: Michael Conroy, AP / The Pacers' T.J. Ford drives around the Pistons' Jason Maxiell during the second half of Indiana's 106-102 victory Saturday night. ;
Комментариев нет:
Отправить комментарий