FIBA Basketball
USA - Ginobili helps Spurs home in overtime
SAN ANTONIO (NBA) - Argentinian superstar Manu Ginobili scored eight of his 32 points in overtime as the San Antonio Spurs scrambled for a 128-119 victory over the Sacramento Kings to take a commanding 2-0 lead in their Western Conference first-round series
SAN ANTONIO (NBA) - Argentinian superstar Manu Ginobili scored eight of his 32 points in overtime as the San Antonio Spurs scrambled for a 128-119 victory over the Sacramento Kings to take a commanding 2-0 lead in their Western Conference first-round series.
Ginobili, a key man as the South Americans won the Olympic gold medal in Athens, is expected to play for his country at the FIBA World Championship later this year and on this form he will have a large part to play.
The 28-year-old also had nine assists, none more important than his baseline whip to Brent Barry, whose three-pointer from the right corner rattled around and off the backboard before dropping through with four seconds left in regulation.
The eighth-seeded Kings were destroyed 122-88 in the series opener and faced the prospect of taking on the top-seeded Spurs without Ron Artest, their best two-way player who was suspended by the NBA for delivering a blow to Ginobili in Game One.
Second-year swingman Kevin Martin started for Artest and played the game of his life, collecting 26 points and eight rebounds.
Veterans Bonzi Wells and Shareef Abdur-Rahim also picked up the slack.
Wells had 28 points on 12-of-17 shooting and grabbed 12 rebounds and Abdur-Rahim - in the play-offs for the first time in his 10-year career - added 27 on 12-of-19 shooting and swept nine boards.
French international Tony Parker, another man expected to star in the Far East, had 22 points and 10 assists and foul-plagued Tim Duncan added 14 and 13 rebounds for the Spurs, who shot 51% (43-of-84), including 12-of-26 from the arc.
Mike Bibby scored 15 points on just 3-of-16 shooting and Kenny Thomas added 12 points for the Kings, who shot 48% (42-of-87) and held a 47-34 advantage on the glass.
Vince Carter scored 33 points to lead a balanced attack as the New Jersey Nets overwhelmed the Indiana Pacers 90-75 to level their Eastern Conference first-round series at 1-1.
Richard Jefferson scored 21 points, Nenad Krstic added 20 and 10 rebounds and Jason Kidd contributed 11 rebounds and 13 assists for the third-seeded Nets, who bounced back from a disappointing two-point home loss in Sunday's opener.
In that game, Carter scored 31 points but made just 12-of-33 shots, often settling for jumpers instead of attacking the basket.
He was 1-of-8 from the arc and made things easier for the Pacers to defend him.
But in this game, Carter sought out better shots and looked to make plays for others as well - he was 12-of-20 from the field and 8-of-9 from the line, adding five assists.
In the fourth quarter, the Nets had eight baskets and Carter accounted for them all, scoring six and assisting on the other two.
After Indiana cut a 73-53 deficit to 79-71 with just over three minutes to play, Carter scored five quick points to seal the win.
Former Net Anthony Johnson scored 17 points to lead the sixth-seeded Pacers, who shot just 35% (28-of-79).
Gilbert Arenas, Antawn Jamison and Caron Butler starred as the Washington Wizards grabbed an 89-84 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers to level their Eastern Conference first-round series at 1-1.
The fifth-seeded Wizards found a way to stop LeBron James, who had 32 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists in his play-off debut on Saturday but missed 18 shots and committed 10 turnovers - one shy of the NBA play-off record - as the fourth-seeded Cavaliers gave away home-court advantage.
During the season, Arenas, Jamison and Butler combined to average 67 points, making them the highest-scoring trio in the league.
They managed just 48 on 15-of-47 shooting in Sunday's 97-86 loss but bounced back in this game as Arenas scored 30 points and made a pair of huge plays in the final two minutes.
His three-point play with 1:34 to go gave Washington an 85-77 lead and he sealed the win by stripping Anderson Varejao underneath with 10 seconds remaining.
Jamison overcame a slow start to score 11 of his 21 points in the fourth quarter, when he made a pair of three-pointers and also sank the clinching free throws after Arenas' steal.
Butler had a terrific two-way game, scoring 21 points while forcing James to shoot just 7-of-25 from the field.
PA Sport, exclusively for FIBA.com
Ginobili, a key man as the South Americans won the Olympic gold medal in Athens, is expected to play for his country at the FIBA World Championship later this year and on this form he will have a large part to play.
The 28-year-old also had nine assists, none more important than his baseline whip to Brent Barry, whose three-pointer from the right corner rattled around and off the backboard before dropping through with four seconds left in regulation.
The eighth-seeded Kings were destroyed 122-88 in the series opener and faced the prospect of taking on the top-seeded Spurs without Ron Artest, their best two-way player who was suspended by the NBA for delivering a blow to Ginobili in Game One.
Second-year swingman Kevin Martin started for Artest and played the game of his life, collecting 26 points and eight rebounds.
Veterans Bonzi Wells and Shareef Abdur-Rahim also picked up the slack.
Wells had 28 points on 12-of-17 shooting and grabbed 12 rebounds and Abdur-Rahim - in the play-offs for the first time in his 10-year career - added 27 on 12-of-19 shooting and swept nine boards.
French international Tony Parker, another man expected to star in the Far East, had 22 points and 10 assists and foul-plagued Tim Duncan added 14 and 13 rebounds for the Spurs, who shot 51% (43-of-84), including 12-of-26 from the arc.
Mike Bibby scored 15 points on just 3-of-16 shooting and Kenny Thomas added 12 points for the Kings, who shot 48% (42-of-87) and held a 47-34 advantage on the glass.
Vince Carter scored 33 points to lead a balanced attack as the New Jersey Nets overwhelmed the Indiana Pacers 90-75 to level their Eastern Conference first-round series at 1-1.
Richard Jefferson scored 21 points, Nenad Krstic added 20 and 10 rebounds and Jason Kidd contributed 11 rebounds and 13 assists for the third-seeded Nets, who bounced back from a disappointing two-point home loss in Sunday's opener.
In that game, Carter scored 31 points but made just 12-of-33 shots, often settling for jumpers instead of attacking the basket.
He was 1-of-8 from the arc and made things easier for the Pacers to defend him.
But in this game, Carter sought out better shots and looked to make plays for others as well - he was 12-of-20 from the field and 8-of-9 from the line, adding five assists.
In the fourth quarter, the Nets had eight baskets and Carter accounted for them all, scoring six and assisting on the other two.
After Indiana cut a 73-53 deficit to 79-71 with just over three minutes to play, Carter scored five quick points to seal the win.
Former Net Anthony Johnson scored 17 points to lead the sixth-seeded Pacers, who shot just 35% (28-of-79).
Gilbert Arenas, Antawn Jamison and Caron Butler starred as the Washington Wizards grabbed an 89-84 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers to level their Eastern Conference first-round series at 1-1.
The fifth-seeded Wizards found a way to stop LeBron James, who had 32 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists in his play-off debut on Saturday but missed 18 shots and committed 10 turnovers - one shy of the NBA play-off record - as the fourth-seeded Cavaliers gave away home-court advantage.
During the season, Arenas, Jamison and Butler combined to average 67 points, making them the highest-scoring trio in the league.
They managed just 48 on 15-of-47 shooting in Sunday's 97-86 loss but bounced back in this game as Arenas scored 30 points and made a pair of huge plays in the final two minutes.
His three-point play with 1:34 to go gave Washington an 85-77 lead and he sealed the win by stripping Anderson Varejao underneath with 10 seconds remaining.
Jamison overcame a slow start to score 11 of his 21 points in the fourth quarter, when he made a pair of three-pointers and also sank the clinching free throws after Arenas' steal.
Butler had a terrific two-way game, scoring 21 points while forcing James to shoot just 7-of-25 from the field.
PA Sport, exclusively for FIBA.com