Basketball

AUSTRALIA will play Iran in a three game basketball series in June.

The ‘Boomers World Challenge’, matches will be played in Perth, Adelaide and Melbourne as the Australians fine-tune their squad for the August Olympics in Beijing.

Iran have been drawn in the same group as Australia at the opening round of the Games.

“We’re delighted to have secured three games against Iran,” Basketball Australia chief executive Scott Derwin said.

“We expect them as Asian Champions to be spirited competition and we hope the people of Perth, Adelaide and Melbourne get to a game to support the Boomers and Australian basketball in this critical step toward Beijing.”

Last year Iran defeated Lebanon to win the 2007 Asian crown, qualifying their first men’s basketball team for an Olympic Games since 1948.

Australia, ranked ninth in the world, defeated New Zealand 2-1 to earn the right to play in Beijing.

Iran has yet to name its player roster for the tour but have a centre, Jaber Rouzbahani, who stands at 226cm and can dunk the ball without leaving the ground.

Schedule:
June 16: Challenge Stadium, Perth
June 18: Distinctive Homes Dome, Adelaide
June 20: State Netball and Hockey Centre, Melbourne

AAP

Source: foxsports.com.au

AUSTRALIA star David Andersen is celebrating his third EuroLeague basketball title in the countdown to the Beijing Olympics.

The 212cm tall centre scored 13 points and collected five rebounds to help Russian powerhouse CSKA Moscow overpower Israel’s Maccabi Elite Tel Aviv 91-77 in the Madrid final of basketball’s equivalent of soccer’s UEFA Champions League.

One of the premier big men in the European competition, Anderson also tasted EuroLeague triumph with CSKA Moscow in 2006 and previously with Italian side Bologna in 2001.

"This one is for everybody that loves me - my family, my friends and of course for everybody at CSKA Moscow," Andersen said.

"It means a lot to me and now it is time to celebrate."

Andersen had also grabbed four rebounds and shot eight-from-eight to finish as CKSA’s equal top scorer in Saturday’s 83-79 semi-final win over Spanish outfit Tau Ceramica Saski Baskonia.

The centre played a vital role in the Boomers’ qualification for Beijing with victory over New Zealand in the 2007 FIBA Oceania Championship and is expected to be a key part of Australia’s quest for gold in Beijing in August.

AAP

Source: foxsports.com.au

THE Los Angeles Lakers, led by Kobe Bryant’s 38 points, launched their National Basketball Association second-round playoff series with a 109-98 victory over the Utah Jazz.

Bryant, who has reportedly earned the NBA Most Valuable Player award to be officially announced this week, shot 8-of-16 from the field and made a postseason career high 21 free throws on 23 attempts.

He also had seven assists and six rebounds for the Lakers, who will host game two of the best-of-seven Western Conference series on Wednesday.

Spain’s Pau Gasol, a trade-deadline acquisition, chipped in 18 points and 10 rebounds and Lamar Odom had 16 and nine for the Lakers, who still saw the Jazz erase a 19-point third-quarter deficit and narrow the gap to as few as four points in the fourth quarter.

The Jazz out-rebounded the Lakers 58-41. But Utah, who had a quick turnaround after closing out their first-round series against the Houston Rockets on Friday night, couldn’t make shots when they needed them most, shooting 38 percent (36-of-95) from the field for the game.

“I’m not going to make excuses,” Jazz guard Deron Williams said.

“This is the playoffs, you’ve got to get up for every game like it’s your last. They just beat us tonight.”

“Maybe, it was the fact that we were well-rested that gave us the victory,” said Lakers coach Phil Jackson, whose team enjoyed a six-day break after sweeping Denver in four games.

Rested or not, Bryant had his own struggles from the field in the second half, with 24 of his 38 points coming before the interval.

The 10-time All-Star hit just 1-of-6 shots in the fourth quarter, but compensated with a pair of timely assists down the stretch.

“I really didn’t get the run I was looking for in the second half,” Bryant said.

“I just tried to make passes, facilitate the offense more than I did in the first half.”

A 7-2 scoring run by the Jazz saw them narrow the deficit to 91-87 with 4:44 left to play.

“We knew they were going to make a run,” Bryant said.

“The important thing for us was to remain poised and try to execute as best we could.”
The Jazz went scoreless over the next two minutes, and the Lakers took advantage.

With it only a two-possession game, Bryant found Gasol streaking to the basket on consecutive plays, the latter putting Los Angeles ahead 101-90 with less than a minute to play.

“The game was right there for us, we just couldn’t get it and, hopefully, we will learn our lesson from this game, and we have to look forward,” Jazz center Mehmet Okur said.

Agence France-Presse

Source: foxsports.com.au

PAUL Pierce scored 22 points and Kevin Garnett added 18 as Boston overwhelmed Atlanta 99-65 to reach the second round of the NBA play-offs.

The Celtics, who have won a record 16 NBA titles but none since 1986, beat the Hawks four games to three in the best-of-seven series, with home teams winning every game in the Eastern Conference first-round match-up.

"Atlanta wanted it to finish in seven games. This is what you get," Garnett said. "This is how we play at home. We play hard defence. It’s hard to win here."

Boston will open the second round against Cleveland in Boston on Wednesday (EST). The Celtics split four regular-season games with the Cavaliers, whose star LeBron James averaged 32.3 points against Boston on his way to the NBA scoring title.

"We’re solid at home. We have to learn how to win on the road," Garnett said. "We’re going to enjoy this and get ready for Cleveland."

The Celtics had an NBA-best 66-16 regular-season record to earn a home-court edge throughout the NBA play-offs but any intimidation factor from the feat might have been lost after struggles with Atlanta.

Garnett, Pierce and Ray Allen have a history of play-off failure, none of them ever reaching the NBA Finals despite individual success. But this season, they came together in Boston with the goal of finally winning a championship.

The Celtics avoided becoming only the fourth top seed ever dumped out of the play-offs by a bottom seed in the first round of the play-offs, although it did happen just last year when Golden State rocked Dallas.

Pierce sank a 3-pointer 30 seconds before the end of the first quarter to give the Celtics a 27-16 lead after the period. Pierce had nine points in the quarter while Kendrick Perkins added eight points and six rebounds for Boston.

"We missed some good shots in that first period. We missed four lay-ups," said Hawks coach Mike Woodson. "We didn’t get back up the floor and that hurt us."

The Celtics stretched the lead to 44-26 at half-time, Boston’s defence keeping Atlanta to only 26.3 percent shooting in the first half.

Atlanta’s frustration bubbled over 2:51 into the third quarter when Marvin Williams tackled Boston guard Rajon Rondo as he jumped in the air for a lay-up to try and add to the Celtics’ 51-28 lead.

Williams was ejected for the flagrant foul and Rondo answered with two free throws and an assist on a 3-pointer as Boston advanced the lead to double Atlanta’s total at 56-28.

From there it was only a matter of how huge the blowout would be and whether or not the Hawks would avoid the record-low point total for a game seven, Cleveland’s 61 against Detroit in 2006, against the Celtics reserves.

Joe Johnson led the Hawks with 16 points while Garnett had 11 rebounds and Perkins had 10 points and 10 rebounds.

The Celtics improved to 18-5 in seventh games, the most game-seven wins by any club in NBA history. That includes a 15-3 record at home in seventh games.

Agence France-Presse

Source: foxsports.com.au

NEW Orleans Hornets held San Antonio’s Tim Duncan to five points and raced to a 101-82 home victory over the Spurs in the opening game of the NBA Western Conference second-round series.

David West scored a career playoff-best 30 points to lead the Hornets with Chris Paul adding 17 points and 13 assists.

The Hornets trailed by 11 points late in the second quarter before roaring back.

“We just came back with a lot more energy,” West said.

“They were beating us to loose balls,” he added. “There’s no excuse for that. We’ve got the fresher legs, the younger legs and we want to be the aggressor the entire series.”

Tony Parker led San Antonio, last year’s NBA champions, with 23 points while Duncan made only one of nine field-goal attempts and had just three rebounds.

The points total was a playoff low for Duncan and shackling him will be the Hornets’ strategy throughout the series.

“We just don’t want to give him in easy looks,” West said.

“We know he is one of the best players in the league when he catches the ball two or three feet from the basket. We are going to have guys running at him the entire series.”

The game was delayed between the first and second quarters when a stunt involving a mascot going through a ring of fire went wrong. Workers had to use fire extinguishers to put out the flames and it took 20 minutes to clean up the court.

Game two is in New Orleans on Tuesday (EST).

Also this weekend, the Detroit Pistons pulled away from the Orlando Magic in the third quarter and rolled to a 91-72 victory in the opening game of their Eastern Conference second-round series.

Chauncey Billups scored 19 points and Richard Hamilton had 17 to spark Detroit.

Rashard Lewis and Hedo Turkoglu each scored 18 points for Orlando. Dwight Howard finished with 12 points and eight rebounds. Game two is in Detroit on Tuesday (EST).

Reuters

Source: foxsports.com.au

DERON Williams collected 25 points and nine assists and Mehmet Okur added 19 and 13 rebounds for the Jazz, who completed a 4-2 victory in the best-of-seven series and booked a second-round clash with the top-seeded Los Angeles Lakers.

The other Western Conference semi-final series is between San Antonio v New Orleans.

In Atlanta, the upstart Hawks shocked the Boston Celtics again on Friday to force an unlikely deciding game seven in their Eastern Conference first-round series.

Marvin Williams scored 18 points, Mike Bibby added 17 and Joe Johnson chipped in 15 for Atlanta - including a key three-pointer with 1:07 to play - in a 103-100 victory over the top-seeded, star-studded Celtics.

Now the Celtics must win at home to avoid becoming the second No.1 seed to lose to the eighth seed in the first round of the playoffs in a best-of-seven series.

Last season, Golden State beat then top-seeded Dallas in six games in the Western Conference playoffs.

The Hawks’ victory means the Cleveland Cavaliers will have to wait to find out who they play in the second round.

Earlier in Washington, superstar LeBron James notched his third career playoff triple-double to lead the Cavaliers to a 105-88 victory over the Wizards that clinched a 4-2 victory in that series.

James scored 27 points with 13 rebounds and 13 assists as the Cavaliers eliminated the the Wizards for the third straight postseason.

AAP

Source: foxsports.com.au

WORLD championship-winning forward Emily McInerney and two-time Olympian Michelle Brogan are unlikely to make the Beijing Games after being dropped from Australia’s women’s basketball team.

Opals coach Jan Stirling has named a team for a three-game series against Taiwan later this month and McInerney, Brogan and young guard Renae Camino have lost their spots after a poor recent test event in Beijing.

With a number of Australia’s best players absent from last month’s test event, including Lauren Jackson and Penny Taylor, some fringe players had a chance to shine but failed terribly as the team finished with a 3-3 record.

The Opals lost to New Zealand for the first time ever and also slipped up against China and Cuba, despite beating the United States in the opening game and overcoming the Cubans the second time around in the bronze medal clash.

Tully Bevilaqua, an almost certain selection for Beijing, has been released to return to her American WNBA club Indiana, so Stirling has made four changes to face Taiwan as she gets closer to her final Olympic squad.

Another world champion in Jenni Screen, who has returned from playing in Italy, has been included along with Carly Wilson, Kathleen MacLeod and Samantha Richards.

"These games will play a vital role in the Opals’ lead up to Beijing," Basketball Australia chief executive Scott Derwin said.

"The team for Beijing is not set in stone at this stage and athletes will be doing their best to obtain selection, so we’re hoping for some high quality competition."

There are very few spots available for the Olympics, with the likes of Jackson, Taylor, Bevilaqua, Kristi Harrower, Belinda Snell, Suzy Batkovic and Screen virtually assured of their spots.

McInerney was a key part of the team that won gold at the 2006 world titles, but her absence from the squad makes it almost certain the nine-time WNBL defensive player of the year won’t make Beijing.

Brogan, 35, who played in the 1996 and 2000 Olympics, was always facing an uphill battle to make another Games while reigning WNBL grand final MVP Camino has also lost her place.

Taiwan, ranked No.22 in the world, will arrive in Australia on May 15 and play warm-up matches against the Sydney Flames and the Australian under-19 women’s team before meeting the Opals in Terrigal.

The teams will meet on May 22, 23 and 24.

Taiwan will then head to Spain for an Olympic qualification tournament in June.

AAP

Source: foxsports.com.au

DETROIT booked their second-round berth in the NBA play-offs with a 100-77 victory over Philadelphia to secure a 4-2 series victory.

Richard Hamilton scored 24 points while Chauncey Billups chipped in 20 with seven assists for the Pistons in the final match of best-of-seven Eastern Conference first-round series.

Tayshaun Prince added 12 points for the No.2-seeded Pistons, who will open the conference semi-finals against No.3-seeded Orlando Magic as they chase a sixth successive appearance in the Eastern Conference finals.

Andre Iguodala scored 16 points for the Sixers, who lost the last three games of the series after taking a 2-1 lead.

Agence France-Presse

Source: foxsports.com.au