NBA | Jazz spoil party, forcing Game 7
SALT LAKE CITY - Instead of the second round, the Utah Jazz have Tracy McGrady and the Houston Rockets facing Game 7.
SALT LAKE CITY - Instead of the second round, the Utah Jazz have Tracy McGrady and the Houston Rockets facing Game 7.
Carlos Boozer scored 22 points, and Andrei Kirilenko had his best game of the series with 14 points and five blocks to lead the Jazz to a 94-82 victory last night, forcing a deciding game tomorrow night in Houston.
Mehmet Okur added 19 points, including four three-pointers.
McGrady finished with 26 points and 10 rebounds. Yao Ming scored 25 points but also had eight turnovers - two more than his rebounding total - as Okur and rookie Paul Millsap constantly pressured the 7-foot-6 center.
After falling behind by 11 points late in the third quarter, Houston twice got within a point but never completed the comeback.
Bulls' Deng honored. Chicago forward Luol Deng won the NBA's sportsmanship award, edging Houston's Shane Battier and four other divisional winners in a vote by the players.
Deng received 52 first-place votes and 2,027 points, 22 more than Battier. Utah's Derek Fisher was third with 1,953, followed by the Los Angeles Clippers' Elton Brand with 1,935, Atlanta's Joe Johnson with 1,737, and Toronto's Anthony Parker with 1,611.
The award honors the player who best exemplifies ethical behavior, fair play and integrity on the court, and the winner receives the Joe Dumars Trophy.
Artest pleads no contest. Sacramento forward Ron Artest pleaded no contest in Auburn, Calif., to a misdemeanor domestic-violence charge stemming from a March 5 dispute with his wife.
Judge Francis Kearney of the Placer County Superior Court sentenced Artest to 100 hours of community service and a 10-day work project through the county sheriff's department. Artest also was fined $600 and ordered to get extensive counseling.
He was accused of grabbing, pushing and slapping his wife during an argument and preventing her from calling 911.
Richardson fined.Golden State's Jason Richardson was fined $35,000 by the NBA for improper interaction with a fan during a playoff game in Dallas.
Richardson had a heated verbal exchange with the fan after missing a shot and falling out of bounds with 21.9 seconds left in the Warriors' 118-112 loss in Game 5 of the first-round series.
Wednesday's late game
Suns 119, Lakers 110
Phoenix completed its mastery of Kobe Bryant's team with a methodical home victory to win the opening-round series in five games.
Phoenix advanced to a Western Conference semifinal matchup with San Antonio. Game 1 takes place Sunday at Phoenix.
Bryant ended his season in unmasked frustration and expected management to do something in the off-season to make the Lakers a contender again.
"Do it and do it now," he said. "Personally for me, it's beyond frustration - three years and still being at ground zero. This summer's a big summer. We have to see what direction we want to take as an organization, and make those steps and make them now."
The Lakers haven't won a playoff series since 2004, when Shaquille O'Neal left Los Angeles.
Amare Stoudemire scored 27 points and Shawn Marion added 26, and the Suns overcame an inspired performance by Lamar Odom.
Odom, playing the whole series with a hyperextended elbow and torn shoulder cartilage, had a career playoff high of 33 points and 10 rebounds.
Bryant scored 34 points and had two consecutive three-pointers in a late rally, but finished 13 for 33 from the field.