Durant leads fired-up US to victory

Updated August 07, 2012 11:43:26

A nasty, bad-tempered joust with Argentina's basketball team woke up the sleeping giants from the US on Monday, spurring them to a 126-97 victory that earned a top-seeded berth in the quarter-finals.

Players from both sides were knocked down in a closely-fought first half and they often glowered at each other as the contest turned into a rout for the Americans who had narrowly beaten Lithuania in their previous game.

"Tonight's game was so much fun," US point guard Chris Paul told reporters. "I give Argentina a lot of credit.

"Those guys pushed us, they made us compete. I loved it. When it gets a little chippy here and there, it gets you excited," he said after the players frequently collided going for rebounds.

The muscular LeBron James threw an arm out at one point to sweep experienced Argentine Manu Ginobili off his feet.

After going to intermission locked in a 60-59 struggle, Argentina were buried under a flurry of three-pointers from Kevin Durant.

Durant, who made 8-of-10 three-pointers in the game, nailed four from beyond the arc in a third-quarter stretch that took the US lead from 12 points to 24.

The quarter ended with more physical combat as Carmelo Anthony hit the floor doubled up in pain after making a three-pointer to send the Americans into the fourth session with a 102-76 advantage.

"He got hit in the groin. That's why he buckled. He wasn't celebrating his shot," said coach Mike Krzyzewski.

It seemed a fight might break out at that point as several players from both teams approached each other near mid-court before being separated.

Argentina won the gold medal in 2004 and are the only nation apart from the US to win the Olympic title since the triumphant American 'Dream Team' was launched at the Barcelona Games in 1992.

"It went very well for the first half and then it got physical in the second," said Argentina coach Julio Lamas who was without starting point guard Pablo Prigioni.

"(To beat) the US we really needed to play a very good game, a perfect game really."

Early in the fourth quarter, Russell Westbrook was given a technical foul for taunting an Argentine player after slamming a dunk through a basket.

After that the game carried on to a peaceful finish.

Durant led the Americans with 28 points. James added 18 while Ginobili scored 16 points as Argentina's high scorer.

"Chippiness is chippiness," said Krzyzewski. "Guys want to win and they play hard.

"That's part of competition. I didn't think our guys or theirs did anything that would be below Olympic standards.

"In fact I thought it was a heck of a game."

The win helped the Americans complete a 5-0 record in Group A and they now face Australia (3-2) in Wednesday's quarter-finals.

Argentina (3-2) next meet arch-rivals Brazil (4-1) while Group B winners Russia (4-1) play Lithuania (2-3) and France (4-1) take on Spain (3-2).

Reuters

Tags: sport, basketball, olympics-summer, united-kingdom, united-states

First posted August 07, 2012 09:47:12

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Durant leads Thunder over Miami in Finals opener

Updated June 13, 2012 14:56:34

Kevin Durant won the opening round of his highly anticipated duel with LeBron James, scoring 36 points to lead the Oklahoma City Thunder to a 105-94 victory over the Miami Heat in the opening game of the NBA Finals on Wednesday (AEST).

Durant, the NBA scoring champion, hit 12-of-20 shots and added eight rebounds to help the Western Conference champions overcome a seven-point half-time deficit.

Point guard Russell Westbrook scored 27 points, and had eight rebounds and 11 assists for Oklahoma City.

Three-time MVP James scored 30 points on 11-of-24 shooting, while adding nine rebounds, but it was Durant who triggered the Thunder's 18-point turnaround in the second half.

Durant's tussle with James is widely regarded as a barometer for determining the NBA's best player, with both also seeking a first championship.

"Everybody has to come to play," said Durant, who had 17 points in the fourth quarter on six-of-10 shooting.

"Everybody played hard in the second half. We stuck together."

Speaking of his play in the final quarter, Durant said: "I'm just playing off my team-mates. I'm not trying to force anything, I just take what the defense gives me."

Miami led by as many as 13 in the opening half but fell apart in the third quarter, and when Westbrook made a three-point play late in the period to give the Thunder their first lead at 74-73, the stadium erupted.

"I thought we showed a lot of toughness in the second half," Thunder coach Scott Brooks said.

"KD (Durant) is a terrific player, a terrific scorer," he added.

"But he's a special player because he defends. We're a defensive team."

Oklahoma City held a 43-35 advantage in rebounds after losing the first-half battle on the glass 20-17.

The Heat's big first half was the result of a combination of hot shooting from beyond the arc and inconsistent play by the Thunder, who committed eight turnovers.

But the Thunder, playing in their first championship since relocating from Seattle in 2008, opened the second half on a 13-6 run to tie the score at 60-60 with just under seven minutes left in the third quarter.

Reuters

Tags: basketball, sport, united-states

First posted June 13, 2012 13:43:49

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Crawford leads Boomers to win over China

Updated June 09, 2012 20:46:11

A stunning string of four three-pointers from Australian guard Peter Crawford steered the Boomers to a 66-55 win over China in Perth on Saturday night in game one of their three-match basketball series.

As both sides continue preparations for the upcoming London Olympics, Townsville guard Crawford top-scored with 21 points to give national selectors something to think about as they prepare to cut the squad further in the next two weeks.

China got off to a solid start at Challenge Stadium when they hit the first two baskets and held a narrow advantage until Crawford nailed the first of his five three-pointers.

A three-point bomb on the quarter-time buzzer from China's Guo Ailun (15 points) reduced the Boomers' lead to two points after they led by seven just 90 seconds before the first break.

Defensively the Boomers were inspired, but at the other end the shooting was timid as they converted just four of their 15 attempts.

Chinese big man Han Dejun was given his first minutes in the second term and made them count, starting China's run of four unanswered baskets that helped the visitors to a seven-point lead at half-time.

Shooting at just 21 per cent in the first half, the Boomers picked up the pace in the third term and a tip-in from Mark Worthington (11 points) in the dying seconds cut China's lead to just one point at the final change.

But it was Crawford's sizzling performance from outside the arc in the fourth quarter that sealed the game and ultimately a comfortable 11-point margin.

Game two of the series is in Albany, south of Perth, on Monday and returns to Perth on Wednesday.

AAP

Tags: sport, basketball, perth-6000, wa, australia

First posted June 09, 2012 19:52:32

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Worthington leads as Blaze down Taipans

Updated January 29, 2012 22:41:47

The Gold Coast Blaze recorded a dominant 76-49 home win over the Cairns Taipans on Sunday night.

The Blaze produced their most lethal display to date to leapfrog Cairns into fourth spot.

In stark contrast, the Taipans were miserable as they crashed to the lowest score of any team so far this season.

"We should be pretty embarrassed by that. We were disgraceful," shell-shocked Taipans coach Aaron Fearne said.

It was a win built on defence as the Blaze shut down every Taipans option, dominated the paint (30-22), the rebounds (42-27) and ultimately the scoreboard.

Boomer Mark Worthington was the main destroyer with a game-high 17 points, seven rebounds, two steals and a block, while international team-mate Adam Gibson contributed 10 points, six boards, four assists and three steals.

Only Alex Loughton (12) could trouble the scoreboard for Cairns.

"Cairns are one of the teams that run their offence better than any other team," Blaze coach Joey Wright said.

"If you can push these guys out of their offence, you've done a good job."

AAP

Tags: nbl, basketball, sport, qld, southport-4215, australia, cairns-4870

First posted January 29, 2012 22:41:47

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Jarry leads Boomers past Spirit

Updated December 07, 2011 21:37:49

Bulleen forward Rachel Jarry posted 25 points as her side beat the Spirit 76-68 in Bendigo on Wednesday night.

Jarry also had 11 rebounds in the win while centre Liz Cambage added 16 points and 11 boards for the Boomers, who improved to 7-3 with the victory.

Bulleen led from wire to wire in the tight affair, sneaking to just a five-point advantage at half-time before Bendigo clawed a point back before the final quarter.

But the Spirit were plagued by poor shooting (25-of-67 from the floor) and the Boomers scored more in the paint, thanks in part to Cambage's efforts.

Kristi Harrower did her best to quell Jarry's influence, adding 25 points of her own but, aside from Gabrielle Richards (15), the home side lacked offensive punch.

Bendigo's next fixture is on Saturday night when the club hosts AIS before the perennial struggler backs up on Sunday afternoon to visit Bulleen.

Tags: wnbl, basketball, sport, bendigo-3550, bulleen-3105, vic, australia

First posted December 07, 2011 21:37:49

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Mills leads Tigers past Kings

Updated October 07, 2011 22:52:44

Star Boomers guard Patty Mills announced his arrival to the NBL in style by leading Melbourne past Sydney 82-76 in the season opener at The Cage on Friday night.

Mills, who signed with the Tigers while the NBA lockout keeps his American team Portland off the court, scored a game-high 28 points, going 6-for-11 from three-point range and added three assists.

Fellow guard and former Gold Coast star Ayinde Ubaka scored 22 points on debut for Melbourne, while Tigers big man Cameron Tragardh had 14 points and nine rebounds.

The Kings, who learnt on Friday morning that NBA star Andrew Bogut would not be joining the club due to insurance issues, led by as much as 12 in the final quarter and looked to have it sewn up.

But Mills drained 3-of-5 from downtown in the last period, while Ubaka and Ron Dorsey added long-range points of their own, to drag the Tigers back into it.

Down 70-62 with 4:30 to play, a Tragardh put-back followed by an Ubaka lay-up began an onslaught that reclaimed the lead with a little over a minute remaining.

Melbourne completed a 33-17 final quarter to open its campaign with a fighting victory.

Sydney centre Julian Khazzouh had an 18-point, 14-rebound double-double to lead the visitors on the scoreboard, while Jerai Grant added 16.

Tags: nbl, basketball, sport, melbourne-3000, vic, sydney-2000, nsw, australia

First posted October 07, 2011 21:30:47

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James leads Heat to series-opening win

Updated June 1, 2011 15:12:00

LeBron James took the first step toward winning a first championship by leading the Miami Heat to a 92-84 victory over the Dallas Mavericks in the Game One of the NBA Finals.

James scored 24 points, added nine rebounds and five assists to lead the Heat to the victory before a raucous Miami crowd, hungry to see the Heat's first title since 2006.

The two-time NBA most valuable player hit nine of 16 shots but was at his best from long range, connecting on four-of-five from beyond the arc.

Dwyane Wade added 22 for the Heat while collecting a team-leading 10 rebounds.

Chris Bosh scored 19 for Miami, giving the so-called "Big Three" 65 of the team's 92 points.

James scored nine points in the third quarter, including a 25-foot, three-pointer at the buzzer with the Mavericks' Shawn Marion in his face, as Miami recovered from an eight-point deficit to take a 65-61 lead into the final period.

"It's kind of the way we have been winning games - you have got to stick with it, you can't get frustrated because the ball's not going in," Wade said.

"There are other ways you can dominate the game and we were able to do that tonight.

"I thought we did a great job in the second half."

Miami led 77-73 with just under four minutes left but two foul shots by Bosh and a 24-foot, three-point jumper by Wade hiked the advantage to nine points with 3:06 on the clock.

Two free throws by Dallas forward Dirk Nowitzki sliced the lead to 82-75 but James responded with a three-point play on the next possession to end any thoughts of a Dallas comeback.

Nowitzki scored 27 points, hitting seven-of-18 shots from the floor and all 12 of his free throw attempts.

Game Two is in Miami on Friday morning (AEST) before the best-of-seven series shifts to Dallas for the next three games.

Dallas lost to Miami in the title series five years ago, the Mavericks winning the first two games of the best-of-seven series before losing the next four.

The Heat were 47-35 last season but became one of the NBA's elite teams when James and Bosh took the free agent route last summer to join fellow All-Star Wade in Miami.

Wade admitted the Mavericks had trouble guarding both him and James.

"We are two playmakers who can not only take shots and make plays ourselves, we can do it for our team-mates," he said.

"This was a total team win though. And we got one."

-Reuters

Tags: sport, basketball, united-states

First posted June 1, 2011 14:06:00

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