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NBA Basketball
4 Units on Philadelphia 76ers -4 -110
"He was on fire," Hornets coach Paul Silas said of Iverson, who fell eight points shy of Michael Jordan's NBA playoff record set exactly 17 years ago in a double-overtime loss at Boston. "Anytime a guy like that is on fire, there's very little you can do except to take the ball out of his hands. It's right up there with Michael's 63. He just had a great night." The NBA saw some superlative performances over the opening weekend of the playoffs, but the best came in the last game. Iverson shot 21-of-32, including 9-of-11 in the fourth quarter, and 10-of-11 from the line to surpass his own playoff record of 54 points set in a 97-92 triumph over Toronto in Game 2 of the 2001 conference semifinals. With his teammates almost entirely shut down by the Hornets, Iverson stepped up time and again. After George Lynch nailed a baseline jumper to get New Orleans within 86-84 with 4:05 remaining, Iverson countered with back-to-back 3-pointers to help the Sixers hang on. New Orleans got within 94-90 on a pair of free throws by Jamal Mashburn with 52 seconds left, but Iverson -- who scored 20 points in the final 12 minutes -- responded 15 seconds later with an arching scoop shot over P.J. Brown.
4 Units on Dallas Mavericks -6 -110
Nowitzki poured in a playoff career-high 46 points and grabbed 10 rebounds as the Mavericks used a big second half to rally for a 96-86 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers in the opener of their Western Conference first-round series. A basket by Scottie Pippen pulled Portland within 83-80 with 6:24 remaining. But Nowitzki made a layup, Steve Nash had a basket and Eduardo Najera added an easy bucket to restore a nine-point cushion. Nowitzki made 16-of-27 shots and drained 10-of-11 free throws in 47 minutes. The German All-Star drained four of the Mavericks' eight 3-pointers. "Dirk played awesome," Finley said. "He's been playing All-Star ball all year, but this was definitely MVP status. He did everything he had to just to keep us in the ballgame." Rasheed Wallace scored 26 points for Portland but turned his ankle and had to sit out a few minutes in the third quarter. That allowed Dallas to embark on the 15-1 run that turned around the game. Finley scored all 13 of his points in the second half and Nash added 10 and nine assists as the duo combined to make just 8-of-23 shots. Aside from Nowitzki, the Mavericks shot just 39 percent (18-of-46). "We can go back and recoup," Portland guard Damon Stoudamire said. "We can work on things we need to work on. We need to pay a lot more attention to Dirk. He had a heckuva game tonight." Defensively, Shawn Bradley and Raef LaFrentz helped tighten things up inside in the second half. Bradley had seven rebounds and five blocks while LaFrentz pulled down seven rebounds.
MLB Baseball
2 Units on Chicago Cubs -240 (Eaton - R, Wood - R)
The Chicago Cubs made Brian Lawrence pay for hitting a major league-high three batters in one inning, converting the plunks into four runs as they beat the San Diego Padres 7-2 Tuesday night. Corey Patterson homered and had three RBIs, and Damian Miller drove in three runs with his first triple since 1998. The Cubs have won eight of their last 10 games, while the Padres have lost five straight. Lawrence (2-2) looked strong early, retiring nine of his first 10 batters. But he lost control in the fourth, allowing a leadoff hit -- the Cubs' first -- to Alex Gonzalez. That brought up Sammy Sosa, back in the lineup after being beaned in the head by a fastball Sunday. Sosa worked the count to 2-1 before Lawrence grazed his backside.
NBA Basketball
4 Units on Philadelphia 76ers -4 -110
"He was on fire," Hornets coach Paul Silas said of Iverson, who fell eight points shy of Michael Jordan's NBA playoff record set exactly 17 years ago in a double-overtime loss at Boston. "Anytime a guy like that is on fire, there's very little you can do except to take the ball out of his hands. It's right up there with Michael's 63. He just had a great night." The NBA saw some superlative performances over the opening weekend of the playoffs, but the best came in the last game. Iverson shot 21-of-32, including 9-of-11 in the fourth quarter, and 10-of-11 from the line to surpass his own playoff record of 54 points set in a 97-92 triumph over Toronto in Game 2 of the 2001 conference semifinals. With his teammates almost entirely shut down by the Hornets, Iverson stepped up time and again. After George Lynch nailed a baseline jumper to get New Orleans within 86-84 with 4:05 remaining, Iverson countered with back-to-back 3-pointers to help the Sixers hang on. New Orleans got within 94-90 on a pair of free throws by Jamal Mashburn with 52 seconds left, but Iverson -- who scored 20 points in the final 12 minutes -- responded 15 seconds later with an arching scoop shot over P.J. Brown.
4 Units on Dallas Mavericks -6 -110
Nowitzki poured in a playoff career-high 46 points and grabbed 10 rebounds as the Mavericks used a big second half to rally for a 96-86 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers in the opener of their Western Conference first-round series. A basket by Scottie Pippen pulled Portland within 83-80 with 6:24 remaining. But Nowitzki made a layup, Steve Nash had a basket and Eduardo Najera added an easy bucket to restore a nine-point cushion. Nowitzki made 16-of-27 shots and drained 10-of-11 free throws in 47 minutes. The German All-Star drained four of the Mavericks' eight 3-pointers. "Dirk played awesome," Finley said. "He's been playing All-Star ball all year, but this was definitely MVP status. He did everything he had to just to keep us in the ballgame." Rasheed Wallace scored 26 points for Portland but turned his ankle and had to sit out a few minutes in the third quarter. That allowed Dallas to embark on the 15-1 run that turned around the game. Finley scored all 13 of his points in the second half and Nash added 10 and nine assists as the duo combined to make just 8-of-23 shots. Aside from Nowitzki, the Mavericks shot just 39 percent (18-of-46). "We can go back and recoup," Portland guard Damon Stoudamire said. "We can work on things we need to work on. We need to pay a lot more attention to Dirk. He had a heckuva game tonight." Defensively, Shawn Bradley and Raef LaFrentz helped tighten things up inside in the second half. Bradley had seven rebounds and five blocks while LaFrentz pulled down seven rebounds.
MLB Baseball
2 Units on Chicago Cubs -240 (Eaton - R, Wood - R)
The Chicago Cubs made Brian Lawrence pay for hitting a major league-high three batters in one inning, converting the plunks into four runs as they beat the San Diego Padres 7-2 Tuesday night. Corey Patterson homered and had three RBIs, and Damian Miller drove in three runs with his first triple since 1998. The Cubs have won eight of their last 10 games, while the Padres have lost five straight. Lawrence (2-2) looked strong early, retiring nine of his first 10 batters. But he lost control in the fourth, allowing a leadoff hit -- the Cubs' first -- to Alex Gonzalez. That brought up Sammy Sosa, back in the lineup after being beaned in the head by a fastball Sunday. Sosa worked the count to 2-1 before Lawrence grazed his backside.