NBA
Nuggets put Mavericks in foul mood
Anthony’s three gives Denver 3-0 lead
DALLAS — Antoine Wright had a simple objective. In a game with 61 fouls already called, he was trying to commit another.
Wright bumped Carmelo Anthony once, hard enough to knock him off stride. But not enough for a foul call.
So he jostled Anthony again. Still no call — and now Wright was out of position, leaving Anthony a clear look at the basket. His three-pointer went right through with a second left, giving the Denver Nuggets a 106-105 victory over the Dallas Mavericks on Saturday, and a 3-0 series lead that has been insurmountable in NBA history.
“I have hit a lot of big shots in my short career, but never in a situation like this,” Anthony said. “It was a thin line between 2-1 and 3-0.”
It’s even thinner than he thinks. About two hours after the game, the league office announced that Wright was right. In a brief statement, NBA President Joel Litvin said, “At the end of the Dallas-Denver game this evening, the officials missed an intentional foul committed by Antoine Wright on Carmelo Anthony, just prior to Anthony’s three-point basket.”
The Nuggets can consider themselves lucky to be close enough to get saved by a controversial finish.
They missed 15 of their first 17 shots and made only two longer than 5 feet the entire first half. They finished with as many fouls as field goals and their previously dominant center tandem of Nene and Chris Andersen struggled, Nene missing his first eight shots and “Birdman” fouling out in only 11 minutes. Yet Denver never trailed by more than six as the Mavericks just couldn’t put them away.
“The game didn’t come down to that last play,” Dallas guard Jason Kidd said. “You’ve got to make plays down the stretch, and we just didn’t do that.”
•••
Cavs win behind LeBron’s 47
ATLANTA—The Cleveland Cavaliers were actually being challenged.
Finally, LeBron James had seen enough.
James scored 47 points in his best game yet of these playoffs, leading the Cavaliers to the brink of their second straight postseason sweep with a 97-82 victory over the Atlanta Hawks.
Back home after two blowout losses in Cleveland, the Hawks put up their best fight of the series. It didn’t matter. They now find themselves just one defeat away from being eliminated, the Cavaliers pushing out to another 3-0 lead after breezing past Detroit in the opening round.
•••
Yao done for season
HOUSTON—Yao Ming is out for the rest of the playoffs with a broken left foot.
The Houston center limped off the court late in the Los Angeles Lakers’ 108-94 victory over the Rockets on Friday night. Yao missed Saturday’s practice to get treatment and the team said the 7-foot-6 All-Star would be re-evaluated today.
But the Rockets announced later Saturday night that further examination of Yao’s injury revealed a hairline fracture. The Rockets say Yao will need eight to 12 weeks to recover, though no surgery is required.
The Rockets and Lakers play Game Four of their Western Conference semifinal series today (3: 30 p. m., Ch. 7). The Lakers lead the series, 2-1.
In today’s other game, the Orlando Magic can take a commanding 3-1 lead in their Eastern Conference series with the defending NBA champion Boston Celtics by winning Game Four (8 p. m., TNT).
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