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Bad start, bad finish spoil Nets comeback vs. CavaliersBasketball Betting Lines05/18/2007 - EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) -A bad start and horrible finish ended the New Jersey Nets' playoff hopes against LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers on Friday night. In between those sequences in Game 6 that ended with the Cavs winning 88-72 to wrap up the Eastern Conference semifinal, Jason Kidd added another chapter to his legacy as one of the NBA's best point guards by nearly rallying the Nets from a 22-point first-half deficit. ``Jason Kidd is probably the best point guard I have seen in my whole life,'' James said after Cleveland advanced to the conference final for the first time since 1992. Kidd was phenomenal in the third quarter, almost willing the Nets back from a 15-point deficit after James went to the bench with his fourth foul. The 12-year veteran was 6-of-10 from the field and had three rebounds and two assists in New Jersey's 16-2 run that brought the Nets within 61-60 at the end of three quarters. As Kidd walked to the bench, the Cavaliers seemed on the ropes. The crowd was roaring, James had been sitting for more than seven minutes and his teammates were looking at each other for answers. All that was left for the Nets to force a Game 7 was to close out the fourth quarter. James never let that happen, helped in large part by major contributions from little-used backups Donyell Marshall and Daniel Gibson, who combined for 17 fourth-quarter points. The Nets scored 12 points in their last quarter of the season, and the reason was obvious. Kidd was gassed. He threw up an airball on a 3-pointer early in the period and never got his legs back. He went to the bench with 9:38 to play and no one else stepped up. Not Vince Carter. Not Richard Jefferson. ``When we got it down to one I was spent,'' said Kidd, who averaged a triple-double for the playoffs. ``Once I shot the airball I knew I was tired. I was hoping someone would pick it up when I left but unfortunately that didn't happen.'' New Jersey, which struggled all season with fourth-quarter shooting woes, had another bad last quarter to end the season. The Nets went 2-for-16 with the game on the line and only 7-of-12 from the free throw line. ``We exerted so much energy we didn't have much left,'' Nets coach Lawrence Frank said. ``We ran out of gas and couldn't score and couldn't get stops.'' Carter, who can opt out of his contract after this season, also struggled when his team needed him. He scored 11 points on 4-of-11 shooting from the field. ``I felt we could go far, we just had to do the job collectively,'' Carter said. ``It's tough.'' What the Nets will find hard to accept is the fact they came out flat for the biggest game of the season. New Jersey was 3-of-19 in a 30-6 Cavaliers' spurt that gave them a 39-17 lead. The Nets got within 15 at halftime and within a point entering the final quarter, but they never got over the hump. ``It's disappointing,'' forward Bostjan Nachbar said. ``We thought we would win the series. We were confident but the end result doesn't show the whole picture. We could have done a little better. I don't want to take nothing away from them, but ... .''Copyright © 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.
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PITTSBURGH (AP) -Xavier Nady hit a three-run homer to help Pittsburgh open a seven-run lead in the only non-interleague series of the weekend, and the Pirates withstood a shaky start from Ian Snell to beat Arizona 11-5 on Friday night.Adam LaRoche,
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Phoenix Suns Playoff History >>
2007 - Beat LA Lakers 4-1; Lost to San Antonio 4-2.2006 - Beat LA Lakers 4-3; Beat LA Clippers 4-3; Lost to Dallas 4-2.2005 - Beat Memphis 4-0; Beat Dallas 4-2; Lost to San Antonio 4-1.2004 - Didn't make playoffs.2003 - Lost to San Antonio 4-2.2002
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Teams that should be in: Michigan State, Indiana Should be in: Michigan State [21-8 (8-6), RPI: 20, SOS: 15] The Spartans made it four-for-four on the homestand, a gigantic accomplishment that leaves them in extremely good shape. MSU is only 1-6 on the road and is at Michigan and at Wisconsin to close things out, meaning the date with the Wolverines on Tuesday looms very, very large. Beating Texas early will hold up well, as will the rout of Bradley and the win over BYU, but will 8-8 be enough? It very well could be, as the computer numbers are good, but why chance it? Indiana [18-9 (8-6), RPI: 24, SOS: 32] Hmm ... good thing the last two are at Northwestern and home to Penn State, because IU might want to get both to feel completely safe after dropping its third in the last four, fading after halftime at Michigan State. Who knew the best nonconference win would be over Southern Illinois, which is a gift that keeps on giving for the Hoosiers. The win over Wisconsin also looks good on the mantel. Work left to do: Illinois [21-9 (9-6), RPI: 31, SOS: 25] A good performance at Penn State leaves the Illini in pretty good shape. Can they go to Iowa and take care of business to really look on their way? That's a huge game, as there is a possible cluster of teams that will end at 9-7. Illinois beat Bradley, but has lost to Xavier. A 9-7 mark and a semifinals trip in Chicago could be enough with the computer profile hanging in there, but it would be better not to mess around, clinching at least a tie for third. Purdue [18-10 (7-7), RPI: 47, SOS: 28] Couldn't get it done at Iowa, but did win at Northwestern to put 9-7 squarely in sight. Where does that leave the Boilermakers, though? Even if they beat Minnesota and Northwestern at home, that won't help the computer numbers. Nonconference wins over Virginia, DePaul and Oklahoma are solid, but not spectacular. The Boilers very well might need an upset in the B10 quarters to have a legit claim. Michigan [19-10 (7-7), RPI: 55, SOS: 53] Well, Michigan did what it needed to do, winning at Minnesota to take control of its fate. The Wolverines have Michigan State and an already-wrapped-up-the-league Ohio State at home to close, so the chances are there. Win both and we can talk. There is no marquee win yet in the profile, and the Wolverines were splattered in several games against name opponents. A mediocre computer profile fueled by a lack of road wins isn't helping, either. Iowa [16-12 (8-6), RPI: 80, SOS: 64] For the sake of being complete, we'll add Iowa, this season's Stanford. It's plausible that the Hawkeyes could get to 10-6 (at Penn State, vs. Illinois left), but where does that leave them after a gruesome nonconference performance where the best win was over ... Toledo? Iowa State? Cornell?? If they get to 10-6, we can start to look at what they need to do in the B10 tourney, although my gut sense is that they would need to make the final and have knocked off Ohio State or Wisconsin on the way to have any real claim. For more College Basketball betting lines go to MySportsbook.com Additional sports lines can be found at: www.Sportsbooks.com To bet on March Madness games this online sportsbook accepts credit cards.
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