• Mavericks 119, Suns 109 • SuperSonics 101, Spurs 89 • Pistons 89, Pacers 76 • Charges filed against A’s fan who tossed beer Mavericks 119, Suns 109 DALLAS — Dirk Nowitzki finally had the kind of shooting night the
• Mavericks 119, Suns 109
• SuperSonics 101, Spurs 89
• Pistons 89, Pacers 76
• Charges filed against A’s fan who tossed beer
Mavericks 119, Suns 109
DALLAS — Dirk Nowitzki finally had the kind of shooting night the Dallas Mavericks had been waiting for as the Dallas Mavericks defeated the Phoenix Suns 119-109 in Game 4 on Sunday night to even the Western Conference semifinal series 2-2.
Nash scored a playoff career-high 48 points, including 23 in the third quarter when he scored 16 straight for the Suns, but he also committed nine turnovers.
Josh Howard kept going to the basket, scoring on layups, drawing fouls and grabbing offensive rebounds. He finished with 29 points, a career playoff high, with 10 rebounds — six of them on the offensive end — while Nowitzki finally snapped out of his postseason shooting slump with 25 points on 9-of-15 shooting.
While Nash made 20 of 28 shots, the Mavs finally were able to neutralize Amare Stoudemire, who had scored at least 30 points in three straight games with plenty of rim-rattling dunks — including seven Friday night when the Suns won 119-102 in Dallas. In Game 4, Stoudemire had more fouls (5) than field goals (3), none of them dunks. He scored nine of his 15 points on free throws.
SuperSonics 101, Spurs 89
SEATTLE — Ray Allen scored 32 points and Luke Ridnour had 15 of his 20 points in the third quarter, hitting all seven of his field goals in the period.
Seattle forward Rashard Lewis was unable to run because of a sprained toe on his left foot. He was hurt in Game 3 and, after missing two days of practice, watched in street clothes on the bench.
The Sonics, who shocked nearly everyone by winning 52 games and the Northwest Division title, seemed inspired without him. Antonio Daniels scored 19, while reserve forward Damien Wilkins had 15 points and six rebounds.
Tim Duncan led the Spurs with 35 points, Manu Ginobili had 15 and Tony Parker 12.
Pistons 89, Pacers 76
INDIANAPOLIS — Chauncey Billups scored 29 points and the Pistons used a 19-1 first-quarter run to tie their best-of-seven Eastern Conference series at two games each.
Just as they did Friday night, when they blew an 18-point lead but managed to hold on for a 79-74 victory, the Pacers went cold from the field. But this time it cost them the game.
This collapse, though, came in the first quarter, when a free throw by Jamaal Tinsley was their only point in a stretch of almost eight minutes. After that, Billups scored nine points as Detroit quickly built its lead to 17. The Pistons held off a brief third-quarter comeback, took a 20-point lead late in the period and were never threatened in the final quarter.
Rasheed Wallace had 17 points and 12 rebounds, and Richard Hamilton added 13 points and seven assists for the Pistons.
Charges filed against A’s fan who tossed beer
OAKLAND, Calif. — The Coliseum fan who threw a cup of beer at Yankees slugger Jason Giambi will face multiple criminal charges, officials said Sunday.
Eric Anduri of Lafayette, Calif., spent Saturday night in jail after pelting Giambi with the beer when the former Oakland Athletics star returned to the New York dugout after flying out in the eighth inning of the Yankees’ 15-6 win.
Anduri, whose age wasn’t available, was arrested and charged with battery, public intoxication and throwing objects on the field, said David Rinetti, the A’s vice president of stadium operations. A spokesman for the Oakland Police Department would not confirm the charges Sunday.
Giambi, the longtime A’s slugger who won the 2000 AL Most Valuable Player award while playing for Oakland, has been booed loudly at the Coliseum ever since he left Oakland in December 2001 to sign a seven-year contract with the Yankees.
