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BOSTON -- Rajon Rondo banked in a 3-pointer that broke a fourth-quarter tie. cheap jerseys from china . Or so it seemed. Two minutes after the point guard apparently gave the Celtics a 93-90 lead with 4:37 remaining, officials reviewed the shot at the next stoppage in play. They ruled that Rondo released the ball after the 24-second buzzer and disallowed the basket. Boston never led again and the Indiana Pacers won 102-97 on Saturday night, their fourth straight victory. "I love instant replay!" Indiana coach Frank Vogel said with a smile. "Just a big fan, always have been, except for the couple of times it went against us." Boston coach Brad Stevens figured the basket would be taken away once officials took another look. "That doesnt change how were going to play," he said. "Were just going to try to win the next possession and build from there." Those three points were critical in a game between the team with the NBAs best record and one with the fourth-worst mark in the Eastern Conference. "It let the pressure off them," Bostons Jared Sullinger said. "They were playing frantic when the score was (93-90). Then they took away that 3. We kind of let it slip away." Paul George scored 10 of the Pacers last 12 points as they won two nights after beating another of the NBAs worst teams. On Thursday night, the Pacers won 101-96 over the Milwaukee Bucks, who have the leagues worst record. George led the Pacers with 25 points, Evan Turner came off the bench to score 17 and Lance Stephenson scored 16. Indiana won its fourth straight game and eighth in its last 11. "I missed too many easy shots (early) and I told myself when it comes back around that I have to make my shots," George said. "So I just locked in my focus and my teammates found me." Jeff Green had 27 points and Kris Humphries scored 18 as the Celtics lost for the sixth time in seven games. "We kind of got it going in the third (quarter)," Humphries said. "(It) kind of took our wind out of the sails when that 3 didnt count. (I) kind of wish theyd review it right away." Rondos shot was followed by two free throws and a reverse layup by George that put Indiana ahead 94-93. Then the reversal changed the score to 94-90 with 2:38 remaining. Sullingers two free throws made it 94-92 before Georges layup restored the Pacers four-point lead. Boston cut that to 96-94 on two free throws by Brandon Bass with 1:31 remaining, but George followed with a 3-pointer, making it 99-94. Indiana increased the lead to 102-94 on two free throws by Stephenson and one by George before Green finished the scoring with a three-point play. The Celtics scored nine of the last 11 points of the third quarter and took a 78-76 lead at the buzzer when Humphries dunked after rebounding a missed shot by Sullinger. Trailing 74-69, Humphries began the comeback with a 3-pointer on a layup and a free throw. Green and Humphries made jumpers, giving Boston a 76-74 lead with 3:28 left in the period. David West then tied the game with a foul-line jumper before Humphries quarter-ending dunk. Indiana used an eight-point run to take a 51-41 lead with three minutes left in the second quarter. Luis Scola started the surge with a 13-footer, Turner followed with two jumpers and Roy Hibbert hit two free throws. "Evan Turner gave us a big lift throughout the whole game," Vogel said, "but, in particular, down the stretch." The Pacers led 55-45 before Chris Johnsons 3-pointer cut the lead to 55-48 at halftime. The Celtics had a chance to draw closer, but Hibbert blocked Rondos shot with 29 seconds remaining. NOTES: Pacers guard George Hill missed the game after bruising his left shoulder when he fell in Thursday nights game. ... Celtics G Chris Babb played his first game after signing a 10-day contract. ... Celtics swingman Gerald Wallace will miss the rest of the season with knee and ankle injuries. ... Indiana returns home to face Utah on Sunday night. Boston is off until Wednesday night when it hosts Golden State. ... Celtics F Sullinger returned after missing three games with a concussion. nfl jerseys china . The Kings were beaten on a goal by Logan Couture after the Sharks played the entire 89 seconds of overtime on the power play. The Kings were received penalties for both hooking and goaltender interference in the final minute of regulation play. cheap jerseys . A Los Angeles judge on Thursday said the case wont finish by Tuesday but will continue on July 21 because some lawyers for team owner Donald Sterling have personal plans. Sterling is suing to block his wifes unilateral deal to sell the team to former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer. SALT LAKE CITY -- When the Minnesota Timberwolves were mired in a slump, they figured theyd get back to winning if they shed some sweat. They never thought it would take some blood, too. Kevin Love grabbed his 4,000th career rebound as part of a 19-point, 13-board effort to lead the Timberwolves over the Utah Jazz 112-97 on Tuesday night. Along the way to sweeping a home-and-home set against the Jazz, Alexey Shved left with a broken nose and Kevin Martin sliced open his right pinkie. "Its crazy. I cant remember two people bleeding like that in the same game," said Nikola Pekovic, who had 18 points and nine rebounds. Love leads the league with 35 double-doubles but he thought it was passing and teamwork that sealed a sweep of the home-and-home set with the Jazz. "Ive been passing the ball all season and guys were converting," said Love, who had eight assists. "I didnt get too many looks and didnt convert many from the 3-point line so I had to figure other ways to be effective." Ricky Rubio has returned to his spontaneous, free-flowing style and had 11 points and 13 assists for the Wolves, who snapped a seven-game losing streak in Utah. "Tonight was a pure team effort," Pekovic said. "We are all good friends between us. On the good nights everything is fine, of course." It was another good night for Minnesota as Corey Brewer scored 19 points and Martin contributed 18. Each time the Jazz threatened to get close in the fourth quarter, J.J. Barea hit big baskets and finished with 15 points to keep the Jazz at bay. "I think we needed that win (on Saturday) and we had a great team effort defensively. It carried on to tonight," Barea said. Gordon Hayward returned from a five-game absence to lead the Jazz with 27 points, but he was the only starter in double figures. The Jazz went 2-3 in Haywards absence, including a 98-72 road loss to Minnesota where Utah set a record for worst field goal percentage in franchise history at 28.8 per cent. "It felt good to be back out there," Hayward said. "But we just didnt get stops tonight. They were too effective offensively." A team that seemed disjointed and frustrated during a three-game losing streak a week ago, the Timberwolves apparently needed a couple of matchups with the Jazz to break out off the funk. jerseys from china. The Timberwolves ran crisp sets and were eager to make the extra pass to wide-open teammates. Minnesota led 84-62 at the end of three quarters as it assisted on 23 of its first 30 field goals. Picking up right where they left off on Saturday, the Wolves using a 17-2 run in the first quarter to stake a commanding lead that ballooned to 18 points. Love hit a 3-pointer and Brewer dunked to make the score 30-12 in the first quarter. "I was pleased with the way we came out and controlled the game from beginning to end," Minnesota coach Rick Adelman said. "I thought (the Jazz) would come out with so much energy at the start of the game." Instead the Timberwolves made the Jazz look flat and flustered and soon they were on their way to consecutive wins for the first time since they beat Washington and Milwaukee on Dec. 27-28. Hayward was having the best three-game set of his career before injuring his left hip and being sidelined five games. But he scored early and often despite the layoff. His teammates, though, seemed powerless to stop Minnesotas attack. Alec Burks had 18 points but the Jazz missed starting centre Derrick Favours, who was out with a right hip injury. "Defensively, he protects the rim for us," Utah coach Ty Corbin said. "We missed that." Of course, Minnesotas plan to was get the ball to Love and Pekovic. "We knew we had the advantage against them inside. After last game, we wanted to keep doing that. We had a nice balance of looking at those two guys, plus getting other open looks," Adelman said. After losing 14 of their first 15 games, the Jazz have been playing about .500 and hadnt lost two consecutive since losing to San Antonio and Miami on Dec. 14 and 16. The Timberwolves were again the aggressors against the Jazz and made 22 of 24 free throws. Haywards 3-pointer drew the Jazz 58-47, but Minnesota responded with a 10-0 surge that ended with Martins three-point play. NOTES: The Timberwolves wore their black short-sleeved uniforms. . The Jazz had three points nullified in the third quarter because Trey Burkes 3-pointer came after the shot clock expired, the ruling came during a time out more than four minutes of elapsed game time after the shot. . The Jazz are 1-18 when Enes Kanter starts. He had four points and six rebounds. wholesale jerseys cheap jerseys ' ' ' |
