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The Indiana Pacers grabbed a 3-1 lead over the New York Knicks and San Antonio Spurs routed Golden State 109-91 to grab a 3-2 lead in their series match.

According to Reuters, Game Five is in New York on Thursday when the Knicks will have to win to stay alive in the series, while the Pacers can reach the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time since the 2003-04 season.

The Knicks, who scored just 71 points in an 11-point loss on Saturday, failed to show much sign of urgency on Tuesday and trailed by 14 at halftime.

George Hill scored 26 points for Indiana, who out rebounded the Knicks 54-36 and held them to just 35 percent shooting from the field.

Carmelo Anthony scored a team-high 24 points and had nine rebounds but made just nine of 23 shots, while a misfiring J.R. Smith shot 7-for-22.

Paul George added 18 points, 14 rebounds and seven assists for Indiana, who are a perfect 5-0 at home in the playoffs.

The San Antonio Spurs routed visiting Golden State 109-91 on Tuesday to grab a 3-2 lead in the Western Conference second round series.

The Spurs had squandered an eight-point advantage in the fourth quarter of Game Four to let the Warriors even the series, but they much more clinical back at home in the AT&T Center where they only briefly trailed in the first quarter.

Tony Parker recorded 25 points and 10 assists while Tim Duncan had 14 points and 11 rebounds for the Spurs, who will try to close out the series in Game Six on Thursday at Golden State.

Harrison Barnes led the Warriors with 25 points and Jarrett Jack had 20 but Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson, who had erupted for huge games earlier in the Western Conference semi-final, combined for 13 points and made one three-pointer between them.

LeBron James led the Miami Heat to a 3-1 lead in the Eastern Conference semi-final series against the Chicago Bulls.

Miami held hosts Chicago to 25 percent shooting to take a 3-1 lead in the Eastern Conference semi-final series.

LeBron James had 27 points and eight assists, while Chris Bosh added 14 points, as the Heat held the Bulls to their lowest scoring output in franchise playoff history.

Top seed and defending NBA champions Miami can clinch the best-of-seven series at home in Wednesday’s Game Five.

Carlos Boozer had 14 points and 12 rebounds, Jimmy Butler scored 12 points but Nate Robinson missed all 12 of his field-goal attempts and did not score in 32 minutes.

The Bulls had 33 first-half points and followed that with a franchise playoff-record low nine in the third quarter and trailed 61-42 after Norris Cole swished a three-pointer at the buzzer.

Miami’s lead stretched to as many as 26 points in the final stanza.

AS an orphan without a home and family to turn to, Kalima D.

Kizito used basketball to overcome the horrors of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi.

Kizito who lives in indiana, USA told local media over the weekend how he survived death four times after being struck by machetes in his birth place Nyanza, Southern Province during the Genocide

“April 1994, I lay bleeding in a ditch littered with dead bodies, after being struck by a machete, staring at the sky waiting to die. Surviving four times near death situations, I hid in swamps where I spent two months before I was liberated by RPF/Inkotanyi.”

“As an orphan without a home and family to turn to, sport became my refuge.”

He lamented that as a teenager towering at nearly 6’6 (2 meters) during the Genocide, he had no aspirations of playing sports professionally.

“Back then sports was merely a hobby. I was extremely passionate about sports. I remember making a soccer ball out of plastic bags and rubber bands as a young boy, playing volleyball and soccer regularly with kids in my neighborhood and going home at night covered in dirt after playing any sport.”

While he loved sports, he never saw it as a means to an end. “I longed to be a judge or a university professor as my father was a well-respected educator and a community leader.”

“My family history was rooted in academia. Though tall and athletic, each of my nine siblings focused not on building their muscles, rather they sought to enlighten their minds.”

The Genocide and the sequence of events completely changed his outlook and ultimately his destiny. “After losing my parents, a sibling, countless aunts uncles and cousins during the Genocide I found myself isolated and angry.”

The only refuge left for him was sports. “I had heard of this game called basketball as a child. However, I had never picked up basketball until after the Genocide.”

After reading and learning about athletes such as Dikembe Mutombo, Manute Bol and Hakeem Olajuwon, he began to realise the power that this sport had in terms of offering opportunity to young talented African athletes.

After the Genocide, he convinced a local NGO to give him a ball and began to immerse himself into the sport.

“I lived, breathed and ate basketball. My efforts and passion led me to play for Progressive High School in Bweyogerere, Kampala in Uganda as well as a basketball club called the Falcons.”

“We did not possess the fancy uniforms that I saw on TV or play in the fancy wooden courts as professional American basketball players did.”

“Our passion was undeniable. Each day I woke at dawn, went to school, then walked several kilometers each day only to engage in grueling practice. My efforts paid off in the form of an opportunity to come to America.”

Fast forward to July 1998, Kizito was standing 6’9’’ (2.06 meters) on board a 747 British Airways headed to the US.

When asked how he was able to get the lifetime opportunity, he only answered with one word, Basketball.

His basketball career continued through high school in Chicago, Illinois, USA and he was being recruited by many major colleges and university.

However, his citizenship status hindered him from playing in a division one school. “Still determined I ended up playing at Indiana University South Bend, until I was ultimately permanently sidelined due to an injury when I ruptured my Achilles tendon.

“I was devastated. Basketball had been my therapy. I had replaced the images and horrors that I had witnessed during the Genocide with the high I felt when I played the game I loved.”

“My height was my main undoing during the Genocide but it had also allowed me opportunities beyond my wildest dreams.”

Gradually, he learned that he could find happiness in other areas when he married and adopted two young Rwandan Genocide survivors who needed a permanent home and a loving family.

“I currently pour my energy into sharing my story of survival in an effort to encourage and inspire others. My love for the game that changed my life, however, remains strong.”

“I continue to feel a sense of euphoria when I step on the court. Watching basketball at any level, played by anyone, men, women, children, domestic, international, still brings me joy.”

“While basketball does not wholly define me as a person, it is certainly an undeniable part of me. I survived the Genocide by the grace of God. I believe that God had a larger purpose for my life.”

LeBron James was on fire to help Miami knock off visiting Chicago 105- 93 as the Lakers won their first game since losing Kobe Bryant.

LeBron James collected 24 points and seven rebounds and Dwyane Wade scored 22 as Miami knocked off visiting Chicago.

Mario Chalmers added 15 points and Chris Andersen had a season-high 15 off the bench for the Heat, who won their sixth straight.

Luol Deng had 19 points and Carlos Boozer recorded 16 and 20 boards as the Bulls dropped a game behind the Atlanta Hawks in the race for the No. 5 seed in the Eastern Conference play-offs.

Miami took a nine-point lead into the fourth quarter and never let it slip lower than seven. Mike Miller’s 3-pointer with 1:16 left stretched it back out to 103-93 and put the game away.

James went 6-for-6 from the field and 3-for-3 from the line in the first half as Miami opened up a 15-point lead early in the second quarter. Nate Robinson struck fire for Chicago late in the half and had seven points during a 23-10 burst to end the second and cut it to 56-54 at the break.

LeBron James had 24 points and was a rebound shy of a triple-double as the Miami Heat used a fourth quarter surge to put away the Orlando Magic 108-94 and extend their winning streak to 27 games.

Tied 68-68 near the end of the third quarter, the Heat, powered by a 20-2 run, blasted clear of the gritty Magic to move within six of the Los Angeles Lakers’ record of 33 successive wins set in the 1971-72 season.

While Orlando holds the second-worst record in the NBA with just 18 wins and languish a staggering 38.5 games back of their state rivals, the Florida Derby has not been as lop-sided as the two records would suggest.

Earlier in March, the Heat almost saw their run halted at 15 games until James hit a lay-up with just three seconds to play, securing Miami a 97-96 win.

But the job of stopping the streaking Heat on Monday was a lot tougher for the under-manned Magic who were without their top two scorers, Arron Afflalo and Nikola Vucevic.

The Heat were also were missing one of their ‘Big Three’, with Dwyane Wade sitting out for a second straight game with a sore right knee.

The All-Star guard was not missed, however, as Mario Chalmers chipped in with 17 points and Chris Bosh helped out with 12 points and nine rebounds.

After back-to-back games against the NBA’s two bottom feeders, the Charlotte Bobcats and Orlando, the Heat’s road to the record could get a little bumpier with the Chicago Bulls, New Orleans Hornets and Western conference-leading San Antonio Spurs on deck to close out March.

Miami Heat saw off Toronto Raptors, winning their 22nd consecutive game to tie the second-longest win streak in NBA history.

Heat beat Raptors 108-91. The Miami Heat were given a bit of a scare in the fourth quarter by the Toronto Raptors before winning their 22nd consecutive game on Sunday to tie the second longest winning streak in NBA history.

The Heat built up a 16-point lead in the first half but the Raptors chipped away and tied the game early in the fourth quarter before Miami pulled away down the stretch to win 108-91.

Miami are now tied with the 2007-08 Houston Rockets in second place with 22 straight wins in the NBA. Only the 1971-72 Los Angeles Lakers, who won 33 in a row, remain ahead of them.

Dwyane Wade had 24 points for Miami while LeBron James had 22. Rudy Gay and Amir Johnson were responsible for most of the Raptors scoring. Gay had 27 while Johnson had 18 to go along with 18 rebounds.

Toronto tied the game at 77-77 when Gay hit a pair of free throws at 11:08 in the final quarter, but the Heat responded with 12-straight points, including a highlight-reel dunk from Wade off a half-court lob from Norris Cole.

Espoir basketball club endured a memorable season after winning Game three of the playoffs tournament over the weekend with a 78-68 victory to seal the season on a high note with unbeaten record.

Espoir started like a house on fire, running with the first quarter 19-12, before APR came back in the second quarter which they won 23-15.

The former champions looked tired and short of ideas in the second and third quarters, which Espoir dominated 25-13 and 20-9 respectively.

Forward Olivier Muhizi and Kami Kabange scored 23 and 14 respectively, while the Most Valuable Player of the year, point guard Mugabe added 11 points as Espoir rounded off a memorable season.

Lionel Hakizimana scored 11 points for APR, while the skipper, who was ejected after accumulating five fouls Theotime Murimira, added 8 points.

Espoir’s point guard Aristide Mugabe was crowned the Most Valuable Player of the national basketball league season.

Espoir won all three games which helped them to win two titles in what has been an outstanding season for the oldest basketball club in Rwanda. They won Game One 89-63 and Game Two 106-54 respectively last weekend.

The win helped Espoir to add the two titles to the Zone Five club championship crown they won last year in Kampala after beating Burundi’s Urumuri in the final.

Afro Basket championship

Rwanda men’s team have joined Egypt as Zone Five representatives in the Fiba Africa Championships slated for August in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire.

The continental basketball body in a release, gave Rwanda and Mali the wild card to the tournament. The Rwandan side finished ahead of Kenya in the qualifiers won by Egypt in Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania.

For the first time since its inauguration in 1985, the event will now have a total of 16 teams with reigning champions Tunisia leading the charge for ticket to the 2013 World Championships.

Rwanda beat Kenya in the Zone Five Championships in which also featured Somalia, Burundi, Uganda, Rwanda and Tanzania.

Fiba Africa named the final teams as—Algeria, Angola, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Cameroon, Cote d’Ivoire, Egypt, Morocco, Mozambique, Nigeria, Central Africa Republic, DR Congo, Senegal and Tunisia.

Kenya women’s side will represent the zone after they also won all their matches to qualify for the Nations Cup to be held in Maputo, Mozambique in September.

Miami Heat star Dwyane Wade thought it was “great in the larger scheme of things” that his team struggled to beat the lowly Philadelphia 76ers night for their 20th straight victory.

“Right now we’re preparing for the playoffs,” Wade said after Miami rallied for a 98-94 victory, “so this was good, because we will have these same moments again.”

LeBron James, who had 27 points, eight assists and seven rebounds, hit the go-ahead free throw with 1:12 left, and Wade added four of his 21 points in the closing seconds to lift Miami (49-14).

The Heat became only the fifth team in NBA history to win at least 20 straight. The others were the 1971-72 Lakers (33), the 2007-08 Rockets (22), the 1970-71 Bucks (20) and the 1947-48/1948-49 Washington Capitols (20), whose streak spanned two seasons.

The Heat also ran its winning streak over Philadelphia to 14.

“We just don’t panic,” James said. “Our main goal is to win the game. It’s not to blow a team out. Whatever the case may be, we just want to play the game. Wherever the game takes us in 48 minutes, we’re ready for it.”

Thaddeus Young had 24 points and 15 rebounds for the Sixers (24-40), who lost for the sixth time in seven games and the 13th time in 15 tries. Jrue Holiday had 21 points and seven assists.

The Heat held an 80-70 lead with 8:56 left, but the Sixers scored 15 of the game’s next 17 points to go up 85-82 with 4:38 to play. Holiday drilled a pair of 3-pointers in that run, the first after falling to one knee and righting himself, and Dorell Wright added five of his 13 points.

Miami stormed back to claim an 89-87 lead on Ray Allen’s 3-pointer with 3:11 to play. The Sixers tied it on Evan Turner’s basket, and after Chris Bosh dropped in a layup with 2:30 left, Holiday stormed down the lane and dunked on James to forge the night’s last tie, at 91-91.

James then began the game-ending 7-3 run by making his free throw. After a Holiday turnover, James twice missed from point-blank range, but Wade was there for the tip-in with 29.4 seconds left.

He added two free throws with 22.3 seconds to play, and after Wright’s 3-pointer cut the gap to 96-94, James sank two more foul shots with 18 seconds left.

“Regardless of who you’re playing or what’s laid out in front of you, you focus on the task at hand, and the guys took that to heart,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. “I’m sure the guys felt a little bit of fatigue going through there, but everybody has to deal with it.”

Turner finished with 15 points for the Sixers. Allen had 12 and Bosh 10 for Miami. Chris Andersen also scored 10 for the Heat.

“I couldn’t be more proud of the way our guys fought, kept battling and battling and battling,” Sixers coach Doug Collins said. “We had a lot of guys play very, very well. At the end, (we) just couldn’t come up with that one rebound.”

Umutoza w’ikipe ya Espoir Basketball Club John Bahufite, aratangaza ko afite icyizere cyinshi cyo kuzegukana igikombe cya Play – off uyu mwaka, nyuma yo gutsinda APR BBC mu mikino ibiri ku busa mu mpera z’icyumweru  gishize.

Mu mukino wa mbere wabaye ku wa gatandatu tariki ya 9/3/2013, Espoir BBC yari yatsinze APR BBC amanota 89-63, maze ku mukino wa kabiri wabaye bucyeye bwaho ku cyumweru, Espoir BBC inyagira APR BBC amanota 106 kuri 54.

Kugirango ikipe itware igikombe cya Play Offs, igomba gutsinda imikino itatu. Kuba Espoir BBC yaramaze gutsinda imikino ibiri, ngo bibaha icyizere ntakuka ko n’igikombe bazacyegukana.

Bahufite yagize ati, “Urebye navuga ko twamaze kwizera gutwara igikombe, kuko APR BBC twamaze kuyitsinda mu mikino ibiri kandi tuyirusha, gusa ntitwakwirara tutarakina uwo mukino, tugomba kuwukinana imbaraga uko bisanzwe, kuko si byiza gutangira kwishima kandi hari umukino dusigaje”.

Bahufite warangije shampiyona y’umwaka ushize ikipe ye iri ku mwanya wa mbere kandi  idatsinzwe umukino n’umwe, avuga ko icyatumye barangiza shampiyona nta kipe n’imwe ibatsinze ndetse ubu bakaba baratsinze APR BBC biterwa  n’ubuyobozi bubaba hafi kandi nabo bagakinana ubwitange n’ishyaka.

“Ubundi nta banga ridasanzwe dukoresha kugirango dutsinda amakipe, uretse ikinyabupfura kiranga abakinnyi bacu. Bakina bashyize hamwe kandi n’Ubuyobozi bukatuba hafi muri byose. Ku bijyanye no gutsinda APR BBC byo, icyo twayishoboje ni ugufata umukinnyi witwa Lionel Hakizimana igenderaho, hanyuma tugakinana ubwisanzure”.

Espoir BBC ifitanye umukino wa gatatu na APR BBC ku wa gatandatu tariki ya 16/3/2013, maze Espoir BC yawutsinda igahita itwara igikombe.

N’ubwo Espoir BBC yamaze kwizera kugitwara, umutoza wa APR BBC Cliff Owour ukomoka muri Kenya avuga ko bazakomeza kwitoza neza ku buryo bashobora gutungura Espoir BBC.

“Nibyo koko Espoir BBC yaraturushije mu mikino ibiri yarangiye,  kuko mu by’ukuru yaturushije imbaraga kandi ifite abakinnyi bafite inararibonye, ariko ntabwo turatakaza icyizere, kuko tugiye gukora imyitozo ku buryo dushobora gutungura Espoir BBC mu mukino wa gatatu”.

Mu guhatanira umwanya wa gatatu, ikipe ye Kigali Basketball Club (KBC) yamaze kuwegukana, nyuma yo gutsinda Cercle Sportif de Kigali  (CSk), imikino ibiri ku busa. Umukino wa mbere KBC yawutsinze ku manota 72 kuri 62, naho umukino wa kabiri CSK yatewe mpaga y’amanota 20 ku busa nyuma yo kwanga kuza ku kibuga.