Teams

The Miami Heat reached their third straight Eastern Conference final after a 94-91 win over Chicago on Wednesday secured a 4-1 series victory for the defending NBA champions.

Miami will face the winners of the series between the New York Knicks and the Indiana Pacers. Indiana currently lead 3-1 going into Thursday’s Game Five in New York.

A series that began with a Chicago upset win in Miami and included some fierce, physical encounters, ended with a strange game as Miami blew an 18-point first quarter lead but somehow managed to claw their way back to victory.

“It was very challenging to be up like we were and then to be down like we were in second half. Mentally, we had to not get too high, not get too low in the whole game,” said Miami’s LeBron James, who ended with 23 points.

“Emotionally, this game took a lot out of both teams,” added the league MVP, who said he was left with “no energy”.

The Heat made a blistering start, putting up 10 unanswered points to start the game and upped their advantage to 18 in the first quarter but once again the Bulls fought back.

Miami’s sharp movement of the ball fell away dramatically, as did their shooting, as Chicago, led by the livewire Nate Robinson and powerhouse Carlos Boozer, roared back.

Chicago led 53-47 at the half and went into the fourth quarter with a 77-69 advantage but Miami got their second wind when it mattered.

A three-pointer from Shane Battier and a Chris Anderson dunk helped Miami close the gap before Norris Cole’s left-handed dunk put the Heat back in the lead with 6:40 left on the clock.

Still the Bulls kept on scrapping and it was not until Jimmy Butler’s hopeful three-point attempt in the final moments was off-target that Miami could finally celebrate.

Dwyane Wade, who has struggled with his knee, provided 18 points and some crucial defensive plays for Miami in the fourth quarter.

Boozer ended with 26 points and 14 rebounds as the depleted Bulls, who played without their star Derrick Rose throughout the season, finally bowed out.

While Miami won the best-of-seven series in five games, that outcome masks the determination of a Bulls team that were also robbed of Luol Deng and Kirk Hinrich.

Head coach Tom Thibodeau said the way his team fought back from a big early deficit summed up his team’s year.

“It is sort of the story of the season. Obviously we are disappointed in losing the series but I was never disappointed in the team,” he told reporters. “I thought our team fought hard all year. There was no quit in them.”

The Heat’s quality and depth proved to be too much though.

“You have to give them a lot of credit. They are a great team. They are not going to beat themselves, you have to beat them,” said Thibodeau.

Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra said the Bulls had shown their resilience throughout the series.

“We knew right from the beginning that we would have to earn everything we got. That certainly played out to be true,” he said. “They made it extremely tough but in the fourth quarter we were able to change the momentum and finally turn the corner.”

Reuters

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.

Ten clubs have been confirmed to take part in the annual Memorial Gisembe tournament set for next month according to Espoir basketball club chairman Fidele Rutagarama.

Rutagarama said that the participants include six clubs in male category and four clubs in the women category.

He confirmed the participants as Espoir Basketball Club, APR na CKS in the men’s section and APR and UNR in the women section to represent Rwanda.

The other clubs include Muzinga and Urunani from Burundi, Warriors from Uganda in the men’s category while Berco stars from Burundi and PJB from DR Congo will spice up the women category.

The Men’s basketball team coach Moise Mutokambali has summoned fourteen local players to start initial preparations for this year’s Afro-basket competition due to be held in Abidjan, the Ivorian capital in August.

The summoned players include Aboubakar Barame [CSK], Gedega Kajeguhakwa (CSK), Jean Luc Girincuti (NUR), Steven Hagumintwali [Petite Seminaire Karubanda], Lionnel Hakizimana [APR], Sunny Niyomugabo [APR], Rafiki Muhamed (APR), Aristide Mugabe [Espoir], Olivier Muhizi [Espoir], Pascal Rurangirwa [Espoir] Placide Uwizeye [Espoir], Sankara Uwimana [KBC], Ali Kubwimana [KBC], Olivier Shyaka [KBC].

According to Mutokambali, they will train twice a week until June 1 when the national league season will get underway. From there, they will be training once a week in bid not to interfere with the club’s engagements.

He will work with the local players until late June when he will make his list of professional players known as the team will be getting ready to travel to Cote d’Ivoire.

Rwanda is drawn in Group C alongside defending champions Tunisia, Morocco and debutants Burkina Faso in the African tournament.

Rwanda will open her campaign against Burkina Faso on August 21; face Morocco two days later before winding up her quest against Tunisia on August 25.

In January, Rwanda was granted passage to participate in the 2013 African Cup of Nations due to be held in August in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire by the Executive Committee of FIBA Africa following their performance at the Zone 5 African Cup of Nations qualifiers in Tanzania, which Egypt won.

Zone V champions Egypt were placed drew hosts Cote d’Ivoire, Senegal and Algeria in Group A. Reigning champions Angola; Group C is comprised of last edition’s runner-up Angola, Central Africa, Mozambique and Cape Verde while Group D consists of Nigeria, Cameroon, Congo and Mali respectively.

The Nations Cup tournament is also the qualifier for 2014 World Cup in Spain.

Carmelo Anthony scored 32 points, including 20 in the second half, as the New York Knicks turned on the razzle to thrash the Indiana Pacers 105-79 on Tuesday and level their best-of-seven NBA playoff series at 1-1.

After a slow start, Anthony exploded in the second half as the Knicks overturned a two-point deficit with a devastating second half burst at a packed Madison Square Garden.

“In that last minute or two minutes in the third quarter we got a little spurt before we started the fourth quarter,” said Knicks head coach Mike Woodson.

“Fourth quarter, defensively, we picked up. We kept getting stop after stop and our offense got into a flow, like old times. It was nice to see.”

Anthony, who won this season’s NBA scoring title, also had nine rebounds and scored half of his 32 points during a 36-4 New York blitz. In the fourth quarter alone, the Knicks outscored the Pacers 33-13.

“I think he (Anthony) is great,” Pacers head coach Frank Vogel said.

“He is a best of an offensive player and a competitor on the defensive end. He made a lot of tough shots and guarded pretty well tonight.”

Iman Shumpert contributed 15 points for the Knicks, seeded second in the Eastern Conference playoffs, while Raymond Felton chipped in with 14 for the home team, including both three-pointers he attempted.

“I thought it was a total team hustle game,” said Woodson. “Everyone was involved with deflections. Our hands were active and our rotations were right where they needed to be.”

The Pacers, who had won Sunday’s opening game by 102-95, got off to a slow start in Game Two, trailling by 13 points during the second quarter.

They briefly grabbed the lead in the third quarter but were unable to keep up with the Knicks when it mattered.

Paul George led the way with 20 points while David West had 13 and six rebounds. Despite the loss, the Pacers were upbeat about their prospects with games Three and Four being held in Indiana.

The eventual winner will advance to the Eastern Conference Final, against either Miami Heat or the Chicago Bulls.

“We didn’t finish the third quarter well and it gave them some momentum heading into the fourth quarter,” said George.

“And that’s when Melo (Anthony) got off. We were scrambling and chasing them around throughout the whole quarter.”

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.

Louisville won the 75th edition of the NCAA men’s basketball championship, beating Michigan 82-76 in a pulsating final in front of more than 74,000 fans at the Georgia Dome.

The Cardinals overcame a slow start, in which they twice trailed by 12 points in the first half, to outscore Michigan 45-38 in the second and capture their third national title after previous wins in 1980 and 1986.

Luke Hancock came off the bench and scored a career-best 22 points, including five three-pointers, while Peyton Siva added 18 points and Chane Behanan 15 for Louisville.

“We went into a war today against a great Michigan team,” said Hancock, who was named the outstanding player of the tournament. “We needed to rally and we have done it a couple of games.”

Trey Burke, the national player of the year, scored 24 points in a losing effort for the Wolverines while Spike Albrecht contributed 17 after coming off the bench, all in the first half.

“We fought for 40 minutes, there was never a time when we gave up,” said Burke. “Louisville was just a really solid team at the end of the game.”

Michigan made a flying start and built a double-digit lead before the Cardinals took control, matching the second biggest comeback in an NCAA final in the same massive building where the ‘Dream Team’ won Olympic gold in 1996.

Inspired by their team-mate Kevin Ware, who broke his leg earlier in the tournament in a horrific fall, Louisville’s players burst into celebration when the clock ran out and confetti rained down on the Georgia Dome court.

Louisville went into the championships as the number one seeds and stretched their winning streak to 16 games with Monday’s victory under the guidance of Rick Pitino, who became the first coach to win NCAA titles at different universities after steering Kentucky to the 1996 title.

“For a young basketball team, to play that well is absolutely fantastic,” Pitino said.

“These guys … they said if you win the national championship, ‘Coach, you are getting a tattoo’. I said, ‘Hell, yeah, I am getting a tattoo.’”

Michigan were making their first appearance in the final since 1993 when they were beaten by North Carolina after a bizarre ending to the game.

The Wolverines were trailing by two points with just 11 seconds to go when Michigan’s Chris Webber called a time-out even though his team did not have any left, resulting in a technical foul that effectively ended his team’s hopes of winning.

Michigan coach John Beilen thought his team did not perform the way they could have on Monday but paid tribute to the “terrific” Cardinals.

“We feel bad about it, we could have done some things better, every one of us,” said Beilen.

“At the same time, Louisville is a terrific basketball team. I have not seen that quickness anywhere, it’s incredible.”

Group A: Cote d’Ivoire, Egypt, Senegal, and Algeria

Group B: Rwanda, Tunisia, Morocco and Burkina Faso

Group C: Angola, Central Africa, Mozambique and Cape Verde

Group D: Nigeria, Cameroon, Congo and Mali

THE national men’s basketball team will face a tough hurdle in this year’s Afro-basket competition after being drawn against North African sides in the drawing of lots held in Abidjan, the Ivorian capital on Saturday.

The men’s hoops have been drawn in Group C alongside defencing champions Tunisia, Morocco and debutants Burkina Faso in the African tournament which is set for August.

Rwanda will open her campaign against Burkina Faso on August 21; face Morocco tw days later before winding up her quest against Tunisia on August 25.

Rwanda, the only East African nation to ever play in the competition made a historic debut in 2007 in Angola where they finished 12th. This year, they will be making a fourth consecutive time in the tournament.

In the last edition held in 2011 in Madagascar, Rwanda finished 12th while her opponents Morocco finished in sixth position while Tunisia beat Angola 67-57 to lift the tournament’s title before representing Africa at he London Olympics.

In January, Rwanda was granted passage to participate in the 2013 African Cup of Nations due to be held in August in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire by the Executive Committee of FIBA Africa following their performance at the Zone 5 African Cup of Nations qualifiers in Tanzania, which Egypt won.

The men’s team-ranked 67th in the world and 13th in Africa, reached the final only to be denied the title by mighty Egyptians following a 82-76 victory.

Zone V champions Egypt were placed drew hosts Cote d’Ivoire, Senegal and Algeria in Group A. Reigning champions Angola; Group C is comprised of last edition’s runner-up Angola, Central Africa, Mozambique and Cape Verde while Group D consists of Nigeria, Cameroon, Congo and Mali respectively.

The Nations Cup tournament is also the qualifier for 2014 World Cup in Spain.

Round-up: The New York Knicks downed old rivals the Boston Celtics 100-85 at TD Garden.

J.R. Smith, Carmelo Anthony and the undermanned Knicks were just too much for the more-undermanned Celtics.

Smith and Anthony combined for 61 points and the Knicks, playing without Tyson Chandler and Amar’e Stoudemire, cruised to their fifth straight win, a 100-85 handling of the Celtics, who were missing Kevin Garnett, Rajon Rondo, Courtney Lee and others.

The loss was the fifth in a row for the Celtics, who fell to 36-34, while the Knicks pulled into a virtual tie with the Indiana Pacers for second place in the Eastern Conference.

Smith scored 21 of his 32 points in the first half and finished with seven rebounds and three steals. Anthony, who took 30 shots, had 29 points, eight rebounds and three steals.