Basketball News

LAS VEGAS - Charles Barkley acknowledged he owes a $400,000 gambling debt to a Las Vegas Strip casino and promised Thursday to repay it after a prosecutor said the retired NBA star faced criminal charges. "My mistake," Barkley said in an interview at a pro-am golf tournament in Hoover, Ala. "I'm not broke, and I'm going to take care of it."

SAN ANTONIO - The San Antonio Spurs' Big Three came through. Now they have to win one on the road to keep their title defense alive. Manu Ginobili scored 25 points, Tim Duncan had 20 points and 15 rebounds, and Tony Parker added 15 points in the Spurs' 99-80 victory over the New Orleans Hornets in Game 6 on Thursday night.

SAN ANTONIO - The San Antonio Spurs just won't go away. Not that Chris Paul expected them to.

SAN ANTONIO, Texas (AFP) - Reigning National Basketball Association champions San Antonio kept their season alive Thursday with an emphatic 99-80 victory over the New Orleans Hornets.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The San Antonio Spurs crushed the New Orleans Hornets 99-80 on Thursday to force a deciding Game Seven in their Western Conference semi-final.

SAN ANTONIO - New Orleans Hornets forward David West left the court after aggravating a back injury Thursday night in the fourth quarter of Game 6 against the San Antonio Spurs.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The Cleveland Cavaliers will be without guard Daniel Gibson in Friday's Game Six showdown against the visiting Boston Celtics due to a separated shoulder, the team said on its Web site (www.nba.com/cavaliers).

DENVER - Mike Dunlap is leaving his job as a Denver Nuggets assistant coach to serve on Lute Olson's staff at the University of Arizona.

LAS VEGAS, Nevada (AFP) - The Wynn Las Vegas casino has sued former National Basketball Association star Charles Barkley, saying he owes 400,000 dollars in gambling debts, the Las Vegas Sun reported Thursday.

SALT LAKE CITY - Utah Jazz forward Andrei Kirilenko missed practice Thursday because of a problem with his visa, a day before Utah hosts the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 6 of the Western Conference semifinals.

INDEPENDENCE, Ohio - Cavaliers guard Daniel Gibson will miss Game 6 of Cleveland's playoff against the Boston Celtics after separating his left shoulder during the second half Wednesday night.

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. - All-Star point guard Chauncey Billups has practiced with the Detroit Pistons and is expected to be ready to play in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals.

BOSTON, Massachusetts (AFP) - The Boston Celtics rallied for a 96-89 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers Wednesday to move within one game of advancing in the National Basketball Association playoffs.

BOSTON - Someone is going to have to win in Boston to keep the Celtics from winning their 17th NBA title. Cleveland hopes for one more chance.

LOS ANGELES - So much for Kobe Bryant's sore lower back. Bryant scored 26 points, his teammates kept Utah at bay down the stretch, and Los Angeles Lakers extended the stunning home success by NBA teams in the second round of the playoffs, beating the Jazz 111-104 on Wednesday night to take a 3-2 lead in the Western Conference semifinals.

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom picked up the slack with MVP Kobe Bryant slowed by a sore back to lift the Lakers to a 111-104 over the Utah Jazz on Wednesday, putting the home team one win from the Western Conference finals.

LOS ANGELES - Kobe Bryant usually starts out as a facilitator and finishes as a scorer. He did just the opposite in Game 5 of the Western Conference semifinals.

BOSTON - The Boston Celtics can wrap it up on the road, where they haven't won yet. Or they can finish Cleveland off at home, where they haven't lost.

BOSTON (Reuters) - The Boston Celtics rallied to a 96-89 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday to take a 3-2 lead in their best-of-seven Eastern Conference semi-final.

BOSTON - Danny Ainge, who engineered the trades for Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen that helped the Boston Celtics post the biggest turnaround in league history, was given the Sporting News NBA Executive of the Year award before Wednesday night's playoff game.

During the long NFL offseason, sometimes you need to look to other, "live" sports to inspire a column. Just in case you've missed the NBA playoffs so far, the top four seeds in each conference all advanced in the first round, and the team playing at home has won 17 of the 18 second-round games.

MILWAUKEE - Kelvin Sampson is getting another shot at coaching.

HACKENSACK, N.J. - The manslaughter case against former New Jersey Nets star Jayson Williams returns to court.

NEW ORLEANS - David West and the New Orleans Hornets sure looked happy to be at home. West had career playoff highs of 38 points, 14 rebounds and five blocked shots, lifting New Orleans to a 101-79 victory over the San Antonio Spurs on Tuesday night and a 3-2 series lead.

DETROIT (Reuters) - The Detroit Pistons beat the Orlando Magic 91-86 on Tuesday to clinch their best-of-seven series 4-1 and advance to the Eastern Conference finals for the sixth successive season.

NEW ORLEANS - Hornets center Tyson Chandler had to be helped to the bench after dropping to the floor with a bruised left foot in the fourth quarter of New Orleans' playoff game against the San Antonio Spurs on Tuesday night.

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. - The Detroit Pistons made just enough shots and stops to advance to the Eastern Conference finals for a sixth straight year.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - New Knicks coach Mike D'Antoni said on Tuesday there are many ways to win basketball games but that he preferred the up-tempo, run-and-gun style he fashioned in Phoenix with the Suns.

NEW YORK - Mike D'Antoni is bringing his high-scoring brand of basketball to a Knicks team that seems ill-suited to run it. No matter. The former Phoenix Suns coach figures he'll come up with something that works.