By Compiled from Times wires
Published May 14, 2003
SAN ANTONIO - The Spurs have pushed the Lakers to the brink of elimination.
But the three-time champions are proving they won't go away easily - if at all.
One game after overcoming a 16-point deficit, the Lakers nearly erased a 25-point hole before falling 96-94 when Robert Horry's 3-pointer with three seconds left went in and out Tuesday night.
David Robinson got the final rebound, letting the Spurs, who never trailed, take a 3-2 lead in the second-round series. San Antonio ruined the return of Lakers coach Phil Jackson three days after undergoing a heart procedure.
The Lakers will have to win the next two games to advance to the West final. Otherwise, their postseason will end the same way it did the last time they failed to win it all - losing to San Antonio in the conference semifinals. That was in 1999, when the Spurs won the title.
Game 6 is Thursday night in Los Angeles, with a possible Game 7 in San Antonio on Saturday. The Lakers are 0-5 this season at the Spurs' new home, the SBC Center.
MAVERICKS 112, KINGS 93: Raja Bell provided a big boost for re-energized Dallas, outshooting Sacramento in the game-turning third quarter. Bell had 13 points, but nine in the decisive period as Dallas took a 3-2 lead in the West semifinal series.
Bell, making his second straight start for the injured Adrian Griffin (sprained right ankle) had four baskets in the third. That was one more than Sacramento, which was outscored 29-10 in the period.
Steve Nash, held to six points in a 99-83 loss in Game 4, scored 25. He was 5-of-12 from the field, but hit 15 of 16 free throws. All five starters, plus Nick Van Exel, scored in double figures for Dallas.
Dirk Nowitzki had 16 points, 15 rebounds and a career-high nine assists, falling just short of the first triple double in Dallas postseason history.
Before the game, Nowitzki and Bell were fined for their conduct in Sunday night's game. Nowitzki was fined $5,000 after he was ejected for kicking a pile of towels while disputing a technical foul call with 2:30 left. Bell was fined $7,500 for verbally abusing an official after he was ejected with 1:14 left.
JAZZ: Jerry Sloan is coming back for a 16th season as coach. Sloan has a year left on his contract, but said after Utah lost to Sacramento in the first round of the playoffs that he wanted to think about his future before committing to another season. Sloan, who holds the longest tenure of any coach or manager in the four major pro sports, is 781-400 since replacing Frank Layden early in the 1988-89 season.
76ERS: The Philadelphia Inquirer reported that coach Larry Brown would be willing to give up his title of vice president of player personnel to lure Michael Jordan to the team. "I would think I'm not the only one sitting back here thinking how he could be an asset to the franchise," Brown told the newspaper. "But, hey, this is wishing. We're talking about wishing." ... A man accused of firing a gun at a group of people that included Allen Iverson, hitting one of the Philadelphia guard's friends in the leg, was charged with four counts of attempted murder, police said.
SONICS: Guard Ray Allen, a three-time All-Star, received the Joe Dumars Trophy for sportsmanship.
