NBA

Wallace sparks Detroit to win

By wire services
Published April 27, 2005

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. - Technical fouls make some players timid, fearing an ejection. They fire up Rasheed Wallace.

Sparked by a technical, Wallace scored 11 of his 15 in the third to lift Detroit to a 99-84 victory over Philadelphia on Tuesday and a 2-0 lead in their first-round series.

Allen Iverson scored 19 on 7-of-24 shooting and Chris Webber 15 for the 76ers, but their scoring again wasn't enough to keep the game close against the defending NBA champions. They combined for 57 points Saturday in Detroit's 106-85 victory.

Trailing by 20 midway through the fourth, Philadelphia coach Jim O'Brien chose to rest his two stars.

The Pistons trailed for the most part until an 11-1 run midway through the second quarter gave them a 40-34 lead.

Wallace was called for a technical early in the third. The usually demonstrative player responded by untucking his jersey and flailing his arms at the officials.

A couple of minutes later, after Philadelphia pulled within three, he took over.

Wallace made consecutive 3-pointers to give Detroit a 59-50 lead, and his tip-in put the Pistons ahead 69-57 at the end of the quarter. His basket midway through the fourth made it 80-62.

LAKERS: No meeting has been set up between Phil Jackson and Kobe Bryant, the Los Angeles Daily News reported. ESPN reported Monday the two would meet about Jackson returning as coach.

SUNS: Forward Shawn Marion likely will play tonight despite a sprained right wrist. Marion, who had 26 points and 13 rebounds in the Suns' Game 1 win Sunday, fell when he was hit hard by Shane Battier on a breakaway layup. He did not practice Monday or Tuesday.

ROCKETS 113, MAVS 111: Yao Ming scored 33 and Tracy McGrady 28, and the two teamed late to lift Houston to 2-0 series lead.

The Rockets trailed 102-95 with 5:36 left, but a McGrady drive-and-dish for a Yao dunk put Houston up 111-109 with 1:06 left. Dallas tied it on Dirk Nowitzki's jumper with 10.4 seconds left.

McGrady did not hesitate. Not even looking to the bench for a timeout, he inbounded the ball, got it back and went to the top right of the 3-point line. Setting up behind a Yao screen, he buried a long jumper.

Dallas' Michael Finley then missed a shot from near the top of the key to end it.

[Last modified April 27, 2005, 00:49:07]