TORONTO, 6 May 2005 — Tony Parker scored 21 points and Tim Duncan added 18 and 11 rebounds as the San Antonio Spurs eased past the Denver Nuggets 99-89 at the SBC Center on Wednesday advancing to the Western Conference semifinals.
After dropping the opening game of the best-of-seven first round match, the Spurs swept the next four and will now go onto to meet the Seattle SuperSonics in the next round.
“It’s going to be tough. Seattle has a very explosive team,” said Spurs Robert Horry. “Ray Allen has been hot.”
Manu Ginobili continued to star coming off the bench, contributing 18 points to the Spurs cause while Horry added 17.
Trailing early in the second half, the Spurs took control of a close contest going on a 21-run that bridged the third and fourth quarters.
Carmelo Anthony had 25 for the Nuggets while Andre Miller had 16 and Earl Boykins and Kenyon Martin chipped in with 14 apiece.
In Chicago, Gilbert Arenas nailed a game winning jumper at the buzzer as the Washington Wizards held on to claim a 112-110 decision over the Bulls and 3-2 lead in their Eastern Conference quarterfinal. Held to just 16 points and struggling to find his range all night, Arenas hit the shot that mattered most as the Wizards denied the Bulls and their fans the fairy tale to finish following a stirring comeback.
Trailing by 22 points in the second half and by 10 with just 41 seconds left in regulation, the Bulls rallied to tie the game 110-110 on a Jannero Pargo three-pointer with five seconds on the clock.
But following a timeout, Arenas took control of the ball and hit the winning the shot as the buzzer sounded.
After dropping the first two games of the best-of-seven series, the Wizards have won three straight and can clinch their first playoff series since 1982 with a victory at home in Game Six today.
If the Bulls are to extend the series it will mean winning in Washington something they have not managed recently having lost 10 straight at the MCI Center.
Larry Hughes paced the Wizards with 33 points while Antawn Jamison chipped in with 19 points and 10 rebounds and Brendan Haywood had 17 points.
Ben Gordon led the Bulls with 27 points while Kirk Hinrich had 23 and Tyson Chandler 22 points and 10 rebounds.
Lakers Owner to Meet Jackson About Coaching Job
In Raleigh, North Carolina, Los Angeles Lakers owner Jerry Buss plans to meet former coach Phil Jackson within the next few days about returning to the team.
“I think he wants to return to coaching but I’m not sure it’s next season,” Buss told reporters in Los Angeles on Wednesday. “That’s just my impression from having had dinner with him.” Buss said he would talk to a couple of other candidates besides Jackson and hoped to finalize a decision in a few weeks before leaving for a European holiday. The Lakers are seeking a replacement for Jackson’s successor, Rudy Tomjanovich, who resigned in February, citing health reasons. Jackson led the Lakers to three NBA titles in five years before resigning in June 2004. He did not coach this season.
