Lakers defeat Nuggets, move on to NBA Finals
Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers are heading back to the NBA finals after dispatching the pesky Denver Nuggets with a 119-92 victory in Game 6 on Friday night at Denver.
Bryant had 35 points and 10 assists and got plenty of scoring help from Trevor Ariza, Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom as the Lakers shot 57.3 percent from the field to avoid having to play a Game 7 in the Western Conference finals back at the Staples Center.
They will finally get some much-needed rest after playing every other day for a grueling two weeks.
These Lakers, who are headed to their record 30th NBA Finals and are seeking their 15th title, are a more grizzled group – but also more bruised and battered – than the one that fell to Boston in the finals last year.
Instead of cruising through the West this time, the Lakers survived an arduous seven-game semifinal series against Houston and a physical test against Denver.
The Lakers will face either Orlando or Cleveland in the finals. The Magic lead 3-2 and can clinch the Eastern Conference finals tonight at home in Game 6 and prevent the Kobe Bryant-LeBron James final that has basketball fans and corporate sponsors atwitter.
Carmelo Anthony led the Nuggets with 25 points and J.R. Smith added 24, but Denver trailed for all but a few seconds and never mounted a serious charge after halftime, although they kept hitting 3-pointers.•76ers to hire Jordan: The Philadelphia 76ers have an agreement in principle with Eddie Jordan to become their next head coach. Jordan was fired by the Washington Wizards in November. Jordan is 230-288 in coaching stints with the Wizards and Kings.
Golf
Stricker leads pack
Steve Stricker shot his second straight 63, giving him a 14-under-par 126 total that set records for 36 holes and for any consecutive rounds at the Crowne Plaza Invitational – yet was barely enough to top a leaderboard filled with players taking advantage of light wind and pillow-soft greens in Fort Worth, Texas.
Tim Clark, Vijay Singh and Shaun O’Hair shot 64s and were lined up right behind Stricker. Clark was one shot back, Singh one more and O’Hair yet another.
•Three atop leaderboard at Principal Charity Classic: Champions Tour newcomer Olin Browne, native Iowan Lonnie Nielsen and Bruce Vaughan are tied for the lead at 4 under after the opening round of the Principal Charity Classic in West Des Moines, Iowa.
•Arkansas, Texas A&M advance: David Lingmerth aced the third hole to win his match in the semifinals, helping fourth-seeded Arkansas advance to the NCAA Division I men’s team championship against Texas A&M in Toledo, Ohio.
Softball
UW wins again
Morgan Stuart singled home the winning run in the eighth inning and Danielle Lawrie pitched a two-hitter as third-seeded Washington beat defending champion Arizona State 1-0 at the Women’s College World Series in Oklahoma City.
The Huskies (48-11), whose next game is Sunday, are one victory from the championship round, while Arizona State (47-18) must win three in a row to get there.
Tennis
Williams ousted
Venus Williams was eliminated from the French Open in Paris, losing in the third round of the clay-court major for the third straight year.
The third-seeded Williams, who reached the 2002 final at Roland Garros, lost to No. 29 Agnes Szavay of Hungary 6-0, 6-4.
Hours later, Maria Sharapova appeared headed in the same direction, but came back to beat 98th-ranked Yaroslava Shvedova of Kazakhstan 1-6, 6-3, 6-4.
No. 1 Dinara Safina and defending champion Ana Ivanovic won easily. Four-time reigning champion Rafael Nadal made things look simple against former No. 1 Lleyton Hewitt, beating him 6-1, 6-3, 6-1, and No. 3 Andy Murray, No. 8 Fernando Verdasco, No. 10 Nikolay Davydenko and No. 12 Fernando Gonzalez also reached the fourth round.
Miscellany
Preakness winner out
Preakness winner Rachel Alexandra will not run in the Belmont Stakes, opening the way for jockey Calvin Borel to return to Kentucky Derby winner Mine That Bird in his quest for a personal Triple Crown.
Jess Jackson, Rachel Alexandra’s co-owner, said the spectacular filly “deserves a well-earned vacation.”
•Calipari must participate in probe on violations: A letter from the NCAA tells Kentucky coach John Calipari he must participate in next week’s hearing on alleged major violations at Memphis, even though he isn’t considered “at risk” in the probe.
•Reutimann earns pole: David Reutimann played the Sprint Cup waiting game and again came out on top. Reutimann ran a lap of 156.794 mph and captured the pole at Dover International Speedway in Dover, Del., four days after he won his first career Cup race.
•Formula one avoids pullout: All 10 Formula One teams met the deadline to enter cars for the 2010 season, ending a threatened pullout by Ferrari and others in a dispute over a planned budget cap.
•Trucks race postponed: The trucks race scheduled at Dover (Del.) International Speedway was postponed because of rain and is rescheduled for 6 p.m. today.
•Menchov nears victory in Italy; Armstrong falls: Russia’s Denis Menchov all but wrapped up the Giro d’Italia, keeping the leader’s pink jersey after a stage that took riders up the slopes of the Mount Vesuvius volcano at Mount Vesuvius, Italy. Carlos Sastre of Spain won the 19th stage. Lance Armstrong fell midway through the stage, but seemed unhurt and got back on his bike after repairs.