Basketball Capsules: U.S. wins first meeting with Iran, stays unbeaten
ISTANBUL (AP) — In the political arena, Iran vs. the United States is a matchup that gets attention.
In a basketball arena, not so much.
"For me, it's a normal game," Iran captain Mahdi Kamrany said.
The United States won it easily, earning a top seed in the knockout round of the world championship with an 88-51 victory Wednesday in the first meeting between the countries with a history of contentious relations.
The U.S. team, which downplayed the political aspect of the game, methodically pulled away in the first half, wearing down the Asian champions with its depth and athleticism.
"We just respected their basketball team and we just played a basketball game," U.S. coach Mike Krzyzewski said. "There's no political aspect in my mind in the ballgame."
Kevin Love scored 13 points and Kevin Durant 12 for the Americans (4-0), who will meet the fourth-place team from Group A in the round of 16.
After playing his starters for most of the second half of a 70-68 victory over Brazil on Monday, Krzyzewski went to the bench early in this one, with the Americans shooting 58 percent and scoring 23 points off turnovers in the easy victory.
Hamed Haddadi scored 19 points for Iran (1-3) and Arsalan Kazemi had 14.
"I'm very happy, I played against the best team in the world," Kamrany said.
The tensions between the nations' governments provided the backdrop off the court, with a group of fans sitting near midcourt before the game holding U.S. and Iran flags and a sign reading "PEACE" in between.
The only sparring on the floor was a playful bump between Haddadi and U.S. forward Rudy Gay, teammates with the NBA's Memphis Grizzlies.
"We should leave politics to the politicians," U.S. center Tyson Chandler said. "We're here to play basketball."
The countries have feuded for decades and their relations have deteriorated in recent years, with the United States supporting sanctions against Iran for continuing with programs it believes could be used to create nuclear weapons.
The U.S. team tried to keep the focus on the floor, with Krzyzewski saying he had played in Iran in the 1970s with an Armed Forces team and had great respect for the country.
Krzyzewski was answering a question about turnovers in the postgame news conference when he noticed Iran coach Veselin Matic to his left nodding in agreement.
"That's the first level of diplomacy. That's one thing we're in agreement with," Krzyzewski joked.
There's no rivalry on the basketball court, where the nations had never met in Olympic or world championship play. The Iranian national team even came to Utah two years ago at the invitation of the NBA to play in a summer league as preparation for the 2008 Olympics.
"That's one of the beautiful things about sports," U.S. center Lamar Odom said. "If you think about the history of sports, you take people from different cultures, from different beliefs and bring them together. Sports is the one thing that can kind of bring people together and have a great atmosphere. It was great playing a game like this."
And in a nod to the Iranian supporters in Istanbul — which included minister of sports Ali Saeedlou earlier in the tournament — dancers were ordered to cover up for their performances during the game. Islam prohibits women from exposing their skin in public, and Iranian officials had turned their backs when the dancers performed in earlier games.
The dancers wore long pants Wednesday.
Iranian fans, many waving flags and chanting, had plenty to cheer early. Haddadi won the opening tip, Durant fired a pass behind Andre Iguodala and out of bounds on the Americans' first possession, and the U.S. lead was only six after one quarter.
But the Americans quickly pushed it into double digits in the second and gradually extended it to 14 at halftime. They opened the second half with another burst to push it past 20 and turn Group B's second game of the night into a dull affair.
Krzyzewski said he thought the Americans were tired, more mentally than physically, against Brazil, in what was their third game in three days and sixth in 10 — in three different countries. They were fresher after a day off, with Krzyzewski saying they looked better in the second half.
"As the game moved along we got better in the game," he said.
Following Thursday's game against winless Tunisia, the Americans will have three days off before playing Monday against an opponent still to be determined. But a difficult quarterfinal could follow, with Spain looming as a possible opponent after two surprising losses have dropped the defending world champions into third place in their group.
The Americans want to have their reserves playing well by then, and all 12 players scored Wednesday. Derrick Rose had 11 points and Danny Granger added 10.
| Group A |
|---|
| Serbia 94, Australia 79 |
Nenad Krstic returned from a three-game suspension for a brawl and had 14 points and 10 rebounds for Serbia (3-1). Milos Teodosic, who was given a two-game suspension, added 19 points for Serbia, which clinched a place in the knockout round.
Australia pulled within three points with 2:07 remaining on Matt Nielsen's 3-pointer, but got no closer.
Brad Newley had 13 points for Australia (2-2).
| Angola 92, Germany 88, OT |
|---|
Olimpio Cipriano scored 30 points for Angola (2-2), which rallied from a 10-point deficit late in the game. Angola advances to the second round, while Germany (1-3) was eliminated.
Jan Jagla led Germany with 23 points.
| Argentina 88, Jordan 79 |
|---|
Luis Scola scored 30 points, his third straight game with at least that many, to lead top-ranked Argentina (4-0) to its fourth straight win.
Rasheim Wright had 22 points for Jordan (0-4).
| Group B |
|---|
| Croatia 84, Tunisia 64 |
Bojan Bogdanovic scored 19 points for Croatia (2-2), which scored the game's first 10 points.
Macram Ben Romdhane scored 23 points for Tunisia (0-4), which ends preliminary play against the United States.
| Slovenia 80, Brazil 77 |
|---|
Jaka Lakovic scored 20 points, including consecutive 3-pointers to halt a furious Brazil comeback, and Slovenia blew nearly all of a 17-point lead before holding on.
Slovenia (3-1) took sole possession of second place in Group B, while Brazil (2-2) came up just short again after losing by two points to the United States on Monday.
Brazil forward Anderson Varejao of the Cleveland Cavaliers played for the first time after missing the first three games of the world championship while recovering from a sprained ankle. He had four points and four rebounds in 23 minutes.
Marcelo Machado scored 20 points for Brazil (2-2).
| Group C |
|---|
| Russia 89, China 80 |
Sergey Monya scored 17 points and Sasha Kaun added 16 to lead Russia (3-1), which advanced to the round of 16.
Sun Yue scored 19 points for China (1-3).
| Greece 97, Ivory Coast 60 |
|---|
Nick Calathes, who played at Florida, scored 15 points to lead Greece (3-1), which secured a spot in the knockout round.
Brice Assie had 11 points for Ivory Coast (0-4), the group's only winless team.
| Turkey 79, Puerto Rico 77 |
|---|
Hidayet Turkoglu of the Phoenix Suns had 16 points and Ersan Ilyasova of the Milwaukee Bucks added 13 points and 13 rebounds for Turkey (4-0), the host team
Angel Vassalo scored 19 points for Puerto Rico (1-3), which needed a win to guarantee a spot in the knockout round.
| Group D |
|---|
| New Zealand 71, Canada 61 |
Kirk Penney scored 18 points to help New Zealand (2-2) eliminate Canada (0-4).
Jevohn Shepherd led Canada with 15 points.
Canada's Andy Rautins of the New York Knicks returned to New York to have a bruised knee examined to make sure he's ready for training camp.
| Spain 91, Lebanon 57 |
|---|
Marc Gasol scored 25 points to lead defending champion Spain (2-2) into the knockout round.
Jackson Vroman led Lebanon (1-3) with 22 points.
| Lithuania 69, France 55 |
|---|
Jonas Maciulis had 19 points and Linas Kleiza added 15 for Lithuania (4-0). which clinched the top spot in Group D.
Nicolas Batum led France (3-1) with 13 points.
Dancers won't perform in Turkey's games at worlds
ISTANBUL (AP) — FIBA's dance team has been benched during Turkey's games.
The Red Foxes have been told to stop performing in games involving the host country because their risque costumes and routines are offensive to the nation that is nearly entirely Muslim. Islam prohibits women from exposing their skin in public.
Basketball's governing body said Wednesday the ban was not its decision. Secretary general Patrick Baumann said he wants entertainment to be part of the games, but "if it needs a little bit of adjustment that is fine with us."
Performers wore long pants Wednesday during a game between the United States and Iran. Iranian officials had turned their backs when the dancers, who usually wear tiny shorts or skirts, performed in earlier games.
The Red Foxes, a professional dance team from the Ukraine, will still perform at other games in Ankara.
"The dancers bring much fun and joy to fans watching games and help to create a vibrant, happy atmosphere in the arenas," Baumann said.
FIBA's statement did not include who imposed the ban or the reason for it, though said there was speculation that the dance routines were "too risque." It added that Turkish prime minister Tayyip Erdogan, his wife and the country's minister for foreign affairs attended Turkey's victories over Russia on Sunday and Greece on Tuesday.
"It is a balance between respecting the culture and making sure basketball delivers all the pace, excitement and entertainment that goes with the world championship," Baumann said.
WNBA
Pondexter, Vaughn lead Liberty to East finals
NEW YORK (AP) — Despite finishing with a franchise playoff record for scoring, Cappie Pondexter gave Kia Vaughn all the credit for helping the New York Liberty advance to the Eastern Conference finals.
Pondexter scored 30 points, including a tiebreaking jumper with 28 seconds remaining, and Vaughn had a season-high 13 points in extended playing time to lead the Liberty to a 77-74 victory over the Indiana Fever on Wednesday night in the decisive Game 3 of their East semifinal series.
"She was amazing," Pondexter said of Vaughn. "My whole career, her whole career I've never seen Kia play like that. If she didn't play like that, we definitely wouldn't be here advancing to the next round. Her performance was one of the best and amazing."
The two played together in college at Rutgers alongside Essence Carson, who added 11 points for the Liberty. New York reached the conference finals for the second time in three years where the Liberty will face Atlanta in the East finals beginning Sunday night at Madison Square Garden.
The Liberty were without starting center Janel McCarville, sidelined by a sprained left ankle. Plenette Pierson started in her place and finished with eight points in 23 minutes, and Vaughn played a season-high 26 minutes.
"No one told me I was going to play as much as I did," said Vaughn, who has averaged about 10 minutes per game her first two seasons in the league. "I'm happy because that lets me know I did something great.
Katie Douglas scored 24 points, Tamika Catchings had 21 and Ebony Hoffman added 13 for the Fever, who fell to 0-7 in postseason series in which they didn't have home-court advantage, including last year's WNBA finals loss to Phoenix.
After Pondexter made her go-ahead jumper from the right side of the basket while going out of bounds, Catchings missed a driving layup 4 seconds later and Taj McWilliams-Franklin grabbed the rebound off the side of the rim.
The Liberty called timeout, but were called for a 5-second violation on the ensuing inbounds play, turning the ball over to the Fever. Catchings missed another layup with 12.9 seconds to go, McWilliams-Franklin again corralled the rebound and passed to Vaughn, who was fouled by Douglas.
Fever coach Lin Dunn believed Catchings was fouled on both layup attempts and did not hesitate to criticize the officials.
"I'm very disappointed that Eric (Brewton), Denise (Brooks) and Lamont (Simpson) did not call a foul when Tamika drove to the rim the first time, and the second time," Dunn said. "It's unfortunate that the players did not get to finish the game on their own."
Catchings, however, put the blame on herself.
"Things happen and regardless of whether you get fouled or not, I didn't finish two layups," she said. "Doesn't matter. I take the blame. You got to hit those shots."
Vaughn then made 1 of 2 free throws to extend the Liberty's lead to three points, and Indiana's Briann January missed a potential tying 3 with 3.9 seconds left.
In both of New York's wins in the series a reserve player took advantage of extra playing time. In Game 1 it was Essence Carson, who scored 17 points. This time, it was Vaughn. Both stressed the importance of staying focused and being ready when called on.
"I just pretty much had to come in, and just be myself, be aggressive and attack the boards," Vaughn said. "I knew it was hard with Janel not out there. My teammates and coaches, they believe in me. I've been working hard in practice and it showed out on the court."
Trailing by five earlier in the fourth quarter, the Liberty rallied in a low-scoring period — New York outscored Indiana 14-8 — and took a 74-72 lead on Pondexter's three-point play with 1:14 remaining.
"I live for moments like these as a basketball player," said Pondexter, who eclipsed her own franchise postseason record of 28 points she set in Game 1 of this series. "When I'm in the gym working out, I think about moments like this, to prepare myself mentally. ... I just took it upon myself to take over (down the stretch)."
Hoffman rebounded her own missed layup and put it back to tie the score 24 seconds later.
Douglas scored nine points in the third quarter — on two 3s and three free throws — as the Fever, who led 47-46 at halftime, increased their advantage to seven points on three occasions. The last time came when Catchings made 1 of 2 free throws to make it 66-59 with 1½ minutes left in the period.
Pondexter had a layup about 15 seconds later and McWilliams-Franklin had a basket with under 32 seconds left to pull the Liberty to 66-63 heading to the fourth quarter.
-- Vin A, Cherwoo
Seattle and Phoenix in conference finals
SEATTLE (AP) — While the Seattle Storm were on their way to a fifth straight first-round WNBA playoff loss in 2009, Le'Coe Willingham was on her way to a third appearance in the finals — and her first championship — as she and the Phoenix Mercury won it all.
Last week, Willingham helped the Storm shake that opening-round hex with a two-game sweep of the Los Angeles Sparks. That put them into the best-of-3 Western Conference finals against Willingham's former Mercury teammates, with Game 1 on Thursday in Seattle.
"In context, it means something, because the monkey's off your back," said Willingham, a 6-foot forward who had nothing to do with the Storm's prior first-round woes, having signed as a free agent in February. "But we have a bigger goal, and that's not just to get past the first round. We have a goal to win the second round and make it to the finals. We have to keep it in perspective, and not get complacent or satisfied with getting that monkey off our back."
Willingham was a big part of Seattle's five-game regular-season sweep of Phoenix, as the Storm went 28-6 to tie the WNBA record for victories. She averaged 6.0 points, 4.2 rebounds and 13 minutes of action per game against the Mercury. For the 33 regular-season games she played, Willingham averaged 5.5 points, 4.1 rebounds and 15.6 minutes, almost exclusively off the bench.
"My role is whatever is needed for the moment," she said. "Sometimes, it's not scoring. It's rebounding, or getting physical with bigger players. Sometimes, it's to hit a big shot."
The Storm likely will need to hit plenty of big shots to handle the Mercury, who lost six of their final seven games, then swept San Antonio in the first round. Of Seattle's five wins against Phoenix, only one was a blowout (97-74). One went overtime (95-89), one went triple overtime (111-107) and one saw the Storm come from 18 points down at the half to win, 91-85.
"Right now, it doesn't really matter what happened in the regular season," guard Sue Bird said. "We're facing a team that is defending champs, has a lot of playoff experience, and they have Diana (Taurasi) and that makes it really difficult. It's just three games, and anything can happen in three games."
Willingham went to the finals twice with Connecticut, the first time in 2004 when Seattle won its only crown. The Sun went back in 2005, losing to Sacramento. Then last year, her second with Phoenix, Willingham averaged 8.2 points and 4.4 rebounds during the playoffs, and the Mercury beat the Indiana Fever for the title in five games.
But with this year's reduced salary cap, Phoenix no longer had room for Willingham. The Storm had the room, and — as Willingham saw it — much more.
"That special feeling I had last year with Phoenix, I looked at this core group (Bird, Lauren Jackson and Swin Cash), and I thought that potential was here, and it was a chance for me to win another championship," she said.
Said Bird, "I knew immediately she was a good piece. She has been to the finals three times, and that's with two different teams. So she has experience getting to the finals in different ways, and she has won once. That says something about a player."
But getting that far means defensive-minded Seattle — which allowed Los Angeles 66 points in each of the two first-round games — will have to slow down Phoenix's potent offense. The Mercury averaged 99 points in their first-round sweep of San Antonio.
"They're a handful, especially at the offensive end," said Agler, adding that the Mercury can be tough on defense, too. "They're getting more pressure on the ball and more aggressive on pick-and-rolls. I've always thought they were a better defensive team than you might imagine from looking at their statistics.
"I guess," said Willingham, "it's going to come down to who is enforcing their will."
Capsule for the WNBA Western Conference finals
A look at the two best-of-three WNBA conference finals, which start Thursday:
EASTERN CONFERENCE
No. 2 New York (22-12) vs. No. 4 Atlanta (19-15)
Season Series: Tied 2-2, with each time winning once on the road.
New York: A roster overhaul that brought Cappie Pondexter, Nicole Powell and Taj McWilliams-Franklin to the Liberty in the offseason resulted in a team record for victories one year after enduring 21 losses. New York won 15 of its last 18 games after the All-Star break, including a franchise-record 10 straight down the stretch. The Liberty then outlasted Indiana in three games — winning 77-74 in the decisive Game 3 — to advance to the conference finals for the second time in three years. Pondexter, who teamed with Diana Taurasi to help Phoenix win two titles in the last three years, led the Liberty with 21.4 ppg and 4.9 apg. Leilani Mitchell (9.3 ppg, 3.8 apg, 49 percent 3-point shooting) earned the league's Most Improved Player award, and McWilliams-Franklin (10.6 ppg, 5.4 rpg), Powell (9.3) and Janel McCarville (8.8) complete a solid starting lineup. McCarville missed the finale against Indiana due to a sprained left ankle, and her status for this series is uncertain. Plenette Pierson is the top reserve, averaging 9.0 ppg and 3.8 rpg in 25 games. Pondexter was the big scorer in the opening-round series, as well — averaging 27.3 ppg — but the Liberty got key contributions from reserves Essence Carson (17 points in Game 1) and Kia Vaughn (13 points in Game 3) in their two wins. The Liberty were fifth in scoring (79.2) after finishing last a year ago. New York was also third in field-goal shooting 45.3 percent, including a league-best 41 percent on 3-pointers. Pondexter averaged 25.8 points and 6.0 assists against the Dream.
Atlanta: Two years after finishing with a WNBA-record 30 losses in their inaugural season, the Dream earned their second straight playoff berth and have advanced to the conference finals for the first time. Atlanta opened the season with 14 wins in 18 games and was in first place late in the season before faltering down the stretch and losing six of its last seven. Playing like they had earlier in the season, the Dream recovered to sweep first-place Washington in the conference semis. They won the opener by five points at Washington and then used a 26-0 run during one stretch in Game 2 to close the series with a 24-point win at home on Friday night. Reigning rookie of the year Angel McCoughtry (21.1 ppg, 4.9 rpg, 3.1 apg) had a sensational second season. Iziane Castro Marques (16.9 ppg), Sancho Lyttle (12.8 ppg, 9.9 rpg) and Erika DeSouza (12.4 ppg, 8.3 rpg) anchor the starting lineup. Second-year guard Shalee Lehning (4.8 apg, 3.7 ppg) has been solid running the point. Lyttle and DeSouza helped the Dream lead the league in rebounding at 38.8 per game. Atlanta was also second in scoring (85.4) and assists (19.6), but last in 3-point shooting shooting (28.9 percent). McCoughtry (24.5 ppg) and Castro Marques (20.0) led the way in first round as well. Kelly Miller missed the opening series due to an ankle injury and her status is uncertain. McCoughtry averaged 20.8 points against the Liberty, DeSouza 17.8 points and 10.3 rebounds, while Castro Marques added 16.0 ppg.
Prediction: Liberty in 3.
WESTERN CONFERENCE
No. 1 Seattle (28-6) vs. No. 2 Phoenix (15-19)
Season series: Storm won 5-0.
Seattle: After tying the league record for victories — set by Los Angeles in 2001 and 2001 when teams played a 32-game schedule, the Storm swept the Sparks in the first round. Seattle won the opener at home by 13 points, then closed it out with a 15-point win at Los Angeles for their first postseason series victory since winning the WNBA title in 2004. They had lost in the first round in each year since — including the last two years against the Sparks. Seattle got off to such a dominant start, it clinched the top seed in the West on July 27 with 11 games remaining. The Storm won 22 of their first 24 games before losing four of their last 10 while allowing key players to rest. Seattle also set a league record for home victories, finishing 17-0. Lauren Jackson (20.5 ppg, 8.3 rpg) and Sue Bird (11.1 ppg, 5.8 apg), in their ninth season together, are the lone holdovers from the championship team. Swin Cash (13.8 ppg, 6.0 rpg), in her third season in Seattle, averaged 18.0 points in the opening-round series and gives the team a formidable trio. Camille Little (10.1 ppg, 5.2 rpg) and Tanisha Wright (9.2 ppg, 4.5 apg) round out the Storm's starting five. Svetlana Abrosimova (7.6 ppg) and Le'coe Willingham (5.5 ppg) are key veteran reserves. The Storm were third in the league in scoring (81.8) and rebounding (36.3) during the regular season, second in scoring defense (73.9) and 3-point shooting (37 percent) and fifth in overall field-goal shooting (45 percent). Four of the five regular-season meetings were decided by six points or fewer.
Phoenix: Following their second WNBA title in three years, the Mercury sent Cappie Pondexter to New York in a three-team deal that brought Candice Dupree from Chicago. Phoenix struggled for consistency and finished with an eight-win dropoff from a year ago. The Mercury lost six of their last seven but still managed to finish second in a conference where only league-leading Seattle had a winning record. Phoenix then swept San Antonio in the first round, winning both games by double digits and beating the Silver Stars in the playoffs for the third time in four years. The previous two times — 2007 and 2009 — the Mercury went on to win the WNBA championship. Once again, Phoenix's high-octane offense is led by Diana Taurasi (22.6 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 4.7 apg), who won her third straight scoring title. Penny Taylor (15.9 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 5.0 apg) and Dupree (15.7 ppg, 7.6 rpg) were 11th and 12th in scoring, respectively, and DeWanna Bonner (12.0 ppg, 6.1 rpg) had a strong second season to earn the league's Sixth Woman of the Year honors for the second straight year. Kara Braxton, acquired from Tulsa in a late-season trade, averaged 11.1 ppg and 4.8 rpg to give the Mercury a fifth double-figure scorer as a backup at center to Tangela Smith (9.9 ppg, 5.2 apg). Temeka Johnson ran the point and added 9.2 ppg, 4.7 apg. Phoenix led the league in scoring (93.9 ppg), field-goal shooting (47.3 percent), free-throw shooting (85 percent) and assists (20.2). Bonner averaged 18.3 ppg in the first four meetings against the Storm
Prediction: Storm in 3.
NBA
Guard Delonte West returning to Celtics
BOSTON (AP) — Delonte West is returning to the Boston Celtics.
The team announced Wednesday that it has signed the 6-foot-3 guard, who was suspended for the first 10 games of the 2010-11 season after pleading guilty to weapons charges in Maryland.
West played his first three seasons with Boston before being traded to Seattle in 2007 in the deal that brought Ray Allen to the Celtics.
Maryland authorities said he was carrying two loaded handguns, a loaded shotgun and an 8 1/2-inch Bowie knife while speeding on a three-wheel motorcycle on the Capital Beltway last September. He was sentenced to home detention but may travel to games.
West has averaged 10 points and 3.7 assists over his career. He was waived last month by the Minnesota Timberwolves, who had acquired him only a week earlier in a trade with Cleveland.
Tickets go on sale for NBA games in London
LONDON (AP) — Tickets have gone on sale for the first regular-season NBA games in Europe.
The New Jersey Nets and Toronto Raptors will play a pair of games at the O2 Arena in London on March 4-5. The NBA is planning a week of activities across Britain, including basketball clinics and 3-on-3 competitions.
Nets guard Devin Harris says "everyone involved in bringing the games to London is excited about playing in one of the world's great cities."
The NBA has been playing preseason games in London for several years. The Los Angeles Lakers will face the Minnesota Timberwolves on Oct. 4 in this year's installment of the league's European tour.
