Australia: 2009 NBL Finals

The 2009 National Basketball League (NBL) Grand Final series will be an all-Victorian affair after the South Dragons defeated the Townsville Crocodiles to advance to the title round, where they will face cross-town rivals the Melbourne Tigers in a classic one versus two showdown.

The Dragons, who took out the minor premiership with a league-best regular season record of 22-8, defeated Townsville in the deciding Game Three of their Semi-Final series, 101-78, at Melbourne’s Hisense Arena tonight.

The league’s reigning Champions and this season’s number two seed, the Tigers, had previously advanced to the Grand Final series after defeating the New Zealand Breakers 2-0 in their own best-of-three Semi-Final series.

The Dragons’ victory tonight sets-up a clash of the top two ranked teams in the league, and the first all-Victorian NBL Grand Final since 1997, when the South-East Melbourne Magic (led by South Dragons current coach Brian Goorjian) defeated the Melbourne Tigers 2-1 in a classic three-game series.

Felton scores 26, Bobcats beat Warriors 112-109

The AP reports: Raymond Felton had 26 points and nine assists, and Emeka Okafor added 15 points and 11 rebounds for Charlotte (23-36), which won for just the fourth time in its last 13 games… Stephen Jackson had 33 points and eight assists for Golden State (20-38), but couldn’t help thinking about the pass that got away from him at the end while trying to inbound the ball to Kelenna Azubuike following Diaw’s go-ahead 3-pointer… Gerald Wallace finished with 14 points and 11 rebounds for Charlotte, which snapped a four-game road losing streak to the Warriors. Andris Biedrins had 18 points and 13 rebounds for Golden State, which trailed by six points at halftime but opened the third quarter with a 16-5 run to take the lead. Biedrins had nine of his points during the spurt then later added a dunk to make it 73-68.

Martin scores 20, Kings beat Clippers 98-86

The AP reports: Bobby Jackson scored 18 points and Kevin Martin had 20 as the Kings built an early lead and cruised to a 98-86 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers on Friday night… But with starter Beno Udrih out with a sprained ankle against the Clippers, Jackson made his fourth start of the year and played a season-high 37 minutes. He shot 6-of-8, hit three 3-pointers and also added four rebounds, three assists, two steals and one block… Andres Nocioni had 17 for Sacramento, which snapped a three-game losing streak and had lost 17 of their previous 19. Francisco Garcia added 15 points, Rashad McCants 12 and Jason Thompson 10, while Spencer Hawes had a career-high 15 rebounds.

Lebron scores 30, Cavs beat Spurs 97-86

The AP reports: Pouring in 30 points and grabbing 14 rebounds before taking it easy after the third quarter, LeBron James and the Cavaliers shook off a terrible start to a four-game road swing with a 97-86 win over the Spurs, who again kept Tim Duncan in street clothes… Tony Parker, who averaged 38 points the last two games, was one of four Spurs with 11 points. Duncan missed his third consecutive game for San Antonio with a right quad injury but is expected to return as soon as Sunday. Delonte West added 17 points and Zydrunas Ilgauskas had 10 for Cleveland, which will resume its four-game road swing Sunday at Atlanta. They’ll do so without Wallace, who is expected to miss four to six weeks after breaking his right fibula in a 93-74 loss to the Rockets on Thursday.

Shaq scores 45, Suns beat Raptors 133-113

The AP reports: A week shy of his 37th birthday, Shaquille O’Neal scored 45 points Friday night—his biggest offensive performance in six years—powering the Phoenix Suns to a 133-113 victory… Louis Amundson scored a career-high 20 as the Suns outscored the Raptors in the paint by a remarkable 90-36. Matt Barnes added 18. Grant Hill had 14 points and 12 assists, just two shy of his career high set 11 years ago for the Suns, who were without Steve Nash for the second straight game with a sprained right ankle. Former Suns star Shawn Marion led Toronto with 27 points and 11 rebounds. Andrea Bargnani added 21 points and Bosh 19.

Nuggets end skid against Lakers with 90-79 win

The AP reports: J.R. Smith scored 22 points and hounded Kobe Bryant all night and the Nuggets beat cold-shooting Los Angeles 90-79 to end to end a nine-game losing streak against the Lakers. The Nuggets got solid performances from reserves Smith and Chris Andersen, who tied a career high with seven blocks, pulled down 12 rebounds and chipped in 11 points, and their defense was, to a man, absolutely outstanding… Kobe Bryant scored 29 points but he needed 31 shots to do it, sinking 10 of them, and he was hounded by Smith in the fourth quarter when the Nuggets held the Lakers to 16 points and Bryant went 2-for-9… Lamar Odom was 5-for-17 and the bench was a combined 3-for-19.

Mavericks rally to defeat Thunder 110-108 in OT

The AP reports: Even with Oklahoma City missing Kevin Durant, the Dallas Mavericks turned to two of its stars to fend off the Thunder on Friday night. Dirk Nowitzki scored 17 of his 41 points in the fourth quarter and overtime, Jason Kidd hit two big 3-pointers in the extra period, and the Mavericks overcame a 12-point deficit to beat the short-handed Oklahoma City Thunder 110-108… Russell Westbrook, who hit a 3-pointer to send it to overtime, scored 33 points and Green added 28 points for the Thunder, who have lost seven straight. Dallas’ Josh Howard had 13 points and James Singleton added 12 points and nine rebounds.

Chandler’s tip-in gives Hornets 95-94 win over Bucks

The AP reports: Tyson Chandler tipped in a missed shot off the backboard with 3.3 seconds left to give the Hornets a 95-94 win after they blew a 17-point lead with four minutes remaining… Chris Paul had a season-high 20 assists, and West scored 28 points to lead the Hornets, who won their third straight. Richard Jefferson had a team-high 22 points, and Bell added 21 for the Bucks, who lost their second in a row but made the Hornets sweat after trailing by double digits for almost the entire second half. Milwaukee had its second-worst shooting performance of the year through the first three quarters.

Roy scores 19 as Blazers beat Wolves 102-82

The AP reports: Brandon Roy scored 19 points in only three quarters against Minnesota, leading Portland to a 102-82 victory over the listless Timberwolves on Friday night… Rudy Fernandez added 18 points for the Blazers, who snapped a five-game road losing streak by sending the sputtering Wolves to their eighth-straight home loss. Travis Outlaw and LaMarcus Aldridge each added 15 points and Sergio Rodriguez had 12 for the Trail Blazers, who built a 19-point lead through three quarters and were never threatened… Mike Miller and Craig Smith each scored 16 points to lead Minnesota, which continues to struggle without Al Jefferson in the lineup.

Celtics beat Pacers 104-99 in Marbury debut

The AP reports: Ray Allen added 30 points and Rajon Rondo matched his career high with 17 assists for Boston. Glen “Big Baby” Davis, starting in place of the injured Kevin Garnett, scored 18, and Kendrick Perkins had 11 rebounds. Marbury finished with eight points and two assists in under 13 minutes— just hours after clearing waivers and signing with the Celtics for their push toward the playoffs and a try at back-to-back NBA titles… T.J. Ford scored 23 and Troy Murphy had 20 points and 13 assists for the Pacers, who had won three out of four.