Nets advance to finals
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J., May 25 (UPI) -- Jason Kidd helped propel the New Jersey Nets into the NBA Finals Saturday night with a 102-82 victory over the Detroit Pistons.
Kidd collected 26 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists as the Nets completed a sweep of the Eastern Conference finals.
The Nets won their 10th straight playoff game - the fourth-longest streak in NBA history - as they completed their second straight series sweep. They will have 10 days off until visiting San Antonio or Dallas on June 4 to open the league finals.
After winning a pair of squeakers in Detroit, the Nets returned home and twice ran the Pistons off the court at Continental Airlines Arena. They had 51 fast-break points to four for the Pistons, who came in sporting the NBA's top defense.
Leading the charge was Kidd, who never seems to stop running. In the last two games, the All-Star point guard has had 60 points, 24 rebounds and 13 assists.
Not even an ankle injury could slow down Kidd. With just under seven minutes to go, he rose for a rebound and twisted his right ankle as he landed on the right foot of Pistons center Ben Wallace. Grabbing his foot while on the floor, he brought a collective gasp from the sellout crowd.
But Kidd got up on his own, never left the game and scored the last eight Nets points in a 13-1 spurt that sealed it at 96-75 with 3:10 to go. He departed seconds later to a standing ovation.
Kenyon Martin and Richard Jefferson scored 14 points each for the second-seeded Nets, who shot 53 percent from the field and held a 19-0 advantage in fast-break points as they became the only team in the series to score in triple digits.
Yankees lose at home again
NEW YORK, May 25 (UPI) -- Frank Catalanotto, Carlos Delgado and Tom Wilson each rapped two doubles against David Wells Saturday as Toronto downed the New York Yankees, 5-2.
Cory Lidle pitched eight-plus in helping the Blue Jays hand the Yankees their sixth straight home setback, 5-2.
Wells (6-2) surrendered seven doubles in five-plus innings. New York has dropped 10 of its last 11 contests at Yankee Stadium after winning 10 of its first 13 here. It is the worst home stretch for the Yankees since they lost 10 in a row during the 1986 campaign.
Lidle (8-2) yielded two runs and six hits as he became the first eight-game winner in the major leagues. He exited after Derek Jeter's leadoff triple in the bottom of the ninth, but Cliff Politte stranded the All-Star shortstop to pick up his seventh save.
Toronto began the scoring in the top of the fourth, when Catalanotto led off with a double off Wells and scored on Delgado's one-out double to right-center field, his team-record 292nd two-base hit. Wilson followed with a ground-rule double as a fan reached over the wall in left and touched the ball, staking Lidle to a 2-0 lead.
The Blue Jays opened a 5-0 advantage in the sixth, when Catalanotto, Vernon Wells, Delgado and Wilson hit consecutive doubles and Josh Phelps singled to begin the frame, chasing David Wells.
Other American League results: Boston 12, Cleveland 3; Anaheim 7, Tampa Bay 2; Kansas City 3, Oakland 1; Detroit 1, Chicago 0; Baltimore 10, Texas 3.
Braves rough up former teammate
ATLANTA, May 25 (UPI) -- Andruw Jones and Javy Lopez each homered off former teammate Tom Glavine Saturday, giving Atlanta a 10-4 decision over the New York Mets.
Jones hit his 12th homer off Glavine in the first inning and Rafael Furcal and Gary Sheffield had RBI doubles in the third to give Atlanta a 3-0 lead before things got worse for New York in the fourth.
Sheffield extended his hitting streak to 12 games and is batting .367 to lead the majors. The Braves won 10 of their last 14 games and lead the majors with a 33-16 record.
Lopez started the fourth with his 12th homer and Vinny Castilla followed with a single. Rookie pitcher Horacio Ramirez grounded out, but Rafael Furcal delivered an RBI double to give the Braves a 5-0 lead and chase Glavine.
Jaime Cerda retired Marcus Giles on a groundout, after which Sheffield hit his 12th homer to give the Braves a seven-run cushion. Chipper Jones and Andruw Jones both singled and Robert Fick sent Cerda's 1-2 pitch over the right-center field fence for his fifth homer and a 10-0 advantage.
Glavine (5-4), who spent the first 16 years of his career with the Braves before signing a multi-year contract with the Mets in December, gave up six runs and eight hits with two walks.
Other National League results: San Francisco 5, Colorado 1; Chicago 3, Houston 2; Montreal 3, Philadelphia 2; Los Angeles 6, Milwaukee 0; St. Louis 6, Pittsburgh 0; Florida 5, Cincinnati 4.
Nowitzki sprains knee
DALLAS, May 25 (UPI) -- Dallas almost certainly will be without its best player it faces the San Antonio Spurs in Game 4 of the Western Conference finals Sunday.
After injuring his left knee colliding with Spurs guard Manu Ginobili in the fourth quarter of a 96-83 loss on Friday, Mavericks forward Dirk Nowitzki underwent an MRI on Saturday that showed he suffered a sprain of the ligaments that hold the kneecap in place, the team said.
The MRI also confirmed there was no other structural damage to his knee, but Nowitzki is listed as doubtful for Game Four as the Mavericks try to even the series at two games apiece.
"With an injury like this, the typical recovery time is 10-14 days," team physician Dr. T.O. Souryal said. "However, Dirk is an amazing athlete and with 24-hour treatment that we have already implemented, we hope he may be able to return to the court during this series."
Sorenstam exits, Perry enters at Colonial
FORT WORTH, Texas, May 25 (UPI) -- Kenny Perry stepped into the void left by the absence of Annika Sorenstam and almost made some golfing history of his own Saturday.
Perry birdied six of his first nine holes en route to a course record-tying 9-under-par 61 and an eight-stroke lead after the third round of the Bank of America Colonial.
Sorenstam put her name in sports lore by becoming the second woman in history and first since 1945 to play in a PGA Tour event. But she missed the cut by four shots after firing a 74 Friday.
With the Swedish star out of the event, thousands of fans and hundreds of media members disappeared.
Perry, however, forced the spotlight to shine his way with a round that could easily have been the fourth 59 in PGA Tour history.
A 17-year veteran seeking his fifth career title, Perry shared the 36-hole lead with good friend Dan Forsman, but he opened and closed the front nine with a string of three straight birdies to build a five-stroke lead.
With a 29 on the front side, Perry matched the second-best nine-hole total in tournament history, a stroke off the mark Wayne Levi set in 1993.
His 61 tied Keith Clearwater, Lee Janzen (1993) and Greg Kraft (1999) for the lowest ever at the Colonial. At 17-under 193, he also broke by a shot the 54-hole tournament mark held by Scott Simpson and David Ogrin (1997).
It could have been even better. Perry left a long birdie putt at the 12th an inch short of the hole and had makeable birdie efforts at both the 16th and 18th.
Perry had three birdies on the back side as he easily pulled away from the field. First-round leader Rory Sabbatini of South Africa was second at 9-under 201.
Indianapolis 500 set for Sunday
INDIANAPOLIS, May 25 (UPI) -- After a month of hype, controversy, speculation and intrigue, race day at the Indianapolis 500 arrives Sunday.
With just enough car and driver combinations to fill the 33-car starting lineup, quality, not quantity, is the key ingredient to this year's field.
With many of the top teams from CART moving over to the Indy Racing League IndyCar series the past two years, the power shift has created a very competitive environment for this year's race.
At the top of that list is Helio Castroneves, who attempts to make history by becoming the driver to win the world's most famous race three years in a row.
In his quest for a "three-peat," Castroneves will start from the pole position after running a four-lap average of 231.725 miles per hour on May 11. He will compete in a Dallara/Toyota for team owner Roger Penske, who has a record 12 Indy 500 poles.
Tony Kanaan will start in the middle of the first row and may be the favorite to win the race. Despite suffering a radial fracture of his wrist when he crashed with Scott Dixon at Twin Ring Motegi on April 13, Kanaan has been fast all month in a Dallara/Honda for Andretti/Green Racing.
NASCAR Winston Cup driver Robby Gordon starts on the outside of the front row and will attempt to compete in both the Indy 500 and the Coca-Cola 600 at Lowe's Motor Speedway in Charlotte, N.C. during the same day. Gordon completed the double last year and is one of four drivers at Andretti/Green Racing.
Michael Andretti will compete in his final race as a driver on Sunday. He will concentrate on team ownership after the Indy 500 and has no regrets about retiring at 40.
Andretti has led 398 laps in the Indy 500 but has never won the prestigious race. His father, Mario, won just once before he retired in 1994.
Roddick wins Raiffeisen Grand Prix
ST. POLTEN, Austria, May 25 (UPI) -- Andy Rodick defeated Russian Nikolay Davydenko, 6-3, 6-2, Saturday to capture the International Raiffeisen Grand Prix crown.
With the French Open two days away, Roddick should gain confidence from his performance this week. He did not drop a set en route to his sixth career title. The 20-year-old notched his first tournament victory since his triumph at Houston a little more than a year ago and his first at a tennis tournament outside the United States.
Roddick had been struggling on the European red clay this year. He reached the final of the U.S. Men's Clay Court Championship in Houston last month, but was eliminated in the second round at the Rome Masters and Hamburg Masters.
Seeded sixth for the French Open, Roddick will play Sargis Sargsian in the first round in Paris.
Davydenko fell to 0-2 lifetime against Roddick and failed to win his third title of the year. The 21-year-old opened the year with his first career tournament victory at Adelaide in January and captured his second crown at Estoril on clay last month.
Davydenko will face Greg Rusedski in the first round of the French Open.
Bonds suffering from mild tendinitis
DENVER, May 25 (UPI) -- Barry Bonds, who injured his right knee in Friday night's loss to Colorado, underwent an MRI on Saturday that revealed mild tendinitis.
Having avoided a trip to the disabled list, he will receive treatment for the next few days and test the knee's durability during the week.
One of the greatest home run hitters in baseball history, Bonds suffered the injury when landing after leaping in an attempt to catch a fly ball by Colorado's Preston Wilson in the fourth inning Friday night. The slugger remained in the game but left after his at bat in the fifth.
The Giants originally were concerned that Bonds suffered a torn tendon in the knee, which would have ended his season. But the MRI revealed no tear and the 38-year-old could return to the lineup by next weekend.
Bonds is 36 homers away from passing his godfather, Willie Mays, for third place on the all-time list. He is is batting .297 this season with 12 homers and 25 RBI.
