starters Paul Pierce and Shaun

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The Indiana Pacers drew even in their Eastern Conference semifinal series with the Washington Wizards last time out, but the action shifts to our nations capital Friday night for Game 3. Watch the game on TSN2 and TSN GO at 8pm et/5pm pt. Friday will mark the first second-round playoff game in Washington since 2005. That year, the Wizards were swept by the Miami Heat in the semis, but that wont happen this time around. The Wiz won Game 1 on Monday, but the Pacers clawed back into the series with an 86-82 home victory on Wednesday. Indiana was carried by the unlikeliest of players in Game 2. Roy Hibbert, who scored zero points and grabbed zero rebounds in Game 1s loss, scored 28 points and grab nine rebounds on Wednesday. Hibbert went scoreless three times this postseason and put up donuts in both categories twice, but the All-Star took his mind off things and dominated the Wizards. "Sometimes I wear my heart on my sleeve and other times I just keep things in," admitted Hibbert. "Tonight, I just felt like I just had one thing on my mind: to help this team win. My teammates did a great job of getting me the ball in my sweet spot and believing in me. I just wanted to return the favor." Head coach Frank Vogel acknowledged he didnt call any plays for Hibbert, but the big man was active from the jump. He scored the games first five points and totaled 17 in the first half. "Im sure he didnt like the way he played the other night," said Vogel. "Im sure he didnt like the criticism. Thats the remarkable thing. You play with a certain amount of force and the ball finds you." Another factor that may have freed up Hibbert was the teams announcement that Andrew Bynum, who was signed as a backup in February, would not appear in a game this postseason and that his tenure with the Pacers was over. Some reports indicated Hibbert wasnt pleased with the Bynum signing. George Hill finished with 14 points, followed by 12 from Lance Stephenson and 11 out of Paul George. Marcin Gortat had 21 points to lead the Wizards, Bradley Beal added 17 and Nene scored 14 despite rolling his left ankle in the first quarter. All-Star guard John Wall and Trevor Ariza, who scored 22 in Game 1, combined for 12 points in Game 2. Hibberts magical return to form meant a lot for the Pacers, but Game 2 was tightly contested until late in the fourth quarter. Gortat scored with 3:23 to go to get the Wiz within one, but Washington couldnt buy a bucket after that. The Wizards didnt score again until 11 seconds remained in the game and Indiana did enough to knot the series. "End of the day, we played a pretty good game," said Gortat. "We didnt shoot the ball well, especially from the 3-point line. Weve just got to play better." Playoff basketball returned to Washington for the first time since 2008 and this season is the third time since 1982 the Wizards advanced out of the first round. "I hope that when we get back to D.C. were going to see the crowd ready at least 30 minutes before the game," said Gortat. "We need them. I hope they come early and were going to try and bring it." The Wizards went 1-1 at the Verizon Center against the Chicago Bulls in round one. Washington has won two in a row over the Pacers as the host, but Indiana won four straight prior to that. "This is playoff basketball. You cant lose at home," noted Gortat. Game 4 will be Sunday night in Washington. Зарегистрируйтесь, чтобы увидеть ссылку! . -- Olympic medallist Jennifer Abel of Laval, Que. Зарегистрируйтесь, чтобы увидеть ссылку! . Bowditch, the 30-year-old Australian seeking his first PGA Tour title, shot a 4-under 68 to reach 12 under at TPC San Antonio. Matt Kuchar and Andrew Loupe were tied for second. Kuchar shot 65, and Loupe had a 70. Зарегистрируйтесь, чтобы увидеть ссылку!. According to TSN Edmonton reporter Ryan Rishaug, agent Rick Valette met with Oilers senior VP of hockey operations Scott Howson and general manager Craig MacTavish on Monday to kick off the talks. Зарегистрируйтесь, чтобы увидеть ссылку! . -- Wichita State is all alone in the record book. Зарегистрируйтесь, чтобы увидеть ссылку! . The midfielder had an operation on Saturday, and is set to miss seven Premier League games, the third round of the FA Cup and the semifinals of the League Cup. ORLANDO, Fla. -- The Orlando Magic finally are showing the patience in critical moments that coach Jacque Vaughn has been waiting for all season. The Magic fought off repeated challenges from the Brooklyn Nets, many of them in the final two minutes, to claim a 115-111 victory over a playoff-bound team. It was the second win a row where Orlando executed better than its opponent in the final minutes of a close game. "Were continuing to learn at the end of games and not panic," Vaughn said. "I want these guys to enjoy what they do for a living. We come to work, we get better. Thats what we do." Arron Afflalo scored five of his 25 points in the final two minutes. Jameer Nelson was 4 of 4 from the free throw line in the final 13 seconds and Kyle OQuinn had a key assist and block as Orlando made every play it needed to stop the Nets. Reserve ETwaun Moore made all six shots, five of them 3-pointers, to tie his season high of 17 points. Tobias Harris added 16 points and eight rebounds. "We are better in close games and it shows the maturity and confidence were gaining as a group," Afflalo said. "The Nets are one of the hottest teams since the new year and we got good performances from a lot of our role players." The Magic needed a lot at both ends in the second half to stop a hot-shooting Brooklyn team that was making shots from everywhere. Joe Johnson led the Nets with 31 points, but had a potential game-tying 3-pointer blocked by Quinn with 10 seconds left in the game. Mirza Teletovic, who was 1 for 10 from the field in the first half, hit four 3-pointers in the third period to start the Nets on their way to 23 of 37 (62.2 per cent) shooting in the second half. Teletovic finished with 17 points and nine rebounds. Mason Plumlee had 16 points and Marcus Thornton 13 off the bench for Brooklyn, which played without injured starters Paul Pierce and Shaun Livingston. "At the end, we executed offensively, but defensively, we didnt," Nets coach Jason Kidd said. "We pretty much had five guards out there, playing Joe at the centre. We probably put him in a bad way, trying to make a 3 on a 7-footer (OQuinn).dddddddddddd. As coaches we can get better. This was a learning experience." The Magic led 107-101 after Afflalos 3-pointer with 1:58 left in the game, but Brooklyn cut it to 110-109 on a layup by Johnson with 14 seconds remaining. Nelson made two free throws for Orlando, then OQuinn cleanly blocked a 3-pointer by Johnson with 10 seconds left. Nelson and Afflalo combined for three free throws to put the game away from there. The Magic led by as many as 16 in the first half and carried an 83-78 lead into the fourth quarter, but had to withstand some sharpshooting by Brooklyn in the second half. The Nets hit 23 of 37 shots (62 per cent) in the final two quarters and got seven 3-pointers and four three-point plays, but it still wasnt enough to overcome Orlando. The Magic kept pace with a hot-shooting second half of their own, making nearly 57 per cent, and got key shots from Afflalo, Moore and Nelson every time Brooklyn got close. The Nets hit six 3-pointers, four by Teletovic, in the third quarter and Deron Williams and Kevin Garnett added three-point plays to help Brooklyn rally from a 55-43 halftime deficit. The Nets tied the game at 78 on a dunk by Plumlee with 35 seconds left, but Victor Oladipo countered with a perimeter jumper and Moore hit his fifth straight 3-pointer at the buzzer to give the Magic an 83-78 lead going into the final period. The teams traded baskets for the first 15 minutes of the game before Moore knocked down four 3-pointers to ignite a 20-3 run that helped Orlando to a 55-43 halftime lead. The reserve guard hit three straight 3s from nearly the exact same spot on the left side of the basket, then crossed to a similar spot on the right side and drained another. In between, he added a fast-break layup for 11 straight points, before being taken out of the game. NOTES: Magic C Nikola Vucevic missed his third straight game with a sore Achilles tendon. The Magic are 3-18 in the 21 games hes missed this season. . The Nets said Pierce had a sore hip and Livingston a sore toe. . The Magic outscored the Nets 22-6 on fast-break points. ' ' '