Historically, a 3-0 series deficit in basketball has been insurmountable, so one could certainly argue that the Lakers were facing elimination on Tuesday night. Kobe Bryant – though he was calm throughout, never desperate – certainly seemed to understand the urgency. He scored a game-high 36 points as his Lakers beat the Celtics, 87-81, and climbed back into the series.
C’è finale. I Lakers la riaprono, almeno in parte, vincendo gara-3 (87-81) in casa, grazie allo straordinario contributo dalla panchina dell’ex udinese Sasha Vujacic (20 punti con 7/10 al tiro, 3/5 da tre, in 27’), oltre alla solita partita super di Kobe Bryant (36 punti con 12/20 e 11/18 ai liberi). Boston spreca una buona occasione, essendosi trovata avanti di 5 nel 3° periodo e a -2 con 2’40″ da giocare.
A stunning goal from Zlatan Ibrahimovic set Sweden on their way to a 2-0 victory over defending champions Greece in their Euro 2008 Group D opening game at the Wals-Siezenheim Stadium in Salzburg. A header from Ibrahimovic and a skidding long-range effort from Greek captain Angelos Basinas were the nearest either side came to breaking the deadlock in a dreary first half. The quality of the play was little better in the second, until Ibrahimovic drove a glorious right-footed effort into the top-left corner from the edge of the Greek area with just over 20 minutes to play. A scrappy close-range effort from Sweden defender Petter Hansson shortly afterwards made sure of a victory which puts Lars Lagerback’s side level on points with Spain at the top of Group D, after the Spaniards’ 4-1 dismantling of Russia earlier in the day.
La squadra di Rehhagel riesce ad addormentare tre quarti di partita, mettendo in difficoltà la Svezia, che non pressa. Poi la prodezza del nerazzurro Zlatan Ibrahimovic rovina tutto ai greci, che sono costretti a giocare e subiscono il secondo gol del definitivo 2-0 ad opera di Hansson con un gollonzo.
A hat-trick from David Villa inspired Spain to an impressive 4-1 victory over Russia in their opening Euro 2008 Group D game at the Tivoli Neu Stadium in Innsbruck. Two neat finishes from Villa gave Spain a 2-0 half-time lead, after Russian midfielder Konstantin Zyrianov had seen a shot rebound off the woodwork midway through the first half. Villa sealed his hat-trick 15 minutes from time, before Roman Pavlyuchenko netted a consolation goal for Russia five minutes before the end, thereby making this the first match in the competition in which both sides scored. Spain capped the win in injury time when second-half substitute Cesc Fabregas dived in to head home after Xavi’s volley had been parried by Russia goalkeeper Igor Akinfeev.
Travolgente prestazione dell’attaccante del Valencia Davide Villa, autore di una tripletta nel 4-1 sulla Russia. Palo di Zyrianov nel primo tempo, nel finale i gol di Pavlychenko, per la nazionale di Hiddink, e Fabregas. L’Europeo della Spagna parte benissimo: 4-1 alla Russia nella prima gara del Gruppo D con tre reti di Villa e sigillo finale di Fabregas (di Pavlychenko l’unico gol della squadra di Hiddink).
