The Lakers will be thinking about this one that got away for a long time. And they may have even more off-season time to dwell on it, as a result. Paul Pierce and Ray Allen led the charge as the Celtics erased an 18-point halftime deficit with a miraculous second-half effort in a 97-91 win over Los Angeles in Game 4 of the NBA Finals at the STAPLES Center on Thursday. Boston also takes a commanding 3-1 lead in the series. The C’s can claim their 17th championship with a victory in Game 5 on Sunday. The Game 4 loss was the Lakers’ first defeat at home this postseason. No team has ever recovered from a 3-1 deficit in the finals.
Quello di Boston è il più grande recupero nella storia delle finali Nba: 24 punti il vantaggio massimo dei Lakers, che poi vengono superati 97-91 in un finale gestito da Pierce e C. con grande freddezza. Eroe della serata il sesto uomo James Posey (18 punti).
An injury-time penalty from Ivica Vastic earned co-hosts Austria a 1-1 draw against Poland at the Ernst Happel Stadium in Vienna that keeps their hopes of progressing to the knockout stages alive. Naturalised Brazilian midfielder Roger Guerreiro put Poland ahead from close range in the first half after Austria had spurned a series of golden opportunities to take the lead. Poland looked the more likely scorers for the majority of the second half, until English referee Howard Webb spotted an infringement in the Polish penalty area in injury time and the 37-year-old Vastic fired home from the spot.
Un rigore a tempo scaduto, molto contestato, regala il pari alla nazionale austriaca contro la Polonia e la tiene ancora in corsa per la qualificazione. La seconda partita del Gruppo B finisce 1-1. A segno per primo il polacco Guerreiro al 30esimo. Per i padroni di casa, invece, trasforma dagli undici metri Vastic.
Croatia assumed command of Euro 2008 Group B with a well-earned 2-1 victory over group favourites Germany at the Wothersee Stadium in Klagenfurt. They took a 23rd-minute lead through Dario Srna, before Portsmouth midfielder Niko Kranjcar spurned two good chances to extend their advantage. Ivica Olic netted just after the hour mark when Srna’s deflected cross hit the post and rebounded into his path, before Lukas Podolski scored with 10 minutes remaining to set up a tense finish. The tension was too much for second-half Germany substitute Bastian Schweinsteiger, who was sent off in injury time for a push on Jerko Leko.
Colpo a sorpresa della nazionale di Bilic, che a Klagenfurt batte per 2-1 i favoriti tedeschi e resta a punteggio pieno nel girone B. Podolski dimezza il doppio svantaggio nel finale firmato da Srna e Olic, ma agli uomini di Loew non basta per evitare una meritata sconfitta.
