Dein erstes Forum » Clippers on their heels from the opening

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. -- Only two Syracuse teams have won their first 20 games, and C.J. Fair has been a member of both. This current one, he says, is "a hard-fought 20-game winning streak." Not much came easy during the Oranges latest victory. No. 2 Syracuse matched the best start in program history Wednesday night, pulling away to beat Wake Forest 67-57 behind a strong second half from freshman Tyler Ennis. Ennis scored 16 of his 18 points after halftime and Fair finished with 16 points for the Orange (20-0, 7-0 Atlantic Coast Conference), while Trevor Cooney scored all eight of his in the final 1:45. Syracuse remained one of three unbeaten teams in Division I with No. 1 Arizona, which beat Stanford 60-57 on Wednesday, and No. 4 Wichita State. The Orange pulled away late while sidestepping a possible trap with a visit from No. 17 Duke coming up this weekend, and joined the 2011-12 group as the only Orange teams to start 20-0. "Weve got a long stretch ahead of us," Fair said. In their first visit to Tobacco Road as ACC members, they had to work for it against a Wake Forest team that had been perfect at home and tough on visitors in the top five. "It was just one of those games youre just trying to struggle through defensively, and we did just a good enough job defensively to be able to get the win," coach Jim Boeheim said. "You have to find a way to win these games, and this team has been able to do that." Travis McKie scored 12 points for the Demon Deacons (14-7, 4-4), and his free throw with 4:10 left pulled them to 54-49. But while Wake Forest came up empty on its next two trips down court, Cooney caught fire. "We needed one of those timely 3s to go in," McKie said. "If we just wouldve got three more of those 3s to go in, wed be looking at a different outcome." The guard buried a fall-away jumper that he called "the toughest shot I had all day." He followed that with two free throws to give Syracuse its first double-figure lead and streaked down court for an open-court dunk after a steal by Fair to put the Orange up 62-50 with 1:19 left. "I heard C.J. say, Shoot it," Cooney said. "And no one needs to tell me to shoot it." By then, they could look ahead to hosting the Blue Devils at the Carrier Dome in one of the seasons most widely anticipated matchups. Devin Thomas scored 12 points for Wake Forest, which had won 13 straight at Joel Coliseum and had won three straight home games against top-five teams -- a run that included a rout of then-No. 2 Miami last season. Just about all of the Demon Deacons key stats suggested they would be blown out: They shot 34 per cent, were outrebounded 55-35, made just three of their 20 3-point attempts and were 18 of 30 from the free throw line. "Theyre long and athletic, so their zone is definitely a force to be reckoned with," McKie said. "We had great looks. We just didnt knock it down." But some of the Oranges numbers were equally poor -- they shot 36 per cent and were 22 of 33 from the free throw line -- and that allowed Wake Forest to stay within striking distance for much of the game. "For the most part, we did a good job on their shooters, and when they got an open look, they just didnt make it," Boeheim said. "Same as us." Joel Coliseum was buzzing when Wake Forest turned an eight-point deficit into a one-possession game in the span of a few seconds midway through the second half. Robert Morris transfer Coron Williams swished a 3-pointer before Madison Jones swiped the ball from Cooney and hit a quick layup to make it 40-37 with 12 1/2 minutes left. Ennis, who was 0 for 6 from the field in the first half, followed by reeling off eight points -- all on drives down or across the lane -- in about 4 minutes to give the Orange a bit of breathing room. His finger roll helped Syracuse match its largest lead to that point, 48-40, with about 8 1/2 minutes left. 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They named Mark Washington as their defensive co-ordinator on Thursday and appear to be closing in on an offensive co-ordinator. LOS ANGELES -- After being thoroughly outplayed for over 40 minutes, the Los Angeles Clippers fought back. Leading the way was a player not known for coming up big in the clutch. Darren Collison scored eight of his 18 points in the final 2:58, rallying the Clippers past the Oklahoma City Thunder 101-99 on Sunday to tie the Western Conference semifinal series 2-2. "Even though we didnt play well throughout the game, we were able to get a win," Collison said. "That feels more impressive than anything we did." Russell Westbrook, who scored 27 points, missed a 3-pointer and Serge Ibakas tip attempt was too late at the buzzer, allowing the Clippers to salvage a game they trailed until the final 1:23. "It was a good look," Westbrook said. "Just didnt go in." Blake Griffin led Los Angeles with 25 points, making 9 of 11 free throws. Jamal Crawford added 18 points. DeAndre Jordan had 14 rebounds, helping the Clippers win the boards, 45-43 -- the first time in 11 playoff games the Thunder were outrebounded. "We just willed this one. We found a way," said Chris Paul, who had 23 points and 10 assists. Kevin Durant scored 40 points, hitting 15 of 18 free throws, for the Thunder. "We let this one slip away," he said. "We could have took control of the series." Game 5 is Tuesday night in Oklahoma City. "We were almost on the mat and we got off of it. We didnt get pinned," Clippers coach Doc Rivers said. "Theyre seething right now. They had an opportunity to go up 3-1 and now its an even series." It was the 14th comeback -- and largest yet -- by the Clippers this season after trailing by double digits. They rallied from 12 points down in the second quarter of Game 7 to oust Golden State in the first round. "This is one of the best ones yet," Paul said. "Darren Collison was amazing. You just got to love a guy like that who plays with so much heart and never gives up." The Clippers had no answer for Durant and Westbrook until midway through the fourth quarter. That dynamic duo drove the lane with abandon, drew fouls and made free throws in leading the Thunder to an early 22-point lead. Durants three-point play early in the fourth extended the Thunders lead to 15 points, and they were still up by 10 with 7:44 to go. But the comeback Clippers were not to be denied. "Everybody kept telling each other, Chip away, chip away," Griffin said.dddddddddddd "That was kind of our mentality for the rest of the game. We just kept fighting." The Clippers stole a page out of the Thunders playbook, switching to a smaller lineup that included Collison and Danny Granger, who helped disrupt the Thunders rebounding late. Paul willed his team back into it, scoring six straight points to get the Clippers within six. Griffin, who was saddled with five fouls, made three of four free throws before Collison got hot. "The whole time Im thinking, We cant be down 3-1, we just cant be down 3-1 going to Oklahoma," Collison said. With the game tied at 97, Collison scored the Clippers final four points on layups. Crawford passed to a streaking Collison for a fast-break conversion on the second one for a 101-97 lead with 32 seconds left. Westbrook scored for the Thunder, but after Griffin missed, Westbrook did too to end the game. "Did that really just happen?" a still stunned Crawford said. Paul missed all five of his shots in the third, when Griffin picked up three fouls to give him five, and Crawford and Jordan each got their third. Ibaka, who shot 9 of 10 in the Thunders Game 3 win, got his fourth foul, along with Westbrook in the third. The Clippers came as close as eight points before Reggie Jacksons 3-pointer beat the shot clock to keep the Thunder ahead 75-63 going into the fourth. The Thunder had the Clippers on their heels from the opening tip, with Oklahoma City shooting 65 per cent in building a 22-point lead. Oklahoma City outscored the Clippers 32-15 in the first; the fewest points theyve allowed in a quarter of a playoff game. NOTES: NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, who banned Clippers owner Donald Sterling for life and fined him $2.5 million after recordings of him making racist comments surfaced, attended the game, sitting next to Magic Johnson. Johnson tweeted on April 26 that he would never go to a Clippers game again while Sterling remains the owner. ... Johnson and boxer Floyd Mayweather have each made noises about being interested in owning the Clippers. ... Dick Parsons, whom Silver appointed as interim CEO of the Clippers, will be in town Monday. ... Among the celebs were Rihanna, Justin Bieber (who got booed), Billy Crystal, Mark Wahlberg, former Clipper Baron Davis wearing a Dodgers hat and Kenny Lofton. ' ' '