pa href="http://news.yahoo.com/kobe-leads-lakers-past-thunder-99-96-thriller-053818655--spt.html"img src="http://l3.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/7rUA.MXapT5gS4COoQfcRg--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7Zmk9ZmlsbDtoPTg2O3B4b2ZmPTUwO3B5b2ZmPTA7cT04NTt3PTEzMA--/http://media.zenfs.com/en_us/News/ap_webfeeds/39db077016250d0e100f6a7067002535.jpg" width="130" height="86" alt="Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant gestures after they defeated the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 3 of an NBA basketball playoffs Western Conference semifinal, Friday, May 18, 2012, in Los Angeles. The Lakers won 99-96. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)" align="left" title="Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant gestures after they defeated the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 3 of an NBA basketball playoffs Western Conference semifinal, Friday, May 18, 2012, in Los Angeles. The Lakers won 99-96. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)" border="0" //aAfter two straight exhausting playoff games that went down to the last gasp, Kobe Bryant knows the Los Angeles Lakers can't hope to keep up with the younger, faster Oklahoma City Thunder./pbr clear="all"/
pa href="http://news.yahoo.com/76ers-fight-back-tie-series-celtics-032729042--nba.html"img src="http://l3.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/5irdHlY5vxhwcMudNTX.mg--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7Zmk9ZmlsbDtoPTg2O3E9ODU7dz0xMzA-/http://media.zenfs.com/en_us/News/Reuters/2012-05-19T061003Z_1_CBRE84I0H4W00_RTROPTP_2_NBA.JPG" width="130" height="86" alt="Oklahoma City Thunder's Harden watches his shot against Los Angeles Lakers' Gasol during their NBA Western Conference playoff in Los Angeles" align="left" title="Oklahoma City Thunder's Harden watches his shot against Los Angeles Lakers' Gasol during their NBA Western Conference playoff in Los Angeles" border="0" //a(Reuters) - Kobe Bryant refused to let a second successive game slip through his fingers as the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 99-96 in a cliffhanger on Friday to avoid going down 3-0 in their NBA playoff series. Bryant endured a 9-for-25 shooting night to score 36 points, including eight of his team's final 10 points, helping the Lakers get the home win needed in the second-round West matchup. Kevin Durant tallied 31 points, but missed a long, potential game-tying three-pointer in the final seconds, while Russell Westbrook and James Harden each had 21 in the loss. .../pbr clear="all"/
(Reuters) - The Atlanta Braves handed Tampa Bay a rare home loss when they chased top pitcher James Shields after six innings in a 5-3 victory over the Rays on Friday. Freddie Freeman's run scoring double in the fifth put Atlanta ahead to stay and the Braves added another run two batters later for a 4-2 advantage. Martin Prado made it a 5-2 game with a seventh inning homer as the Braves, who lead the National League East, won for the 10th time in 12 road games. Tampa Bay, chasing Baltimore for the American League East's top spot, lost at home for only the fifth time in 19 games this season. ...
pa href="http://news.yahoo.com/76ers-stun-celtics-92-83-game-4-even-030154835--spt.html"img src="http://l3.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/1XmTRevg8lUY0CCiBoR2hA--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7Zmk9ZmlsbDtoPTg2O3E9ODU7dz0xMzA-/http://media.zenfs.com/en_us/News/ap_webfeeds/15d0ad311540090e100f6a706700f33c.jpg" width="130" height="86" alt="Boston Celtics guard Rajon Rondo (9) shoots as Celtics forward Kevin Garnett (5) and Philadelphia 76ers forward Lavoy Allen (50) wait under the basket in the first half of Game 4 of an NBA basketball Eastern Conference semifinal playoff series on Friday, May 18, 2012, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)" align="left" title="Boston Celtics guard Rajon Rondo (9) shoots as Celtics forward Kevin Garnett (5) and Philadelphia 76ers forward Lavoy Allen (50) wait under the basket in the first half of Game 4 of an NBA basketball Eastern Conference semifinal playoff series on Friday, May 18, 2012, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)" border="0" //aAndre Iguodala squared up for a 3-pointer from the wing like he had hundreds of times in his career./pbr clear="all"/
pa href="http://news.yahoo.com/verlander-nearly-throws-3rd-no-hitter-tigers-014122745--mlb.html"img src="http://l3.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/VVkThfb5yt7SnqHOQonsog--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7Zmk9ZmlsbDtoPTg2O3E9ODU7dz0xMzA-/http://media.zenfs.com/en_us/News/ap_webfeeds/4c1897d314fd080e100f6a7067009bae.jpg" width="130" height="86" alt="Detroit Tigers pitcher Justin Verlander throws against the Pittsburgh Pirates in the first inning of a baseball game, Friday, May 18, 2012, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)" align="left" title="Detroit Tigers pitcher Justin Verlander throws against the Pittsburgh Pirates in the first inning of a baseball game, Friday, May 18, 2012, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)" border="0" //aTwo outs were all that separated Justin Verlander from yet another rare achievement — and an exclusive club that includes Cy Young, Nolan Ryan and only three other pitchers./pbr clear="all"/
pa href="http://news.yahoo.com/verlander-nearly-throws-3rd-no-hitter-tigers-014122745--mlb.html"img src="http://l3.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/VVkThfb5yt7SnqHOQonsog--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7Zmk9ZmlsbDtoPTg2O3E9ODU7dz0xMzA-/http://media.zenfs.com/en_us/News/ap_webfeeds/4c1897d314fd080e100f6a7067009bae.jpg" width="130" height="86" alt="Detroit Tigers pitcher Justin Verlander throws against the Pittsburgh Pirates in the first inning of a baseball game, Friday, May 18, 2012, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)" align="left" title="Detroit Tigers pitcher Justin Verlander throws against the Pittsburgh Pirates in the first inning of a baseball game, Friday, May 18, 2012, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)" border="0" //aTwo outs were all that separated Justin Verlander from yet another rare achievement — and an exclusive club that includes Cy Young, Nolan Ryan and only three other pitchers./pbr clear="all"/
pa href="http://news.yahoo.com/philadelphia-76ers-rally-beat-celtics-nba-series-032215940--nba.html"img src="http://l.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/iXj_4TlMSclbVlWlgAtNyw--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7Zmk9ZmlsbDtoPTg2O3E9ODU7dz0xMzA-/http://media.zenfs.com/en_us/News/afp.com/photo_1337397683446-1-0.jpg" width="130" height="86" alt="Philadelphia 76ers' Andre Iguodala (L) finished with 16 points, seven rebounds and four assists" align="left" title="Philadelphia 76ers' Andre Iguodala (L) finished with 16 points, seven rebounds and four assists" border="0" //aAndre Iguodala finished with 16 points, seven rebounds and four assists as the Philadelphia 76ers rallied to beat the Boston Celtics 92-83 in game four of their Eastern Conference series./pbr clear="all"/
pa href="http://news.yahoo.com/dufner-seizes-one-shot-lead-byron-nelson-golf-031436565--golf.html"img src="http://l3.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/rvHlnRBVBfjhu3owrkTl3w--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7Zmk9ZmlsbDtoPTg2O3E9ODU7dz0xMzA-/http://media.zenfs.com/en_us/News/afp.com/photo_1337397067904-1-0.jpg" width="130" height="86" alt="American Jason Dufner finished off his round with a 37-foot chip-in at the 429-yard 18th" align="left" title="American Jason Dufner finished off his round with a 37-foot chip-in at the 429-yard 18th" border="0" //aAmerican Jason Dufner rolled in four birdies on his final five holes for a four-under 66 and a one-shot lead after the second round of the PGA Tour's Byron Nelson Championship./pbr clear="all"/
pa href="http://news.yahoo.com/pettitte-leads-yanks-over-reds-4-0-013920137--mlb.html"img src="http://l.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/I2C7HyUm.3SxL4c5UwIsjg--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7Zmk9ZmlsbDtoPTg2O3E9ODU7dz0xMzA-/http://media.zenfs.com/en_us/News/ap_webfeeds/b14d9e041538090e100f6a70670087da.jpg" width="130" height="86" alt="New York Yankees starting pitcher Andy Pettitte leaves the field during the eighth inning of an interleague baseball game against the Cincinnati Reds, Friday, May 18, 2012, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)" align="left" title="New York Yankees starting pitcher Andy Pettitte leaves the field during the eighth inning of an interleague baseball game against the Cincinnati Reds, Friday, May 18, 2012, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)" border="0" //aAndy Pettitte gave the New York Yankees a Turn Back the Clock night./pbr clear="all"/
pa href="http://news.yahoo.com/pettitte-leads-yanks-over-reds-4-0-013920137--mlb.html"img src="http://l.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/I2C7HyUm.3SxL4c5UwIsjg--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7Zmk9ZmlsbDtoPTg2O3E9ODU7dz0xMzA-/http://media.zenfs.com/en_us/News/ap_webfeeds/b14d9e041538090e100f6a70670087da.jpg" width="130" height="86" alt="New York Yankees starting pitcher Andy Pettitte leaves the field during the eighth inning of an interleague baseball game against the Cincinnati Reds, Friday, May 18, 2012, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)" align="left" title="New York Yankees starting pitcher Andy Pettitte leaves the field during the eighth inning of an interleague baseball game against the Cincinnati Reds, Friday, May 18, 2012, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)" border="0" //aAndy Pettitte gave the New York Yankees a Turn Back the Clock night./pbr clear="all"/
