BasketBall Connect

The dream season continues for Atlanta. The reality though is the Liberty hope to wake them up. The Eastern Conference Finals is set after the New York Liberty (22-12) knocked off the Indiana Fever, 77-74, in the deciding Game 3 of the semifinals on Wednesday. They'll take on the Atlanta Dream (19-15) in the best-of-three series beginning Sunday at Madison Square Garden. The fourth-seeded Dream come into this meeting well rested. They've been off since Aug. 27 after making quick work of the Washington Mystics in their semifinals matchup. Atlanta's uptempo style was too much for the Mystics, who had won three of the four prior meetings this season. The Dream averaged 98 points in the series, while Angel McCoughtry contributed a quarter of those with around 24 a night. In last Friday's win, each one of the 10 players on the Dream roster posted points in the box score, while three (Iziane Castro Marques, Sancho Lyttle and McCoughtry) had at least 20. Atlanta is dangerous on both sides of the floor. They're the league's second-most potent offense -- their 98 ppg was only second to the Phoenix Mercury's 99 -- and their defense, especially on the boards, is outstanding. The Dream's 43 rebounds a night was best by five ahead of the Mercury in 2010. The number-two seeded Liberty will have to use Taj McWilliams-Franklin, Janel McCarville and their other interior players to prevent Atlanta's bigs, Erika de Souza (12.4 ppg, 8.3 rpg.) and Lyttle (14 ppg., 9.5 rpg.), from hanging around the rim. Gm 1: at New York, Sun., 9/5, 7 p.m. ET, NBA TV Gm 2: at Atlanta, Tues., 9/7, 7:30 p.m. ET, NBA TV Gm 3*: at New York, Thur., 9/9, 7:30 p.m. ET, NBA TV New York, meanwhile, is one of the league's hottest teams. They won 15 of their last 18 games to end the regular season, which helped propel them up the East standings and into a tie with Washington for the conference's best record. Much of this success has to be attributed to the play of Cappie Pondexter (21.4 ppg), the league's second leading scorer. Pondexter not only put the ball in the hoop, but she distributed it as well, ranking sixth in assists (4.9). Her 30 points on Wednesday, including a clutch two-pointer near the end of regulation, was the difference maker for the Liberty in that tight contest. On the injury front, it's unknown whether McCarville will miss any part of the series against Atlanta. McCarville grabbed 19 boards over the first two games against Indiana, before sitting out the third with an ankle injury. Plenette Pierson or Kia Vaughn will likely take her place in the lineup if she can't go. New York has also seen a surge in offense from reserve guard Essense Carson. The Rutgers product averaged just 3.7 points this season, but tallied 20 in Game One, 17 in Game Two and 13 in Game Three for the Liberty. Carson's play, without a doubt, was one of the reasons the Liberty were able to get past a strong, defensive team like the Fever. While the Eastern Conference Finals is new territory for the Dream -- this is their first trip since the team's 2008 inaugural season -- the Liberty are experts, almost. With four trips to the Finals and 10 to the playoffs, they're still looking for their first title. New York's last playoff appearance came in 2008 when they lost in the conference finals to the Detroit Shock in three. Loree Moore, Leilani Mitchell, Carson and McCarville were all part of that year's squad. McWilliams-Franklin, meanwhile, was on the Shock, which went on to win in the Finals over the San Antonio Silver Stars. The limelight of big-city basketball is on for both of these teams. Whichever one prevails will be one step closer to the ultimate goal. That's nothing to sleep on. 2010 Regular Season: New York 2, Atlanta 2 Some fast facts about the Eastern Conference Finals matchup: * The Liberty have been to six conference finals and are 3-3 in those series * Cappie Pondexter averaged 25.7 ppg against the Dream this season. Her average in Philips Arena was 28.5 ppg. * Atlanta has never played the same Eastern Conference team in the playoffs out of the three series they've taken part in * The Dream haven't played since Aug. 27. Angel McCoughtry averaged 28 points with three-plus days rest in 2010 Friday, May 23, Madison Square Garden, New York, NY: Dream 86, Liberty 77 | Box score Atlanta Leaders: Angel McCoughtry (21 pts., 6 ast., 4 reb.), Erika de Souza (15 pts., 10 reb., 3 blk.) New York Leaders: Cappie Pondexter (21 pts., 5 ast., 4 reb.), Janel McCarville (16 pts., 9 reb., 4 ast.) Friday, June 11, Madison Square Garden, New York, NY: Liberty 91, Dream 79 | Box score New York Leaders: Cappie Pondexter (25 pts., 7 ast., 3 reb.), Taj McWilliams-Franklin (10 pts., 6 reb. 3 ast.) Atlanta Leaders: Erika de Souza (21 pts., 10 reb., 1 blk.), Sancho Lyttle (15 pts., 14 reb.) Sunday, July 25, Philips Arena, Atlanta, GA: Dream 82, Liberty 75 | Box score | Highlights Atlanta Leaders: Angel McCoughtry (28 pts., 10 reb. 6 ast.), Erika de Souza (14 pts., 10 reb. 2 ast.) New York Leaders: Cappie Pondexter (26 pts., 6 ast., 3 reb.), Plenette Pierson (12 pts., 6 reb., 1 blk.) Friday, August 13, Philips Arena, Atlanta, GA: Liberty 90, Dream 83 | Box score New York Leaders: Cappie Pondexter (31 pts., 6 ast., 5 reb.), Leilani Mitchell (15 pts., 2 reb.) Atlanta Leaders: Erika de Souza (21 pts., 11 reb. 1 blk.) Angel McCoughtry (22 pts., 4 ast., 3 reb.)

NEW YORK (AP) Cappie Pondexter scored 30 points, including a tiebreaking jumper with 28 seconds remaining, to lead the New York Liberty to a 77-74 victory over the Indiana Fever on Wednesday night to advance to the Eastern Conference finals. Kia Vaughn took advantage of some extended playing time and scored a season-high 13 points, and Essence Carson added 11 as the Liberty reached the conference finals for the second time in three years. Katie Douglas scored 24 points, Tamika Catchings had 21 and Ebony Hoffman added 13 for the Fever, who fell to 0-7 in postseason series in which they didn't have home-court advantage. The Liberty will face Atlanta in the East finals beginning Sunday night at Madison Square Garden. After Pondexter made her go-ahead jumper from the right side of the basket while going out of bounds, Catchings missed a driving layup 4 seconds later and Taj McWilliams-Franklin grabbed the rebound off the side of the rim. The Liberty called timeout, but were called for a 5-second violation on the ensuing inbounds play, turning the ball over to the Fever. Catchings missed another layup with 12.9 seconds to go, McWilliams-Franklin again corralled the rebound and passed to Vaughn, who was fouled by Douglas. Vaughn then made 1 of 2 free throws to extend the Liberty's lead to three points. January missed a potential tying 3 with 3.9 seconds left. New York was without starting center Janel McCarville, sidelined by a sprained left ankle. Plenette Pierson started in her place, and Vaughn played a season-high 26 minutes. Trailing by five earlier in the fourth quarter, the Liberty rallied in the low-scoring period and took a 74-72 lead on Pondexter's three-point play with 1:14 remaining. Hoffman rebounded her own missed layup and put it back to tie the score 24 seconds later. Douglas scored nine points in the third quarter - on two 3s and three free throws - as the Fever, who led by one at halftime, increased their advantage to seven points on three occasions. The last time came when Catchings made 1 of 2 free throws to make it 66-59 with 1 1/2 minutes left in the period. Pondexter had a layup about 15 seconds later and McWilliams-Franklin had a basket with under 32 seconds left to pull the Liberty to 66-63 heading to the fourth quarter. Pondexter had a four-point play to give the Liberty a 32-28 lead with about 7:48 remaining in the first half. She hit two free throws less than four minutes later to extend New York's advantage to 42-36. The Fever scored the final six points of the second quarter, capped by Douglas' two free throws with 41 seconds left, to take a 47-46 lead at the break. Douglas scored six points to help Indiana get off to a fast start and take a 19-11 lead over the first 6 1/2 minutes. Pondexter and Vaughn had two baskets each to pull the Liberty to 21-19 with about 1 1/2 minutes to go in the opening period. Trailing by seven points in the final minute of the first quarter, the Liberty scored nine consecutive points to take a 28-26 lead on Vaughn's jumper with 8:20 to go in the second period. Copyright 2010 by STATS LLC and Associated Press. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of STATS LLC and Associated Press is strictly prohibited

Australia beat Angola 76-55 Thursday to clinch third place in Group A of the basketball world championship.

Charles Abouo scored 19 points to lead Ivory Coast to an 88-79 win over Puerto Rico on Thursday at the basketball world championship, yet China will advance to the knockout round because of the tiebreaker.

Eric Gordon scored 21 points and the United States pulled away from Tunisia after sleepwalking through the first half, winning 92-57 on Thursday in its final game of pool play at the world championship.

Spain finished Group D play at the basketball world championship with consecutive strong games, routing Canada 89-67 on Thursday.

FIBA's dance team has been benched during Turkey's games.

Jaka Lakovic scored 20 points, hitting consecutive 3-pointers to halt a furious Brazil comeback, and Slovenia blew nearly all of a 17-point lead before holding on for an 80-77 victory Wednesday.

Delonte West is returning to the Boston Celtics.

Jonas Maciulis had 19 points and Linas Kleiza added 15 points as Lithuania beat France 69-55 Wednesday to clinch top spot in Group D at the basketball world championship.

Top-ranked Argentina won its fourth straight game at the basketball world championship by defeating winless Jordan 88-79.

Host Turkey maintained its perfect record at the basketball world championship by edging Puerto Rico 79-77.

NEW YORK, Aug. 31, 2010 – Connecticut Sun forward Tina Charles earned the 2010 Rookie of the Year award, the WNBA announced today. A national panel of 39 sportswriters and broadcasters unanimously awarded Charles the honor. Charles, the No.1 overall pick in the 2010 WNBA Draft presented by adidas, topped all rookies in points (15.5 ppg) and rebounds (11.7 rpg) – leading the league in the latter category – and ranked second in the league in blocks (1.68 bpg). In the process, she set a pair of WNBA single-season records: Charles' 398 total rebounds surpassed the mark of 363 set by Detroit's Cheryl Ford in 2006, while her 22 double-doubles bettered the mark of 19 set by Utah's Natalie Williams in 2000. A product of the University of Connecticut and Christ the King High School in Queens, NY, Charles finished the season winning all four WNBA Rookie of the Month honors. The 6-4 center posted her first double-double of the season with 17 points and 10 rebounds in a season- opening 74-61 win over the Chicago Sky on May 15. One of her best games came on July 7 in a 108-103 loss to the Atlanta Dream, when Charles posted a career-high 27 points, collected 20 rebounds, and contributed four blocks. In another notable performance on June 25, Charles posted a career-high and rookie-record 23 rebounds (tied for second most in league history) and added 19 points and two steals in a win over the Phoenix Mercury. She recorded 10 or more rebounds 23 times and scored in double-digits in all but four games this season as the Sun finished the season 17-17, a one-game improvement from last year's 16-18 record. In addition to setting significant WNBA records for a single season, Charles finished her rookie season by etching her name into the record books in numerous other areas as well. She established new single-season franchise marks for offensive (129) and defensive (269) rebounds; established the second-highest defensive rebound total in league history, behind Lisa Leslie's 276 in 2004; and collected six straight double-doubles, one short of Lauren Jackson's WNBA record of seven. Charles averaged a double-double in every month but May (16.6 ppg and 9.6 rpg). In June, she averaged 15.5 points and 14.0 rebounds. Charles finished her rookie season averaging 16.2 points and 11.5 rebounds in August. Charles, the all-time leading scorer and rebounder at the University of Connecticut, excelled on the court throughout her college career. As a senior, she earned All-America honors while leading the Huskies to their second consecutive NCAA championship and a record 78 straight wins. She was also the Big East Player of the Year as a senior and a three-time All-Big East First Team member. In honor of being named the 2010 Rookie of the Year, Charles will receive $5,000 and a specially designed trophy by Tiffany & Co. Below are the complete results of the 2010 Rookie of the Year voting, followed by a list of previous winners: 2010 ROOKIE OF THE YEAR RESULTS Votes Player Team 39 Tina Charles Connecticut Sun A national panel of 39 sportswriters and broadcasters unanimously awarded Charles the honor. ROOKIE OF THE YEAR WINNERS Year Player Team 2010 Tina Charles Connecticut Sun 2009 Angel McCoughtry Atlanta Dream 2008 Candace Parker Los Angeles Sparks 2007 Armintie Price Chicago Sky 2006 Seimone Augustus Minnesota Lynx 2005 Temeka Johnson Washington Mystics 2004 Diana Taurasi Phoenix Mercury 2003 Cheryl Ford Detroit Shock 2002 Tamika Catchings Indiana Fever 2001 Jackie Stiles Portland Fire 2000 Betty Lennox Minnesota Lynx 1999 Chamique Holdsclaw Washington Mystics 1998 Tracy Reid Charlotte Sting

NEW YORK, Aug. 31, 2010 – The WNBA announced its 2010 All-Rookie Team today, headlined by Rookie of the Year Tina Charles, the Connecticut Sun's star center, and Minnesota Lynx guard-forward Monica Wright. New York Liberty guard Kalana Greene, Connecticut Sun forward Kelsey Griffin and Chicago Sky guard Epiphanny Prince round out the group of elite rookies. The voting panel consisted of the WNBA's 12 head coaches, who chose five players regardless of position. Coaches were not permitted to vote for players on their own team. Charles and Wright each received 11 votes, while Greene, Griffin and Prince each got 10. Charles, the No.1 overall pick in the 2010 WNBA Draft presented by adidas, topped the charts among all WNBA rookies by averaging a double-double in points (15.5 ppg) and rebounds (11.7 rpg), leading the league in the latter category. She finished the season winning all four Rookie of the Month honors and ranked second in the league in blocks per game (1.68 bpg). Charles set new single-season league records with 22 double-doubles and 398 rebounds, and established new franchise marks for offensive (129) and defensive (269) boards. Wright, selected second overall in the Draft by the Lynx, started 24 games and played in all 34. Scoring in double digits in 19 games, Wright averaged 11.1 points, second among rookies. Wright scored a career-high and rookie-high for the season with 32 points in a 92-82 win over the Phoenix Mercury on June 1. Prince, selected No. 4 overall in the Draft by the Sky, ranked third among rookies in scoring (9.8 ppg) and led first-year players in steals (1.6 spg) and total steals (55), placing her in the top six in the league in both. She ranked second on the team in assists (2.7 apg) and third in scoring. Greene, the No. 13 overall Draft pick, became a consistent option off the bench in her first season and helped propel the Liberty to the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs. She averaged 4.5 points, scoring a career-high 17 points in a 77-72 win over the San Antonio Silver Stars on July 27. Griffin, the No. 3 overall draft pick, played a key role off the bench for the Sun. She averaged 4.4 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 1.1 assists. She placed second among rookies overall and third on the Sun in rebounds per game. Below are the top finishers in the vote for the 2010 All-Rookie Team: 2010 ALL-ROOKIE TEAM Player Team Position Votes Tina Charles Connecticut Sun Center 11 Monica Wright Minnesota Lynx Guard/Forward 11 Epiphanny Prince Chicago Sky Guard 10 Kalana Greene New York Liberty Guard 10 Kelsey Griffin Connecticut Sun Forward 10

Nenad Krstic returned from a three-game suspension for a brawl and had a double-double in Serbia's 94-79 victory over Australia at the basketball world championship on Wednesday.

Bojan Bogdanovic scored 19 points and Croatia defeated winless Tunisia 84-64 at the basketball world championship.

Sergey Monya scored 17 points and Sasha Kaun added 16 to lead Russia to a 89-80 win over China at the basketball world championship.

Kirk Penney scored 18 points to help New Zealand eliminate Canada from the basketball world championship with a 71-61 win.

Tickets have gone on sale for the first regular-season NBA games in Europe.

Now that the Denver Nuggets have their management team in place, they're developing a strategy to keep All-Star Carmelo Anthony in powder blue and gold.