DALLAS -- Boris Diaws big third quarter wasnt enough to hold off a Dallas comeback. cheapauthenticjerseys . The San Antonio veterans decisive shot in the final minute was. Diaw hit a go-ahead 3-pointer for the last of his 17 points, Manu Ginobili scored 23 and the top-seeded Spurs held on to beat the Mavericks 93-89 in Game 4 on Monday night, pulling even in their first-round playoff series. "Youve got to give up something," said Dirk Nowitzki, who was running at Diaw as the shot was released. "That was a tough one." Just like Vince Carters buzzer-beating 3-pointer was for the Spurs two days earlier, when Dallas went up 2-1 with a one-point win. The difference was, the Mavericks had a chance to do something about Diaws shot after San Antonio went up 90-87 with 32 seconds remaining. Nowitzki, who had 19 points, had a putback on a missed 3 by Monta Ellis to get Dallas within 90-89 with 19 seconds to go. But the Mavericks let nearly 10 seconds run off the clock before fouling Ginobili. Ginobili missed one of the free throws, giving Ellis a chance to tie on a driving layup. Ellis, who led the Mavericks with 20 points, missed again to finish a 6-of-20 shooting night. "I had a good look at the end but it didnt go down," Ellis said. The Spurs, who led by 20 points in the third quarter, regained the home-court advantage by getting a split of two games in Dallas, matching what the eighth-seeded Mavericks did in San Antonio. Game 5 is Wednesday night in San Antonio, and the Spurs are going back tied because a bench thats been quiet this post-season outscored Dallas reserves 50-30. "We knew that we could do better," Diaw said. "We didnt play the same like we did during the regular season." Tim Duncan and Tiago Splitter had double-doubles for the Spurs, with Duncan getting 14 points and 10 rebounds and Splitter adding 10 points and 12 boards. San Antonio, which led from early in the second quarter until late in the fourth, was down 83-82 when former teammate DeJuan Blair was ejected for kicking Splitter in the back of the head after getting called for a foul when he got tangled up with the San Antonio centre as both players fell to the court. Ginobili, who had five assists, made the technical free throw for an 83-all tie, and Splitter hit both free throws on the foul for an 85-83 San Antonio lead. Blair had a big hand in getting Dallas back in the game, scoring all 12 of his points and grabbing nine of his 11 rebounds in the second half. "Its real disappointing because with me in the game our momentum was going great and when that happened and that got me out of there, that was a big deal," said Blair, who said the kick was unintentional. San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich challenged his team to play with more "nastiness" after falling behind in the series with two straight losses, and his Spurs responded in the first half. The best display was in a dominant second quarter, when the Spurs outscored the Mavericks 32-13. Kawhi Leonard intended to swat Carters driving shot into the stands. Instead, Patty Mills dived into the seats to save it, sending the Spurs on a fast break that ended with a miss by Tony Parker, who had 10 points of 5-of-14 shooting. Parkers miss didnt matter, though, because the Mavericks were in the middle of a 5-minute scoreless stretch that included eight straight misses to cap a 2-of-18 shooting spell from late in the first quarter to late in the second. Dallas shot 21 per cent in the second quarter. Diaw scored eight points on 4-of-5 shooting in the third quarter, and looked like he was going to be able to hold off the Dallas surge. "Manu and Boris changed the entire game," Duncan said. "They kept us from blowing a big lead." Dallas hurt itself with missed free throws. Samuel Dalembert was 1 of 6 from the line two nights after he hit two late to get Dallas even in a back-and-forth final minute. The Mavericks were 18 of 28 from the line. NOTES: Both teams wore black socks in support of the Los Angeles Clippers as the NBA investigates racist comments that owner Donald Sterling is alleged to have made in a taped conversation. ... Dalembert had 15 rebounds but just three points. ... The Spurs improved to 25-0 on the road when leading after three quarters. They are 53-1 overall. ... Nowitzki was held under 20 points in a fourth straight playoff game for the first time since his first post-season in 2001.cheapauthenticjerseys.us.com . Atletico built a provisional three-point advantage over Barcelona before the defending champion hosts Elche on Sunday. Barcelona then visits Atletico in the following round. "We will have to wait and see if Barcelona wins tomorrow to stay leader, as it is accustomed to doing," Atletico coach Diego Simeone said. Cheap Jerseys Authentic . After reports emerged on Tuesday that the Toronto FC midfielder would head to Vancouver on loan, the team confirmed on Wednesday that they had, in fact, traded for the Argentine designated player.LOS ANGELES -- Lane Kiffin triumphantly flew in from Tennessee nearly four years ago as the unlikely choice to extend Southern Californias football renaissance. When Kiffins Trojans trudged home to that same airport early Sunday morning after another loss, athletic director Pat Haden couldnt wait another minute to end the divisive coachs tumultuous tenure. USC fired Kiffin hours after a 62-41 loss at Arizona State that dropped the Trojans to 3-2 overall and 0-2 in the Pac-12. The loss was the seventh in 11 games for a powerhouse program still struggling under the cumulative effect of NCAA sanctions, but unwilling to accept such a dramatic decline. "Its never the perfect time to do these things, but I thought it was the right time," Haden said. Ed Orgeron will be USCs interim head coach for the final eight games of the season before Haden chooses a permanent successor for one of college footballs highest-profile jobs. Orgeron, Kiffins assistant head coach and top recruiter, is the former Mississippi head coach. Haden broke the news to Kiffin in a 3 a.m. meeting at the Trojans private airport terminal, but not before a 45-minute chat in which Kiffin tried to change Hadens mind. Haden didnt hire Kiffin, but had been firmly behind the coach in public until Saturday, when the Trojans matched the most points allowed in school history. "He did a lot of things well under some very difficult circumstances here," said Haden, who also fired mens basketball coach Kevin ONeill during the season last January. "No one could have worked harder. He did a lot of the things we asked. Graduated players, never had compliance issues ... and he really worked under some very difficult NCAA sanctions, theres no doubt about it." Kiffin ran a competent program despite the loss of 30 scholarships over a three-season stretch that ends in 2015. But even Kiffin acknowledged he wasnt winning enough in the last two seasons at a school with USCs pedigree, and he also created off-the-field troubles ranging from ethically questionable tactics to pointless squabbles with media. "Lane did negotiate some of these things remarkably well," Haden said. "I have supported Lane with my heart and soul for 3 1/2 years and gave him every opportunity. He wasnt given a fair hand in a lot of ways. I said all along, we graded on the curve, but we failed on the curve, too." The Trojans are off this week before returning Oct. 10 at the Coliseum against Arizona, giving Orgeron time to evaluate what can be done to salvage the season with the toughest matchups on USCs schedule still looming. Kiffin went 28-15 in parts of four seasons in his self-described dream job, but USC is 0-2 in conference play for the first time since 2001 after losses to Arizona State and Washington State -- and the record only partly captures the discontent of USCs fans and alumni. The Trojans were unimpressive on offence even in their three victories this season, stoking unease around a school with sky-high expectations even at the tail end of crippling NCAA penalties stemming from coach Pete Carrolls tenure. Kiffin received withering criticism for persisting in calling the Trojans offensive plays himself well into the schools second straight poor offensive season. The Trojans lost their home opener 10-7 to the Cougars earlier this month, and Coliseum fans serenaded USC repeatedly with chants of "Fire Kiffin!" USC has been in a slow tailspin since going 10-2 and beating Oregon in 2011, the last year of its bowl ban. After starting as the preseason No. 1 last year, the Trojans finished 7-6 and out of the rankings -- the first preseason No. 1 in nearly a half-century to fall so far -- followed by this seasons disappointments. "I think it could easily be asked, Why not last year after the 7-6 season?" Haden said. "What do you know now that you didnt know after a 7-6 season? The rationale was the prior year, Lane had won 10 games. We thought, and (were) hoping that last year was an aberration. We felt we could rebound, make some changes, and indeed, Lane did. ... But at the end of the day, we just werent making the progress I felt we needed to make." The firing comes less than five months after Haden said Kiffin had "been as good as he can be" in the face of USCs sanctions. Before this season began, Haden said he was "100 per cent" behind the embattled Kiffin. "We support our coaches 100 per cent until theyre no longer our coaches," Haden said. Jerseys Cheap. "Why would you support a coach 85 per cent?" The 52-year-old Orgeron went 10-25 in three seasons at Ole Miss, but that failed tenure did little to diminish his stature as a bulldog recruiter and defensive line coach. He coached alongside Kiffin at Tennessee before following his friend back to USC. Orgeron, a Louisiana native with a thick Cajun accent, might sound a bit out of place in Los Angeles, but hes a popular assistant coach and a USC devotee after 11 years over two tenures at the school. "Its an unfortunate day today that a coach got let go, but we understand the circumstances," Orgeron said. "I want to tell you were here as a staff to answer the bell. Were all accountable for what happened as a staff and as players. Us Trojans know how to do it." Orgeron said Clay Helton will be his offensive co-ordinator and the Trojans play-caller. Helton, USCs quarterbacks coach and passing game co-ordinator, has been with the Trojans since Kiffin returned in 2010. Most players found out about Kiffins dismissal by text messages in the middle of the night. The players have the next two days off before returning to practice Wednesday. "Well try to move forward now and focus on these next eight games, really bonding as a Trojan family and getting these wins," offensive lineman Marcus Martin said. Like the precocious Kiffins other two head coaching jobs, his USC tenure had an abrupt, messy exit. The Trojans former co-offensive co-ordinator was an NFL head coach at age 31, a head coach in the Southeastern Conference at 33 and USCs head coach at 34. If there was a consistent trend to those stops with the Oakland Raiders, Tennessee and the Trojans, it was turmoil. With Oakland, he lasted only 20 games as an overmatched head coach before his departure became a public feud with Al Davis, the late Raiders owner. He then infuriated Volunteers fans when he left after just 14 months to head back to the Trojans. Former USC athletic director Mike Garrett hired Kiffin away from Tennessee to replace Seattle Seahawks coach Carroll, the architect of USCs dynasty over the previous decade. Kiffin was an assistant under Carroll, eventually running the Trojans offence alongside Steve Sarkisian, now Washingtons coach. Kiffin had nothing to do with the misdeeds committed under Carroll and Garrett, who was swiftly dismissed and replaced by Haden. The coach still faced enormous expectations at USC -- especially last season, when the Trojans started out ranked No. 1 in the country with quarterback Matt Barkley and star receivers Robert Woods and Marqise Lee. USC lost five of its last six games, including the Sun Bowl, and Kiffin parted ways with his father, defensive guru Monte Kiffin. The scholarship restrictions gradually eroded the Trojans depth, and last seasons struggles clearly hurt the vaunted recruiting power of Kiffin and Orgeron. Between the sanctions and injuries, the Trojans played at Arizona State on Saturday night with 56 recruited scholarship players, well below its limit of 75 and the standard 85. Kiffin didnt help several strange decisions. Last year, USC was reprimanded by the Pac-12 for underinflating footballs before a loss to Oregon. Kiffin also was criticized for switching jersey numbers on players in an apparent attempt to deceive the Trojans opponents. Kiffin even closed USCs practices to the public after years of transparency under Carroll, who embraced USCs tradition of raucous open workouts. This season, Kiffin also closed his practices to the media. He then dithered on his choice of a starting quarterback, waiting until the third game to select Cody Kessler over Max Wittek. The offence has been largely terrible this season, but Kiffin was finally undone by another dreadful game by his defence, which had been solid under new co-ordinator Clancy Pendergast until Arizona State piled up 612 yards. USCs next game is in 11 days, giving the Trojans time to regroup and heal. Orgeron still plans to hit the recruiting trail for a school in transition. "I want our guys to believe and have a little fun," Orgeron said. "One of the things well do as a staff is get really close to our players, circle the wagons a little bit and have some fun for these next eight games, and let the chips fall where they may." cheap jerseys from chinacheap jerseys ' ' '
