The Detroit Pistons and San Antonio Spurs have advanced to the semifinals of the National Basketball Association playoffs with victories late Thursday.
The Spurs edged the SuperSonics in Seattle, 98-96. Argentina's Manu Ginobili drove the lane with time running down and threaded a pass to Tim Duncan under the basket, who scored with a half-second remaining.
Seattle's Ray Allen just missed a desperation three-point shot as time expired. Duncan led all scorers with 26 points, while Allen netted 25 for the Sonics.
The Spurs took the best-of-seven series, 4-2 and now await either the Phoenix Suns or Dallas Mavericks as their opponents in the Western Conference finals. The top-seeded Suns take on the Mavericks Friday night. Phoenix leads the series, 3-2.
The Eastern Conference finals will be a matchup between the defending NBA champion Detroit Pistons and Shaquille O'Neal's Miami Heat.
The Pistons finished off the Indiana Pacers Thursday in Indianapolis, 88-79, taking the series 4-2. Detroit's Richard Hamilton led all scorers with 28 points. Indiana's Reggie Miller wrapped up his 18-year career - all with the Pacers - by netting 27 points.
The 39-year-old Miller left the court to a prolonged standing ovation in the closing seconds. The three-point specialist retires as the 12th leading career scorer in NBA history (with 25,279 points).
Some information for this report provided by AP.
