HUNTLY, New Zealand (AP) -- Tiger Woods hunkered behind the wheel of his vehicle, its motor coughing noisily. One of the world's most visible athletes was suddenly unrecognizable under a flame-retardant suit, helmet and tinted visor.
On Monday, the world's best golfer became a celebrity stock car racer.
Woods, in New Zealand for the wedding of caddie Steve Williams, won the second of two celebrity stock car races on a dirt track in this small coal mining town 55 miles south of Auckland -- even after starting at the back of the field.
Woods was a designated "blocker" in the first race, which also included several full-time V-8 circuit drivers. He started on the outside of the first row for the race in this branch of motorsports where crashes are not only legal, but often encouraged.
His job was to prevent other cars from passing and reaching front-runners on his team, and Woods didn't finish among the leaders in the 12-lap race.
In the second of two celebrity races organized by Williams through his Steve Williams Foundation to raise funds to provide sporting careers for disadvantaged youth, Woods forced his way from the back of the grid to the front.
He took the lead on the sixth of 12 laps over a 400-meter oval, and, despite a crash into the wall which left his car sparking and tires smoking, he held on to win.
Woods had no second thoughts when Williams asked him to take part.
"I'm just so excited to be here," he said in greeting the capacity crowd of more than 7,000 that jammed the Huntly Placemakers Speedway. "Stevie puts his heart and soul into this sport and when Stevie asks me to do something, I'm there in a heartbeat."
Before the races, Woods said he expected to be involved in crashes but added his insurance was "taken care of."
Woods, who was driving a stock car in a race for the first time, warmed up for the race with another daredevil deed -- diving 440 feet from a cable car holding New Zealand's highest bungee jump Sunday.
Woods and Williams both made the jump from the Nevis Highwire near the South Island township of Queenstown, during a flying visit to the resort by helicopter and private jet.
The cable car is held by 1,247 feet of tension wires spanning the Nevis Valley, but the canyon's walls narrow to only 30 meters 98 feet at river level.
Jumpers free-fall for about 8.5 seconds, and the leap is regarded as one of the world's most daunting challenges for adventure tourists.
Woods was the best man at Williams' wedding on Friday to Kirsty Millar. His only previous visit to New Zealand was for the 2002 New Zealand Open golf tournament.

AUSTIN (AP) -- Texas junior forward P.J. Tucker, the Big 12 player of the year, said Monday he will submit his name for the NBA draft but won't hire an agent in order to keep his college eligibility. "I believe the best thing for me at this time is to test the waters and see where I stand," Tucker said. Meanwhile, sophomore point guard Daniel Gibson told Houston television station KRIV Monday night he is planning to tell the NBA on Tuesday that he will make himself available for the draft but not sign with an agent. Gibson had said at the team banquet April 10 that he would return. "I've been back and forth, back and forth," Gibson told KRIV. "We sat down and weighed the pros and cons and our final decision was we should try it." Each player's decision allows him to return to college if he doesn't like his draft position. They have until June 18 to pull their names out of the draft, which is June 28. The burly 6-foot-5 Tucker led the Longhorns in scoring and rebounding, averaging 16.1 and 9.5 rebounds per game, as Texas won a school-record 30 games and reached the Atlanta Regional final of the NCAA tournament before losing to LSU. In a statement released by the school, Longhorns coach Rick Barnes said his has "no problem" with Tucker's decision. "This is a good rule put in place for players to explore their draft position," Barnes said. Sophomore forward LaMarcus Aldridge has declared for the draft and is hiring an agent, which will make him ineligible to return. Tucker and Gibson are sitting on decisions that could have a huge impact on the program. If they return, Texas will be among the favorites to win the Big 12 championship. If they both leave, Texas enters next season without a single starter from a squad that won a share of the league crown for the first time since 1999. "Whatever happens, I'm looking at two pretty good choices," Tucker said. Asked if he believed he could be a first-round pick, Tucker said he didn't know. "A lot of different things could happen," he said. "It's just keeping all your options open. It's so early, you just don't know."

HOUSTON (AP) -- Nomar Garciaparra was just looking to make contact against Brad Lidge in the ninth inning.
He ended up with his first big hit for his new team.
Garciaparra hit a go-ahead grand slam off Lidge for his first RBIs with the Dodgers, sending Los Angeles to a 6-2 win over the Houston Astros on Monday night.
"I just threw the barrel at it, tried to drive it," Garciaparra said. "Fortunately for me I got lucky and it went out for me."
Andy Pettitte held the Dodgers hitless until J.D. Drew homered with one out in the seventh to tie the score at 1. Lance Berkman's eighth-inning shot put Houston ahead again, but Lidge (0-1) couldn't hold the lead.
"Obviously, that was a tough inning for me," Lidge said. "My control wasn't there."
After Kenny Lofton tripled with one out, the All-Star closer walked Drew and Jeff Kent. Garciaparra then drove a 2-2 pitch to left-center for his sixth career slam and first since June 22, 2004, with Boston against Minnesota.
"I threw him two fastballs I thought were pretty good," Lidge said, "and then I threw him the third one and he was right on it."
Garciaparra was thinking small as he stepped into the box. He just wanted to avoid a double play and give Bill Mueller a chance to hit after him.
"Just get a ball I can drive and get it up in the air," Garciaparra said. "If you get the ball in the air, you get a guy in. If not, worse-case scenario, you've got a guy in Bill Mueller who will give you a good at-bat."
Garciaparra was playing in only his second game since returning from a brief minor league rehab stint. He missed the first 17 games of the season with a strained muscle in his rib cage.
Mike Gallo replaced Lidge and gave up an RBI single to Dioner Navarro.
Lidge had been 7-for-7 on save opportunities this year. It was his first blown save since he gave up Albert Pujols' mammoth home run in Game 5 of the NL championship series last October against St. Louis. Lidge also had two losses in the World Series against the Chicago White Sox.
During spring training, Lidge insisted he had shaken off those failures by the following day. He said he would do the same this time.
"If I was more concerned, it would be a bad problem," Lidge said. "Tonight, I'll be upset with myself. Tomorrow, I'll come back out and feel the same as I would if I had eight (saves) in a row."
Danys Baez entered for the Dodgers with two on in the bottom of the ninth and closed it out for his sixth save. He got Brad Ausmus on a fly ball before Adam Everett grounded into a game-ending double play.
The Dodgers snapped the Astros' three-game winning streak. Houston had won seven of eight.
Garciaparra's shot spoiled the strongest start of the season by Pettitte, who yielded just one hit in seven innings. He struck out five and walked three.
"I was putting the ball right where I wanted to, pretty much all night," Pettitte said. "It's just frustrating. You hate to let that one get away from us."
Berkman connected off winner Takashi Saito (2-0).
Saito relieved starter Derek Lowe, who was almost as good as Pettitte. Lowe gave up one run and four hits in seven innings.
Ausmus had three of those hits, including an RBI double in the second. Ausmus was 1-for-15 against Lowe before Monday.
For a while, it looked as though Ausmus' first hit would be enough for Pettitte.
He got some help from his outfielders in the second. Preston Wilson made a leaping catch on the warning track in left to rob Garciaparra of extra bases, then Willy Taveras chased down Mueller's deep fly to right-center.
With one out in the Astros' second, Jason Lane walked before Ausmus hammered Lowe's 2-2 pitch over Lofton's head in center. Lane scored easily as the ball rolled up Tal's Hill, the grassy ramp named for Astros president Tal Smith.
But after the second inning, Lowe almost matched Pettitte out for out.
The right-hander retired eight straight Astros before Ausmus led off the fifth with a double. Lowe stranded him there, striking out Pettitte between groundouts by Everett and Craig Biggio.
"You look forward to matchups like this," Lowe said, "then you look up and this guy's got a no-hitter going. It was a great game to win."
The Dodgers' frustration with Pettitte started to boil over in the sixth.
Navarro struck out looking leading off and Dodgers manager Grady Little bounced out of the dugout to argue briefly with plate umpire Mike Everitt.
Pettitte was unfazed, getting Lowe and Rafael Furcal to ground out. Lofton flied out leading off the seventh before Drew sent a 2-1 pitch just over the wall in right.
Notes: Taveras, who led all rookies with 34 steals last season, got his first of 2006 in the first inning. But he rounded second when the ball skipped by Furcal, then slipped getting back. Kent, backing up the play, threw to Furcal for the easy tag. ... The Dodgers failed to steal a base. Los Angeles enter

SAN ANTONIO (AP) -- Ron Artest's reputation might have caught up to him at a terrible time for the Sacramento Kings.
The NBA suspended Artest on Monday for Game 2 of the Kings' first-round playoff series against the San Antonio Spurs.
Stu Jackson, the league's top disciplinarian, said Artest's elbow to Manu Ginobili's head in the series opener was egregious enough to warrant another suspension for the man who missed 73 games and the playoffs last season after one of the most infamous brawls in sports history.
But after their difficult playoff task got exponentially harder, the Kings suggested Artest was punished simply for being Ron Artest, possibly the most notorious player of his generation.
"You know with Ron's questionable past, they're going to look for a way to get him," said Bonzi Wells, who will get many of Artest's defensive assignments. "Whether it's minor or major, they're going to look at it in a different way."
The one-game suspension caught both Artest's teammates and the Spurs completely by surprise, because neither club thought the personal foul was even worthy of postgame comment, much less a suspension nearly 48 hours after the fact.
Artest was at the AT&T Center for practice Monday, but the focal point of Sacramento's midseason turnaround won't be in uniform Tuesday night when the Kings play Game 2 against the defending league champions.
"I talked to Stu Jackson, which was encouraging," Artest said in a brief, apologetic statement after his usual post-practice shooting workout. "There have been a lot of things that have happened in my career which [were] unfair. I support my teammates, and hopefully they'll win the game, and I'll be back Friday [for Game 3]."
The league cited Artest for his foul on Ginobili in the third quarter of the Spurs' 122-88 victory. Ginobili caught Artest's elbow in his jaw while attempting to run through the lane, and the Argentine star fell to the ground as Artest got a personal foul.
Though Spurs coach Gregg Popovich jumped off the bench to argue for a flagrant foul, Ginobili got right back up, and the game continued. Afterward, Ginobili said he wasn't injured on the play and didn't consider it particularly serious, while Popovich said he had no problem with Artest's aggressive style of play.
"I didn't even see the play, but it couldn't have been that bad," said Mike Bibby, who declared himself "amazed" by the league's decision.
"There was no flagrant foul or technical foul on the play. They look at things differently for certain people, you could say."
Popovich said the Spurs didn't even contact the NBA about the play, something many teams -- including the Kings -- will do for any questionable play, particularly in the playoffs.
Ginobili was shocked when he heard about the suspension after practice at the Spurs' suburban training complex.
"For us it's good, because he's a great player, but we don't have much to do with it," Ginobili said. "It didn't hurt me. I said it after the game. But the league (watches) everything we do."
Artest was injured on the game's opening possession when Ginobili inadvertently elbowed him hard in the face while driving to the hoop. Artest's feet flew out from under him, and he stayed down for several moments before jogging around the court in pain from a cut that required three stitches to close.
Ginobili alluded to the Kings' theory that Artest was being punished partly for his history of misbehavior and hard-nosed play, which also included aggressive shots to Tim Duncan and Tony Parker in Game 1.
Popovich wouldn't speculate on such ideas, instead finding a way to worry about how the absence of the Kings' emotional leader and defensive star actually could hurt the Spurs.
"Sometimes it can be your worst nightmare when a good player is out on another team, because everybody else can pick up their games," Popovich said. "We're not going to change a whole lot. I'm more concerned about the mental part of the deal for us."
Artest mostly guarded Ginobili in Game 1 and scored 16 points on 7-of-21 shooting. The Spurs routed Sacramento with a 41-point second quarter, taking a quick 30-point lead and turning the entire second half into garbage time.
Kevin Martin will move into the Kings' starting lineup at guard, with Wells moving to small forward. Martin probably will get the unpleasant task of guarding Parker, who burned the Kings for 25 points in three quarters.
Artest's defense made little difference while the Spurs scored 73 points in the first half of Game 1, making 68 percent of their shots and cruising to a 34-point lead. And perhaps his absence will inspire the passion that was missing in his teammates while San Antonio won Game 1 -- or perhaps the Kings are headed for an 0-2 deficit heading home.
"I think the Spurs are going to play the same no matter who's out there," Kings coach Rick Adelman said. "Whe

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- The Los Angeles Clippers played about as well as possible in the first quarter Monday night.
The Denver Nuggets never recovered.
Cuttino Mobley scored 21 points, Elton Brand had 19 points and 11 rebounds, and the Clippers beat the Nuggets 98-87 for a 2-0 lead in the first round of the playoffs.
The Clippers took command in the opening period, shooting 13-of-20 and committing one turnover in taking a 32-13 lead. The Nuggets shot 6-of-24, including 0-of-6 from 3-point range, and were outrebounded 15-10.
"We started off with great energy and focus," Clippers coach Mike Dunleavy said.
The Nuggets weren't closer than the final margin after that.
"The first quarter was big for us -- not only offensively, but defensively," said Sam Cassell, who had 13 points and 11 assists.
Added Brand: "It was the kind of start that we need to have."
Mobley and Cassell joined the Clippers this season, giving them a veteran backcourt to go with a young, talented frontcourt.
Mobley said he believes the Clippers are peaking at the perfect time.
"I hope so. I don't want to jinx us," he said with a smile. "We've got a lot of solid guys on the team. We jumped on them early, set the tempo."
The best-of-seven series moves to Denver for Game 3 Thursday night and Game 4 Saturday night.
"The great thing about the NBA is confidence comes in a one-game winning streak a lot of times," Nuggets coach George Karl said. "That's what we need -- a one-game winning streak."
They probably won't get it with another start like Monday night's.
"We came out flat in the first two games, and it's tough to play perfect to get back into the game," Denver's Earl Boykins said.
The Clippers, in the postseason for the first time in nine years, perhaps had a point to prove early in this game -- at least to themselves. They blew a 10-point lead in the last four minutes before winning the opener 89-87, and with seven of their 12 active players making their postseason debuts, there was a case for playoff jitters down the stretch.
There were no such problems in Game 2.
Teams taking 2-0 leads in the NBA playoffs have won 176 times in 186 opportunities -- 94.6 percent. So at least on paper, things look bad for the Nuggets, in jeopardy of being eliminated in the first round for a third straight year.
"We will not be overconfident," Brand said. "Sam and I will not let that happen."
The Clippers shot 47.5 percent to Denver's 34 percent. Los Angeles is 28-1 when holding the opposition under 40 percent this season.
"The defense was superb," Cassell said. "We've had a solid defensive team all year -- it's nothing new for us."
Corey Maggette scored 12 points and Chris Kaman and Quinton Ross each added 10 for the Clippers.
Marcus Camby led the Nuggets with 16 points, 14 rebounds and four blocked shots. Carmelo Anthony, who played less than 61/2 minutes in the first half because of foul trouble, scored all 16 of his points in the second half. Boykins, Greg Buckner and Andre Miller added 14 points apiece.
The Clippers scored the first six points of the second quarter, giving them a 38-13 lead after less than 15 minutes had been played. It was 56-34 at halftime thanks to Mobley's 3-pointer from about 35 feet away just before time expired.
Anthony scored his first nine points to spark a 16-6 Denver run to open the third quarter, cutting the Clippers' lead to 62-50. But the Clippers responded with a 10-2 spurt capped by Shaun Livingston's flying dunk and free throw, making it 72-52.
It was 75-59 entering the fourth quarter, and the Clippers scored the first seven points of the final period for a 23-point lead.
Anthony picked up two fouls in the opening 4:52 of play, and a third 90 seconds into the second quarter. He missed all four shots he tried in the first half.
"It's a bad hand you're dealt when your best player is in foul trouble and you're down 15 and 20 points," Karl said.
Notes: Clippers F Vladimir Radmanovic played despite his sprained left wrist, and had eight points and six rebounds in 21 minutes. He took an acupuncture treatment Sunday that lasted about an hour. "You can feel it right away -- big pain relief," he said. ... The Nuggets' first quarter and halftime point totals were their lowest of the season, and established Clippers playoff records. ... The Nuggets are trying to win a postseason series for the first time since 1994. They've lost 14 of their last 16 playoff games. ... The Clippers have won only one postseason series in their history -- 30 years ago, when the franchise was playing in Buffalo. They have home-court advantage in a playoff series for the first time ever. ... Denver's Kenyon Martin bruised his left knee early in the second quarter and didn't return. He played seven scoreless minutes. ... Ruben Patterson replaced Buckner in Denver's starting lineup and had just two points in 20 minutes.

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP)
-- A couple of fluke goals, with plenty of hard skating and swagger in between. The Carolina Hurricanes finally looked like the team that raced to the second-best record in the Eastern Conference.
It still wasn't enough to beat Montreal.
"We stuck with the same plan, we kept believing," Canadiens center Mike Ribeiro said. "It was a great game to watch, I'm sure, for everyone."
Well, maybe in his locker room.
Michael Ryder scored 2:32 into overtime after Carolina rallied from three goals down to take the lead, and Montreal beat the Hurricanes 6-5 Monday night to take a 2-0 lead in the series. Game 3 is Wednesday night in Montreal.
Chris Higgins chased down the puck behind the net, then centered it to Ryder, who quickly ended the game with a slap shot.
"I just shot it, and it went in five-hole," Ryder said.
Alex Kovalev and Richard Zednik scored 36 seconds apart in the third period to give Montreal a 5-4 lead, but Cory Stillman forced the extra periods with a goal with 90 seconds left in regulation. With goalie Cam Ward on the bench in favor of an extra skater, Bret Hedican sent a pass across the ice to Stillman, who sent a one-timer in off the right post.
Ryder finished with two goals, and he, Jan Bulis and Radek Bonk all scored in the first period to give Montreal that commanding lead, forcing Hurricanes coach Peter Laviolette to bench goalie Martin Gerber. Gerber has allowed nine goals on 34 shots in the two games.
"That was one of the plans, to challenge Gerber," Ribeiro said. "He was shaky first game. But a lot of times, when you change a goalie, the momentum switches sides."
Ward, a rookie, took over and played solidly enough to give Carolina the opportunity for a remarkable comeback aided greatly by a couple of penalties on the Canadiens.
"I just tried the best that I could to step in and help out as much as I could," Ward said. "Unfortunately, we fell a little short."
First, Matt Cullen got a fortuitous bounce off the skate of Ribeiro, and the puck skittered through goalie Cristobal Huet to make it 3-1. Then Rod Brind'Amour cut the margin to a single goal by scoring on the power play, seconds after a 5-on-3 ended.
Doug Weight gave him the pass right in front of the net, and Brind'Amour quickly poked it past Huet. Finally, Ray Whitney and Brind'Amour scored less than a minute apart early in the third period with the Canadiens again short-handed.
Alexander Perezhogin (hooking) and Francis Bouillon (delay of game) gave the Hurricanes another two-man advantage to start the period, and after Whitney's goal, Brind'Amour added another while Bouillon remained in the penalty box.
"Even though they took the lead, we stayed in the game," Kovalev said. "We did a lot of good things. We're definitely a better team when we keep the 5-on-5 game."
Whitney was back in the lineup after missing seven straight games with a groin injury. His goal came when he attempted a pass through the crease to Doug Weight, and Montreal defenseman Andrei Markov inadvertently knocked the puck in his own net with his stick.
When Brind'Amour beat Huet with a wraparound, the home team suddenly was ahead 4-3.
"They came back, but we never put our arms down," Ribeiro said. "We kept pushing."
Kovalev, the best player on the ice so far in this series, led the charge, getting his third goal in two games from a sharp angle. His shot was the third in quick succession against Ward, and this one found the top of the net.
"We had played such a great game, there was no reason to quit," Kovalev said. "We know how good we played, we know how many chances we got. It was about capitalizing on one of them."
Zednik sent a one-timer through Ward's pads following a nice pass from Perezhogin to give the Canadiens a 5-4 lead. Huet, who wasn't quite as sharp in his second postseason appearance as he was in the opener, did enough to make it stand.
He finished with 41 saves after stopping 42 of 43 shots Saturday night.
"It wasn't my best game," Huet said. "That was a great character from all the guys. For my part, I tried to be strong in OT and give the team a chance to win the game."
Ward, a 22-year-old who was the 25th overall pick in the 2002 draft, had 20 saves after replacing Gerber. Ward went 14-8 during the regular season, a year after he set franchise records at Lowell of the AHL for victories (27), shutouts (6), save percentage (.937) and goals-against average (1.99).
"I thought that under the situation, coming in off the bench like that, he did a good job," Laviolette said. "He came in and made some big saves, especially in the third period."
Notes: The Canadiens opened the series with a 6-1 victory Saturday night. ... Carolina D Aaron Ward left for several minutes after blocking a shot in the second period. Because the Canadiens held possession of the puck for a shor

MIAMI (AP) -- Dwyane Wade arrived at the arena Monday night with a freshly shaved head, a first for the dapper superstar.
"It's the playoffs," Wade said of his new 'do. "I don't want to be worried about how I look."
Whatever the reason, Wade looked wonderful again for the Miami Heat.
Playing with a sore calf, Wade hit a spinning jumper with 1:04 left to halt a frantic Chicago rally, then blocked Ben Gordon's layup 38 seconds later to help the Heat beat the Bulls 115-108 to take a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven Eastern Conference first-round series.
Jason Williams and Shaquille O'Neal each scored 22 points for the Heat, with Wade getting 21 points, seven assists, five rebounds and four steals. Miami held a 20-point lead in the third quarter and saw it trimmed to four with 1:15 left, but Wade's heroics down the stretch ensured the Heat wouldn't suffer an epic collapse.
"We played at a real high level again," Heat coach Pat Riley said. "Tremendous amount of energy, spirit and ball movement, but we didn't finish. That disturbs me and it should disturb our players after working so hard and playing so well."
Antoine Walker -- who played the first 40:20 without a rest, filling in for the suspended Udonis Haslem -- added 17 points and 10 rebounds for the Heat, who also got 12 points from James Posey and 11 from Gary Payton.
Andres Nocioni led all scorers with 30 points -- on 13-for-15 shooting -- for Chicago. Kirk Hinrich had 17 of his 29 points in the fourth quarter for the Bulls, who will host Game 3 on Thursday night.
"We made it interesting again at the end," Bulls coach Scott Skiles said, "but pretty much got dominated again from beginning to end."
The Bulls allowed 111 points or more four times in the regular season. The Heat now have done it twice in this series, and shot 52 percent on Monday.
Walker scored off an offensive rebound with 8:12 left, giving Miami a 102-84 lead -- and a two-game series lead seemed all but certain.
Five minutes later, those prospects were precarious, at best.
"Any team in this league, when they're down 10 or 20, they're going to make a run no matter what time of the game it is," Williams said. "It's just part of their scheme. They never give up."
Hinrich hit three straight jumpers -- a personal 7-0 run -- to get the Bulls within 102-91 with 4:52 left, and he scored four more points in what was a 13-2 Chicago burst that cut Miami's lead to 104-97 with 3:00 left.
Wade found Walker for a layup at the 2:46 mark, and hit a jumper 59 seconds later to push Miami's lead back to 108-99. Once again, the Bulls weren't done: Hinrich scored, and after Wade missed from the same spot he'd hit from one possession earlier, Nocioni hit a 3-pointer with 1:15 left that got Chicago within four.
But Wade scored on the next trip, Nocioni threw the ball away on Chicago's next possession, and Miami could soon exhale.
"We're supposed to be a defensive team. We just didn't have it on that end tonight," Hinrich said. "It's not over. They took care of their home court. Now we have to go home and take care of our home court."
No one need remind Chicago how a 2-0 series lead guarantees little; the Bulls blew a two-game lead in the first round against Washington last season, dropping the next four games. But recovering is a daunting task; the Bulls have prevailed only once in 14 previous playoff series after starting with two losses.
The Heat have taken 2-0 series leads on five other occasions, and won them all.
"We have to go up there and try to get the first one," Wade said.
After Michael Sweetney hit two free throws with 5.4 seconds left in the half, the Bulls could have gone into intermission trailing by only seven.
Instead, in a flash, the margin was 11.
Williams streaked down the right sideline and made a layup with 1.2 seconds left -- leaving enough time for one more score. Wade intercepted Chicago's inbound pass and dunked just before the clock went to 0.0, giving Miami a 68-57 lead at the break.
Miami's lead reached 15, then its largest, after O'Neal and Wade had the opening two baskets of the second half. Nocioni had five points in a 7-0 burst that got Chicago within 72-64, but Wade spun in the lane and threw a lob for a one-handed O'Neal slam that got Miami's cushion back to 10 and ended the Bulls' run.
Posey and Walker hit back-to-back 3-pointers later in the third to start what became a 12-2 Miami run, with Posey capping it with a layup for an 89-69 lead, and the Heat entered the fourth up 95-76.
The margin, huge-looking at the time, wound up being barely enough.
"But we're ahead 2-0," Riley said. "That's what it's about."
Notes: Only 16 teams in NBA history have rallied from 0-2 deficits in a best-of-seven series. ... Nocioni hit six straight shots at one point, mostly jumpers. The streak ended on a missed 2-footer in the third quarter. ... The clocks stopped working wi

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Former Southern California star Reggie Bush said there was nothing inappropriate about his family's living arrangement at a home owned by a man who reportedly sought to market him because they leased the house. "It's kind of funny how this whole story is getting blown out of proportion," Bush said in a live ESPN interview Monday. The Pac-10 said Sunday that it will investigate whether any NCAA rules were violated when Bush's family, including mother Denise Griffin, stepfather LaMar Griffin and brother Jovan Griffin lived in the Spring Valley, Calif., house while Bush was still playing for USC last season. Bush declined to say who paid the rent. The home was owned by Michael Michaels, who reportedly attempted to steer Bush toward signing with San Diego agent David Caravantes, and sought to handle Bush's marketing with a new firm he had founded, Yahoo.com reported Sunday. NCAA rules prohibit student-athletes and their families from receiving extra benefits from agents or their representatives. "When this is all said and done, everybody will see at the end of the day that we've done nothing, absolutely nothing wrong," said Bush, the 2005 Heisman Trophy winner. Bush chose to turn pro after his junior season with USC and is expected to be the No. 1 pick in Saturday's NFL draft. He eventually signed with a different agent and marketing firm; his agent, Joel Segal, and Mike Ornstein, who handles marketing, did not immediately return telephone messages left Monday by The Associated Press. Yahoo reported that the family moved out last weekend after questions over its ownership arose. Bush suggested that the timing of the move was coincidental. "That's the funny thing," he said. "We've been looking for a house for two to three months. Now that I'm in the position of buying my parents a house, we've even made a bid on another house, but it ended up being too steep for my pocket." Pac-10 commissioner Tom Hansen said Monday that a Pac-10 investigation could start soon, but gave no specific time frame. USC could forfeit its 2005 Pac-10 football title if Bush is ruled ineligible, he said. "I'm not a rules expert, but I think one of the available penalties would be forfeiture of games if you compete while ineligible," Hansen said at the Bowl Championship Series meetings in Phoenix. "I want to caution that that's a long way from where we are now. And I think all of us have seen that so often there are allegations made and when you get to the heart of the matter there' s nothing there." Any violation could also put Bush in a precarious position with the organization that awards the Heisman Trophy; the award ballot states that the winner must be in compliance with NCAA rules. Heisman officials will wait until the Pac-10 investigation is complete before deciding if any action needs to be taken, said Heisman Trophy Trust spokesman Tim Henning. The Trojans went 12-1 last season, losing to Texas in the national championship game at the Rose Bowl. USC coach Pete Carroll was on the road recruiting Monday and was unavailable for comment. The two-story house sits on a corner on a steep hill in an unincorporated area outside San Diego. The back yard is bare dirt and the pavement of the driveway apron is inscribed with the words "The Griffins '05."' San Diego County records show the 3,002-square-foot home has an assessed value of $339,394, including $99,394 for the land. State records showed construction was completed in early 2005 and Michaels purchased it for more than $757,000 in late March. In a statement to the AP on Monday, William David Cornwell Sr., attorney for Bush and his mother and stepfather, said the tailback had no connection to the house. "Reggie Bush was a full-time student at the University of Southern California and never lived in the house," Cornwell said. "As is the case with most 20-year-old college students, Reggie was not aware of personal or financial arrangements relating to his parents or their house. Mr. and Mrs. Griffin now realize that, given Reggie's profile, their personal decisions can reflect on their son." Bush did not answer a question about his relationship with Michaels. "There will be a later time for details," he said. "As of right now, it's still early and we don't want to get into all that."