"But we were able to keep pushing and get the win in a very nasty game

• SHANGHAI, China -- Roger Federer assured himself the No. 1 ranking for the 300th week of his career by beating Davis Cup teammate Stanislas Wawrinka 4-6, 7-6 (4), 6-0 Thursday in the third round of the Shanghai Masters. "Its obviously an amazing number and I never thought of anything like this when I was a little kid," Federer said. "I just thought one day my dream would come true to play on the tour. So here I am at 300 weeks, and its probably one of my biggest accomplishments and something Im very proud of. No doubt about it." The Swiss star will play 10th-seeded Marin Cilic in the quarterfinals after the Croat beat Fernando Verdasco of Spain 4-6, 6-1, 6-4. Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray also reached the quarterfinals. Djokovic defeated Feliciano Lopez of Spain 6-3, 6-3, and Murray beat Alexandr Dolgopolov of Ukraine 6-2, 6-2. Murray will play unseeded Radek Stepanek of the Czech Republic. Stepanek upset eighth-seeded John Isner 6-4, 6-7 (5), 6-3. Federer struggled with his backhand for much of the first two sets before recovering. "I just keep on trying," he said. "I knew I had a chance going into the breaker and I was just a little lucky. But I never stopped believing. But he was the better player for two sets. It was greaextra minutes. Sure, the explanation could be fatigue after playing their third straight road game and their second game in two nights. But the Pacers were just as determined to redeem themselves after Friday nights embarrassing loss at Charlotte and in front of a sold out crowd clad mostly in gold T-shirts for Indianas biggest home opener in nearly a decade. They gave the hometown fans a glimpse of the way basketball has traditionally been played in Indiana -- gritty, selfless and with a relentless defensive mentality. "This was a very tough, gut-it-out game," Pacers forward David West said. "These are the types of games you have to win in the NBA if you want to be successful." If the Pacers (2-1) demonstrated anything Saturday, it was how they could continue to win without their injured scoring leader. Hill finished with 18 points, eight rebounds and five assists. West had 18 points and 18 rebounds. Paul George added 16 points and a career-high 17 rebounds, while Gerald Green had 17 points and All-Star centre Roy Hibbert finished with 12 points, 10 rebounds and six blocks. Defensively, they were in sync on play after play. With the game tied late in regulation and early in the first overtime, Indiana missed seven consecutive shots. Yet the Pacers never allowed the Kings to take the lead. And from the moment Indiana tied the score at 36 with 5:25 left in the first half, the Kings never retook the lead. "Its tough," backup guard Aaron Brooks said. "To go into double overtime and not get 100, I thinkk thats something that kind of baffles us.dddddddddddd Were such a good offensive team." Not on this night. While DeMarcus Cousins delivered his usual double-double (21 points, 13 rebounds), and Marcus Thornton almost single-handedly rallied the Kings with 26 points and four 3-pointers, the Kings shot just 36.3 per cent from the field and 36.4 per cent from 3-point range. In the extra 10 minutes, they were even worse -- just 3 of 19 from the field overall. "I thought they competed at a really high level and we just didnt pull it out," Sacramento coach Keith Smart said. The problem wasnt lack of effort. Sacramento cut Indianas 14-point halftime lead to eight after the third quarter and to one when Chuck Hayes hit an 11-foot jumper with 1:07 left in regulation. West made it 91-88 with an 11-footer, and Thornton finally tied the score at 91 with 48.6 seconds to go. Indiana had four chances to take the late lead in those final seconds, missing all four shots. Thornton, too, had a chance to give Sacramento the lead on a fast break, but George cut in front of him and caused an errant shot. So the game went to overtime. Lance Stephensons 3 and Hibberts 6-footer gave Indiana a 96-93 lead with 41.2 seconds left, but Thornton tied it again with a 3 and Hill and Hibbert couldnt get their potentially winning shots to go before the buzzer sounded, forcing another overtime. "Its going to come," Vogel said of the Pacers offence. "Were working some new faces in there. Gerald and Lance havent been in our rotations and George Hill is coming along." He certainly demonstrated that two minutes into the second overtime when he broke the tie with a 6-foot runner and then was awarded a layup when Cousins was called for goaltending. That made it 100-96 with 1:44 left, all the Pacers had to do was close it out with defence. "I wasnt making shots, my teammates were not making shots," West said. "But we were able to keep pushing and get the win in a very nasty game." NOTES: It was Indianas first double overtime game since Dec. 19, 2008. .... Granger missed his third straight game with a sore left knee. ... The Kings have now been the opponent for three home openers -- all on the road. ... Saturdays game marked a homecoming of sorts for Kings coach Keith Smart, who became famous for making the winning shot in Indianas 1987 national championship game victory. ... WNBA Finals MVP Tamika Catchings attended the Pacers home opener. ' ' '

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  Posted 2013-07-15
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