BASKETBALL

MAVERICKS’ TERRY SUSPENDED FOR GAME 6 Dallas guard Jason Terry was suspended yesterday from Game 6 of the Mavericks’ series with San Antonio for punching former teammate Michael Finley while chasing a loose ball in the closing seconds of Game 5.Terry and Finley jostled with 3.4 seconds left in San Antonio’s 98-97 victory on Wednesday night. Terry wound up on his back, grasping the ball, but Spurs forward Manu Ginobili got a hand on it, too, to force a jump ball. While officials were trying to sort out who had possession, Finley was visibly angry and needing to be restrained by teammates. He appeared to be making a fist and telling his teammates that someone had punched him. Nothing was called at the time.

TUCKER SIGNS WITH AGENT, WON’T RETURN TO TEXAS Texas forward P.J.Tucker, the Big 12 player of the year, has signed with an agent and will not return to the Longhorns.Tucker said last month he would explore his NBA draft position, but remained eligible to return because he had not signed with an agent. School spokesman Scott McConnell said yesterday that Tucker has signed with agent Leon Rose.The burly 6-foot-5 player led the Longhorns in scoring and rebounding last season, averaging 16.1 points and 9.5 rebounds per game.

BASEBALL

OWNERS APPROVE SALE OF NATIONALS The $450 million sale of the Washington Nationals from Major League Baseball to a group headed by Theodore Lerner and Stan Kasten was unanimously approved yesterday by the league’s owners.Sometime between mid-June and mid-July, Lerner will become the team’s first real owner in 4 1/2 seasons. Attendance has dropped in the team’s second season in the capital. Kasten, who will become team president, gave no timetable for deciding the futures of manager Frank Robinson, GM Jim Bowden, and other personnel.

– Associated Press