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FORTALEZA, Brazil -- Georgios Samaras scored an injury-time penalty to send Greece into the second round of the World Cup for the first time with a 2-1 win over Ivory Coast on Tuesday, eliminating the Africans in the process. Samaras was adjudged to have been tripped in the area by substitute Giovanni Sio, and calmly slotted in the spot kick for a win that puts Greece through to the knockout stage. Ivory Coast would have advanced with a draw. "This means so much to me, to us ... Tonight we had energy," Samaras said, dedicating the win to Greeks suffering through financial crisis. "We really hope we can make the people happy back home. We are a team. A team -- thats it." In Athens, where the game ended well after midnight, thousands of fans poured into the streets to celebrate. The players in Fortaleza danced around in a circle and sang with small groups of travelling fans at Arena Castelao who had been drowned out all night by the pro-African Brazilian crowd. The Greeks had taken the lead just before halftime through substitute Andreas Samaris, who punished Ivorian Ismael Tiote for a careless pass backward. Substitute Wilfried Bony equalized for Ivory Coast in the 74th, beating goalkeeper Pangiotis Glykos from close range after being set up by Gervinho. That goal looked like it would put the Africans through until the late drama. Samaras met a cross in the area and tried to shoot with his left leg, which got caught against the leg of Sio. Samaras foot then hit the ground and he fell to the turf, drawing a penalty. With his countrys hopes on the line, Samaras sent his spot kick past goalkeeper Boubacar Barry, who guessed the right way but couldnt keep the ball out. "We came here to advance from the group stage. Weve never done it before, and we did tonight in a great way," said Greece captain Giorgos Karagounis, a veteran of the team that won the European Championship in 2004. "The goal should have come earlier. So God helped us in the end and we all thank him. We prevailed against the odds. We had passion and we had fight." Veteran striker Didier Drogba started for Ivory Coast along with Yaya and Kolo Toure despite the recent death of their brother Ibrahim. The Ivorians wore black armbands as a sign of mourning. "The Ivory Coast is a great football nation. And this was a cruel game, a cruel game," Ivory Coast coach Sabri Lamouchi said. "After so much hard work and so much sacrifice, all of us and everyone in the Ivory Coast is very sad." Greece, which had failed to score in the previous two Group C matches, finished second in Group C with four points, behind winner Colombia with nine. Ivory Coast had three and Japan one. On Tuesday, the Greeks missed a handful of scoring chances against Ivory Coast, hitting the crossbar twice with shots from distance. The Greeks were also forced to make two early substitutions after valuable midfielder Pangiotis Kone and goalkeeper Orestis Karnezis were injured in the first half. "We found balance tonight. We are not the worst team when we lose or the best when we win," Greece coach Fernando Santos said. "To everyone in Greece I say: Go out into the street and celebrate." ------ Lineups: Greece: Orestis Karnezis (Panagiotis Glykos, 24), Sokratis Papastathopoulos, Kostas Manolas, Jose Holebas, Vassilis Torosidis, Giannis Maniatis, Panagiotis Kone (Andreas Samaris, 12), Lazaros Christodoulopoulos, Giorgos Karagounis (Fanis Gekas, 77), Georgios Samaras, Dimitris Salpingidis. Ivory Coast: Baboucar Barry, Souleymane Bamba, Arthur Boka, Kolo Toure, Serge Aurier, Ismael Tiote (Wilfried Bony, 61), Yaya Toure, Die Serey, Didier Drogba (Ismaael Diomande, 78), Solomon Kalou, Gervinho (Giovanno Sio, 83). Clarence Weatherspoon Jersey . "I dont know where we would be without him," McClendon said. 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Wholesale 76ers Jerseys . - After spending the morning in the hospital, Logan Couture gave the San Jose Sharks the spark they needed.Orlando, FL (SportsNetwork.com) - In the absence of Rajon Rondo, Monta Ellis scored 25 points and handed out 13 assists to help the Dallas Mavericks beat the Orlando Magic 108-93 on Saturday. Rondo was kneed in the face by a teammate 1 1/2 minutes into the game and left with a head injury. After leading by as much as 27, the Mavericks edge was cut to as little as five in the fourth quarter before they pulled away again. Monta Ellis carried us again, Dallas head coach Rick Carlisle said. He was tremendous and made great defensive plays. Tyson Chandler added 20 points and nine rebounds for Dallas in its second straight win, and Dirk Nowitzki netted 11 points. Orlando lost an eighth straight game despite a 17-point, 16-rebound effort from Nikola Vucevic. Evan Fournier and Willie Green each scored 15 points. We have to come out with more of a sense of urgency, more aggressiveness, said Vucevic. The Magic were able to cut into their deficit in the third quarter but still trailed 88-70 after three. They shot 3-of-7 from long distance in the period, including getting a pair of 3s from Aaron Gordon. They limited the Mavericks to 38.9 percent shooting, but Dallas was still 4-of-7 from beyond the arc. Channing Frye and Green opened the fourth quarter with 3s for Orlando, and Ben Gordons long-range shot 3 1/2 minutes into the quarter cut the Mavericks lead to singlee digits for the first time since late in the first quarter.dddddddddddd Ben Gordon was ejected for arguing with the officials on the ensuing possession, but two minutes later, Frye hit another 3 to pull the Magic within five. The game would not get any closer. Dallas went on a 14-2 run following a timeout to restore some of its earlier lead. Richard Jefferson kneed Rondo in the face after the players feet became tangled and Rondo fell to the court. The Mavs point guard also hit his head on the hardwood. His replacement, Devin Harris, keyed a 9-0 Mavericks run, starting it with a layup and finishing it with a 3-pointer to give Dallas a 22-9 lead. Dallas scored the last eight points of the quarter to lead 34-17. The second quarter was much of the same. A 10-0 run for Dallas late in the half, with five points from Jefferson, gave the Mavericks a 59-34 lead. They led 66-41 at the break after Chandler blocked Ben Gordons shot attempt as time expired. Game Notes Dallas is 13-0 on the road against Eastern Conference opponents ... The Mavericks have beaten Orlando in six straight meetings ... Dallas improved to 7-4 in the second half of back-to-back sets ... Mavericks forward Chandler Parsons missed a second straight game with an illness ... Orlando guard Victor Oladipo sat out with a sore Achilles. ' ' '