Posted by chardyboy on Wednesday, May 25, 2011
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source: AFP
MIAMI, Florida — Miami are one win away from their second trip to the NBA finals in five years as LeBron James led the way with 35 points and the Heat topped Chicago 101-93 in overtime for a 3-1 series lead.
Chris Bosh added 22 points Tuesday and Miami put the Bulls on the brink of elimination in their best-of-seven Eastern Conference final series.
"It is a great team win and great defence by us," James said. "Even though it took an extra five minutes we still held serve."
Dwyane Wade scored six of his 14 points in the final couple of minutes for the Heat who have won three straight games.
The series now switches to Chicago for game five.
"It always stings. It always stings to lose," said Bulls Joakim Noah. "This was a tough fight tonight and this is a tough loss right now.
"We know we are a tough team at home and nobody here wants this to end. We will be ready to fight."
The Bulls were led by Derrick Rose with 23 points. Luol Deng and Carlos Boozer each scored 20 points for Chicago, who lost three consecutive games for the first time this season.
The win extends Miami's home win streak in the post-season to eight games. They have also won a franchise record nine post-season games dating back to last season.
Mike Miller chipped in with nine of the 12 points in the fourth for the Heat, who won the NBA championship in 2006.
"It is a great win," James said. "We protected home court. We had to earn everything. We needed extra innings for this one."
James was also able to shut down Rose in the overtime as the Heat forced Chicago to make costly turnovers late in the game.
Wade struggled in regulation but stepped up his play in overtime with two superb blocks.
"My teammates kept telling me that I am going to make the biggest play of game. I stuck with it," James said.
James shot 11-of-26 from the field and went a perfect 13 for 13 from the free throw line. Bosh did his part making 10 of his 11 free throws as the Heat nailed 24 straight from the free throw line.
Posted by chardyboy on Tuesday, May 24, 2011
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source: By Mark Heisler, McClatchy-Tribunew News
Everyone knows the Miami Heat's Big Three: LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and . uh . Chris Bosh!
Whatever he is, third of the Big Three, or King of the Other Guys, Bosh scored 34 points Sunday night, leading the Heat to victory in the battle of supporting casts as Miami beat the Bulls, 96-85, to take a 2-1 lead in the Eastern Conference final.
"There's absolutely nothing easy in this series," Miami coach Erik Spoelstra said. "It's a battle, it's a scrap, it's a fight every single possession."
Now, it's win Game 4 tonight or go home in a hole for the young Bulls, getting a crash course in life in the fast lane. Derrick Rose, their star and the NBA's MVP, was bottled up for the second game in a row.
Joakim Noah, their unofficial MVP, was caught on camera appearing to say something to a fan like what Kobe Bryant was caught on camera saying to a referee.
Noah apologized on Monday. The NBA then fined him $50,000 U.S.
Oh, and Rose had been quoted as saying steroids are a "huge" issue in the NBA, then recanted before Sunday's game.
As for the Heat, fame isn't all it's cracked up to be. Showing what this series has degenerated into -er, become -Game 3 turned into a shootout between Bosh and the Bulls' Carlos Boozer (26 points) as both defences continued to load up for Rose, James and Wade.
Only two players had a pair of 30-plus nights against the Bulls in the regular season, those being Wade and Portland's LaMarcus Aldridge.
"It is the Eastern Conference finals and it's coming down to will and determination," Bosh said. "I want people to know I want it."
James (22 points) and Wade (17) combined for 39 points, shooting 12-for-30.
Unfortunately for the Bulls, who would gladly concede those numbers and take their chances, they have only one superstar for Miami to contain. Rose was held to 20 points, shooting eight-for-19, taking only two shots in the fourth quarter.
"I thought Bosh was terrific from the start of the game," Chicago coach Tom Thibodeau said. "I thought we allowed him to get his confidence early. And then he's hard to slow down when he gets going like that."
Of course, that's what happens when you try to load up for two superstars, not just one. And Bosh isn't chopped liver, himself. He made 13 of 18 shots Sunday.
"Obviously you have to commit to Wade and James, but that doesn't absolve you of covering the others," Thibodeau said.
"You have to have the ability to do both. You have to go in with a multiple-effort mind-set."
That's a good one, multipleeffort mind-set. That means if you're Noah, you have to guard your man while eyeing James and Wade, ready to jump out and help if they take a step toward the hoop.
Oh, and if the ball goes to Bosh, who has a two-inch height advantage over the 6-8 Boozer, can you get over there, too?
In other words, good luck. That's assuming Bosh brings it. No longer the No. 1 option as he was in Toronto, Bosh has become a human dumping ground, ritually targeted when things go wrong, the Pau Gasol of the East, if not quite as good.
Like Gasol, Bosh is what he is, which is very good, but not very physical.
If Bosh was considered the best big man available last summer, it's only because he's taller than Amare Stoudemire, much less pouty and hasn't been hurt as often.
Of course, if he's your best big man, as he is for Miami, you may have a problem up front.
If he's your only good player over 6-8, you have a real problem.
"A lot of people don't understand how difficult it is to make the adjustment to play with two players who dominate the ball," said Wade, one of the players who dominates the ball.
With the Bulls looking elsewhere, Bosh is adjusting quite nicely in this series.
So now it's Chicago's turn.
Posted by chardyboy on Thursday, May 19, 2011
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source: by Seth Pollack
The Oklahoma City Thunder and Dallas Mavericks continue their 2011 NBA Playoffs Western Conference Finals Series on Thursday in Texas.
Unlike the more generous schedule in the East, there are no long breaks for these two teams. Every game is played with only one day's rest which certainly favors the younger Thunder team. Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook hope they can repeat the Game 2 feat from LeBron James' Miami Heat and tie the series with a road win.
With a different officiating crew that's not so prone to calling every tiny bit of contact, Game 2 should be a bit more reasonable when it comes to free throw shooting and big scores. We wouldn't expect to see Dirk Nowitzki take 24 shots from the line and put up 48 again and while Durant and Westbrook will get to the line, it probably won't be for a combined 37 attempts.
The match ups and schedule in this series favor Oklahoma. Thursday's Game 2 will show us if that's enough to overcome the Mavericks' experience and Dirk's brilliance. A Thunder win would put the Mavericks on their heals headed into two home games and a schedule that won't allow Dirk, Jason Kidd, Jason Terry and Shawn Marion much time to recover between games.
Defensively, the Thunder need to be patient with Nowitzki. Don't double team him early in the game and don't pressure him so hard that he drives and draws fouls or help defenders. Work him hard before the catch to move him off his spots but give him the mid-range jump shots even if he's making them. He won't likely hit 80 percent of them again.
For the Mavericks it's all about transition defense. They can't turn the ball over or take bad shots that lead to easy points for the Thunder. The OKC half court game is a work in progress, the more they can force Westbrook to run the offense and make good decisions, the better. They have to get more pressure on Durant before he catches the ball and at times mix in a full ball denial defense but can't get caught over playing too much or the Thunder will adjust as they did against the Grizzlies.
Posted by chardyboy on Monday, May 16, 2011
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source:
By Teddy Greenstein
Derrick Rose has 28 points and six assists to lead Chicago to victory in Eastern Conference finals opener.
Reporting from Chicago
If this is a preview of what's to come, the NBA should consider making this a best-of-nine series. Or how about 11?
The Bulls took a 1-0 lead in the Eastern Conference finals in an enthralling game that featured eight ties and nine lead changes, numerous dunks and Dwyane Wade head fakes, a big night from Chris Bosh but a bigger one from Derrick Rose.
Rose scored 28 points and dished out six assists as the Bulls stormed to a 103-82 victory.
Game 2 will be Wednesday at the United Center as Oprah Winfrey takes over the building Monday and Tuesday for her farewell television shows.
The Heat entered as the series favorites even though the Bulls have home-court advantage and won all three regular-season meetings.
Those three games were decided by a total of eight points; this one was over midway through the fourth quarter.
Typical for a team that might be the deepest in the NBA, the Bulls got strong contributions from their reserves.
Forward Taj Gibson posterized Wade with a thunderous slam and three-point play in the second quarter. Swingman Ronnie Brewer scored four straight in the fourth after making a steal and drawing a clear-path foul. And point guard C.J. Watson launched a contested 23-foot fling to beat the shot clock that gave the Bulls an 83-66 lead and left Heat defender Jamaal Magloire with his head down.
Miami actually outshot the Bulls, hitting 47.1 percent. But Chicago hit 10 of 21 from three-point land and crushed the Heat in assists (23-11) and rebounds (45-33).
Booed throughout the game, James scored just 15 points on 5-for-15 shooting and got outplayed by the man guarding him, Luol Deng (21 points).
Miami's most productive player was Bosh, who has been more of a third wheel than a third Musketeer. He scored 30 points and had nine rebounds.
Perhaps Bosh drew some added motivation from Carlos Boozer's comment last week that Miami has "two great players" in Wade and James.
Two of Bosh's points came on a right-handed slam over Boozer in the third quarter. But Chicago owned the third, outscoring the visitors 24-15 and taking a 72-63 lead on a Luol Deng three-pointer.
Miami jumped out to a 19-11 lead about two hours after Heat Coach Erik Spoelstra said he expected a sluggish start: "There will be lot of emotion to start this game. At some point, a basketball game will break out."
Spoelstra's Bulls counterpart, Tom Thibodeau, could not disagree: "They're a strong defensive team, and we'd like to think we're a strong defensive team. Baskets will be hard to get."
That wasn't so much the case for the Heat. Their first five buckets were launched within a few feet of the rim – a Wade dunk, a James slam, a Bosh put-back, a Bosh layup and a driving layup by Mike Bibby.
But Gibson's slam over Wade tied the score early in the second quarter, and the Bulls dominated the second half.
OKLAHOMA CITY, Oklahoma — NBA season scoring champion Kevin Durant poured in 39 points and grabbed nine rebounds to lead the Oklahoma City Thunder past Memphis 105-90 and into the Western Conference playoff final.
The Thunder defeated the Grizzlies four games to three in the best-of-seven second round series and advanced into the league semi-finals against the Dallas Mavericks, who will host game one on Tuesday.
"This was a physical series," Durant said. "They relied on their big fellows. That helped us a lot (preparing for Dallas). We're excited to play the next series."
Russell Westbrook added 14 points, 14 assists and 10 rebounds for Oklahoma City, which has the youngest team in the playoffs with an average age of 25.4 years per player.
"He has been doing this for us all year. Why stop now?" Durant said of Westbrook.
Durant scored 18 points in the first half to give the Thunder a 42-34 lead at half-time. Memphis pulled within three points late in the third period before the Thunder pulled away for good.
"No matter if I was shooting 10-for-30, I was going to be aggressive," said Durant. "My teammates did a great job getting me the ball and I was able to get some good shots."
James Harden added 17 points for Oklahoma city while Nick Collison grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds for the Thunder.
Mike Conley led Memphis with 18 points while Zach Randolph added 17 points and 10 rebounds and O.J. Mayo contributed 14 points for the Grizzlies.
Mark Heisler looks at the NBA Eastern Conference finals.
NO. 1 CHICAGO VS. NO. 2 MIAMI
Season series: Chicago, 3-0.
Key stat: At 28.8 points and 8.2 assists, Derrick Rose scores or assists on 45 of the 95 points his team is averaging in the playoffs, but his 45% shooting during the season is down to 42%.
Outlook: If these teams haven't clashed much to date, this marks the launch of the blood feud that should dominate the East for years.
Aside from climate differences and the fact one favors red and the other black, they're like the same team.
Both are built on defense, using the same lane-packing scheme everyone (including the Celtics and Lakers) originally stole from San Antonio, avoiding double teams and rotation to limit penetration and open three-pointers.
Both have struggling, incomplete supporting casts they expect to upgrade.
In the obvious, crucial difference, the Heat over-depends on two superstars and the Bulls on one.
Even facing teams that weren't equipped to take much away from Rose, the Bulls had to claw their way here.
The Heat won't let one player beat it and has the perimeter defenders to keep Rose out of the lane more often than the Pacers or Heat did.
The Heat's problem is offense.
First, it doesn't run much, rarely attacking from inside the defense unless LeBron James or Dwyane Wade dribbles his way in, taking shots so hard, it looks as if they're evening up the odds for all their star power.
Second, Miami's role players all but collapsed against Boston.
After Games 1-2, with Mike Miller a shadow of himself, the shooters who are supposed to knock down the open three-pointers James and Wade get them made 21%.
Prediction: If neither should be this beatable again soon, the Bulls are more beatable now.
Posted by chardyboy on Saturday, May 14, 2011
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source: AFP
CHICAGO — LeBron James didn't hide his emotion after Miami eliminated Boston in the second round of the NBA playoffs, but he and his Heat teammates vow there will be no let-down in the Eastern Conference finals against Chicago.
"It's time to get back to work," said Miami coach Erik Spoelstra, whose team travels to Chicago for game one of the best-of-seven conference finals on Sunday.
The winner of the series will battle a team from the West for the NBA crown.
"We've already moved on," James said after Friday's training in Florida.
"The Boston series is over and done with. Today, we mentally prepared ourselves to get ready for that series starting on Sunday. We left that series behind us."
James and Chris Bosh created a stir when they opted to join fellow free agent Dwyane Wade in Miami to create a superstar trio designed to capture the NBA title.
Beating Boston was a crucial step. The Celtics had played in the NBA finals in two of the past three years, lifting the title in 2008.
In the Bulls they'll face an emerging power, led by 22-year-old Derrick Rose.
Rose ended James' two-year reign as NBA Most Valuable Player as he led Chicago to the league's best record in the regular season.
"Honestly, a lot of people didn't think we would get past Boston," James said. "So we're moving on and looking forward to the challenge."
The Bulls won all three regular-season meetings between the clubs, the last in Miami in March.
However, it was a close-run thing. The three games were decided by a combined eight points.
For Wade, the trip to Chicago will be a homecoming. But for the duration of the series the Chicago native will consider his hometown, where he maintains a house, hostile territory.
"I won't even have a lot of family there," Wade said. "Just like on the road, you have a select few. I won't keep it busy. I'll keep it strictly about business, strictly about what we need to do, and I'll have a lot of time in the summer to be in my house.
"So I'm going home, yes, but we're going on the road to start."
Since the Heat won the NBA title in 2006, Wade has played 11 games in Chicago -- and lost nine of them.
But the Bulls, who reached the penultimate round of the playoffs for the first time in 13 years by beating Atlanta in the second round, expect Wade, James, Bosh and their teammates to be at their best.
"They've got two great players in D-Wade and LeBron," Bulls forward Carlos Boozer said. "It should be a great series. We look forward to it.
"And it is going to be a tough series. We look forward to the challenge." Added Rose: "We know that we have something special in front of us."
Posted by chardyboy on Saturday, May 14, 2011
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source: By Ron Higgins, Special to CNN
Memphis, Tennessee (CNN) -- People thought that as bad the Memphis Grizzlies NBA franchise has mostly been since moving from frosty Vancouver to this steamy Southern locale 10 years ago, it would be hell or high water before they ever won a playoff game, much less a series.
Well, the Grizzlies, after being just the second No. 8 seed to ever beat a No. 1 seed in a seven-game NBA series two weeks ago, are still hanging on in the Western Conference semifinals against the Oklahoma City Thunder, trailing 3-2 heading into Friday night's game 6 here at FedExForum.
And that's where the high water comes in.
If you walk out the front doors of FedExForum, take a right, walk 25 yards to Beale Street, walk two blocks west and roll a basketball down a hill the final block, that ball might end up in the Gulf of Mexico.
That's because The Big Muddy, the Mississippi River, is on Memphis' downtown doorstep, cresting Tuesday night at 47.8 feet, way above flood stage. Dark brown water has filtered it way into the northern parts of the city, making life miserable for thousands.
The Grizzlies understand misery. Their franchise, since moving from Vancouver in 2001-02, has had a decade of heartache, from being swept in three straight playoffs from 2004 to 2006, to majority owner Michael Heisley almost selling the team a couple of years later.
The Griz players also understand that when the playoffs started almost four weeks ago, they were playing for themselves. Now, they realize it's much more than that.
"With all the flooding, the people in our city could have easily dropped their heads," guard O.J. Mayo said. "But we feel good that at the end of the day, they've been able to come down to Beale Street, catch a game and put a rough time behind them."
Granted, the Grizzlies haven't had much time to think about the plight of their city. Once you've stepped into the intense hurricane of the playoffs, it's hard to spend a few minutes of calm in the eye.
"The city has gone through a lot when you see all the people who've had to relocate and move all their things," Memphis point guard Mike Conley said. "That's a tough situation, but this community has been on our side this whole roller-coaster season. We're trying to do this for them."
Whatever happens Friday night, whether the Grizzlies win and go back to Oklahoma City for game 7, or lose to end the season, what has occurred the last four weeks has turned around the franchise.
The city of Memphis is a rarity in the football-crazed South, because it has always been about basketball, dating back to the days when the city's powerhouse college basketball program, then called Memphis State, lost in the 1973 NCAA championship game to Bill Walton-led UCLA.
From the playgrounds to the high schools to the University of Memphis, the city loves its barbecue, blues and basketball. Even when the city failed to get an NFL franchise when the league last expanded in 1995, the average Memphis sports fan always believed the city would support an NBA franchise.
Former Grizzlies coach Hubie Brown, who guided Memphis to its first playoff berth ever in 2004 when he was named the league's Coach of the Year, said he's never forgotten how much the city loved a winner and a team that played as a team.
"Every time I go into an arena with one of my guys [former Griz players], it's just incredible the relationship with those players and that town," said Brown, now a TV analyst for ABC and ESPN. "I say it all the time: You can't fool the people of Memphis. That's a basketball town, they understand the game all the way down to the high school level."
That's why when the franchise struggled in recent years, the average Griz fan never thought another playoff run was possible.
Crowds dwindled, and it didn't matter what promotion was being given away at home games. "You can't fool these fans, because they know bad basketball when they see it," said Shane Battier, who was the Grizzlies' first first-round draft pick in '01 as they moved to Memphis, "They were going to show up to watch a winning team. You weren't going to get them in the building with T-shirts and bobbleheads."
When the Grizzlies won game 6 in Memphis to capture the Spurs' series, the fans spilled from FedExForum onto Beale Street for an all-night party. And though the Grizzlies were to fly to Oklahoma City the next afternoon to begin their semifinal series, Battier and some teammates joined in on the fun, too.
"All the years I had been here before, I always wondered what it would be like if we won a playoff series, because the playoffs are here in May during Musicfest and the barbecue festival," Battier said. "So when we won, I just had to go out and see.
"Since I live downtown, I just left my car here [at FedExForum] and walked home down Main Street. It was awesome. Everybody was high-fiving me and each other."
Memphis mayor A C Wharton says the Grizzlies style of play makes them the perfect team for his city. "When the Grizzlies get knocked down and don't get the foul calls they just get up and keep grinding," Wharton said. "In the game of life there are no referees. When you get knocked on your back you get back up."
Star forward Zach Randolph recognizes how much this playoff run means to Memphis. Never before has he felt so loved by a city after he had earned a reputation as a malcontent at his previous NBA stops, starting in Portland.
"It has never been like this anywhere else," said Randolph, who loves Memphis so much that he personally pays a one-month electric bill for hundreds of struggling Memphians during Christmas. "This city has embraced me. The people here have been great.
"I'm involved in the community. I'm involved with the kids here. I think God has blessed me and He has made this work for me. I think this is God's plan for me to be here. I'm feel like I'm from Memphis and this is great for our city."
Randolph's community work isn't the exception among the Grizzlies. It's the rule, and a way established by head coach Lionel Hollins, who was on Portland's 1977 NBA champions that caused that city to fall in love with the franchise.
"If you have good talent, you got a chance to win," said Hollins, 57. "But to give yourself a chance, you've got to open up, you have to share the basketball with one another, you've got to be a better teammate, you have to be a better citizen, because all of this is tied in with the sponsors, fans and the community. It's all tied together. And in order to maximize who you are, you have to be better in all these areas."
That's why Friday night, with their backs to the wall, one game away from being eliminated, the Grizzlies will gather down by the river one more time -- a river that is a lot closer than it was at the start of the playoffs -- and fight it out with the Thunder to the very end.
"This series is not over by any means," Hollins said after his team, coming off a three-overtime loss Monday, lost game 5 on Wednesday 99-72 at Oklahoma City. "I still believe in my team, and I still believe we will come back. This team will fight to the end."
Because if the Grizzlies didn't know it before, they know it now -- they live in a city of fighters.
Posted by chardyboy on Wednesday, May 11, 2011
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source: By HOWARD BECK
BOSTON — For the last 11 days, the shifting fate of the Boston Celtics could be tracked through the twitches in Paul Pierce’s cheeks. His expression told the story.
In Game 1, anger.
In Game 2, pain.
In Game 3, elation.
In Game 4, confusion.
It was that last expression, late Monday at an anxiety-filled TD Garden, that may prove most troubling for the Celtics.
Control of an Eastern Conference semifinal series was still within their grasp when they set up an inbounds play with 19.5 seconds left and the score tied, 86-86. These are moments in which the Celtics have thrived — moments that defined them as savvy, steady, smart and, in 2008, champions.
This time, there was shocking disarray. As the play broke down, Pierce frowned and fretted and motioned at his teammates. Finally, reluctantly, he launched a well-guarded 20-foot fadeaway that bounced away as time expired. The game went into overtime, and the Miami Heat pulled away for a 98-90 victory that pushed the Celtics to the brink of elimination.
The Heat holds a 3-1 series lead, with three chances to close it out, two at home. The Celtics’ playoff run will probably end soon and, perhaps with it, their era of conference dominance.
Kevin Garnett turns 35 next week. Pierce will be 34 in October. Ray Allen turns 36 in July. Each star occasionally still shows flashes of greatness. But they no longer seem capable of playing at a consistently elite level through a seven-game series — at least not against a younger, equally talented and more athletic opponent.
Garnett was splendid in a Game 3 victory, with a 28-point, 18-rebound effort that recalled his earlier days. But that line now stands as the aberration, not the norm. Garnett was punchless in Monday’s defeat, going 1 of 10 from the field. He went 3 for 9 in Game 1. He is shooting .424 (25 for 59) in the series.
Allen had a fantastic Game 1, with 25 points. He averaged 13 points in the next three games, going 11 for 30 from the field.
Pierce remains the most consistently dangerous scorer of the three. But he was taken out of his game — figuratively, then literally — by the Heat’s physical defense in Game 1, and slowed by a foot injury in Game 2.
The Celtics’ fourth (and youngest) star, Rajon Rondo, is a great passer and defender, but not a scorer.
The scoring punch that Boston hoped to have from Jeff Green has not materialized. Glen Davis, whose bench play was invaluable in the past, has been a dud.
The Celtics are not as precise as they once were, nor as intimidatingly efficient. They lost Game 4 with poor shooting (.429) and costly turnovers (18, which Miami converted into 28 points).
“It’s frustrating, because we had so many opportunities,” Coach Doc Rivers said, adding: “And then not to execute a play at the end. That doesn’t mean we win it, but we should have gotten a better shot.”
Defensively, the Celtics remain an elite team, but their offense has degraded since their championship run in 2008. They ranked ninth in offensive efficiency in 2007-8 (their first season with Pierce, Allen and Garnett), and sixth in 2008-9. Last season, they fell to 15th and this season to 19th.
The Celtics averaged 106.2 points per 100 possessions this season, a drop of 4 points from 2007-8. The figure has slipped to 105.8 in the playoffs, ranking Boston sixth among the seven teams that are alive.
It is hard to imagine the Celtics getting any better without an infusion of young talent. That will be difficult. Boston has $65.8 million in committed salaries for next season, not counting a potential new contract for Green, who will be a restricted free agent. Two of their younger rotation players, Davis and Delonte West, will also be free agents. Jermaine O’Neal (who turns 33 in October) remains on the books, and Shaquille O’Neal (39) has a $1.4 million option to return.
The Celtics will not have salary-cap room until 2012, when the contracts of Garnett ($21.2 million) and Allen ($10 million) expire.
The Celtics’ championship window, which once seemed so wide, has been reduced to a razor-thin beam of fading light.
MEMPHIS—Kevin Durant scored six of his 35 points in the third over-time Monday as Oklahoma City won a Western Conference thriller 133-123 to tie their NBA playoff series with Memphis at two games each. Oklahoma City regained the home-court advantage that the Grizzlies had snatched and now host game five on Wednesday.
Russell Westbrook led the Thunder with 40 points. James Harden added 19, and Daequan Cook chipped in 10.
The Grizzlies, playing to a packed house despite floods that have swelled the Mississippi River and displaced thousands, looked weary in the third over-time, making just one of their nine shots from the floor.
Zach Randolph led the Grizzlies with 34 points and 16 rebounds and Marc Gasol added 26 points and 21 rebounds in the losing effort. O.J. Mayo had 18 and Mike Conley 16 before both fouled out. Greivis Vasquez had 14.
The winner of this series will play the Dallas Mavericks in the Western Conference finals for a chance to face a team from the East for the NBA crown.
The Mavericks have a chance to rest up after ousting the two-time defending NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers in the minimum four games.
The Memphis-Oklahoma City series, in contrast, is a dog-fight. Monday's nail-biter came just two days after the Grizzlies edged the Thunder in over-time.
Conley forced the first over-time with his only three-pointer of the game. Vasquez, the rookie who came in after Conley and Mayo fouled out late in the first extra period, hit a three-pointer to set up the second over-time. Gasol's tip-in set up the third over-time.
The Thunder had chances to win at the end of regulation and the first two extra periods.
Westbrook's jump shot hit the rim just before the buzzer to end regulation.
Durant, the NBA scoring champion, saw a three-pointer miss at the end of the first over-time and Westbrook's leaning long-range jump shot brushed the rim at the buzzer to end the second over-time.
Oklahoma City took charge in the third extra period, when Westbrook's basket with 3:38 remaining put them ahead for good.
Durant added a pair of free throws and his running lay-up gave the Thunder a 129-123 lead with less than a minute to play.
Durant stole the ball from Randolph on the other end and made a shot over Shane Battier with 29.3 seconds left.
The Grizzlies can look back and regret letting an early 18-point lead slip.
Oklahoma City could have put it away sooner, too, surrendering a 10-point fourth-quarter lead.
Posted by chardyboy on Tuesday, May 10, 2011
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source: AP
BOSTON (AP) — LeBron James(FSY) scored 35 points and grabbed 14 rebounds to lead Miami to a 98-90 overtime victory over the Boston Celtics on Monday night and give the Heat a 3-1 lead in the Eastern Conference semifinals.
Dwyane Wade (FSY) scored 28 with nine rebounds and Chris Bosh(FSY) had 20 points and 12 rebounds for Miami, which could eliminate the defending conference champions and advance to the East finals with a victory in Game 5 in Miami on Wednesday night.
James, Wade and Bosh scored 83 of Miami's 98 points and had 35 of its 45 rebounds.
James made up for a turnover at the end of regulation with a fallaway jumper to start overtime and give Miami the lead for good. The Celtics scored just four points in overtime, shooting 1 for 6 and making four of their 18 turnovers.
Rajon Rondo (FSY), who dislocated his left elbow Saturday night in Game 3, played 39 minutes with a padded sleeve covering what appeared to be a brace on his left arm, scoring 10 with five assists.
Boston took an 84-81 lead with 2:28 left after back-to-back three-pointers by Delonte West (FSY) and Allen, but James hit a 3 to tie it and then made a left-handed lay-in with 48 seconds to play to give Miami an 86-84 lead. Pierce drove to the basket to tie it, but James lost control of the ball while he was dribbling down the clock.
Allen went for it and was bumped by James Jones (FSY), giving Boston the ball out of bounds with 19.5 seconds left and the game tied at 86. Pierce got the ball, waited out the clock and then took a high-arcing fallaway jumper in the final seconds that bounced off the rim as time expired.
In the overtime period, Garnett threw the ball away and then James made a fallaway jumper as the shot clock expired to give Miami an 88-86 lead. Allen missed, Bosh dunked at the other end, West missed a three-pointer and then James drew a charging foul on Pierce. After another Boston turnover, Wade made a 2-pointer with his foot on the three-point arc to give Miami a 92-86 lead with 2 minutes left in overtime.
One game after the Heat's Big Three combined for just 44 points — their lowest total since they assembled their superteam in Miami — they provided almost all of the offense. No one else had more than four points, and the Heat's bench totaled just seven.
Miami won the first two games at home, but the Celtics responded when the series returned to Boston and clamped down on the Heat's Big Three to win Game 3 97-81. Garnett had his best game of the series, scoring 28 with 18 rebounds, but the star for Boston was Rondo.
The Celtics point guard returned from a dislocated left elbow and provided his team with the spark it had been missing.
There was some doubt about whether he would be ready for Game 4 — but not in Rondo's mind.
An MRI and CT scan on the day off were both negative, and Rondo was back in the lineup.
Instead, it was Heat coach Erik Spoelstra shuffling his lineup, activating Udonis Haslem (FSY) for the first time since November foot surgery and rewarding Joel Anthony (FSY) for his play in the early games with his first start of the playoffs.
Haslem made just one appearance in the first three quarters, playing 3 minutes and picking up an offensive foul, a loose-ball foul and a technical foul.
But the Big Three was back.
The Heat went on a 10-2 run in the third quarter to take a 63-59 lead. It was a three-point game when Allen hit a three-pointer and Boston scored 11 straight points to take a 73-65 lead before Miami scored the last two baskets — on layups by Anthony and James — to end the third quarter trailing by four.
Notes: Miami had zero assists in the second quarter, and just eight through three. ... Boston activated point guard Carlos Arroyo (FSY) in case Rondo's elbow and West's shoulder became a problem. He did not get into the game. ... Jermaine O'Neal (FSY) was called for a flagrant foul on James in the first five minutes, perhaps an attempt by the officials to make sure things didn't get nasty after Saturday night's takedown in which Rondo was injured.
Posted by chardyboy on Tuesday, May 10, 2011
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source: By Ramona Shelburne ESPNLosAngeles.com
DALLAS -- Los Angeles Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak believes Phil Jackson this time.
Jackson might've played coy in what was likely his final postgame press conference, joking "I haven't answered that, have I?" when pressed for a definitive statement on whether he'd coached his final NBA game Sunday. But Kupchack says he believes Jackson's decision to retire is final this time.
"I think this is it," Kupchak told ESPNLosAngeles after the Lakers were swept out of the playoffs by the Dallas Mavericks 122-86 on Sunday. "We'll sit down and talk, but I've gotten no indication that he won't retire.
"We just talked briefly and I thanked him for what he's done for the organization. It was a pleasure to work with him. Everybody who is a coach in this league works endless hours. I'm not going to say he works harder than any other coach in this league. He certainly works as hard as any of them.
"But he's different. He's got a feel that I think a lot of coaches don't have."
After an unprecedented 11 championship rings in 20 seasons, Jackson said Sunday that he is finished with coaching.
"All my hopes and aspirations are, this is the final game that I'll coach," Jackson said. "This has been a wonderful run."
Jackson then added a parting shot for NBA commissioner David Stern.
"I go out with a sour note after being fined $35,000 this morning by the league, so that's not fun having a feeling like I'm being chased down a freeway by them," Jackson said. "But, as Richard Nixon says, 'You won't be able to kick this guy around anymore.' "
Jackson was fined for comments made on Saturday about the officiating on Pau Gasol in the series.
As for the Lakers' plans to replace Jackson next season, plans that must now be dealt with sooner than anyone expected, Kupchak wasn't ready to go into much detail on Sunday.
"There hasn't been a lot of time spent on talking about a successor," Kupchak said. "So I really don't want to start into an area that I'm not prepared to talk about right now."
A future without Jackson, isn't something Kobe Bryant is ready to think about.
"Phil ... it's tough for me to put into words what he's done for me," Bryant said. "I grew up under him. So, the way I approach things, the way I think about things, not only in basketball but in life in general, a lot of it comes from him because I've been around him so much. So, it's a little weird for me to think about what next year's going to look like."
Lakers point guard Derek Fisher shared his sentiments.
"As a group, the next 12, 24, 36 hours go by and we're able to reflect on the fact that we may have played for the best coach in professional basketball for the last time, I'm sure it will be tough to swallow for everybody," Fisher said.
"So many moments go into what [Jackson and I have] been able to accomplish as a player and a coach. I don't think I'll ever be able to repay him in anyway for what he's been able to do for me, for this team, for the city, for the franchise. There'll never be another one like him and regardless of who's the coach going forward, things will be different and we'll miss the big guy on the sideline, but we all just want him to be happy. He deserves to ride off into the sunset and do whatever it is he wants to do the rest of his life and we're thankful for him."
Lakers forward Ron Artest, however, remained skeptical that Jackson is truly leaving for good.
"He might come back, you never know," Artest said. "He has his own thoughts and his own reasons for whatever he does. I don't know what's his reason, but, if he says he's not coming back, I'm not believing that until I see it."
Mavs coach Rick Carlisle doesn't really believe this is the end for Jackson, either.
"My belief is that he'll retire for a while," Carlisle said, "but I don't know how long you can go to Montana and meditate and smoke peyote or whatever he does there. I don't know. He's going to get bored. And I mean that in an endearing way.
"But, look, we're talking about the greatest coach in the history of our game."
Mavs owner Mark Cuban has been involved in many wars of words with Jackson over the years. But not now.
"I hope he doesn't retire," Cuban said, repeating what he told Jackson after the game. "I think he's great for the league."
Four of Jackson's five kids flew to Dallas for this game, in case it was the end. On Saturday, Jackson called that "a drag that I don't need," but by Sunday afternoon he was probably happy to have them around. They sat near the Lakers bench, wearing yellow hats with Roman numerals marking his 10th and 11th championships.
The Lakers received widespread criticism for their play in this series, the loudest voice coming from former Laker great and current vice president Magic Johnson, who suggested Saturday that the team should be broken up in the offseason if it lost this series.
"I thought they were unnecessary at this time," Jackson said before the game of the Lakers legend's critical stance. "Not surprised ... Magic, he talks openly."
Fisher was irked by Johnson, however. When asked if the series sweep was the result of simply a poor matchup for the Lakers or an indication that the team roster lacked the proper resources to win a championship, Fisher said, "I don't know. Ask Magic. Ask Magic what's going to happen. All I can say is, it's only been a pleasure to be a part of the Los Angeles Lakers organization and I'll keep it at that. I hope my future is still with the Lakers."
Kupchak did not answer questions directly on that issue, but the wisdom of making changes to the team's core has been on his mind since at least February, when he admitted that he was thinking of making a trade before the NBA's trade deadline to jump-start the team's sluggish performance.
Kupchak stood pat then. He might not now.
"Things have to settle a bit," he said grimly. "So I'd like to defer this conversation. Talk to the players at exit interviews first."
Making changes will be easier said than done. The Lakers have $88.5 million committed towards payroll next season even if Shannon Brown and Matt Barnes don't exercise their player options worth a combined $4.3 million; and $60 million committed for the next three years.
"We all know they always come back and get themselves back in the race," Jackson said. "The Lakers are going to survive."
Ramona Shelburne is a columnist and reporter for ESPNLosAngeles.com. Information from ESPNLosAngeles.com's Dave McMenamin, ESPNDallas.com's Tim MacMahon and The Associated Press was used in this report.
DALLAS - The Dallas Mavericks completed a 4-0 second round sweep of the Los Angeles Lakers with a 122-86 rout of the two-time defending champions on Sunday. Dallas tied an NBA playoff record with 20 three-pointers to land the knockout blow on the aging and weary Lakers and send 11-time NBA champion coach Phil Jackson into retirement on a sour note.
Jason Terry drained nine three-pointers of his own and 32 points to send the Mavericks into the Western Conference Finals for the first time since 2006.
In that season, Dallas lost in the NBA Finals despite holding a 2-0 series lead, but they suffered no such letdown against Los Angeles on Sunday.
"We went to the finals that one year and have since had a couple early exits, but I think this team is as deep as any Mavs team I've been on and we're trying to go for it," Dallas All Star Dirk Nowitzki told reporters after finishing with 17 points.
"(The Lakers) are the defending champions. It was great to get through this series."
Kobe Bryant came out hot with 13 points in the first quarter, but finished with just 17 as the Mavs blitzed the visitors 36-16 in the second quarter to take a 24-point halftime lead.
The Lakers had reached the past three NBA Finals but in a season marked by inconsistent efforts they ultimately collapsed in Dallas in what was likely the end of Jackson's career.
The decorated coach has maintained that this would be his final season.
Having blown a 16-point lead in the series opener along with a late seven-point edge in their Game Three loss on Friday, Los Angeles were humiliated in game four.
The Mavericks bench dominated the action as reserve Jose Juan Barea recorded 22 points and eight assists and Peja Stojakovic added 21.
Los Angeles big men Lamar Odom and Andrew Bynum were ejected in the fourth quarter after taking cheap shots on Dallas players once the game was well out of reach. — Reuters
BOSTON - Kevin Garnett scored 28 points and Rajon Rondo played the
fourth quarter after suffering a dislocated left elbow as the Boston Celtics beat Miami 97-81 on Saturday in the NBA playoffs. The
Heat still lead the Eastern Conference best-of-seven second round
series over the defending East champions two games to one with game four
on Monday in Boston and game five in Miami on Wednesday.
"We understand now how tough it is to take down a champion," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. "We feel our best game is good enough but we did not play our best game.
"They simply outplayed us."
Garnett went 13-of-20 from the field and grabbed
18 rebounds in a dominating performance, especially in the third quarter
when he scored 14 points and the Celtics pulled away for good,
outscoring the Heat 28-15 in the period.
"I thought we were pretty inspired coming out after half-time," Celtics coach Doc Rivers said.
But it was Rondo's emotional return from an injury in the final minutes that sparked Boston players and fans.
"He showed he's a really tough young individual," Garnett said. "I don't know what he's going to be like when he's 35, but right now he's playing pretty well."
Rondo scored six points and made 11 assists after suffering the injury when he fell in a tangle with Miami's Dwyane Wade.
"Thank God it popped in when I was on the floor," Rondo said. "It was no big deal. It was a little stiff but I was able to get with my game defensively. It was an experience I have never felt before."
The
Heat learned that all too well 3:30 into the fourth quarter when Rondo
made a steal with his left hand and scored a fast break layup.
"I didn't have to do much scoring - just directing," Rondo said. "That's using your mouth, using my legs."
Rivers
said that as happy as he was to see Rondo back in the lineup, he was
happiest to see how the rest of the team kept its composure when Rondo
was absent.
"It was awesome to
see him back out on the floor but at the end of the day it was great to
see our team play (poised without him)," Rivers said. "I was most proud of that."
Rondo,
who was 11 points off his playoff scoring average but right on his
assist average, has no plans to miss Monday's pivotal game, where the
Celtics could pull even in the series or lose and be on the brink of
elimination.
"I should be ready to go in a couple days," Rondo said. "I'll
be limited but not defensively. I will be able to rebound the ball and
get it to our big guys. I feel pain but I will be OK."
Paul
Pierce added 27 points for Boston while Ray Allen contributed 15 for
the Celtics, who welcomed back Shaquille O'Neal from injury. Shaq had
played only 5:30 in the past three months due to right calf and tendon
injuries.
"I thought Shaq gave us a big lift in the second half," Rivers said of his two-point, no-rebound night.
Wade,
who went 8-for-19 from the field, led Miami with 23 points while Mario
Chalmers added 17 points and LeBron James scored 15 on 6-of-16 shooting.
Chris Bosh managed only six points on 1-of-6 shooting.
"In the second half they just kept on coming and got us out of our rhythm," Spoelstra said. "We were not sharp offensively in the second half.
"We
have to gather ourselves fully. It will be one of the toughest things
we have to do collectively. We have to strengthen our bond together and
come back with a better performance."
source: AFP
