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The San Antonio Spurs kept insisting the playoffs were a new season and that their woeful finish to the regular season was not as grave as it appeared.
After 16 straight postseason appearances, San Antonio should know what it's talking about. Tony Parker had 28 points and seven assists and the Spurs beat the Los Angeles Lakers 102-91 on Wednesday night to take a 2-0 lead in their Western Conference first-round playoff series.
Tim Duncan and Kawhi Leonard had 16 points each, Manu Ginobili added 13 points and Matt Bonner had 10 for San Antonio, which had lost three straight entering the series.
"I thought we played two pretty good games on the defensive end of the court back-to-back," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. "That was our goal at the beginning of the season and we did it for most of the year, as I said, until maybe the last three weeks of the season it dissipated. We got it back for these two games."
Dwight Howard and Steve Blake had 16 points each to lead Los Angeles. Metta World Peace and Pau Gasol added 13 points each, but no other player had more than nine as the Lakers shot 45 percent from the field.
Game 3 is Friday night in Los Angeles.
Los Angeles said a key to winning was shooting better, and they did -- but so did San Antonio.
"They are just much more efficient than we are," Los Angeles coach Mike D'Antoni said. "They are playing better than we are right now."
The Spurs shot 51 percent from the field after shooting 38 percent in Game 1. San Antonio was 7 for 14 on 3-pointers, including 5 for 7 in the first half.
Parker had 15 points in the third quarter after going 1 for 6 in the first half. He scored 12 straight points on a series of layups and floating jumpers against Blake. Parker's run gave the Spurs a 75-65 lead with 3 minutes left in the third.
"You see Tony tonight and that's probably the best part of the whole game," Duncan said. "He's getting his rhythm back. He felt good tonight. He shot the ball well tonight. He looked like Tony of midseason tonight and that's great for us."
The Lakers shot 37 percent (9 for 24) in the first quarter, a slight improvement over their 7-for-20 performance (35 percent) in the opening quarter of Game 1.
Gasol posted early, tipping in a miss by Howard for the game's opening basket and missing a 5-footer before Duncan blocked his 5-foot hook.
Gasol was 5 for 14 overall, including 1 for 6 in the second half.
"I didn't get into a good rhythm out there," Gasol said. "This first half was better, but in the second half I struggled with my shot. I can't be short on my shots; fatigue kicked in a little bit and I'm fighting through some stuff myself physically. But at this point, we're in fight mode; we'll fight through whatever is on the table. Try to stay alive in this series and fight for our lives."
The Lakers went to the perimeter following the block, resulting in consecutive 3s by Blake and World Peace for an 8-6 lead with 8:23 left in the first quarter.
Ginobili once again energized the Spurs, sparking runs of 13-4 and 10-3 to close the first and second quarters. He had 12 points in the first half and was 3 for 4 on 3-pointers.
"He's playing very well right now," D'Antoni said. "There's not a whole lot of adjustments; we try to push him to his weak hand and try to get up in him, but at some point you just have to man up and just do the best you can."
Ginobili had six points with two assists and a block in 6 minutes to bridge the first and second quarters.
He hit two 3s in the final minute of the second quarter, including one off his initial pass that bounced off DeJuan Blair's head but eventually found its way back to him. He also fed a streaking Leonard for a dunk off a turnover.
"You have to give credit to them," D'Antoni said. "When the ball hits somebody in the head, bounced around and went over to the 3, that didn't help any. That's why they are good. They are a better team."
In the first quarter, Ginobili hit a step-back 3 and then drew the defense and fed Gary Neal for an open 3, which he made to give the Spurs a 28-23 lead at the close of the first quarter.
The Lakers went on a 9-2 run to close within 33-32 with 8 minutes left in the first half. Nash opened and closed the run with jumpers.
Nash continued to play after tweaking his hamstring, finishing with nine points in 31 minutes.
Bonner's 3 on an open look with 7 minutes left in the first half drew a cry of frustration from Gasol, who shouted at the bench and pointed at Bonner over an apparent missed assignment.
"[Bonner] was a key player for us today," Ginobili said. "He was very active defensively. Of course he's giving Dwight a big advantage in size, strength and quickness, and I could keep going. But he did a great job getting around him, fronting him from behind."
Howard had heated battles with Bonner and Duncan in the first half. After getting tied up midway through the second quarter, Duncan and Howard walked down the court glaring at each other with Howard jawing at Duncan.
"It is frustrating," Howard said of the defensive pressure. "I just have to trust my teammates to make shots. On whatever they do defensively, I have to be aware of my arms and try not to get tangled up."
Howard was later grabbed from behind by Bonner and his arm was pulled by Ginobili, but the Lakers All-Star still managed to bank in a layup, flexing his muscles after the shot. Howard even made the ensuing free throw, giving the Lakers a 44-43 lead with 3 minutes left in the first half.
Howard was 2 for 4 on free throws.
Bonner followed with a 3, however, to put the Spurs back on top at 46-44.
Notes
The Spurs have the second-most playoff wins since selecting Duncan with the top overall pick in 1997. San Antonio is 119-77 since 1998, trailing only the Lakers' 133-81.
Duncan has 139 double-doubles in the playoffs, fourth all-time behind Magic Johnson (157), Wilt Chamberlin (143) and S
After 16 straight postseason appearances, San Antonio should know what it's talking about. Tony Parker had 28 points and seven assists and the Spurs beat the Los Angeles Lakers 102-91 on Wednesday night to take a 2-0 lead in their Western Conference first-round playoff series.
Tim Duncan and Kawhi Leonard had 16 points each, Manu Ginobili added 13 points and Matt Bonner had 10 for San Antonio, which had lost three straight entering the series.
"I thought we played two pretty good games on the defensive end of the court back-to-back," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. "That was our goal at the beginning of the season and we did it for most of the year, as I said, until maybe the last three weeks of the season it dissipated. We got it back for these two games."
Dwight Howard and Steve Blake had 16 points each to lead Los Angeles. Metta World Peace and Pau Gasol added 13 points each, but no other player had more than nine as the Lakers shot 45 percent from the field.
Game 3 is Friday night in Los Angeles.
Los Angeles said a key to winning was shooting better, and they did -- but so did San Antonio.
"They are just much more efficient than we are," Los Angeles coach Mike D'Antoni said. "They are playing better than we are right now."
The Spurs shot 51 percent from the field after shooting 38 percent in Game 1. San Antonio was 7 for 14 on 3-pointers, including 5 for 7 in the first half.
Parker had 15 points in the third quarter after going 1 for 6 in the first half. He scored 12 straight points on a series of layups and floating jumpers against Blake. Parker's run gave the Spurs a 75-65 lead with 3 minutes left in the third.
"You see Tony tonight and that's probably the best part of the whole game," Duncan said. "He's getting his rhythm back. He felt good tonight. He shot the ball well tonight. He looked like Tony of midseason tonight and that's great for us."
The Lakers shot 37 percent (9 for 24) in the first quarter, a slight improvement over their 7-for-20 performance (35 percent) in the opening quarter of Game 1.
Gasol posted early, tipping in a miss by Howard for the game's opening basket and missing a 5-footer before Duncan blocked his 5-foot hook.
Gasol was 5 for 14 overall, including 1 for 6 in the second half.
"I didn't get into a good rhythm out there," Gasol said. "This first half was better, but in the second half I struggled with my shot. I can't be short on my shots; fatigue kicked in a little bit and I'm fighting through some stuff myself physically. But at this point, we're in fight mode; we'll fight through whatever is on the table. Try to stay alive in this series and fight for our lives."
The Lakers went to the perimeter following the block, resulting in consecutive 3s by Blake and World Peace for an 8-6 lead with 8:23 left in the first quarter.
Ginobili once again energized the Spurs, sparking runs of 13-4 and 10-3 to close the first and second quarters. He had 12 points in the first half and was 3 for 4 on 3-pointers.
"He's playing very well right now," D'Antoni said. "There's not a whole lot of adjustments; we try to push him to his weak hand and try to get up in him, but at some point you just have to man up and just do the best you can."
Ginobili had six points with two assists and a block in 6 minutes to bridge the first and second quarters.
He hit two 3s in the final minute of the second quarter, including one off his initial pass that bounced off DeJuan Blair's head but eventually found its way back to him. He also fed a streaking Leonard for a dunk off a turnover.
"You have to give credit to them," D'Antoni said. "When the ball hits somebody in the head, bounced around and went over to the 3, that didn't help any. That's why they are good. They are a better team."
In the first quarter, Ginobili hit a step-back 3 and then drew the defense and fed Gary Neal for an open 3, which he made to give the Spurs a 28-23 lead at the close of the first quarter.
The Lakers went on a 9-2 run to close within 33-32 with 8 minutes left in the first half. Nash opened and closed the run with jumpers.
Nash continued to play after tweaking his hamstring, finishing with nine points in 31 minutes.
Bonner's 3 on an open look with 7 minutes left in the first half drew a cry of frustration from Gasol, who shouted at the bench and pointed at Bonner over an apparent missed assignment.
"[Bonner] was a key player for us today," Ginobili said. "He was very active defensively. Of course he's giving Dwight a big advantage in size, strength and quickness, and I could keep going. But he did a great job getting around him, fronting him from behind."
Howard had heated battles with Bonner and Duncan in the first half. After getting tied up midway through the second quarter, Duncan and Howard walked down the court glaring at each other with Howard jawing at Duncan.
"It is frustrating," Howard said of the defensive pressure. "I just have to trust my teammates to make shots. On whatever they do defensively, I have to be aware of my arms and try not to get tangled up."
Howard was later grabbed from behind by Bonner and his arm was pulled by Ginobili, but the Lakers All-Star still managed to bank in a layup, flexing his muscles after the shot. Howard even made the ensuing free throw, giving the Lakers a 44-43 lead with 3 minutes left in the first half.
Howard was 2 for 4 on free throws.
Bonner followed with a 3, however, to put the Spurs back on top at 46-44.
Notes
The Spurs have the second-most playoff wins since selecting Duncan with the top overall pick in 1997. San Antonio is 119-77 since 1998, trailing only the Lakers' 133-81.
Duncan has 139 double-doubles in the playoffs, fourth all-time behind Magic Johnson (157), Wilt Chamberlin (143) and S
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2006/12/07
Messages:
29893
When Reggie Miller entered the N.B.A. in 1987 as a skinny rookie with a high-arcing jump shot, about 1 of every 18 field-goal attempts in the league was a 3-pointer. This season, 3-pointers represented almost 1 of every 4 shots taken. Miller broke Larry Bird’s rookie record for 3-pointers made, with 61. He laughs at that number now.
“Today, Steph Curry, he gets that in a month,” Miller said in a phone interview.
Evidence of the steadily rising influence of the 3-pointer can be seen across the basketball landscape. Teams averaged a record 20 attempts a game this season, and the trend is pushing steadily upward, or outward, really, far from the basket and beyond the line painted 23 feet 9 inches away.
Golden State’s Stephen Curry set a league record with 272 3-pointers this season. Two teams, the Knicks and the Houston Rockets, attempted more 3s than any other N.B.A. teams in history.
All are in the playoffs, where the 3-point shot, a novelty when it began in the N.B.A. in 1979, is the star attraction. Some see it as something like art.
“Did you see the Warriors and Denver the other night?” asked Chris Mullin, who, like Miller, began his career in the 1980s and is in the Hall of Fame. The Warriors tied their first-round series with the Nuggets on Tuesday, 1-1, while trying 25 3-pointers among 79 field-goal attempts. Golden State made 14 of them and cruised to a 131-117 win.
“That was beautiful,” Mullin said. “It was even more beautiful because they were making them. But, still, you’re playing, you’re getting up and down, you’re running and you’re passing. That’s the game, to me.”
Other parts of the postseason have been similarly punctuated by the exclamation point of the drained 3-pointer — as crowd-provoking as a dunk, but worth 50 percent more on the scoreboard. On Wednesday, the Rockets and the Oklahoma City Thunder both tried 35 3-pointers — 40 percent of the total shots — in Game 2 of their series. The Thunder made 11, the Rockets made 10, and Oklahoma City won by 3 points to take a 2-0 series lead.
The Knicks, who took more than a third of their shots in the regular season from behind the 3-point line — they established league records for made 3-pointers (891) and attempts (2,371) — took a 2-0 lead on Boston as nine Knicks attempted at least one 3-pointer. That sort of across-the-roster barrage was unheard-of only a few years ago.
“That’s pretty much what we do,” Knicks Coach Mike Woodson said this month. “They’re not bad shots. You’ve got guys who can make them. If I didn’t have players who could make them, trust me, I wouldn’t be shooting them. We’ve got a bunch of guys who can make the 3, and we’ve shot it with high percentages this year. When you’ve got them, you’ve got to take them.”
The 3-point line was borrowed from the American Basketball Association, the footloose ’70s-era rival to the staid N.B.A.
The league was an offense-happy one. In 1975-76, the last season before the two leagues merged, A.B.A. teams averaged 112.5 points per game. The N.B.A. average was 104.3.
The N.B.A. imported most of the A.B.A. stars and four of its franchises: the Denver Nuggets, the Indiana Pacers, the San Antonio Spurs and the New York (later New Jersey) Nets. Also hoping to import some of the A.B.A.’s attitude, it added the 3-point line for the 1979-80 season.
It was largely a gimmick. Even in the freewheeling A.B.A.’s final season, 3-pointers represented only about 1 of every 25 field-goal attempts. They were used in desperation, not as inspiration.
In the N.B.A.’s first season with a 3-point line, overall scoring actually dropped slightly. The average team attempted only 2.8 3-pointers per game, or about 1 of every 33 shots from the field.
When the Philadelphia 76ers won the 1982-83 N.B.A. championship, they shot a total of 109 3-pointers (they made 25) during the 82-game regular season.
It was not until the 1986-87 season that N.B.A. teams averaged more than one made 3-pointer per game.
“Probably my first 10 or 12 years, the whole thing for every team was that you had to pound it inside,” said Miller, who played 18 with the Pacers. “You had to get it to your center. You had to establish the paint first. And the center position really is gone in the N.B.A., and in college, really. Gone are the days of a David Robinson, Patrick Ewing, Shaquille O’Neal, Hakeem Olajuwon, Rik Smits, Alonzo Mourning.”
Teams, historically built around the center, began to turn themselves inside out behind the shooting touch of big men like Dirk Nowitzki of the Dallas Mavericks. Slowly, power forwards within a couple of inches of 7 feet began to hover near the 3-point line, pulling defenders with them.
The rise of the “stretch 4,” as power forwards who play mostly far from the basket are called, may have propelled the proliferation of the 3-pointer more than anything. The defensive slogs of the 1990s gave way to persistent motion and more long jumpers. Defend too close, and the shooter has more room to drive past. Stay too far back, and he has room to shoot something that, in the case of Curry, he makes about 45 percent of the time.
“It’s an exciting brand of basketball,” said Mark Jackson, Golden State’s coach, who played point guard for 17 years in the N.B.A. “ Who wants to see a point guard back down for 20 seconds? It’s a different game. It’s much more enjoyable — talking as someone who did that.”
It has helped raise scoring, which dropped to 91.6 points per game in 1998-99, to about 100 points per game — still 10 points shy of the averages in the 1980s.
A growing ratio of those points comes from 3-pointers. Making them was never the issue. While it took a few seasons to find the shooting form, success on 3-point attempts have been above 30 percent every season since 1986-87. For more than two decades, it has settled around 35 percent. This season, the field-goal percentage for 3-pointers was 35.9, typical of the past 10 years.
What has change
“Today, Steph Curry, he gets that in a month,” Miller said in a phone interview.
Evidence of the steadily rising influence of the 3-pointer can be seen across the basketball landscape. Teams averaged a record 20 attempts a game this season, and the trend is pushing steadily upward, or outward, really, far from the basket and beyond the line painted 23 feet 9 inches away.
Golden State’s Stephen Curry set a league record with 272 3-pointers this season. Two teams, the Knicks and the Houston Rockets, attempted more 3s than any other N.B.A. teams in history.
All are in the playoffs, where the 3-point shot, a novelty when it began in the N.B.A. in 1979, is the star attraction. Some see it as something like art.
“Did you see the Warriors and Denver the other night?” asked Chris Mullin, who, like Miller, began his career in the 1980s and is in the Hall of Fame. The Warriors tied their first-round series with the Nuggets on Tuesday, 1-1, while trying 25 3-pointers among 79 field-goal attempts. Golden State made 14 of them and cruised to a 131-117 win.
“That was beautiful,” Mullin said. “It was even more beautiful because they were making them. But, still, you’re playing, you’re getting up and down, you’re running and you’re passing. That’s the game, to me.”
Other parts of the postseason have been similarly punctuated by the exclamation point of the drained 3-pointer — as crowd-provoking as a dunk, but worth 50 percent more on the scoreboard. On Wednesday, the Rockets and the Oklahoma City Thunder both tried 35 3-pointers — 40 percent of the total shots — in Game 2 of their series. The Thunder made 11, the Rockets made 10, and Oklahoma City won by 3 points to take a 2-0 series lead.
The Knicks, who took more than a third of their shots in the regular season from behind the 3-point line — they established league records for made 3-pointers (891) and attempts (2,371) — took a 2-0 lead on Boston as nine Knicks attempted at least one 3-pointer. That sort of across-the-roster barrage was unheard-of only a few years ago.
“That’s pretty much what we do,” Knicks Coach Mike Woodson said this month. “They’re not bad shots. You’ve got guys who can make them. If I didn’t have players who could make them, trust me, I wouldn’t be shooting them. We’ve got a bunch of guys who can make the 3, and we’ve shot it with high percentages this year. When you’ve got them, you’ve got to take them.”
The 3-point line was borrowed from the American Basketball Association, the footloose ’70s-era rival to the staid N.B.A.
The league was an offense-happy one. In 1975-76, the last season before the two leagues merged, A.B.A. teams averaged 112.5 points per game. The N.B.A. average was 104.3.
The N.B.A. imported most of the A.B.A. stars and four of its franchises: the Denver Nuggets, the Indiana Pacers, the San Antonio Spurs and the New York (later New Jersey) Nets. Also hoping to import some of the A.B.A.’s attitude, it added the 3-point line for the 1979-80 season.
It was largely a gimmick. Even in the freewheeling A.B.A.’s final season, 3-pointers represented only about 1 of every 25 field-goal attempts. They were used in desperation, not as inspiration.
In the N.B.A.’s first season with a 3-point line, overall scoring actually dropped slightly. The average team attempted only 2.8 3-pointers per game, or about 1 of every 33 shots from the field.
When the Philadelphia 76ers won the 1982-83 N.B.A. championship, they shot a total of 109 3-pointers (they made 25) during the 82-game regular season.
It was not until the 1986-87 season that N.B.A. teams averaged more than one made 3-pointer per game.
“Probably my first 10 or 12 years, the whole thing for every team was that you had to pound it inside,” said Miller, who played 18 with the Pacers. “You had to get it to your center. You had to establish the paint first. And the center position really is gone in the N.B.A., and in college, really. Gone are the days of a David Robinson, Patrick Ewing, Shaquille O’Neal, Hakeem Olajuwon, Rik Smits, Alonzo Mourning.”
Teams, historically built around the center, began to turn themselves inside out behind the shooting touch of big men like Dirk Nowitzki of the Dallas Mavericks. Slowly, power forwards within a couple of inches of 7 feet began to hover near the 3-point line, pulling defenders with them.
The rise of the “stretch 4,” as power forwards who play mostly far from the basket are called, may have propelled the proliferation of the 3-pointer more than anything. The defensive slogs of the 1990s gave way to persistent motion and more long jumpers. Defend too close, and the shooter has more room to drive past. Stay too far back, and he has room to shoot something that, in the case of Curry, he makes about 45 percent of the time.
“It’s an exciting brand of basketball,” said Mark Jackson, Golden State’s coach, who played point guard for 17 years in the N.B.A. “ Who wants to see a point guard back down for 20 seconds? It’s a different game. It’s much more enjoyable — talking as someone who did that.”
It has helped raise scoring, which dropped to 91.6 points per game in 1998-99, to about 100 points per game — still 10 points shy of the averages in the 1980s.
A growing ratio of those points comes from 3-pointers. Making them was never the issue. While it took a few seasons to find the shooting form, success on 3-point attempts have been above 30 percent every season since 1986-87. For more than two decades, it has settled around 35 percent. This season, the field-goal percentage for 3-pointers was 35.9, typical of the past 10 years.
What has change
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2006/12/07
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The Golden State Warriors were desperate for Andrew Bogut to be physically dominant and the Australian centre delivered, inspiring his team to a 110-108 win over the Denver Nuggets in their NBA playoff series.
Friday's home win in Oakland gave the Warriors a 2-1 lead in the best of seven series.
"That's what my guy is all about - heart and determination," said Warriors head coach Mark Jackson, praising Bogut.
"I'm so proud of him." The Warriors appeared in trouble at halftime down 66-54, but in the third quarter Bogut used his 213cm, 118kg frame to fire up a comeback.
With five minutes left in the quarter, Bogut grabbed an offensive rebound, the ball landed in the hands of Warriors' sharpshooting guard Stephen Curry and he hit a three-pointer to give the Warriors a 74-73 lead.
On the next play, Bogut and Denver centre JaVale McGee, who have jousted throughout the series, went toe to toe and had to be separated.
Bogut was deemed the instigator of the confrontation and received a technical foul but, on the next play, he responded with a two-handed power dunk with McGee hanging off him.
McGee received a foul on the play.
Bogut finished the game with nine rebounds, including four offensive, two assists, one block and six points.
Curry top-scored for the Warriors with 29 and Jarrett Jack had 23, while the Nuggets were led by guard Ty Lawson who finished with 35 points.
Game four, also to be played in Oakland, will be on Sunday.
Bogut and his Warriors appear headed for a second-round playoff showdown with the San Antonio Spurs, who have two Australian Olympic squad members on the roster - guard Patty Mills and forward Aron Barnes.
The Spurs crushed an injury-depleted Lakers 120-89 in Los Angeles on Friday to take a 3-0 lead in their playoff series.
If the Spurs and Warriors win their series, they will go head to head, with the winner moving forward to the western conference finals.
Oklahoma City were the favourites to win the western conference and likely to play the Miami Heat for the NBA championship, but the Thunder announced on Friday All-Star guard Russell Westbrook will have surgery to repair cartilage in his right knee and will be out indefinitely.
In the eastern conference, the New York Knicks spoiled the Boston Celtics' homecoming on Friday, cruising to a 90-76 victory for a commanding 3-0 lead in their first-round series.
Carmelo Anthony scored 26 points for the Knicks, who moved within one game of notching their first playoff series victory since the 1999-2000 season.
For the Celtics, the outlook is bleak. No team has come back from a 0-3 deficit to win a best-of-seven NBA post-season series.
New York will try to complete the sweep on Boston's court on Sunday.
Bogut fires Warriors in NBA playoff win
Friday's home win in Oakland gave the Warriors a 2-1 lead in the best of seven series.
"That's what my guy is all about - heart and determination," said Warriors head coach Mark Jackson, praising Bogut.
"I'm so proud of him." The Warriors appeared in trouble at halftime down 66-54, but in the third quarter Bogut used his 213cm, 118kg frame to fire up a comeback.
With five minutes left in the quarter, Bogut grabbed an offensive rebound, the ball landed in the hands of Warriors' sharpshooting guard Stephen Curry and he hit a three-pointer to give the Warriors a 74-73 lead.
On the next play, Bogut and Denver centre JaVale McGee, who have jousted throughout the series, went toe to toe and had to be separated.
Bogut was deemed the instigator of the confrontation and received a technical foul but, on the next play, he responded with a two-handed power dunk with McGee hanging off him.
McGee received a foul on the play.
Bogut finished the game with nine rebounds, including four offensive, two assists, one block and six points.
Curry top-scored for the Warriors with 29 and Jarrett Jack had 23, while the Nuggets were led by guard Ty Lawson who finished with 35 points.
Game four, also to be played in Oakland, will be on Sunday.
Bogut and his Warriors appear headed for a second-round playoff showdown with the San Antonio Spurs, who have two Australian Olympic squad members on the roster - guard Patty Mills and forward Aron Barnes.
The Spurs crushed an injury-depleted Lakers 120-89 in Los Angeles on Friday to take a 3-0 lead in their playoff series.
If the Spurs and Warriors win their series, they will go head to head, with the winner moving forward to the western conference finals.
Oklahoma City were the favourites to win the western conference and likely to play the Miami Heat for the NBA championship, but the Thunder announced on Friday All-Star guard Russell Westbrook will have surgery to repair cartilage in his right knee and will be out indefinitely.
In the eastern conference, the New York Knicks spoiled the Boston Celtics' homecoming on Friday, cruising to a 90-76 victory for a commanding 3-0 lead in their first-round series.
Carmelo Anthony scored 26 points for the Knicks, who moved within one game of notching their first playoff series victory since the 1999-2000 season.
For the Celtics, the outlook is bleak. No team has come back from a 0-3 deficit to win a best-of-seven NBA post-season series.
New York will try to complete the sweep on Boston's court on Sunday.
Bogut fires Warriors in NBA playoff win
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2006/12/07
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New York Knicks guard J.R. Smith has been suspended for Game 4 of the Knicks-Celtics playoff series for throwing an elbow that struck the chin of Boston's Jason Terry in Game 3, the NBA announced Saturday night. Smith was ejected in the fourth quarter of the Knicks' win against Boston on Friday after hitting Terry in the face with an elbow. Referees ruled it a flagrant-foul 2. The league reviews all flagrant fouls in the regular season and postseason and has the option to reclassify the foul, impose a fine or suspend a player.
In a statement, the NBA said it suspended Smith for "throwing an elbow and striking the chin" of Terry.
Smith said on Friday he was trying to draw a foul on Terry on the play, which occurred with seven minutes to play in the game and the Knicks ahead by 19.
"That was a bad basketball play on my behalf, just because I got kicked out of the game and my team needed me," said Smith, who won the NBA's Sixth Man Award earlier this week.
Terry declined comment on the play before Boston's off-day film session on Saturday.
Before the NBA announced its decision, Knicks coach Mike Woodson and center Tyson Chandler both said they did not think Smith intended to harm Terry.
"It looked bad. I think it looked kind of worse than maybe it actually was. I don't think it was intentional," Chandler said.
Woodson said he spoke with Smith and reminded him to "keep his cool" in light of the incident. Smith has a reputation as a player who can let his emotions get the best of him at times. But Woodson and his teammates credited Smith for taking a more measured approach on the court this season. Smith was whistled for two flagrant fouls and 13 technical fouls during the regular season.
Chandler disagreed with the idea that the incident was an example of the 27-year-old Smith's immaturity.
"I don't think there should be any suspension there. I don't think it was a case of his immaturity at all," Chandler said. "I think it was kind of a heated moment thing and he was trying to create space."
Chandler, who played with Terry in Dallas, referred to the veteran guard as a "crafty vet" and implied that he may have bated Smith into a reaction.
"(Terry) definitely knows how to get under people's skin. That's why you've got to love him, that's why I enjoyed playing with him. This is playoff basketball," Chandler said.
The Knicks own a 3-0 lead and can close out the best-of-seven series on Sunday.
It is unclear who will replace Smith in the Knicks' rotation. Smith is the team's second-leading scorer in the playofs, averaging 16.3 points per game. One candidate is Chris Copeland. Copeland, though, is scoreless in 24 minutes in the series.
2013 NBA playoffs -- New York Knicks' J.R. Smith suspended one game for elbow to Boston Celtics' Jason Terry - ESPN New York
In a statement, the NBA said it suspended Smith for "throwing an elbow and striking the chin" of Terry.
Smith said on Friday he was trying to draw a foul on Terry on the play, which occurred with seven minutes to play in the game and the Knicks ahead by 19.
"That was a bad basketball play on my behalf, just because I got kicked out of the game and my team needed me," said Smith, who won the NBA's Sixth Man Award earlier this week.
Terry declined comment on the play before Boston's off-day film session on Saturday.
Before the NBA announced its decision, Knicks coach Mike Woodson and center Tyson Chandler both said they did not think Smith intended to harm Terry.
"It looked bad. I think it looked kind of worse than maybe it actually was. I don't think it was intentional," Chandler said.
Woodson said he spoke with Smith and reminded him to "keep his cool" in light of the incident. Smith has a reputation as a player who can let his emotions get the best of him at times. But Woodson and his teammates credited Smith for taking a more measured approach on the court this season. Smith was whistled for two flagrant fouls and 13 technical fouls during the regular season.
Chandler disagreed with the idea that the incident was an example of the 27-year-old Smith's immaturity.
"I don't think there should be any suspension there. I don't think it was a case of his immaturity at all," Chandler said. "I think it was kind of a heated moment thing and he was trying to create space."
Chandler, who played with Terry in Dallas, referred to the veteran guard as a "crafty vet" and implied that he may have bated Smith into a reaction.
"(Terry) definitely knows how to get under people's skin. That's why you've got to love him, that's why I enjoyed playing with him. This is playoff basketball," Chandler said.
The Knicks own a 3-0 lead and can close out the best-of-seven series on Sunday.
It is unclear who will replace Smith in the Knicks' rotation. Smith is the team's second-leading scorer in the playofs, averaging 16.3 points per game. One candidate is Chris Copeland. Copeland, though, is scoreless in 24 minutes in the series.
2013 NBA playoffs -- New York Knicks' J.R. Smith suspended one game for elbow to Boston Celtics' Jason Terry - ESPN New York
Join:
2006/12/07
Messages:
29893
1. Fact or Fiction: The Lakers would've been contenders if healthy.
Larry Coon, ESPN Insider: Either fact or fiction, depending on how you define "healthy." If Dwight Howard is completely healthy, then fact. But we didn't see that Dwight all season. With a recovering Dwight, the Lakers team that finished the season strong still didn't have enough to get past Oklahoma City or Miami. Kobe's Achilles injury didn't change their fortunes; it just sealed the deal.
Danny Nowell, Portland Roundball Society: Fiction. Better, yes, but too old and too thin and too slow to contend with the murderer's row at the top of the Western Conference. Health doesn't take any years off Steve Nash or make Kobe expend any more defensive energy, and the bench was an eyesore even in top condition.
Chris Palmer, ESPN The Magazine: Absolutely. They would have realistically challenged for a spot in the Western Conference finals. That's contending. Look, they had the fourth-best record in the NBA since the All-Star break. They just got hammered so badly by injuries you almost felt sorry for them. Rarely had any genuine continuity. Basketball observers everywhere were robbed of seeing what this kind of talent could really do together.
Darius Soriano, Forum Blue And Gold: Fact. The Lakers were a top-heavy team and injuries cost them their top talent. And then, for good measure, they took away their backups, too. Those injuries also cost them the chance to build the chemistry and togetherness contending teams need. Give the Lakers good health and their chances for success increase exponentially.
Marc Stein, ESPN.com: This is one of those faction situations. Can you define "healthy" for me? If healthy means that Nash and Pau never missed any time ... and that Dwight made an even faster recovery from back surgery than he did ... and that Kobe never tore his Achilles ... I'm still gullible enough to say maybe.
2. Fact or Fiction: Dwight Howard should stay with the Lakers.
Coon: Another one that could be either fact or fiction, this time depending on how you define "should." The Lakers roster is somewhat of a mess right now -- what's Dwight looking for as he picks his next team? If he's looking to be the centerpiece of the next generation of a premier NBA franchise, then he should stay in L.A. If he wants the best chance to win the title in 2014, then the Lakers have a lot of question marks, and maybe he should look elsewhere.
Nowell: Fiction. Howard's reputation would be best served by jump-starting an image rehab and staying with the Lakers. But I think he is unlikely to thrive under L.A.'s glare, with a dominant franchise personality and a coach with a fairly fixed system. Dwight leaving will heap yet more scorn on him, but he needs a new start ... again.
Palmer: Fact. Howard can make $118M with the Lakers or $88M elsewhere. So there's that. This season his rep was damaged by subpar health, confusion about his role and a total lack of leadership skills. He's got to atone for that without changing jerseys. He just can't continue to run from a less than perfect situation every time things start to go awry. Dwight, show us you can lead. And fulfill your potential. You can build an actual legacy in Los Angeles and the town can be yours. Man up.
Soriano: Fact. The Lakers can offer Dwight the most money, a fantastic market, and the chance to be the face of a franchise with nearly unparalleled success in the history of the league. No other organization can offer him even two of those three things.
Stein: Fact. But I say it with no conviction. I'm really not so sure. I think he'd be happier and more productive in Houston or Dallas. Not exactly a ringing endorsement about the Dwight fit in Lakerland when the best reason I can come up with for him staying is that he'd unavoidably take another massive PR hit if he walked away from this car crash at the first opportunity.
3. Fact or Fiction: The Lakers should bring back Mike D'Antoni.
Coon: Fiction. We all know that Mike D'Antoni didn't really get a fair shake. He was brought in midseason, and had to hit the ground running. He was a controversial choice for many because he isn't Phil Jackson, and because of the way the Lakers handled the hiring process. And his team was cursed by injury. That said, is he really the right guy to be leading this team into the future? Is his system the right one for the Lakers' aged roster? Can he adapt his system to fit his personnel? Does he command the respect of his team? Is he really a championship coach? Those answers are pretty much all negative.
Nowell: Fact. D'Antoni displayed a tremendous amount of stubbornness and a few of the overhyped warts his critics point out, but little changed for the star-crossed innovator. D'Antoni's position is the opposite of Dwight's: he needs some stability for the first time in a long time, and to assemble a culture around his style of play.
Palmer: Fiction. I've said it several times before: he's just not the man for the job. Yes, he started the season at a disadvantage but it never felt like he had the players' attention. I don't think they're all that interested in what he's got to say. And how can you be effective with "We Want Phil" chants booming throughout the arena every night?
Soriano: Fact-ish. With a relatively healthy roster, some personnel upgrades, and a full training camp, D'Antoni can put them in position to contend for a title. However, he's also losing (lost?) the PR battle with fans and that he's had issues with more than one player in the locker room this season.
Stein: Fact. I don't see how D'Antoni can possibly be judged fairly on the season we just witnessed when he didn't have anything close to a healthy roster. He deserves a training camp and an interrupted chance at success. He had some bad days this season and didn't choose his words carefully enough on occasion, like pretty much everyone in purple and gold, but I think Phil Jack
Larry Coon, ESPN Insider: Either fact or fiction, depending on how you define "healthy." If Dwight Howard is completely healthy, then fact. But we didn't see that Dwight all season. With a recovering Dwight, the Lakers team that finished the season strong still didn't have enough to get past Oklahoma City or Miami. Kobe's Achilles injury didn't change their fortunes; it just sealed the deal.
Danny Nowell, Portland Roundball Society: Fiction. Better, yes, but too old and too thin and too slow to contend with the murderer's row at the top of the Western Conference. Health doesn't take any years off Steve Nash or make Kobe expend any more defensive energy, and the bench was an eyesore even in top condition.
Chris Palmer, ESPN The Magazine: Absolutely. They would have realistically challenged for a spot in the Western Conference finals. That's contending. Look, they had the fourth-best record in the NBA since the All-Star break. They just got hammered so badly by injuries you almost felt sorry for them. Rarely had any genuine continuity. Basketball observers everywhere were robbed of seeing what this kind of talent could really do together.
Darius Soriano, Forum Blue And Gold: Fact. The Lakers were a top-heavy team and injuries cost them their top talent. And then, for good measure, they took away their backups, too. Those injuries also cost them the chance to build the chemistry and togetherness contending teams need. Give the Lakers good health and their chances for success increase exponentially.
Marc Stein, ESPN.com: This is one of those faction situations. Can you define "healthy" for me? If healthy means that Nash and Pau never missed any time ... and that Dwight made an even faster recovery from back surgery than he did ... and that Kobe never tore his Achilles ... I'm still gullible enough to say maybe.
2. Fact or Fiction: Dwight Howard should stay with the Lakers.
Coon: Another one that could be either fact or fiction, this time depending on how you define "should." The Lakers roster is somewhat of a mess right now -- what's Dwight looking for as he picks his next team? If he's looking to be the centerpiece of the next generation of a premier NBA franchise, then he should stay in L.A. If he wants the best chance to win the title in 2014, then the Lakers have a lot of question marks, and maybe he should look elsewhere.
Nowell: Fiction. Howard's reputation would be best served by jump-starting an image rehab and staying with the Lakers. But I think he is unlikely to thrive under L.A.'s glare, with a dominant franchise personality and a coach with a fairly fixed system. Dwight leaving will heap yet more scorn on him, but he needs a new start ... again.
Palmer: Fact. Howard can make $118M with the Lakers or $88M elsewhere. So there's that. This season his rep was damaged by subpar health, confusion about his role and a total lack of leadership skills. He's got to atone for that without changing jerseys. He just can't continue to run from a less than perfect situation every time things start to go awry. Dwight, show us you can lead. And fulfill your potential. You can build an actual legacy in Los Angeles and the town can be yours. Man up.
Soriano: Fact. The Lakers can offer Dwight the most money, a fantastic market, and the chance to be the face of a franchise with nearly unparalleled success in the history of the league. No other organization can offer him even two of those three things.
Stein: Fact. But I say it with no conviction. I'm really not so sure. I think he'd be happier and more productive in Houston or Dallas. Not exactly a ringing endorsement about the Dwight fit in Lakerland when the best reason I can come up with for him staying is that he'd unavoidably take another massive PR hit if he walked away from this car crash at the first opportunity.
3. Fact or Fiction: The Lakers should bring back Mike D'Antoni.
Coon: Fiction. We all know that Mike D'Antoni didn't really get a fair shake. He was brought in midseason, and had to hit the ground running. He was a controversial choice for many because he isn't Phil Jackson, and because of the way the Lakers handled the hiring process. And his team was cursed by injury. That said, is he really the right guy to be leading this team into the future? Is his system the right one for the Lakers' aged roster? Can he adapt his system to fit his personnel? Does he command the respect of his team? Is he really a championship coach? Those answers are pretty much all negative.
Nowell: Fact. D'Antoni displayed a tremendous amount of stubbornness and a few of the overhyped warts his critics point out, but little changed for the star-crossed innovator. D'Antoni's position is the opposite of Dwight's: he needs some stability for the first time in a long time, and to assemble a culture around his style of play.
Palmer: Fiction. I've said it several times before: he's just not the man for the job. Yes, he started the season at a disadvantage but it never felt like he had the players' attention. I don't think they're all that interested in what he's got to say. And how can you be effective with "We Want Phil" chants booming throughout the arena every night?
Soriano: Fact-ish. With a relatively healthy roster, some personnel upgrades, and a full training camp, D'Antoni can put them in position to contend for a title. However, he's also losing (lost?) the PR battle with fans and that he's had issues with more than one player in the locker room this season.
Stein: Fact. I don't see how D'Antoni can possibly be judged fairly on the season we just witnessed when he didn't have anything close to a healthy roster. He deserves a training camp and an interrupted chance at success. He had some bad days this season and didn't choose his words carefully enough on occasion, like pretty much everyone in purple and gold, but I think Phil Jack
Join:
2006/12/07
Messages:
29893
Here they stay, for now.
In an emotional saga that has dragged on for nearly three years, the NBA’s relocation committee voted unanimously Monday to recommend that owners reject the application for the Sacramento Kings to move to Seattle, the latest — and by far the strongest — in a long line of cities that have tried to land the franchise. Despite the recommendation, investor Chris Hansen pledged to “move forward with the transaction” he signed with the Maloof family to buy and move the franchise anyway. In a post on his Seattle arena website late Monday night, Hansen said he plans to pitch the NBA Board of Governors at its meeting the week of May 13, when league owners will vote on the issue.
“When we started this process everyone thought it was impossible,” Hansen wrote. “While this represents yet another obstacle to achieving our goal, I just wanted to reassure all of you that we have numerous options at our disposal and have absolutely no plans to give up. Impossible is nothing but a state of mind.”
Hours earlier, the feeling was far more festive in California’s capital city.
Moments after the league announced the committee’s recommendation, Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson wrote on Twitter: “That’s what I’m talking about SACRAMENTO😡!! WE DID IT😡!!”
At a packed pep rally at a downtown restaurant, fans serenaded Johnson with chants of “Sac-ra-mento!” He called the recommendation a “big day for the city of Sacramento” but stopped short of declaring victory.
“We do not want to dance in the end zone. We do not want to celebrate prematurely,” Johnson said.
TIBCO software chairman Vivek Ranadive, the head of the Sacramento investor group Johnson assembled to mount a competing bid to keep the Kings, also expressed excitement.
“I’m speechless. Thanks to all of the amazing people who supported this great effort,” tweeted Ranadive, a minority owner of the Golden State Warriors who could become the first Indian-born majority owner of an NBA team. He would have to sell his share in the Warriors if his group’s bid for the Kings is successful.
“We did it, baby,” said California Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg. The Sacramento Democrat joined Johnson and Republican state Senator Ted Gaines at the rally in a show of bi-partisan support.
Barbara “Sign Lady” Rust, as she has become known by Kings fans, waived a sign as Johnson spoke that read: “Love found a way, now here we stay!”
“You should have seen me a few hours ago,” she said. “I totally lost it. First I jumped like a crazy woman for a minute. Then I cried.”
Who will own the Kings next season is still unclear.
The Maloof family reached an agreement in January to sell a 65 per cent controlling interest in the team to Hansen’s group at a total franchise valuation of $525 million, topping the NBA-record $450 million that Joe Lacob and Peter Guber bought the Warriors for in 2010. Then Hansen increased his offer to $550 million, which implies buying the 65 per cent stake for about $357 million.
Hansen hoped to move the team to Seattle and rename it the SuperSonics, who moved to Oklahoma City and renamed the Thunder in 2008. Instead, those plans suddenly seemed to crumble.
But Hansen insisted again that his group has a more solid arena plan, offered more money and “placed all of the funds to close the transaction into escrow.” At the bottom of his post, Hansen attributed a quote to boxing great Muhammad Ali that ended with the famous line: “Impossible is nothing.”
The NBA Board of Governors is expected to follow the recommendation by the relocation committee, coincidentally headed by Thunder owner Clay Bennett, already a reviled figure in Seattle. The other owners on the committee are Miami’s Micky Arison, Washington’s Ted Leonsis, Utah’s Greg Miller, Indiana’s Herbert Simon, Minnesota’s Glen Taylor and San Antonio’s Peter Holt — who’s also the chairman of the board.
Even still, the Maloofs are not bound to sell the team to the Sacramento group — and the threat of lawsuits still looms. Johnson said he was unsure what the next step is in the process or whether the NBA would — or could — take a role in streamlining the team’s sale.
In a letter sent to the relocation and finance committees last week, the Maloofs said they preferred to sell to the Seattle group and expressed discontent with Sacramento’s latest bid, saying it falls “significantly short.” NBA Commissioner David Stern has said the offers are in “the same ballpark.”
Stern said owners felt leaving Sacramento just didn’t make sense. He also reiterated his long-held stance that expansion is unlikely at this time.
“As strong as the Seattle bid was, and it was very strong, there’s some benefit that should be given to a city that has supported us for so long and has stepped up to contribute to build a new building as well,” Stern said on NBA-TV.
A Spokesman for the Maloof family declined to comment on the committee’s recommendation. Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn pledged that his city will continue to fight for an NBA team.
“I’m proud of how Sonics fans have rallied together to help Seattle get a team,” McGinn said in a statement. “We’re going to stay focused on our job: making sure Seattle remains in a position to get a team when the opportunity presents itself.”
While the odds often seemed stacked against Sacramento, the city rallied each time.
In 2011, the Maloofs made plans to move the Kings to Anaheim, Calif., before Johnson convinced the NBA to give the city one last chance to help finance an arena. At one point, Johnson seemed so certain the team was gone he called the process a “slow death” and compared the city’s efforts to keep the Kings to a “Hail Mary.”
Johnson delivered on his promise of a new arena plan — which Stern helped negotiate — before last season. But in a stunning move, the Maloofs backed out of the tentative deal for a downtown arena, saying it didn’t make financial sense.
The city of Sacra
In an emotional saga that has dragged on for nearly three years, the NBA’s relocation committee voted unanimously Monday to recommend that owners reject the application for the Sacramento Kings to move to Seattle, the latest — and by far the strongest — in a long line of cities that have tried to land the franchise. Despite the recommendation, investor Chris Hansen pledged to “move forward with the transaction” he signed with the Maloof family to buy and move the franchise anyway. In a post on his Seattle arena website late Monday night, Hansen said he plans to pitch the NBA Board of Governors at its meeting the week of May 13, when league owners will vote on the issue.
“When we started this process everyone thought it was impossible,” Hansen wrote. “While this represents yet another obstacle to achieving our goal, I just wanted to reassure all of you that we have numerous options at our disposal and have absolutely no plans to give up. Impossible is nothing but a state of mind.”
Hours earlier, the feeling was far more festive in California’s capital city.
Moments after the league announced the committee’s recommendation, Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson wrote on Twitter: “That’s what I’m talking about SACRAMENTO😡!! WE DID IT😡!!”
At a packed pep rally at a downtown restaurant, fans serenaded Johnson with chants of “Sac-ra-mento!” He called the recommendation a “big day for the city of Sacramento” but stopped short of declaring victory.
“We do not want to dance in the end zone. We do not want to celebrate prematurely,” Johnson said.
TIBCO software chairman Vivek Ranadive, the head of the Sacramento investor group Johnson assembled to mount a competing bid to keep the Kings, also expressed excitement.
“I’m speechless. Thanks to all of the amazing people who supported this great effort,” tweeted Ranadive, a minority owner of the Golden State Warriors who could become the first Indian-born majority owner of an NBA team. He would have to sell his share in the Warriors if his group’s bid for the Kings is successful.
“We did it, baby,” said California Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg. The Sacramento Democrat joined Johnson and Republican state Senator Ted Gaines at the rally in a show of bi-partisan support.
Barbara “Sign Lady” Rust, as she has become known by Kings fans, waived a sign as Johnson spoke that read: “Love found a way, now here we stay!”
“You should have seen me a few hours ago,” she said. “I totally lost it. First I jumped like a crazy woman for a minute. Then I cried.”
Who will own the Kings next season is still unclear.
The Maloof family reached an agreement in January to sell a 65 per cent controlling interest in the team to Hansen’s group at a total franchise valuation of $525 million, topping the NBA-record $450 million that Joe Lacob and Peter Guber bought the Warriors for in 2010. Then Hansen increased his offer to $550 million, which implies buying the 65 per cent stake for about $357 million.
Hansen hoped to move the team to Seattle and rename it the SuperSonics, who moved to Oklahoma City and renamed the Thunder in 2008. Instead, those plans suddenly seemed to crumble.
But Hansen insisted again that his group has a more solid arena plan, offered more money and “placed all of the funds to close the transaction into escrow.” At the bottom of his post, Hansen attributed a quote to boxing great Muhammad Ali that ended with the famous line: “Impossible is nothing.”
The NBA Board of Governors is expected to follow the recommendation by the relocation committee, coincidentally headed by Thunder owner Clay Bennett, already a reviled figure in Seattle. The other owners on the committee are Miami’s Micky Arison, Washington’s Ted Leonsis, Utah’s Greg Miller, Indiana’s Herbert Simon, Minnesota’s Glen Taylor and San Antonio’s Peter Holt — who’s also the chairman of the board.
Even still, the Maloofs are not bound to sell the team to the Sacramento group — and the threat of lawsuits still looms. Johnson said he was unsure what the next step is in the process or whether the NBA would — or could — take a role in streamlining the team’s sale.
In a letter sent to the relocation and finance committees last week, the Maloofs said they preferred to sell to the Seattle group and expressed discontent with Sacramento’s latest bid, saying it falls “significantly short.” NBA Commissioner David Stern has said the offers are in “the same ballpark.”
Stern said owners felt leaving Sacramento just didn’t make sense. He also reiterated his long-held stance that expansion is unlikely at this time.
“As strong as the Seattle bid was, and it was very strong, there’s some benefit that should be given to a city that has supported us for so long and has stepped up to contribute to build a new building as well,” Stern said on NBA-TV.
A Spokesman for the Maloof family declined to comment on the committee’s recommendation. Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn pledged that his city will continue to fight for an NBA team.
“I’m proud of how Sonics fans have rallied together to help Seattle get a team,” McGinn said in a statement. “We’re going to stay focused on our job: making sure Seattle remains in a position to get a team when the opportunity presents itself.”
While the odds often seemed stacked against Sacramento, the city rallied each time.
In 2011, the Maloofs made plans to move the Kings to Anaheim, Calif., before Johnson convinced the NBA to give the city one last chance to help finance an arena. At one point, Johnson seemed so certain the team was gone he called the process a “slow death” and compared the city’s efforts to keep the Kings to a “Hail Mary.”
Johnson delivered on his promise of a new arena plan — which Stern helped negotiate — before last season. But in a stunning move, the Maloofs backed out of the tentative deal for a downtown arena, saying it didn’t make financial sense.
The city of Sacra
Join:
2006/12/07
Messages:
29893
It was 69 and sunny in Westchester County, the sort of irresistible spring day that makes a gymnasium seem dull and dreary. Naturally, J. R. Smith’s mind drifted to outdoor pastimes.
“I would have been playing golf today,” Smith said Tuesday afternoon as the Knicks prepared for a taut Game 5 against the Boston Celtics.
By “would have been” Smith meant the Knicks would have been off Tuesday, if only they had swept the Celtics on Sunday. If only they had not sputtered in overtime. If only they had not fallen behind by 20 points in the first place. If only their offense had not disintegrated. If only they had had their second-best scorer available.
If only Smith had played in Game 4.
“Oh yeah,” he said, “it’d have been over. It would have been.”
And Smith might have been strolling a fairway Tuesday instead of being hemmed in by 40 reporters on the Knicks’ practice court.
This was Smith’s doing, of course, a final ounce of penance for the angry elbow he threw at Jason Terry’s chin in Game 3 last Friday. That gratuitous act of aggression got Smith a one-game suspension, leaving the Knicks short-handed and clumsy, denying them the chance to complete their first playoff series victory in 13 years.
The setback will probably be temporary. Smith will rejoin the rotation Wednesday night at Madison Square Garden, and in all likelihood, the Knicks will close out the series. No N.B.A. team has come back from a 3-0 deficit, and the Celtics will probably not be the first. The Knicks have not lost a home game since March 7.
The elbow, the suspension and the loss may ultimately become a footnote to an otherwise glorious season.
But if the Knicks stumble in Game 5? If Tyson Chandler’s neck flares up? If Raymond Felton’s ankle turns? If Carmelo Anthony goes 10 for 35 again? Sometimes, it takes just a single sprain, one unlucky bounce or a shooting slump to turn a series around. The smart teams know this, and they act accordingly, treating each game as vital.
Whether this series ends in five games, six or seven, the Knicks will have cost themselves vital recovery time — even more crucial for a team relying on so many older veterans. They need to preserve Jason Kidd’s 40-year-old legs and Kenyon Martin’s surgically repaired knees for the challenges ahead, and the expected showdown with the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference finals.
The Knicks have won 19 of their last 22 games, but their weekend performance in Boston underlined the frailties that were momentarily obscured by their strong finish to the season.
Anthony, despite making great strides this season, remains a gunner at heart, and not always an accurate one, as his 10-for-35 performance showed. When the Knicks are under duress, his first instinct is to take on the entire defense by himself.
And Smith, for all of his growth on the court, remains a volatile personality — a player who has been ejected from three games since Feb. 20.
Striking Terry, blatantly and with obvious intent, in the fourth quarter of a rout was a foolish, self-destructive act that probably cost the Knicks a sweep and Anthony a chance to win his first series for New York. Yet Smith returned without a trace of remorse, referring to Sunday’s loss as “a minor hiccup” and insisting that his teammates had “a great chance to win the game.”
Asked what he learned from his suspension, Smith said flippantly, “Don’t throw elbows.”
Smith indicated he was provoked, that Terry had struck him in a sensitive spot moments earlier. That blow went unnoticed by the officials, leaving Smith to cast himself as the victim.
“Me and my teammates were the only people who suffered from it,” Smith said, deflecting any responsibility for his suspension.
Four days before the incident, Smith was celebrating his Sixth Man trophy, and Coach Mike Woodson was praising Smith’s newfound maturity. A week later, standing in the same gym, Woodson seemed less certain, saying, “I hope he’s learned his lesson.”
The Knicks will advance, but the tension and the pressure will increase in every round, with the Indiana Pacers and their top-ranked defense probably awaiting in the semifinals and the defending champion Heat in the conference finals. They cannot afford to have Smith lose his head, any more than they can afford to have Anthony lose his jump shot, or his conscience.
After Game 4, TNT’s Charles Barkley accurately noted that Smith’s absence pushed Anthony “to try to do too much” — a point that Anthony essentially conceded Tuesday, saying, “Thirty five shots is a lot of shots for me, kind of out of character for myself.”
On the same broadcast, Kenny Smith suggested that until now, J. R. Smith had never mattered enough to a team to rein himself in, adding: “Now he sees that he matters. He will have to be more thoughtful about all of his in-game aggressions.”
If the Knicks are going to displace the Heat and make a run at the title, they will need a more balanced sense of aggression — a little less shot-hunting by Anthony, a little less headhunting by Smith.
They can learn, evolve and move on, or they can spend May and June on the golf course.
www-nytimes-com/2013/05/01/sports/basketball/nba-playoffs-knicks-need-the-new-jr-smith-and-carmelo-anthony-html
“I would have been playing golf today,” Smith said Tuesday afternoon as the Knicks prepared for a taut Game 5 against the Boston Celtics.
By “would have been” Smith meant the Knicks would have been off Tuesday, if only they had swept the Celtics on Sunday. If only they had not sputtered in overtime. If only they had not fallen behind by 20 points in the first place. If only their offense had not disintegrated. If only they had had their second-best scorer available.
If only Smith had played in Game 4.
“Oh yeah,” he said, “it’d have been over. It would have been.”
And Smith might have been strolling a fairway Tuesday instead of being hemmed in by 40 reporters on the Knicks’ practice court.
This was Smith’s doing, of course, a final ounce of penance for the angry elbow he threw at Jason Terry’s chin in Game 3 last Friday. That gratuitous act of aggression got Smith a one-game suspension, leaving the Knicks short-handed and clumsy, denying them the chance to complete their first playoff series victory in 13 years.
The setback will probably be temporary. Smith will rejoin the rotation Wednesday night at Madison Square Garden, and in all likelihood, the Knicks will close out the series. No N.B.A. team has come back from a 3-0 deficit, and the Celtics will probably not be the first. The Knicks have not lost a home game since March 7.
The elbow, the suspension and the loss may ultimately become a footnote to an otherwise glorious season.
But if the Knicks stumble in Game 5? If Tyson Chandler’s neck flares up? If Raymond Felton’s ankle turns? If Carmelo Anthony goes 10 for 35 again? Sometimes, it takes just a single sprain, one unlucky bounce or a shooting slump to turn a series around. The smart teams know this, and they act accordingly, treating each game as vital.
Whether this series ends in five games, six or seven, the Knicks will have cost themselves vital recovery time — even more crucial for a team relying on so many older veterans. They need to preserve Jason Kidd’s 40-year-old legs and Kenyon Martin’s surgically repaired knees for the challenges ahead, and the expected showdown with the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference finals.
The Knicks have won 19 of their last 22 games, but their weekend performance in Boston underlined the frailties that were momentarily obscured by their strong finish to the season.
Anthony, despite making great strides this season, remains a gunner at heart, and not always an accurate one, as his 10-for-35 performance showed. When the Knicks are under duress, his first instinct is to take on the entire defense by himself.
And Smith, for all of his growth on the court, remains a volatile personality — a player who has been ejected from three games since Feb. 20.
Striking Terry, blatantly and with obvious intent, in the fourth quarter of a rout was a foolish, self-destructive act that probably cost the Knicks a sweep and Anthony a chance to win his first series for New York. Yet Smith returned without a trace of remorse, referring to Sunday’s loss as “a minor hiccup” and insisting that his teammates had “a great chance to win the game.”
Asked what he learned from his suspension, Smith said flippantly, “Don’t throw elbows.”
Smith indicated he was provoked, that Terry had struck him in a sensitive spot moments earlier. That blow went unnoticed by the officials, leaving Smith to cast himself as the victim.
“Me and my teammates were the only people who suffered from it,” Smith said, deflecting any responsibility for his suspension.
Four days before the incident, Smith was celebrating his Sixth Man trophy, and Coach Mike Woodson was praising Smith’s newfound maturity. A week later, standing in the same gym, Woodson seemed less certain, saying, “I hope he’s learned his lesson.”
The Knicks will advance, but the tension and the pressure will increase in every round, with the Indiana Pacers and their top-ranked defense probably awaiting in the semifinals and the defending champion Heat in the conference finals. They cannot afford to have Smith lose his head, any more than they can afford to have Anthony lose his jump shot, or his conscience.
After Game 4, TNT’s Charles Barkley accurately noted that Smith’s absence pushed Anthony “to try to do too much” — a point that Anthony essentially conceded Tuesday, saying, “Thirty five shots is a lot of shots for me, kind of out of character for myself.”
On the same broadcast, Kenny Smith suggested that until now, J. R. Smith had never mattered enough to a team to rein himself in, adding: “Now he sees that he matters. He will have to be more thoughtful about all of his in-game aggressions.”
If the Knicks are going to displace the Heat and make a run at the title, they will need a more balanced sense of aggression — a little less shot-hunting by Anthony, a little less headhunting by Smith.
They can learn, evolve and move on, or they can spend May and June on the golf course.
www-nytimes-com/2013/05/01/sports/basketball/nba-playoffs-knicks-need-the-new-jr-smith-and-carmelo-anthony-html
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It's unanimous: Damian Lillard is the NBA's Rookie of the Year.
No, it never was in question.
Lillard, the sixth overall pick in last June's draft out of Weber State, led all rookies with a 19-point scoring average. He also averaged 6.1 assists and 3.1 rebounds, playing in all 82 games this season.
He broke Stephen Curry's rookie record for 3-pointers in a season, finishing with 185, and became just the third NBA rookie with at least 1,500 points and 500 assists, following Oscar Robertson and Alan Iverson.
And he swept all six of the league's Rookie of the Month awards this season.
"I can't stop smiling," Lillard said when he was awarded the Eddie Gottlieb Trophy on Wednesday.
Lillard is the fourth player in league history to win the Rookie of the Year unanimously, joining Blake Griffin in 2011, David Robinson in 1990 and Ralph Sampson in 1984.
All season Lillard has been winning accolades from across the league.
"He's fantastic, really fantastic," Kobe Bryant said after the two squared off in a game earlier this month. "A lot of players get hot, but he's got the moves, the patience, intelligence, the balance on his jumpers. He's the real deal."
Utah Jazz forward DeMarre Carroll is also a fan.
"He's a complete player," Carroll said. "He's a young guy but you've got to give him credit, he plays hard and the team really relies on him. He's not afraid to take the big shot. The sky's the limit."
At the ceremony to announce the award at the Rose Garden Arena, the smartly dressed guard spoke about his upbringing in Oakland and how it shaped him as a hard-working player.
He was disappointed when he broke his foot to start his junior season at Weber State, because he had hopes of jumping to the NBA. He redshirted, and came back the next season to earn All-American honors. He was voted the Big Sky's Most Valuable Player.
When he let Weber State know he was going pro, Lillard announced his first goal was to win Rookie of the Year.
"I came out and I proved it up," said the 6-foot-3 guard, who was proclaimed the team's franchise point guard from the start by Blazers general manager Neil Olshey.
"I know that Damian's best days are ahead of him," Olshey said Wednesday. "This is the first step in a bright future."
Lillard is the fourth Blazer to win the Rookie of the Year award, joining Geoff Petrie (1971), Sidney Wicks (1972) and Brandon Roy (2007).
"The thing you love about him more than anything else is he plays with a chip on his shoulder," Toronto Raptors coach Dwane Casey said: "He's one of those underdogs who went to a small school who is out to prove to everybody he's an NBA player." Lillard has made a point of being active in the Portland community with an anti-bullying campaign. More than 6,000 fans have signed a pledge to help end bullying as part of his "Respect" program.
"He was never satisfied," Blazers coach Terry Stotts said of Lillard. "He had well-deserved accolades throughout the season. He had milestones throughout the season. He was never satisfied."
Indeed, Lillard was already thinking about what's next.
"I think the best thing for me is to take it all in," he said. "Then tomorrow I've got to let it go. I've got my whole career in front of me."
Damian Lillard Is NBA Rookie of the Year - ABC News
No, it never was in question.
Lillard, the sixth overall pick in last June's draft out of Weber State, led all rookies with a 19-point scoring average. He also averaged 6.1 assists and 3.1 rebounds, playing in all 82 games this season.
He broke Stephen Curry's rookie record for 3-pointers in a season, finishing with 185, and became just the third NBA rookie with at least 1,500 points and 500 assists, following Oscar Robertson and Alan Iverson.
And he swept all six of the league's Rookie of the Month awards this season.
"I can't stop smiling," Lillard said when he was awarded the Eddie Gottlieb Trophy on Wednesday.
Lillard is the fourth player in league history to win the Rookie of the Year unanimously, joining Blake Griffin in 2011, David Robinson in 1990 and Ralph Sampson in 1984.
All season Lillard has been winning accolades from across the league.
"He's fantastic, really fantastic," Kobe Bryant said after the two squared off in a game earlier this month. "A lot of players get hot, but he's got the moves, the patience, intelligence, the balance on his jumpers. He's the real deal."
Utah Jazz forward DeMarre Carroll is also a fan.
"He's a complete player," Carroll said. "He's a young guy but you've got to give him credit, he plays hard and the team really relies on him. He's not afraid to take the big shot. The sky's the limit."
At the ceremony to announce the award at the Rose Garden Arena, the smartly dressed guard spoke about his upbringing in Oakland and how it shaped him as a hard-working player.
He was disappointed when he broke his foot to start his junior season at Weber State, because he had hopes of jumping to the NBA. He redshirted, and came back the next season to earn All-American honors. He was voted the Big Sky's Most Valuable Player.
When he let Weber State know he was going pro, Lillard announced his first goal was to win Rookie of the Year.
"I came out and I proved it up," said the 6-foot-3 guard, who was proclaimed the team's franchise point guard from the start by Blazers general manager Neil Olshey.
"I know that Damian's best days are ahead of him," Olshey said Wednesday. "This is the first step in a bright future."
Lillard is the fourth Blazer to win the Rookie of the Year award, joining Geoff Petrie (1971), Sidney Wicks (1972) and Brandon Roy (2007).
"The thing you love about him more than anything else is he plays with a chip on his shoulder," Toronto Raptors coach Dwane Casey said: "He's one of those underdogs who went to a small school who is out to prove to everybody he's an NBA player." Lillard has made a point of being active in the Portland community with an anti-bullying campaign. More than 6,000 fans have signed a pledge to help end bullying as part of his "Respect" program.
"He was never satisfied," Blazers coach Terry Stotts said of Lillard. "He had well-deserved accolades throughout the season. He had milestones throughout the season. He was never satisfied."
Indeed, Lillard was already thinking about what's next.
"I think the best thing for me is to take it all in," he said. "Then tomorrow I've got to let it go. I've got my whole career in front of me."
Damian Lillard Is NBA Rookie of the Year - ABC News
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The NBA fined Golden State coach Mark Jackson $25,000 on Thursday for making public comments in an attempt to influence the officiating in the Warriors' playoff series with Denver. After Golden State's 107-100 loss in Game 5 at Denver on Tuesday night, Jackson said the Nuggets sent "hit men" and took "cheap shots" at point guard Stephen Curry. He repeatedly mentioned Kenneth Faried's foul in the first half, when the forward stuck out his right leg and moved his body while Curry ran through traffic.
"For two years now, I've taken pride in not ever criticizing referees -- for two years. And then reading the statement by the NBA, I'm extremely thankful I am not fined for criticizing referees," Jackson said before Game 6 against the Nuggets on Thursday night.
Told the league fined him for an "attempt to influence the officiating," Jackson responded: "I don't like it, and I disagree." He declined to say whether he would appeal the fine.
Jackson, who doubles as an ordained minister, never had been fined for criticizing officials in his two years as an NBA coach. He couldn't recall being fined for criticizing officials in his 17 seasons as a point guard in the league, but said his team wouldn't allow all the rhetoric -- or his fine -- to be a distraction.
"This is an awesome time. I truly don't take it for granted," Jackson said. "I smile, $25,000 lighter, but I'm smiling."
Jackson also questioned how Denver might try to defend Curry before Wednesday's practice.
"They'll be physical again. They'll try to beat up Steph Curry. They'll try to set illegal screens. They'll try to chuck him when he goes down the lane," said Jackson, whose team took a 3-2 series lead into Game 6. "Other than that, I'm not sure what to expect out of them."
Denver Nuggets coach George Karl thought the reaction to his team's Game 5 victory sounded like a "different movie than I'm watching." Karl also said: "I'll go to any arbiter right now and show the dirty shots. They're winning."
2013 NBA playoffs -- Golden State Warriors coach Mark Jackson fined $25,000 - ESPN
"For two years now, I've taken pride in not ever criticizing referees -- for two years. And then reading the statement by the NBA, I'm extremely thankful I am not fined for criticizing referees," Jackson said before Game 6 against the Nuggets on Thursday night.
Told the league fined him for an "attempt to influence the officiating," Jackson responded: "I don't like it, and I disagree." He declined to say whether he would appeal the fine.
Jackson, who doubles as an ordained minister, never had been fined for criticizing officials in his two years as an NBA coach. He couldn't recall being fined for criticizing officials in his 17 seasons as a point guard in the league, but said his team wouldn't allow all the rhetoric -- or his fine -- to be a distraction.
"This is an awesome time. I truly don't take it for granted," Jackson said. "I smile, $25,000 lighter, but I'm smiling."
Jackson also questioned how Denver might try to defend Curry before Wednesday's practice.
"They'll be physical again. They'll try to beat up Steph Curry. They'll try to set illegal screens. They'll try to chuck him when he goes down the lane," said Jackson, whose team took a 3-2 series lead into Game 6. "Other than that, I'm not sure what to expect out of them."
Denver Nuggets coach George Karl thought the reaction to his team's Game 5 victory sounded like a "different movie than I'm watching." Karl also said: "I'll go to any arbiter right now and show the dirty shots. They're winning."
2013 NBA playoffs -- Golden State Warriors coach Mark Jackson fined $25,000 - ESPN
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Joakim Noah climbed over the baseline seats to embrace his mother.
The first Game 7 in Brooklyn belonged not to the Nets, but to the guy who played here in high school.
"I'll remember this for the rest of my life," Noah said Injured, ill and just as determined as ever, the Chicago Bulls beat the Nets 99-93 on Saturday night to win the first-round series.
Noah had 24 points and 14 rebounds, and Marco Belinelli also scored 24 points to help the Bulls advance to a second-round series against defending champion Miami that starts Monday night.
Carlos Boozer added 17 points as the Bulls shook off injuries to two starters and every run the Nets tried to make in the second half to win a Game 7 on the road for the first time in franchise history.
"I'm just so proud of this team. We've been fighting through so much all year and to be in this situation, play on the biggest stage in the world and to be able to win and now play against the Heat, all these experiences, I (don't) take those for granted," Noah said.
The Bulls opened a 17-point halftime lead with a rare offensive outburst and found a way to get big baskets every time the Nets pulled close to win the NBA's only do-or-die game of the first round.
"I thought our guys, we took a big punch in Game 1 and we kept fighting back and that's been the story of the season," Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau said.
Deron Williams had 24 points, seven assists and six rebounds for the Nets. They were trying to become the ninth NBA team to win a series after trailing 3-1.
But they had a horrendous first-half defensive performance and Joe Johnson was bad all game on offense, finishing with six points on 2-of-14 shooting, including 1 of 9 from 3-point range.
With Luol Deng (illness) and Kirk Hinrich (bruised left calf) out again and Derrick Rose still not ready to return from last year's torn ACL, the Bulls leaned on Noah, who could barely play when the Bulls were blown out here two weeks ago in Game 1 because of plantar fasciitis in his right foot. He logged 41 minutes and shot 12 of 17 while also blocking six shots Saturday.
"It's disappointing. We won Game 6, we felt like this was our series, but they came out and played a great game," Williams said. "Noah, like I said, he's a warrior. He battled through his injuries and just had a monster game. We really had no answers for him down low tonight."
Noah helped the Bulls spoil the Nets' first home Game 7 in their NBA history at the end of their first season in Brooklyn. They had played only one Game 7 in all their years while they were based in New Jersey, falling at Detroit in 2004.
Chicago improved to 1-6 in road Game 7s.
Deng, tested for meningitis earlier in the week, was back in the hospital Friday night and unable to travel. Hinrich warmed up in hopes of playing before he was ruled out.
It didn't matter to the Bulls, who backed up Thibodeau's vow that they would have no excuses and play well.
Coming out ready to work, the Bulls got their first two baskets on offensive rebounds by Boozer and Noah, and they led most of the first quarter before bringing a 29-25 lead to the second on Taj Gibson's jumper with 0.8 seconds left.
It was 40-36 before the Bulls took control with solid offensive execution and poor Nets defense. Noah had consecutive baskets before seldom-used Daequan Cook made a 3-pointer to cap an 11-2 run, and after a basket by Andray Blatche, Boozer, Nate Robinson and Noah ran off the next six points to give Chicago a 57-40 lead as the crowd began to boo.
"I think we weren't as aggressive as they were, especially on the boards and the defensive end in the first half," Nets interim coach P.J. Carlesimo said.
The Bulls capped it with a stunningly easy dunk by Boozer with 1.2 seconds left off an inbounds pass, sending the Bulls to the locker room with a 61-44 advantage.
Brooklyn burst out of the locker room with a 10-4 run, and back-to-back 3-pointers later in the third period by Gerald Wallace kicked off an 11-2 surge that got the Nets within 69-65 on Williams' free throw with 5:29 left.
Jimmy Butler hit a 3-pointer and Robinson scored to steady the Bulls and push the lead back to nine, and they led 82-75 after three.
The Nets opened the fourth with just one point in the first five minutes as consecutive baskets by Boozer pushed the lead back into double digits. The Nets kept trying to get back in it, getting it all the way down to four on a 3-pointer by Williams with 26 seconds left, but Belinelli hit four free throws from there.
Brook Lopez had 21 points and nine rebounds, and Wallace finished with 19 points for the Nets, who finished a successful first season in Brooklyn in a disappointing way, getting booed late in the first half while allowing Chicago to make eight of its final 12 shots.
Robinson finished with 12 points in his second straight start in place of Hinrich.
Notes
Rihanna, whose concert that was scheduled here for Saturday was postponed to Tuesday night after the Nets forced Game 7, sat in the courtside seats belonging to fellow music star Jay-Z.
New York Yankees pitcher CC Sabathia was in the crowd -- wearing a Brooklyn Dodgers hat.
NBA Recap - Chicago Bulls at Brooklyn Nets - May 04, 2013 - CBSSports-com
The first Game 7 in Brooklyn belonged not to the Nets, but to the guy who played here in high school.
"I'll remember this for the rest of my life," Noah said Injured, ill and just as determined as ever, the Chicago Bulls beat the Nets 99-93 on Saturday night to win the first-round series.
Noah had 24 points and 14 rebounds, and Marco Belinelli also scored 24 points to help the Bulls advance to a second-round series against defending champion Miami that starts Monday night.
Carlos Boozer added 17 points as the Bulls shook off injuries to two starters and every run the Nets tried to make in the second half to win a Game 7 on the road for the first time in franchise history.
"I'm just so proud of this team. We've been fighting through so much all year and to be in this situation, play on the biggest stage in the world and to be able to win and now play against the Heat, all these experiences, I (don't) take those for granted," Noah said.
The Bulls opened a 17-point halftime lead with a rare offensive outburst and found a way to get big baskets every time the Nets pulled close to win the NBA's only do-or-die game of the first round.
"I thought our guys, we took a big punch in Game 1 and we kept fighting back and that's been the story of the season," Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau said.
Deron Williams had 24 points, seven assists and six rebounds for the Nets. They were trying to become the ninth NBA team to win a series after trailing 3-1.
But they had a horrendous first-half defensive performance and Joe Johnson was bad all game on offense, finishing with six points on 2-of-14 shooting, including 1 of 9 from 3-point range.
With Luol Deng (illness) and Kirk Hinrich (bruised left calf) out again and Derrick Rose still not ready to return from last year's torn ACL, the Bulls leaned on Noah, who could barely play when the Bulls were blown out here two weeks ago in Game 1 because of plantar fasciitis in his right foot. He logged 41 minutes and shot 12 of 17 while also blocking six shots Saturday.
"It's disappointing. We won Game 6, we felt like this was our series, but they came out and played a great game," Williams said. "Noah, like I said, he's a warrior. He battled through his injuries and just had a monster game. We really had no answers for him down low tonight."
Noah helped the Bulls spoil the Nets' first home Game 7 in their NBA history at the end of their first season in Brooklyn. They had played only one Game 7 in all their years while they were based in New Jersey, falling at Detroit in 2004.
Chicago improved to 1-6 in road Game 7s.
Deng, tested for meningitis earlier in the week, was back in the hospital Friday night and unable to travel. Hinrich warmed up in hopes of playing before he was ruled out.
It didn't matter to the Bulls, who backed up Thibodeau's vow that they would have no excuses and play well.
Coming out ready to work, the Bulls got their first two baskets on offensive rebounds by Boozer and Noah, and they led most of the first quarter before bringing a 29-25 lead to the second on Taj Gibson's jumper with 0.8 seconds left.
It was 40-36 before the Bulls took control with solid offensive execution and poor Nets defense. Noah had consecutive baskets before seldom-used Daequan Cook made a 3-pointer to cap an 11-2 run, and after a basket by Andray Blatche, Boozer, Nate Robinson and Noah ran off the next six points to give Chicago a 57-40 lead as the crowd began to boo.
"I think we weren't as aggressive as they were, especially on the boards and the defensive end in the first half," Nets interim coach P.J. Carlesimo said.
The Bulls capped it with a stunningly easy dunk by Boozer with 1.2 seconds left off an inbounds pass, sending the Bulls to the locker room with a 61-44 advantage.
Brooklyn burst out of the locker room with a 10-4 run, and back-to-back 3-pointers later in the third period by Gerald Wallace kicked off an 11-2 surge that got the Nets within 69-65 on Williams' free throw with 5:29 left.
Jimmy Butler hit a 3-pointer and Robinson scored to steady the Bulls and push the lead back to nine, and they led 82-75 after three.
The Nets opened the fourth with just one point in the first five minutes as consecutive baskets by Boozer pushed the lead back into double digits. The Nets kept trying to get back in it, getting it all the way down to four on a 3-pointer by Williams with 26 seconds left, but Belinelli hit four free throws from there.
Brook Lopez had 21 points and nine rebounds, and Wallace finished with 19 points for the Nets, who finished a successful first season in Brooklyn in a disappointing way, getting booed late in the first half while allowing Chicago to make eight of its final 12 shots.
Robinson finished with 12 points in his second straight start in place of Hinrich.
Notes
Rihanna, whose concert that was scheduled here for Saturday was postponed to Tuesday night after the Nets forced Game 7, sat in the courtside seats belonging to fellow music star Jay-Z.
New York Yankees pitcher CC Sabathia was in the crowd -- wearing a Brooklyn Dodgers hat.
NBA Recap - Chicago Bulls at Brooklyn Nets - May 04, 2013 - CBSSports-com
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The 2012-13 Chicago Bulls have already achieved something Michael Jordan was unable to. In fact, by beating the Brooklyn Nets and advancing to the second round, this cobbled-together cut-price squad has done something no Bulls team has ever done - win a game seven on the road.
Ardent Bulls fans will remember Detroit tormenting Jordan's Bulls in the late 1980's, basketball historians may recall a promising Chicago team losing to the powerhouse Lakers twice in the early 70's, and eventually champions Golden State in 1975.
Nearly 40 years later, the most resilient and resourceful squad in recent memory are getting set to take on the presumptive NBA champions, Miami Heat.
"I think they've shown it all season. I see them everyday, I know they have the belief. We've dealt with adversity all year, I think our team has responded well and there’s still a lot of things we can correct and do better. We’re going to have to be at our best in the next series”, said Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau.
That next series pitches Chicago against a Miami squad that hasn't played since April 28, rest and practice time punctuated by Lebron James joining an elite list of players to have won the league's MVP four times.
Miami are heavy favourites to beat Chicago and whoever else stands in their way to a second straight title, but they will be wary of a Bulls team that's given them plenty of problems this season.
Chicago beat them two out of three times during the regular season, the most recent of which was just five weeks ago, snapping the second-longest winning streak in NBA history. That 101-97 win was achieved without the injured Joakim Noah, who is suddenly playing the best ball of his career.
"I'll remember this for the rest of my life", said Noah, who will no doubt provide some problems for a Miami team who's only real weakness is at the centre position - where Chicago has a clear advantage.
But that's where the advantages end. Lebron James, Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh will have irrefutable advantages over whoever Chicago has in their starting lineup.
"We know how good Miami is so we’re going to have to be at our best or playing great basketball. They’re a very deep team, extremely well coached, very well balanced. So we’re going to have to be at our best right from the start," Thibodeau said.
The last time Miami and Chicago met in the playoffs, two years ago, the Bulls relied too heavily on MVP Derrick Rose. Their offence centered around him, and Lebron James and Co. suffocated that with ease, notably on important plays down the stretch.
These Bulls don't rely on Rose. of course - he's missed all 89 games - but there's no medical reason why he couldn't be a factor in this series, and if he finally clears his mental hurdles, what a storyline that could well provide.
NBA play-offs: Joakim Noah helps inspire Chicago Bulls to first-round win over Brooklyn Nets | Other Sports | Fox Sports
Ardent Bulls fans will remember Detroit tormenting Jordan's Bulls in the late 1980's, basketball historians may recall a promising Chicago team losing to the powerhouse Lakers twice in the early 70's, and eventually champions Golden State in 1975.
Nearly 40 years later, the most resilient and resourceful squad in recent memory are getting set to take on the presumptive NBA champions, Miami Heat.
"I think they've shown it all season. I see them everyday, I know they have the belief. We've dealt with adversity all year, I think our team has responded well and there’s still a lot of things we can correct and do better. We’re going to have to be at our best in the next series”, said Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau.
That next series pitches Chicago against a Miami squad that hasn't played since April 28, rest and practice time punctuated by Lebron James joining an elite list of players to have won the league's MVP four times.
Miami are heavy favourites to beat Chicago and whoever else stands in their way to a second straight title, but they will be wary of a Bulls team that's given them plenty of problems this season.
Chicago beat them two out of three times during the regular season, the most recent of which was just five weeks ago, snapping the second-longest winning streak in NBA history. That 101-97 win was achieved without the injured Joakim Noah, who is suddenly playing the best ball of his career.
"I'll remember this for the rest of my life", said Noah, who will no doubt provide some problems for a Miami team who's only real weakness is at the centre position - where Chicago has a clear advantage.
But that's where the advantages end. Lebron James, Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh will have irrefutable advantages over whoever Chicago has in their starting lineup.
"We know how good Miami is so we’re going to have to be at our best or playing great basketball. They’re a very deep team, extremely well coached, very well balanced. So we’re going to have to be at our best right from the start," Thibodeau said.
The last time Miami and Chicago met in the playoffs, two years ago, the Bulls relied too heavily on MVP Derrick Rose. Their offence centered around him, and Lebron James and Co. suffocated that with ease, notably on important plays down the stretch.
These Bulls don't rely on Rose. of course - he's missed all 89 games - but there's no medical reason why he couldn't be a factor in this series, and if he finally clears his mental hurdles, what a storyline that could well provide.
NBA play-offs: Joakim Noah helps inspire Chicago Bulls to first-round win over Brooklyn Nets | Other Sports | Fox Sports
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Nate Robinson literally left AmericanAirlines Arena in stitches, holding an ice pack against his mouth to soothe the pain caused by a collision with LeBron James.
But that was simply a flesh wound compared to the blow the feisty Chicago Bulls delivered Monday to stagger the Miami Heat in Game 1 of their best-of-seven series. Robinson, one of the Bulls' heroes during their improbable playoff run amid a rash of illness and injuries, finished one assist short of a triple-double in rallying short-handed Chicago to a 93-86 victory against rested and supposedly ready Miami.
The official totals for Robinson on Monday: a game-high 27 points, nine assists and 10 stitches to close a gash in his mouth. Yet the Heat were the ones left checking their jaws.
"We didn't expect to lose Game 1," Heat center Chris Bosh said, flatly. "It's a kick in the chin. And we're going to have to get up, dust ourselves off and counter. Playoffs are ugly. It's been a little bit too pretty around here, to be honest." The easy analysis would be to suggest the Bulls benefited from their well-established playoff rhythm after playing again less than 48 hours removed from their Game 7 upset in Brooklyn on Saturday night. But the Heat didn't simply lose Monday because they were a bit rusty from an eight-day layoff after sweeping Milwaukee in the first round.
The rest vs. rhythm debate might explain how both the Heat and Bulls got off to sluggish starts and were tied at 37 at the half, with LeBron James held to just two points in the lowest-scoring first half of his playoff career.
But that theory hardly explains how the game played out at the finish, how James, Bosh and Dwyane Wade blew a seven-point lead with six minutes left, how the Heat surrendered 35 points in the fourth quarter at home.
Sure, the Heat were sluggish from the time off. But they can't seriously be cast as sympathetic figures when the team they're facing has former MVP Derrick Rose still in a suit, starting point guard Kirk Hinrich out with a calf injury and All-Star forward Luol Deng in and out of the hospital recovering from complications from a spinal tap procedure.
No matter what legitimate issues the Heat might have been facing, they weren't as beat up and beleaguered as the Bulls. That was the reason Heat coach Erik Spoelstra launched into his postgame news conference declaring that this was a "no-excuse" loss for the defending champions.
The reality for the Heat is that Monday's loss was not a fluke. All the evidence suggests the Bulls actually have a formula that gives Miami all kinds of problems. It was the case when the Bulls won in Miami back in January by pounding the Heat on the boards. It was the case again when the Heat carried a 27-game winning streak, the second-longest in NBA history, into Chicago on March 27 and saw it end against a Bulls team determined to be physical. It's as if the Heat let their guard down when they discovered the Bulls would be without key players Monday, even though Chicago has beaten them before without their top players. Joakim Noah was missing that night when the Heat's streak came to an end two months ago on the road.
Counting the playoffs, the Bulls are 9-8 against the Heat since James arrived, and are the only team with a winning record against the Heat over the past three seasons.
Chicago won Monday because it didn't need Rose, Deng and Hinrich on a night when Robinson, Noah and Jimmy Butler collectively outplayed James, Bosh and Wade. The Bulls outrebounded the Heat by 14 boards, doubled them up in second-chance scoring and held the NBA's most efficient offense to 39.7 percent shooting from the field.
"They just put themselves in a better position," James said. "It's tough. This is what the playoffs are all about. We're going against a really good team, and we know that. So we'll prepare (Tuesday) and get ready for Game 2."
This isn't exactly unfamiliar territory for the Heat. Two years ago, the Bulls won Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals in Chicago and then lost four straight to Miami. Last season, the Heat trailed in three consecutive playoff series before ultimately rolling past Oklahoma City to win a title.
That's why Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau didn't want his team to get too caught up in the remarkable run they've been on over a 48-hour period. In a span of two games, the Bulls won a Game 7 on the road for the first time in their decorated history, and also handed the Heat their first postseason loss since Game 1 of last year's NBA Finals.
The Bulls kept their magic going Monday with a bunch of second- and third-stringers surrounded by Noah and nothing more than the hope their best players might return.
"You are always faced with different challenges," Thibodeau said. "For us, it was the quick turnaround, and for the Heat, I think it was the layoff. It's how quickly you can adapt to whatever challenge is in front of you. We have been hit all year with a lot of different things." Much like Robinson did on Monday after pursuing a loose ball onto the floor with James, these Bulls keep getting up. The Bucks didn't exactly prepare the Heat for what they faced Monday. Neither did any of those training camp-style practices Spoelstra tried to run his team through last week.
The Heat better quickly forget about what happened in what essentially was a first-round bye. The playoffs start now for Miami. Conventional wisdom would suggest the Bulls can't stay on this short-handed high forever. Eventually, they've got to come back to reality, right?
Or perhaps they're just too stubborn and defiant. The Heat are clearly the better and deeper team. James and Wade will get their games going much sooner next time, and Miami's sharpshooters will knock down the open looks they repeatedly missed in Game 1 on Monday night.
Adjustments will be made. But there's one tweak the Heat must figure out quickly before this series gets really uncomfortable. Talent sometimes is
But that was simply a flesh wound compared to the blow the feisty Chicago Bulls delivered Monday to stagger the Miami Heat in Game 1 of their best-of-seven series. Robinson, one of the Bulls' heroes during their improbable playoff run amid a rash of illness and injuries, finished one assist short of a triple-double in rallying short-handed Chicago to a 93-86 victory against rested and supposedly ready Miami.
The official totals for Robinson on Monday: a game-high 27 points, nine assists and 10 stitches to close a gash in his mouth. Yet the Heat were the ones left checking their jaws.
"We didn't expect to lose Game 1," Heat center Chris Bosh said, flatly. "It's a kick in the chin. And we're going to have to get up, dust ourselves off and counter. Playoffs are ugly. It's been a little bit too pretty around here, to be honest." The easy analysis would be to suggest the Bulls benefited from their well-established playoff rhythm after playing again less than 48 hours removed from their Game 7 upset in Brooklyn on Saturday night. But the Heat didn't simply lose Monday because they were a bit rusty from an eight-day layoff after sweeping Milwaukee in the first round.
The rest vs. rhythm debate might explain how both the Heat and Bulls got off to sluggish starts and were tied at 37 at the half, with LeBron James held to just two points in the lowest-scoring first half of his playoff career.
But that theory hardly explains how the game played out at the finish, how James, Bosh and Dwyane Wade blew a seven-point lead with six minutes left, how the Heat surrendered 35 points in the fourth quarter at home.
Sure, the Heat were sluggish from the time off. But they can't seriously be cast as sympathetic figures when the team they're facing has former MVP Derrick Rose still in a suit, starting point guard Kirk Hinrich out with a calf injury and All-Star forward Luol Deng in and out of the hospital recovering from complications from a spinal tap procedure.
No matter what legitimate issues the Heat might have been facing, they weren't as beat up and beleaguered as the Bulls. That was the reason Heat coach Erik Spoelstra launched into his postgame news conference declaring that this was a "no-excuse" loss for the defending champions.
The reality for the Heat is that Monday's loss was not a fluke. All the evidence suggests the Bulls actually have a formula that gives Miami all kinds of problems. It was the case when the Bulls won in Miami back in January by pounding the Heat on the boards. It was the case again when the Heat carried a 27-game winning streak, the second-longest in NBA history, into Chicago on March 27 and saw it end against a Bulls team determined to be physical. It's as if the Heat let their guard down when they discovered the Bulls would be without key players Monday, even though Chicago has beaten them before without their top players. Joakim Noah was missing that night when the Heat's streak came to an end two months ago on the road.
Counting the playoffs, the Bulls are 9-8 against the Heat since James arrived, and are the only team with a winning record against the Heat over the past three seasons.
Chicago won Monday because it didn't need Rose, Deng and Hinrich on a night when Robinson, Noah and Jimmy Butler collectively outplayed James, Bosh and Wade. The Bulls outrebounded the Heat by 14 boards, doubled them up in second-chance scoring and held the NBA's most efficient offense to 39.7 percent shooting from the field.
"They just put themselves in a better position," James said. "It's tough. This is what the playoffs are all about. We're going against a really good team, and we know that. So we'll prepare (Tuesday) and get ready for Game 2."
This isn't exactly unfamiliar territory for the Heat. Two years ago, the Bulls won Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals in Chicago and then lost four straight to Miami. Last season, the Heat trailed in three consecutive playoff series before ultimately rolling past Oklahoma City to win a title.
That's why Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau didn't want his team to get too caught up in the remarkable run they've been on over a 48-hour period. In a span of two games, the Bulls won a Game 7 on the road for the first time in their decorated history, and also handed the Heat their first postseason loss since Game 1 of last year's NBA Finals.
The Bulls kept their magic going Monday with a bunch of second- and third-stringers surrounded by Noah and nothing more than the hope their best players might return.
"You are always faced with different challenges," Thibodeau said. "For us, it was the quick turnaround, and for the Heat, I think it was the layoff. It's how quickly you can adapt to whatever challenge is in front of you. We have been hit all year with a lot of different things." Much like Robinson did on Monday after pursuing a loose ball onto the floor with James, these Bulls keep getting up. The Bucks didn't exactly prepare the Heat for what they faced Monday. Neither did any of those training camp-style practices Spoelstra tried to run his team through last week.
The Heat better quickly forget about what happened in what essentially was a first-round bye. The playoffs start now for Miami. Conventional wisdom would suggest the Bulls can't stay on this short-handed high forever. Eventually, they've got to come back to reality, right?
Or perhaps they're just too stubborn and defiant. The Heat are clearly the better and deeper team. James and Wade will get their games going much sooner next time, and Miami's sharpshooters will knock down the open looks they repeatedly missed in Game 1 on Monday night.
Adjustments will be made. But there's one tweak the Heat must figure out quickly before this series gets really uncomfortable. Talent sometimes is
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The Memphis Grizzlies wouldn't let Kevin Durant come through in the clutch for the second straight time.
This was Mike Conley's time to shine.
Conley scored 26 points and fueled a late Memphis run as the Grizzlies beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 99-93 on Tuesday night to gain home-court advantage in the Western Conference semifinals. Conley hit a 3-pointer from the left wing with 1:58 left to put the Grizzlies ahead to stay and spark a string of 10 straight Memphis points.
The Grizzlies head home to play three of the next four games, with Game 3 on Saturday in Memphis.
"Mike Conley is now one of the top five point guards in the league, whether anybody likes it or not," said Tony Allen, who had two of his five steals in the final minute.
"I know a lot of people have got their favorites on who they think it should be, but Mike Conley is in that conversation now, being able to do these types of things on the court night in and night out."
In the first round, Conley outdueled All-Star Chris Paul of the Los Angeles Clippers.
And now, he filled the late-game void the Grizzlies created when they traded away leading scorer Rudy Gay in the middle of the season.
After Conley's go-ahead 3, he added an 18-foot jumper to stretch the lead to 94-90, then hit one of two free throws with 29.4 seconds left. He finished with 10 rebounds and nine assists, one shy of a triple-double.
"He played like he had been playing all season, and we needed that," coach Lionel Hollins said. "We needed to have somebody on the perimeter do something. He started getting to the basket a little bit and scored some big jump shots late."
After hitting the key baskets in Game 1, Durant couldn't provide an answer for the Thunder. He missed his last three shots, including a pair of 3-point attempts, and finished with 36 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists.
The Thunder caught a break when Allen tipped the ball away and Conley saved it from going out of bounds, only for it to end up in Durant's hands in the corner. But Durant was off-target on a 3-pointer, and Oklahoma City was forced to foul.
Zach Randolph added two free throws, and Allen then stole the ball from Durant and provided the finishing touches with a dunk. Derek Fisher hit a 3-pointer at the final buzzer for Oklahoma City.
Neither team led by more than seven in a game destined to come down to the wire.
Durant put the Thunder ahead 88-86 with a three-point play off a leaner along the lane, only for Gasol to answer right back with a three-point play.
Kendrick Perkins provided Oklahoma City its last lead with two free throws with 2:41 to play, and the Thunder wouldn't score again on their next five possessions.
The Grizzlies, who had gotten 52 more shots and 24 more offensive rebounds than Oklahoma City in three regular-season meetings, were back to their usual formula after getting neutralized in those areas in the opener.
Memphis piled up a 48-30 scoring advantage in the paint and also outscored Oklahoma City 23-6 in second-chance points and 18-7 on the fast break. The Grizzlies also scored 29 points off 21 turnovers by the Thunder, who had just 10 in Game 1.
Randolph ended up with 15 points and eight rebounds and Allen had 12 points and five steals. Conley added 10 rebounds and nine assists, finishing one shy of a triple-double.
Durant put Oklahoma City up by five after three quarters, crossing over Quincy Pondexter and then driving for a right-handed slam while getting fouled.
He then hit two of three free throws after getting fouled by Darrell Arthur while trying to attempt a half-court shot before the third-quarter buzzer.
But Durant began the fourth quarter on the bench as Memphis put all five of its starters on the floor, then quickly reclaimed the lead with a 9-2 burst finished off by Conley's transition layup following an Allen steal.
Durant returned and scored 10 of Oklahoma City's next 12 points, but he couldn't finish it out.
Fisher had 19 points for the Thunder, making four of five 3-point attempts.
The Thunder found success midway through the second quarter with a smaller lineup -- featuring Durant at power forward -- against Memphis' All-Star frontcourt tandem, mostly because of a hot stretch from 3-point range.
Oklahoma City made four straight 3s, three of them from Fisher, in a 12-5 push to take a 45-40 lead.
Gasol was able to convert a three-point play and a putback inside against Durant during that stretch, and the Grizzlies surged back ahead after Oklahoma City matched the big lineup with Perkins re-entering.
Pondexter hit a fourth-chance jumper - after one offensive rebound by Gasol and two by Randolph -- and then hit a 3-pointer in transition during a 7-0 burst that put Memphis ahead. The Grizzlies led 54-51 at halftime.
Notes
Thunder coach Scott Brooks said injured point guard Russell Westbrook will not be able to travel with the team to Memphis for Games 3 and 4 because of the surgery on his right knee that has sidelined him for the rest of the playoffs. Westbrook has been watching home games from a suite at the arena. "He has a competitive fire that not too many people have," Brooks said. "There's no question that that's what makes him a special player, and he brings it every single night. Not being able to do it obviously is challenging for him, but he's handling it well."
Tony Wroten made his first appearance of the series late in the first quarter and immediately stole the ball from Fisher in the backcourt for a layup.
Tulsa Shock first-round draft pick Skylar Diggins watched the game from a courtside seat along the baseline.
NBA Recap - Memphis Grizzlies at Oklahoma City Thunder - May 07, 2013 - CBSSports-com
This was Mike Conley's time to shine.
Conley scored 26 points and fueled a late Memphis run as the Grizzlies beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 99-93 on Tuesday night to gain home-court advantage in the Western Conference semifinals. Conley hit a 3-pointer from the left wing with 1:58 left to put the Grizzlies ahead to stay and spark a string of 10 straight Memphis points.
The Grizzlies head home to play three of the next four games, with Game 3 on Saturday in Memphis.
"Mike Conley is now one of the top five point guards in the league, whether anybody likes it or not," said Tony Allen, who had two of his five steals in the final minute.
"I know a lot of people have got their favorites on who they think it should be, but Mike Conley is in that conversation now, being able to do these types of things on the court night in and night out."
In the first round, Conley outdueled All-Star Chris Paul of the Los Angeles Clippers.
And now, he filled the late-game void the Grizzlies created when they traded away leading scorer Rudy Gay in the middle of the season.
After Conley's go-ahead 3, he added an 18-foot jumper to stretch the lead to 94-90, then hit one of two free throws with 29.4 seconds left. He finished with 10 rebounds and nine assists, one shy of a triple-double.
"He played like he had been playing all season, and we needed that," coach Lionel Hollins said. "We needed to have somebody on the perimeter do something. He started getting to the basket a little bit and scored some big jump shots late."
After hitting the key baskets in Game 1, Durant couldn't provide an answer for the Thunder. He missed his last three shots, including a pair of 3-point attempts, and finished with 36 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists.
The Thunder caught a break when Allen tipped the ball away and Conley saved it from going out of bounds, only for it to end up in Durant's hands in the corner. But Durant was off-target on a 3-pointer, and Oklahoma City was forced to foul.
Zach Randolph added two free throws, and Allen then stole the ball from Durant and provided the finishing touches with a dunk. Derek Fisher hit a 3-pointer at the final buzzer for Oklahoma City.
Neither team led by more than seven in a game destined to come down to the wire.
Durant put the Thunder ahead 88-86 with a three-point play off a leaner along the lane, only for Gasol to answer right back with a three-point play.
Kendrick Perkins provided Oklahoma City its last lead with two free throws with 2:41 to play, and the Thunder wouldn't score again on their next five possessions.
The Grizzlies, who had gotten 52 more shots and 24 more offensive rebounds than Oklahoma City in three regular-season meetings, were back to their usual formula after getting neutralized in those areas in the opener.
Memphis piled up a 48-30 scoring advantage in the paint and also outscored Oklahoma City 23-6 in second-chance points and 18-7 on the fast break. The Grizzlies also scored 29 points off 21 turnovers by the Thunder, who had just 10 in Game 1.
Randolph ended up with 15 points and eight rebounds and Allen had 12 points and five steals. Conley added 10 rebounds and nine assists, finishing one shy of a triple-double.
Durant put Oklahoma City up by five after three quarters, crossing over Quincy Pondexter and then driving for a right-handed slam while getting fouled.
He then hit two of three free throws after getting fouled by Darrell Arthur while trying to attempt a half-court shot before the third-quarter buzzer.
But Durant began the fourth quarter on the bench as Memphis put all five of its starters on the floor, then quickly reclaimed the lead with a 9-2 burst finished off by Conley's transition layup following an Allen steal.
Durant returned and scored 10 of Oklahoma City's next 12 points, but he couldn't finish it out.
Fisher had 19 points for the Thunder, making four of five 3-point attempts.
The Thunder found success midway through the second quarter with a smaller lineup -- featuring Durant at power forward -- against Memphis' All-Star frontcourt tandem, mostly because of a hot stretch from 3-point range.
Oklahoma City made four straight 3s, three of them from Fisher, in a 12-5 push to take a 45-40 lead.
Gasol was able to convert a three-point play and a putback inside against Durant during that stretch, and the Grizzlies surged back ahead after Oklahoma City matched the big lineup with Perkins re-entering.
Pondexter hit a fourth-chance jumper - after one offensive rebound by Gasol and two by Randolph -- and then hit a 3-pointer in transition during a 7-0 burst that put Memphis ahead. The Grizzlies led 54-51 at halftime.
Notes
Thunder coach Scott Brooks said injured point guard Russell Westbrook will not be able to travel with the team to Memphis for Games 3 and 4 because of the surgery on his right knee that has sidelined him for the rest of the playoffs. Westbrook has been watching home games from a suite at the arena. "He has a competitive fire that not too many people have," Brooks said. "There's no question that that's what makes him a special player, and he brings it every single night. Not being able to do it obviously is challenging for him, but he's handling it well."
Tony Wroten made his first appearance of the series late in the first quarter and immediately stole the ball from Fisher in the backcourt for a layup.
Tulsa Shock first-round draft pick Skylar Diggins watched the game from a courtside seat along the baseline.
NBA Recap - Memphis Grizzlies at Oklahoma City Thunder - May 07, 2013 - CBSSports-com
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The slam dunk has captivated the basketball world for a generation with its combination of raw ferocity and balletic grace, but this year a different shot is sweeping the N.B.A. playoffs. It is called the teardrop. And it is the antidunk.
If the slam dunk is all power, the teardrop is all finesse, a dandelion fluff of a shot that is nearly always tossed up by the smallest player on the floor. The teardrop floats over defenders’ outstretched hands, arcs toward the rafters and then — especially this year — drops through the net with barely a whisper.
This week, teardrops have helped fuel an upset in Miami, a rout in New York and a double-overtime classic in San Antonio. Some of the brightest stars of the playoffs — Nate Robinson of the Chicago Bulls, Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors and Raymond Felton of the Knicks — stand between 5 feet 9 inches and 6-3, shrubs amid courts packed with redwoods. But each has used the teardrop to take control of a game.
“If you have the touch to do it, it’s very effective,” said Curry, whose teardrops bend so high they can seem like trick shots. “You have to work at it, and it’s tough to do when you’re trying to get by a defender; you’re going full speed.”
But when it works, the shot can cause thousands of fans in an arena to hold their breath as the ball floats off the fingertips toward the rim. Curry in particular “throws it up there like a feather,” said Bob McKillop, who coached Curry at Davidson College.
The teardrop, also called a floater, is not new, but it appears to be having its moment this year. It is akin to a drop shot in tennis or a knuckleball in baseball — a cleverly effective move that can prove maddening to the opposition. Many basketball players consider it the most difficult shot in the game, and the true teardrop artists say a complex calculus is involved.
Robinson, the 5-9 catalyst for Chicago, has had some of the year’s most memorable teardrops, which he launches like shot-puts aimed at the sky. Despite playing poorly on Wednesday, Robinson has provided some of the year’s best playoff drama. He played Monday with 10 stitches in his lip after a collision with LeBron James, who outweighs him by 70 pounds; in the last round, he played a game despite having an illness and vomiting into a trash can during breaks in play.
“He’s fearless,” said Lorenzo Romar, Robinson’s college coach at Washington.
Robinson said there were two keys to the teardrop: shoot it fast, before the defender can react, and shoot it high. “Then, just watch it float,” he said.
Robinson has been working on his version for years — “and it’s still not perfect,” he said.
It is unclear who first shot a teardrop, or who first called it that. Some credit Bob Cousy, a Boston Celtics star of the 1950s. Others point to Hank Luisetti, a Stanford player from the 1930s known for his running one-handed shot.
The San Antonio Spurs’ Tony Parker, generally viewed as the league’s current teardrop master, insisted that he came up with the shot as a child. “I got copyrights on that,” he said. “I did that because I was small and it was the only way I could get a shot off on the bigs. I grew a little bit later.”
The Warriors, making a surprising run in the playoffs, may have the strongest link to the teardrop. The team is coached by Mark Jackson, a former point guard who popularized the shot in the 1990s. He recently called it a “tremendous weapon,” and he has watched his star player, Curry, use it effectively.
On Monday night, in the first game of the Warriors’ second-round series against the Spurs, Curry showcased his picture-perfect teardrop. Curry, a player so slight he could be mistaken for a ball boy, drove along the right baseline, past the Spurs’ Kawhi Leonard. Curry left his feet and flicked the ball toward the hoop with his right hand — high enough that Tim Duncan, who swept across the lane, had no chance to block it. Swish.
“It’s a lot easier to keep your momentum going rather than having to stop for a pull-up jump shot in that situation,” Curry said later.
Bill Wennington, a 7-footer who played with the Bulls, said guards’ scoring options had evolved over the years. When Wennington was playing in the 1990s, guards would challenge big players, combating strength with strength and looking to draw a foul.
The teardrop does away with that. “Now, with the guards being so much quicker and more athletic, they can just go up with the shot right away before the bigs even have a chance to react,” said Wennington, now a commentator for the Bulls’ radio broadcasts. “It also doesn’t hurt as much, because you’re not bouncing off them.”
For practitioners, the shot has become as practical as it is stylish. Even misses can produce points. Bulls guard Kirk Hinrich considers the teardrop a good way to draw defenders away from the hoop — and, crucially, to create opportunities for rebounds.
“It’s almost like an assist,” Hinrich said. “Once you get that big man to overcommit, you have a teammate waiting under the basket for the tip.”
As a result, the teardrop has become a near necessity for the league’s top guards. With more lenient rules allowing zone defenses, many teams try to trap ballhandlers along the baseline. That often opens the lane for teardrop runners, said Ivorie Manning, a shooting coach who has worked with teardrop stars like Felton of the Knicks.
Coaches not only teach the teardrop these days; they also extol its virtues, which was not always the case. Players were once taught to stick to fundamentals by coming to a jump stop before shooting, unless it was for a layup.
“If you have everybody on your team doing floaters, you’re probably not a very good team,” Manning said. “But for the guys who are specialists at it, the shot can be an incredibly effective tool.”
George Gervin, a Hall of Fame player who turned the finger-roll layup into an art form in the late 1970s, is regarded as a teardrop visionary. In h
If the slam dunk is all power, the teardrop is all finesse, a dandelion fluff of a shot that is nearly always tossed up by the smallest player on the floor. The teardrop floats over defenders’ outstretched hands, arcs toward the rafters and then — especially this year — drops through the net with barely a whisper.
This week, teardrops have helped fuel an upset in Miami, a rout in New York and a double-overtime classic in San Antonio. Some of the brightest stars of the playoffs — Nate Robinson of the Chicago Bulls, Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors and Raymond Felton of the Knicks — stand between 5 feet 9 inches and 6-3, shrubs amid courts packed with redwoods. But each has used the teardrop to take control of a game.
“If you have the touch to do it, it’s very effective,” said Curry, whose teardrops bend so high they can seem like trick shots. “You have to work at it, and it’s tough to do when you’re trying to get by a defender; you’re going full speed.”
But when it works, the shot can cause thousands of fans in an arena to hold their breath as the ball floats off the fingertips toward the rim. Curry in particular “throws it up there like a feather,” said Bob McKillop, who coached Curry at Davidson College.
The teardrop, also called a floater, is not new, but it appears to be having its moment this year. It is akin to a drop shot in tennis or a knuckleball in baseball — a cleverly effective move that can prove maddening to the opposition. Many basketball players consider it the most difficult shot in the game, and the true teardrop artists say a complex calculus is involved.
Robinson, the 5-9 catalyst for Chicago, has had some of the year’s most memorable teardrops, which he launches like shot-puts aimed at the sky. Despite playing poorly on Wednesday, Robinson has provided some of the year’s best playoff drama. He played Monday with 10 stitches in his lip after a collision with LeBron James, who outweighs him by 70 pounds; in the last round, he played a game despite having an illness and vomiting into a trash can during breaks in play.
“He’s fearless,” said Lorenzo Romar, Robinson’s college coach at Washington.
Robinson said there were two keys to the teardrop: shoot it fast, before the defender can react, and shoot it high. “Then, just watch it float,” he said.
Robinson has been working on his version for years — “and it’s still not perfect,” he said.
It is unclear who first shot a teardrop, or who first called it that. Some credit Bob Cousy, a Boston Celtics star of the 1950s. Others point to Hank Luisetti, a Stanford player from the 1930s known for his running one-handed shot.
The San Antonio Spurs’ Tony Parker, generally viewed as the league’s current teardrop master, insisted that he came up with the shot as a child. “I got copyrights on that,” he said. “I did that because I was small and it was the only way I could get a shot off on the bigs. I grew a little bit later.”
The Warriors, making a surprising run in the playoffs, may have the strongest link to the teardrop. The team is coached by Mark Jackson, a former point guard who popularized the shot in the 1990s. He recently called it a “tremendous weapon,” and he has watched his star player, Curry, use it effectively.
On Monday night, in the first game of the Warriors’ second-round series against the Spurs, Curry showcased his picture-perfect teardrop. Curry, a player so slight he could be mistaken for a ball boy, drove along the right baseline, past the Spurs’ Kawhi Leonard. Curry left his feet and flicked the ball toward the hoop with his right hand — high enough that Tim Duncan, who swept across the lane, had no chance to block it. Swish.
“It’s a lot easier to keep your momentum going rather than having to stop for a pull-up jump shot in that situation,” Curry said later.
Bill Wennington, a 7-footer who played with the Bulls, said guards’ scoring options had evolved over the years. When Wennington was playing in the 1990s, guards would challenge big players, combating strength with strength and looking to draw a foul.
The teardrop does away with that. “Now, with the guards being so much quicker and more athletic, they can just go up with the shot right away before the bigs even have a chance to react,” said Wennington, now a commentator for the Bulls’ radio broadcasts. “It also doesn’t hurt as much, because you’re not bouncing off them.”
For practitioners, the shot has become as practical as it is stylish. Even misses can produce points. Bulls guard Kirk Hinrich considers the teardrop a good way to draw defenders away from the hoop — and, crucially, to create opportunities for rebounds.
“It’s almost like an assist,” Hinrich said. “Once you get that big man to overcommit, you have a teammate waiting under the basket for the tip.”
As a result, the teardrop has become a near necessity for the league’s top guards. With more lenient rules allowing zone defenses, many teams try to trap ballhandlers along the baseline. That often opens the lane for teardrop runners, said Ivorie Manning, a shooting coach who has worked with teardrop stars like Felton of the Knicks.
Coaches not only teach the teardrop these days; they also extol its virtues, which was not always the case. Players were once taught to stick to fundamentals by coming to a jump stop before shooting, unless it was for a layup.
“If you have everybody on your team doing floaters, you’re probably not a very good team,” Manning said. “But for the guys who are specialists at it, the shot can be an incredibly effective tool.”
George Gervin, a Hall of Fame player who turned the finger-roll layup into an art form in the late 1970s, is regarded as a teardrop visionary. In h
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As the four NBA conference semifinals enter a loaded weekend schedule, each is tied 1-1 and features twisting story lines and wildly entertaining play.
Now imagine if everybody was healthy.
Star after star has been forced to the sideline by serious injury, and it seemed the games would inevitably be less compelling because of it. But this adjusted script might be better than the original. A look at the unexpected ripple effects of the injuries that each team, and its respective fan base, had every reason to think spelled its end.
• As if the Stephen Curry's coming-out party wasn't enough, here comes Golden State Warriors teammate Klay Thompson with a show all his own.
The second-year guard had gone quiet after Warriors coach Mark Jackson deemed he and Curry the "best-shooting backcourt in the history of the game" early in the first round, but Thompson scored 29 of his 34 points in the first half of the Warriors' win against the San Antonio Spurs on Wednesday while hitting eight of nine three-pointers.
"I felt like Steph Curry out there," Thompson deadpanned. None of this would have likely happened if Warriors forward David Lee hadn't torn his right hip flexor in Game 1 of the first round, as the loss of their lone All-Star meant the offense was even more perimeter-oriented than usual.
Spurs coach Gregg Popovich, who had invoked the name of Michael Jordan while comparing the experience of watching Curry play even before Curry's 44-point, 11-assist outing in Game 1, knows now that he has two Warriors guards to worry about as the series moves to the Bay Area with games on Friday night and Sunday.
"I thought it was polite of them to at least take turns and not both be on fire on the same night," Popovich said. "Maybe the next iteration is neither one of them will be hot in Game 3. That's what I'm hoping."
He's in the minority there, though.
Curry has even the old-timers trying to remember another player who was this thrilling to watch.
His high-arching scoop shots in the lane have sparked comparisons to Spurs legend George Gervin, while his seemingly limitless range reminds Jackson of his longtime Pacers teammate, Reggie Miller.
Curry has been making plays for others, as well. He leads all playoff players in assists (8.9 a game), is third in scoring (26.5 points a game) and is shooting 43% from three-point range. • Nate Robinson, a 5-9 journeyman guard once known more for his exploits in the slam dunk competition and his Twitter arguments with Shaquille O'Neal than his actual play, is keeping the Chicago Bulls in the thick of the Eastern Conference playoffs as their series vs. the Miami Heat shifts to Chicago tonight.
Robinson is on his fifth team in the past five seasons and is playing on a one-year, $1.2 million non-guaranteed contract. At times, he has looked like Curry has in the West, hitting jump shots, driving to the basket and diving for loose balls.
He is playing because 2011 MVP Derrick Rose tore his anterior cruciate ligament in April 2012 and hasn't returned. Robinson had a Rose-like moment when he scored 27 points and had nine assists, and scored Chicago's final seven points during a 10-0 run at the end of Game 1 to lead the Bulls to a win vs. the Miami Heat.
It is clear that the Heat need to keep him in check if they are to win this series and move toward a second championship in as many seasons.
• Kevin Durant has the reputation as the game's second-best player. He will strengthen that if he is able to lead his team into the Western Conference Finals without his running mate Russell Westbrook, who suffered a season-ending meniscus tear in Game 3 of the first round. But why stop there? It would be quite LeBron-like of him to get the Thunder to the Finals like James did his Cleveland Cavaliers in 2007. If only the West weren't so stacked. Meanwhile, the Memphis Grizzlies, who tied their series with the Thunder on Tuesday and host them on Saturday in Game 3, have a prime opportunity to take advantage of Westbrook's absence and stick it to the pundits after they were criticized by some for trading small forward Rudy Gay to Toronto in late January. They set a new franchise record for regular season wins (56) and are playing with just the sort of balance and poise that the team's new owners and front office executives envisioned when they did the deal.
A closer look at the Durant's new role: the Thunder have lost three of the five games without Westbrook, and Durant's scoring is up slightly since he went down (34.4 points per game compared to 33.3 in the regular season). He had to score 35 for the Thunder to come from behind to beat Memphis in Game 1. He had 41 in the game Westbrook was injured. He'll need to keep that up if the Thunder want a return trip to the Finals.
• Paul George has replaced Danny Granger for the Indiana Pacers and the third-year small forward became an All-Star and is now locked in a postseason battle royale with the New York Knicks' Carmelo Anthony that could boost his profile yet again.
George is a defensive stopper for the Pacers and in the Game 1 win vs. the Knicks helped hold Anthony to 10-of-28 shooting, and scored 20 points.
"Paul George, I think, is the best in the league at being able to kind of carry the offensive load for this team, but also night in and night out for this team, he guards – regardless of position, one, two, three, four – he guards the other team's best player," Pacers assistant coach Brian Shaw said. "It's a lot to ask of anybody."
George showed his competitive fire after the Pacers dropped Game 2, lamenting that Anthony's bounceback effort (32 points on 13 of 26 shooting) was because, in large part, of the fact that he didn't have to face George nearly as often during the game. George has upped much of his production from the regular season thus far to 18.9 points per game, but that's a luxury. It's his defense the Pacers are counting on. He has shown he can deliver.
Now imagine if everybody was healthy.
Star after star has been forced to the sideline by serious injury, and it seemed the games would inevitably be less compelling because of it. But this adjusted script might be better than the original. A look at the unexpected ripple effects of the injuries that each team, and its respective fan base, had every reason to think spelled its end.
• As if the Stephen Curry's coming-out party wasn't enough, here comes Golden State Warriors teammate Klay Thompson with a show all his own.
The second-year guard had gone quiet after Warriors coach Mark Jackson deemed he and Curry the "best-shooting backcourt in the history of the game" early in the first round, but Thompson scored 29 of his 34 points in the first half of the Warriors' win against the San Antonio Spurs on Wednesday while hitting eight of nine three-pointers.
"I felt like Steph Curry out there," Thompson deadpanned. None of this would have likely happened if Warriors forward David Lee hadn't torn his right hip flexor in Game 1 of the first round, as the loss of their lone All-Star meant the offense was even more perimeter-oriented than usual.
Spurs coach Gregg Popovich, who had invoked the name of Michael Jordan while comparing the experience of watching Curry play even before Curry's 44-point, 11-assist outing in Game 1, knows now that he has two Warriors guards to worry about as the series moves to the Bay Area with games on Friday night and Sunday.
"I thought it was polite of them to at least take turns and not both be on fire on the same night," Popovich said. "Maybe the next iteration is neither one of them will be hot in Game 3. That's what I'm hoping."
He's in the minority there, though.
Curry has even the old-timers trying to remember another player who was this thrilling to watch.
His high-arching scoop shots in the lane have sparked comparisons to Spurs legend George Gervin, while his seemingly limitless range reminds Jackson of his longtime Pacers teammate, Reggie Miller.
Curry has been making plays for others, as well. He leads all playoff players in assists (8.9 a game), is third in scoring (26.5 points a game) and is shooting 43% from three-point range. • Nate Robinson, a 5-9 journeyman guard once known more for his exploits in the slam dunk competition and his Twitter arguments with Shaquille O'Neal than his actual play, is keeping the Chicago Bulls in the thick of the Eastern Conference playoffs as their series vs. the Miami Heat shifts to Chicago tonight.
Robinson is on his fifth team in the past five seasons and is playing on a one-year, $1.2 million non-guaranteed contract. At times, he has looked like Curry has in the West, hitting jump shots, driving to the basket and diving for loose balls.
He is playing because 2011 MVP Derrick Rose tore his anterior cruciate ligament in April 2012 and hasn't returned. Robinson had a Rose-like moment when he scored 27 points and had nine assists, and scored Chicago's final seven points during a 10-0 run at the end of Game 1 to lead the Bulls to a win vs. the Miami Heat.
It is clear that the Heat need to keep him in check if they are to win this series and move toward a second championship in as many seasons.
• Kevin Durant has the reputation as the game's second-best player. He will strengthen that if he is able to lead his team into the Western Conference Finals without his running mate Russell Westbrook, who suffered a season-ending meniscus tear in Game 3 of the first round. But why stop there? It would be quite LeBron-like of him to get the Thunder to the Finals like James did his Cleveland Cavaliers in 2007. If only the West weren't so stacked. Meanwhile, the Memphis Grizzlies, who tied their series with the Thunder on Tuesday and host them on Saturday in Game 3, have a prime opportunity to take advantage of Westbrook's absence and stick it to the pundits after they were criticized by some for trading small forward Rudy Gay to Toronto in late January. They set a new franchise record for regular season wins (56) and are playing with just the sort of balance and poise that the team's new owners and front office executives envisioned when they did the deal.
A closer look at the Durant's new role: the Thunder have lost three of the five games without Westbrook, and Durant's scoring is up slightly since he went down (34.4 points per game compared to 33.3 in the regular season). He had to score 35 for the Thunder to come from behind to beat Memphis in Game 1. He had 41 in the game Westbrook was injured. He'll need to keep that up if the Thunder want a return trip to the Finals.
• Paul George has replaced Danny Granger for the Indiana Pacers and the third-year small forward became an All-Star and is now locked in a postseason battle royale with the New York Knicks' Carmelo Anthony that could boost his profile yet again.
George is a defensive stopper for the Pacers and in the Game 1 win vs. the Knicks helped hold Anthony to 10-of-28 shooting, and scored 20 points.
"Paul George, I think, is the best in the league at being able to kind of carry the offensive load for this team, but also night in and night out for this team, he guards – regardless of position, one, two, three, four – he guards the other team's best player," Pacers assistant coach Brian Shaw said. "It's a lot to ask of anybody."
George showed his competitive fire after the Pacers dropped Game 2, lamenting that Anthony's bounceback effort (32 points on 13 of 26 shooting) was because, in large part, of the fact that he didn't have to face George nearly as often during the game. George has upped much of his production from the regular season thus far to 18.9 points per game, but that's a luxury. It's his defense the Pacers are counting on. He has shown he can deliver.
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Down and dominated during most of the first two games at home, the San Antonio Spurs once again showed why nobody should ever count them out.
Tony Parker scored 25 of his 32 points in a sizzling first half, Tim Duncan added 23 points and 10 rebounds, and the Spurs quieted the Golden State Warriors and their rowdy sellout crowd in a 102-92 victory Friday night to take a 2-1 lead in the Western Conference semifinals. San Antonio outshot Golden State 50.6 to 39.3 percent and curbed streaky shooters Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson for the first time in the series.
"They had Curry in the first game. They had Klay in the second one," said Spurs guard Manu Ginobili, who had 12 points, five rebounds and four assists. "It was time for one of us to get hot."
Thompson scored 17 points on 7-of-20 shooting, while Curry had 16 points on 5 of 17 from the floor and sprained his left ankle again in the final minutes. Curry was icing his ankle in the locker room and limped out without speaking to reporters. His status moving forward is unclear.
Game 4 in the best-of-seven series is Sunday in Oakland.
"It's real frustrating, but it's a short turnaround," said Warriors center Andrew Bogut, who had 11 points and 12 rebounds but was saddled with foul trouble most of the second half. "The series definitely isn't over. The short turnaround suits a younger team like us. Obviously the work we did in San Antonio is kind of down the drain, but we can salvage that next game."
Kawhi Leonard finished with 15 points and nine rebounds, and Parker added five assists and five boards to help the Spurs wrestle back home-court advantage from the Warriors after withstanding a brief fourth-quarter rally.
After leading for 95 of 106 minutes in the first two games, the Warriors nearly pulled off their own comeback. They scored the first nine of the fourth in fewer than 2 minutes, capping the run by slicing San Antonio's lead to 79-78 when Bogut blocked Duncan's layup, and Draymond Green made a jumper while drawing a foul on Duncan on the other end.
Parker put San Antonio back ahead by seven with a 3-pointer during another brief burst before leaving briefly after getting kicked in the left shin. Trainers wrapped his leg while he was on the bench and he showed no signs of slowing down when he returned, though he limped around the hallways after the game.
Parker said he will receive treatment and will play in Game 4.
With Parker on the bench, the Spurs never relented. Duncan converted a three-point play and Leonard added a layup to cap an 11-1 run that gave San Antonio a 90-79 lead with 5:39 to play.
"I thought our team was very focused," Parker said. "By far our best game in the series. The first two games we didn't play well enough. Got lucky in the first one. The second one they kick our butt."
The Warriors only hope they didn't lose more than just a game.
Most of Golden State's yellow-shirt wearing crowd of 19,596 silenced after Curry came off a curl and his left ankle -- which he sprained in Game 2 in the first round against Denver but seemed to finally be back to full strength -- landed awkwardly when he planted his feet to receive the ball. Curry limped around but stayed in the game, with nervous chants of "Curry! Curry!" breaking out.
The Warriors moved within five points on Harrison Barnes' pull-up jumper with 2:48 left but never got closer. After starting 3-0 at home in the playoffs, Golden State fell short again in maybe the biggest basketball game in the Bay Area in decades.
The Warriors have not held a series lead beyond the first round since the 1975-76 season, when they went up 2-1 and 3-2 against Phoenix in the conference finals and lost. That also was last time the Warriors made the conference finals, though there were only three rounds in the playoffs at that time.
"We talked about it, even after winning Game 2, this is going to be a heavyweight championship fight," Warriors coach Mark Jackson said. "This is a different animal that we're going against. They have four future Hall of Famers. They're not going to lie down."
San Antonio had by far its best start behind its All-Star point guard.
Parker scored 13 points in the first quarter on 6-of-8 shooting, including a desperation bank shot after getting fouled by Green that gave the Spurs a 32-23 lead. The largest lead for San Antonio, which went ahead by 11 points throughout the second quarter, previously was five - all the way back in the second overtime of its Game 1 comeback win.
All-Star forward David Lee sparked Golden State with his first appearance in the series after tearing his right hip flexor in the first-round opener against Denver and originally deemed out for the season. Lee, held scoreless in a brief appearance in the Game 6 clincher over the Nuggets, instantly put back an offensive rebound while getting fouled by Tiago Splitter to start a three-point play that sent fans into a frenzy.
Lee finished with five points and two rebounds in three minutes.
The Warriors erased a nine-point halftime deficit a little more than midway through the third quarter when Curry's quick 3-pointer evened the score at 65-all. Bogut exited with 6:34 remaining in the period after picking up his fourth foul, and the Spurs surged ahead by 11 behind a brief burst from Ginobili with Golden State's big man buried on the bench.
"We made shots and they didn't have as good a night shooting the ball," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. "Sometimes it's as simple as that."
Notes
Duncan received a technical foul for shoving Bogut while running back on defense in the first quarter. The whistle came after Bogut had just dunked and dangled his legs around Duncan's shoulders trying to regain his balance.
San Francisco 49ers CEO Jed York, general manager Trent Baalke, QB Colin Kaepernick and running back Frank Gore were sprinkled throughout the crowd along with other team executives.
Rick Barry, th
Tony Parker scored 25 of his 32 points in a sizzling first half, Tim Duncan added 23 points and 10 rebounds, and the Spurs quieted the Golden State Warriors and their rowdy sellout crowd in a 102-92 victory Friday night to take a 2-1 lead in the Western Conference semifinals. San Antonio outshot Golden State 50.6 to 39.3 percent and curbed streaky shooters Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson for the first time in the series.
"They had Curry in the first game. They had Klay in the second one," said Spurs guard Manu Ginobili, who had 12 points, five rebounds and four assists. "It was time for one of us to get hot."
Thompson scored 17 points on 7-of-20 shooting, while Curry had 16 points on 5 of 17 from the floor and sprained his left ankle again in the final minutes. Curry was icing his ankle in the locker room and limped out without speaking to reporters. His status moving forward is unclear.
Game 4 in the best-of-seven series is Sunday in Oakland.
"It's real frustrating, but it's a short turnaround," said Warriors center Andrew Bogut, who had 11 points and 12 rebounds but was saddled with foul trouble most of the second half. "The series definitely isn't over. The short turnaround suits a younger team like us. Obviously the work we did in San Antonio is kind of down the drain, but we can salvage that next game."
Kawhi Leonard finished with 15 points and nine rebounds, and Parker added five assists and five boards to help the Spurs wrestle back home-court advantage from the Warriors after withstanding a brief fourth-quarter rally.
After leading for 95 of 106 minutes in the first two games, the Warriors nearly pulled off their own comeback. They scored the first nine of the fourth in fewer than 2 minutes, capping the run by slicing San Antonio's lead to 79-78 when Bogut blocked Duncan's layup, and Draymond Green made a jumper while drawing a foul on Duncan on the other end.
Parker put San Antonio back ahead by seven with a 3-pointer during another brief burst before leaving briefly after getting kicked in the left shin. Trainers wrapped his leg while he was on the bench and he showed no signs of slowing down when he returned, though he limped around the hallways after the game.
Parker said he will receive treatment and will play in Game 4.
With Parker on the bench, the Spurs never relented. Duncan converted a three-point play and Leonard added a layup to cap an 11-1 run that gave San Antonio a 90-79 lead with 5:39 to play.
"I thought our team was very focused," Parker said. "By far our best game in the series. The first two games we didn't play well enough. Got lucky in the first one. The second one they kick our butt."
The Warriors only hope they didn't lose more than just a game.
Most of Golden State's yellow-shirt wearing crowd of 19,596 silenced after Curry came off a curl and his left ankle -- which he sprained in Game 2 in the first round against Denver but seemed to finally be back to full strength -- landed awkwardly when he planted his feet to receive the ball. Curry limped around but stayed in the game, with nervous chants of "Curry! Curry!" breaking out.
The Warriors moved within five points on Harrison Barnes' pull-up jumper with 2:48 left but never got closer. After starting 3-0 at home in the playoffs, Golden State fell short again in maybe the biggest basketball game in the Bay Area in decades.
The Warriors have not held a series lead beyond the first round since the 1975-76 season, when they went up 2-1 and 3-2 against Phoenix in the conference finals and lost. That also was last time the Warriors made the conference finals, though there were only three rounds in the playoffs at that time.
"We talked about it, even after winning Game 2, this is going to be a heavyweight championship fight," Warriors coach Mark Jackson said. "This is a different animal that we're going against. They have four future Hall of Famers. They're not going to lie down."
San Antonio had by far its best start behind its All-Star point guard.
Parker scored 13 points in the first quarter on 6-of-8 shooting, including a desperation bank shot after getting fouled by Green that gave the Spurs a 32-23 lead. The largest lead for San Antonio, which went ahead by 11 points throughout the second quarter, previously was five - all the way back in the second overtime of its Game 1 comeback win.
All-Star forward David Lee sparked Golden State with his first appearance in the series after tearing his right hip flexor in the first-round opener against Denver and originally deemed out for the season. Lee, held scoreless in a brief appearance in the Game 6 clincher over the Nuggets, instantly put back an offensive rebound while getting fouled by Tiago Splitter to start a three-point play that sent fans into a frenzy.
Lee finished with five points and two rebounds in three minutes.
The Warriors erased a nine-point halftime deficit a little more than midway through the third quarter when Curry's quick 3-pointer evened the score at 65-all. Bogut exited with 6:34 remaining in the period after picking up his fourth foul, and the Spurs surged ahead by 11 behind a brief burst from Ginobili with Golden State's big man buried on the bench.
"We made shots and they didn't have as good a night shooting the ball," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. "Sometimes it's as simple as that."
Notes
Duncan received a technical foul for shoving Bogut while running back on defense in the first quarter. The whistle came after Bogut had just dunked and dangled his legs around Duncan's shoulders trying to regain his balance.
San Francisco 49ers CEO Jed York, general manager Trent Baalke, QB Colin Kaepernick and running back Frank Gore were sprinkled throughout the crowd along with other team executives.
Rick Barry, th
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All Times EDT
FIRST ROUND
(Best-of-7)
EASTERN CONFERENCE
New York vs. Boston
Saturday, April 20
New York 85, Boston 78
Tuesday, April 23
New York 87, Boston 71
Friday, April 26
New York 90, Boston 76
Sunday, April 28
Boston 97, New York 90, OT
Wednesday, May 1
Boston 92, New York 86
Friday, May 3
New York 88, Boston 80, New York wins series 4-2
---
Brooklyn vs. Chicago
Saturday, April 20
Brooklyn 106, Chicago 89
Monday, April 22
Chicago 90, Brooklyn 82
Thursday, April 25
Chicago 79, Brooklyn 76
Saturday, April 27
Chicago 142, Brooklyn 134, 3OT
Monday, April 29
Brooklyn 110, Chicago 91
Thursday, May 2
Brooklyn 95, Chicago 92
Saturday, May 4
Chicago 99, Brooklyn 93, Chicago wins series 4-3
---
Indiana vs. Atlanta
Sunday, April 21
Indiana 107, Atlanta 90
Wednesday, April 24
Indiana 113, Atlanta 98
Saturday, April 27
Atlanta 90, Indiana 69
Monday, April 29
Atlanta 102, Indiana 91
Wednesday, May 1
Indiana 106, Atlanta 83
Friday, May 3
Indiana 81, Atlanta 73, Indiana wins series 4-2
---
Miami vs. Milwaukee
Sunday, April 21
Miami 110, Milwaukee 87
Tuesday, April 23
Miami 98, Milwaukee 86
Thursday, April 25
Miami 104, Milwaukee 91
Sunday, April 28
Miami 88, Milwaukee 77, Miami wins series 4-0
---
WESTERN CONFERENCE
Denver vs. Golden State
Saturday, April 20
Denver 97, Golden State 95
Tuesday, April 23
Golden State 131, Denver 117
Friday, April 26
Golden State 110, Denver 108
Sunday, April 28
Golden State 115, Denver 101
Tuesday, April 30
Denver 107, Golden State 100
Thursday, May 2
Golden State 92, Denver 88, Golden State wins series 4-2
---
San Antonio vs. L.A. Lakers
Sunday, April 21
San Antonio 91, L.A. Lakers 79
Wednesday, April 24
San Antonio 102, L.A. Lakers 91
Friday, April 26
San Antonio 120, L.A. Lakers 89
Sunday, April 28
San Antonio 103, L.A. Lakers 82, San Antonio wins series 4-0
---
Oklahoma City vs. Houston
Sunday, April 21
Oklahoma City 120, Houston 91
Wednesday, April 24
Oklahoma City 105, Houston 102
Saturday, April 27
Oklahoma City 104, Houston 101
Monday, April 29
Houston 105, Oklahoma City 103
Wednesday, May 1
Houston 107, Oklahoma City 100
Friday, May 3
Oklahoma City 103, Houston 94, Oklahoma City wins series 4-2
---
L.A. Clippers vs. Memphis
Saturday, April 20
L.A. Clippers 112, Memphis 91
Monday, April 22
L.A. Clippers 93, Memphis 91
Thursday, April 25
Memphis 94, L.A. Clippers 82
Saturday, April 27
Memphis 104, L.A. Clippers 83
Tuesday, April 30
Memphis 103, L.A. Clippers 93
Friday, May 3
Memphis 118, L.A. Clippers 105, Memphis wins series 4-2
---
CONFERENCE SEMIFINALS
(Best-of-7)
EASTERN CONFERENCE
Miami vs. Chicago
Monday, May 6
Chicago 93, Miami 86
Wednesday, May 8
Miami 115, Chicago 78
Friday, May 10
Miami 104, Chicago 94, Miami leads series 2-1
Monday, May 13
Miami at Chicago, 7 p.m.
Wednesday, May 15
Chicago at Miami, 7 p.m.
---
New York vs. Indiana
Sunday, May 5
Indiana 102, New York 95
Tuesday, May 7
New York 105, Indiana 79
Saturday, May 11
Indiana 82, New York 71, Indiana leads series 2-1
Tuesday, May 14
New York at Indiana, 7 p.m.
Thursday, May 16
Indiana at New York, 8 p.m.
Monday, May 20
Indiana at New York, 8 p.m., if necessary
---
WESTERN CONFERENCE
San Antonio vs. Golden State
Monday, May 6
San Antonio 129, Golden State 127, 2OT
Wednesday, May 8
Golden State 100, San Antonio 91
Friday, May 10
San Antonio 102, Golden State 92, San Antonio leads series 2-1
Sunday, May 12
San Antonio at Golden State, 3:30 p.m.
Tuesday, May 14
Golden State at San Antonio, 9:30 p.m.
Thursday, May 16
San Antonio at Golden State, TBA, if necessary
Sunday, May 19
Golden State at San Antonio, TBA, if necessary
---
Oklahoma City vs. Memphis
Sunday, May 5
Oklahoma City 93, Memphis 91
Tuesday, May 7
Memphis 99, Oklahoma City 93
Saturday, May 11
Memphis 87, Oklahoma City 81, Memphis leads series 2-1
Monday, May 13
Oklahoma City at Memphis, 9:30 p.m.
Wednesday, May 15
Memphis at Oklahoma City, 9:30 p.m.
Sunday, May 19
Memphis at Oklahoma City, TBA, if necessary
Read more here: Postseason NBA Schedule - Miami Heat - MiamiHerald-com
FIRST ROUND
(Best-of-7)
EASTERN CONFERENCE
New York vs. Boston
Saturday, April 20
New York 85, Boston 78
Tuesday, April 23
New York 87, Boston 71
Friday, April 26
New York 90, Boston 76
Sunday, April 28
Boston 97, New York 90, OT
Wednesday, May 1
Boston 92, New York 86
Friday, May 3
New York 88, Boston 80, New York wins series 4-2
---
Brooklyn vs. Chicago
Saturday, April 20
Brooklyn 106, Chicago 89
Monday, April 22
Chicago 90, Brooklyn 82
Thursday, April 25
Chicago 79, Brooklyn 76
Saturday, April 27
Chicago 142, Brooklyn 134, 3OT
Monday, April 29
Brooklyn 110, Chicago 91
Thursday, May 2
Brooklyn 95, Chicago 92
Saturday, May 4
Chicago 99, Brooklyn 93, Chicago wins series 4-3
---
Indiana vs. Atlanta
Sunday, April 21
Indiana 107, Atlanta 90
Wednesday, April 24
Indiana 113, Atlanta 98
Saturday, April 27
Atlanta 90, Indiana 69
Monday, April 29
Atlanta 102, Indiana 91
Wednesday, May 1
Indiana 106, Atlanta 83
Friday, May 3
Indiana 81, Atlanta 73, Indiana wins series 4-2
---
Miami vs. Milwaukee
Sunday, April 21
Miami 110, Milwaukee 87
Tuesday, April 23
Miami 98, Milwaukee 86
Thursday, April 25
Miami 104, Milwaukee 91
Sunday, April 28
Miami 88, Milwaukee 77, Miami wins series 4-0
---
WESTERN CONFERENCE
Denver vs. Golden State
Saturday, April 20
Denver 97, Golden State 95
Tuesday, April 23
Golden State 131, Denver 117
Friday, April 26
Golden State 110, Denver 108
Sunday, April 28
Golden State 115, Denver 101
Tuesday, April 30
Denver 107, Golden State 100
Thursday, May 2
Golden State 92, Denver 88, Golden State wins series 4-2
---
San Antonio vs. L.A. Lakers
Sunday, April 21
San Antonio 91, L.A. Lakers 79
Wednesday, April 24
San Antonio 102, L.A. Lakers 91
Friday, April 26
San Antonio 120, L.A. Lakers 89
Sunday, April 28
San Antonio 103, L.A. Lakers 82, San Antonio wins series 4-0
---
Oklahoma City vs. Houston
Sunday, April 21
Oklahoma City 120, Houston 91
Wednesday, April 24
Oklahoma City 105, Houston 102
Saturday, April 27
Oklahoma City 104, Houston 101
Monday, April 29
Houston 105, Oklahoma City 103
Wednesday, May 1
Houston 107, Oklahoma City 100
Friday, May 3
Oklahoma City 103, Houston 94, Oklahoma City wins series 4-2
---
L.A. Clippers vs. Memphis
Saturday, April 20
L.A. Clippers 112, Memphis 91
Monday, April 22
L.A. Clippers 93, Memphis 91
Thursday, April 25
Memphis 94, L.A. Clippers 82
Saturday, April 27
Memphis 104, L.A. Clippers 83
Tuesday, April 30
Memphis 103, L.A. Clippers 93
Friday, May 3
Memphis 118, L.A. Clippers 105, Memphis wins series 4-2
---
CONFERENCE SEMIFINALS
(Best-of-7)
EASTERN CONFERENCE
Miami vs. Chicago
Monday, May 6
Chicago 93, Miami 86
Wednesday, May 8
Miami 115, Chicago 78
Friday, May 10
Miami 104, Chicago 94, Miami leads series 2-1
Monday, May 13
Miami at Chicago, 7 p.m.
Wednesday, May 15
Chicago at Miami, 7 p.m.
---
New York vs. Indiana
Sunday, May 5
Indiana 102, New York 95
Tuesday, May 7
New York 105, Indiana 79
Saturday, May 11
Indiana 82, New York 71, Indiana leads series 2-1
Tuesday, May 14
New York at Indiana, 7 p.m.
Thursday, May 16
Indiana at New York, 8 p.m.
Monday, May 20
Indiana at New York, 8 p.m., if necessary
---
WESTERN CONFERENCE
San Antonio vs. Golden State
Monday, May 6
San Antonio 129, Golden State 127, 2OT
Wednesday, May 8
Golden State 100, San Antonio 91
Friday, May 10
San Antonio 102, Golden State 92, San Antonio leads series 2-1
Sunday, May 12
San Antonio at Golden State, 3:30 p.m.
Tuesday, May 14
Golden State at San Antonio, 9:30 p.m.
Thursday, May 16
San Antonio at Golden State, TBA, if necessary
Sunday, May 19
Golden State at San Antonio, TBA, if necessary
---
Oklahoma City vs. Memphis
Sunday, May 5
Oklahoma City 93, Memphis 91
Tuesday, May 7
Memphis 99, Oklahoma City 93
Saturday, May 11
Memphis 87, Oklahoma City 81, Memphis leads series 2-1
Monday, May 13
Oklahoma City at Memphis, 9:30 p.m.
Wednesday, May 15
Memphis at Oklahoma City, 9:30 p.m.
Sunday, May 19
Memphis at Oklahoma City, TBA, if necessary
Read more here: Postseason NBA Schedule - Miami Heat - MiamiHerald-com
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2006/12/07
Messages:
29893
Andrew Bogut earned a rave review from coach Mark Jackson after helping Golden State Warriors to a 97-87 overtime victory to level their NBA playoff series against San Antonio.
The Australian centre was a key figure in the come-from-behind win, pulling in 18 rebounds as the Warriors knotted the Western Conference semi-final series at two games apiece on Sunday before heading back to San Antonio for game five on Tuesday.
"He (Bogut) is a game-changer because of his presence in the paint and his high IQ for the game of basketball," Jackson said.
"He's a great defender, he's a great rebounder, he's a great rim protector ... He's played lights out and he certainly has elevated his game in the post-season."
Having missed almost the entire season with his new club because of injury, former No.1 draft pick Bogut is making up for lost time in the playoffs, becoming the first Warriors player in 40 seasons to reach 18 rebounds a game twice in one post-season.
By his own admission, Bogut hasn't fully clicked in offence since returning from his ankle injury - but he's more than making up for it in other areas.
"My primary role is to plug that paint up and grab those rebounds and provide energy plays," Bogut told MercuryNews-com.
"That's kind of been what I've concentrated on in the playoffs."
The win ensures the series will still be alive when the Warriors regain home court advantage for game six.
The Warriors, who trailed by as many as eight points in the fourth quarter, out-scored the Spurs 13-3 in overtime, scoring the first nine points of the extra period to secure the victory.
With sharpshooting star guard Stephen Curry hindered by an ankle injury, Harrison Barnes led the way for the hosts with 26 points and 10 rebounds.
Jarrett Jack scored 24 points and Curry chipped in 22 for Golden State, whose 65-51 advantage in rebounding -- led by Bogut -- helped them overcome 18 turnovers.
Manu Ginobili led the Spurs with 21 points, but he missed a three-point attempt with 20 seconds left in the fourth quarter.
"(In) the overtime we just stopped scoring," Ginobili said.
"What is disappointing is that we had a great game, we had been where we wanted, and we blew it."
The winner of the series advances to the Western Conference finals, where they will face either the Memphis Grizzlies or Oklahoma City Thunder.
Memphis took a 2-1 lead in that series on Saturday with an 87-81 victory.
Read more: Bogut spearheads Warriors NBA victory
The Australian centre was a key figure in the come-from-behind win, pulling in 18 rebounds as the Warriors knotted the Western Conference semi-final series at two games apiece on Sunday before heading back to San Antonio for game five on Tuesday.
"He (Bogut) is a game-changer because of his presence in the paint and his high IQ for the game of basketball," Jackson said.
"He's a great defender, he's a great rebounder, he's a great rim protector ... He's played lights out and he certainly has elevated his game in the post-season."
Having missed almost the entire season with his new club because of injury, former No.1 draft pick Bogut is making up for lost time in the playoffs, becoming the first Warriors player in 40 seasons to reach 18 rebounds a game twice in one post-season.
By his own admission, Bogut hasn't fully clicked in offence since returning from his ankle injury - but he's more than making up for it in other areas.
"My primary role is to plug that paint up and grab those rebounds and provide energy plays," Bogut told MercuryNews-com.
"That's kind of been what I've concentrated on in the playoffs."
The win ensures the series will still be alive when the Warriors regain home court advantage for game six.
The Warriors, who trailed by as many as eight points in the fourth quarter, out-scored the Spurs 13-3 in overtime, scoring the first nine points of the extra period to secure the victory.
With sharpshooting star guard Stephen Curry hindered by an ankle injury, Harrison Barnes led the way for the hosts with 26 points and 10 rebounds.
Jarrett Jack scored 24 points and Curry chipped in 22 for Golden State, whose 65-51 advantage in rebounding -- led by Bogut -- helped them overcome 18 turnovers.
Manu Ginobili led the Spurs with 21 points, but he missed a three-point attempt with 20 seconds left in the fourth quarter.
"(In) the overtime we just stopped scoring," Ginobili said.
"What is disappointing is that we had a great game, we had been where we wanted, and we blew it."
The winner of the series advances to the Western Conference finals, where they will face either the Memphis Grizzlies or Oklahoma City Thunder.
Memphis took a 2-1 lead in that series on Saturday with an 87-81 victory.
Read more: Bogut spearheads Warriors NBA victory
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A placard was laid on each seat at United Center before Game 4 on Monday night between the Chicago Bulls and the Miami Heat. In capital white letters on a red background, the words encapsulated these playoffs for the Bulls, an injury-riddled team that has made its way into the second round on grit and guile.
“Next Man Up,” the placard read.
Fans waved them during warm-ups and when the teams were introduced. They held them in their laps, ready to raise them again for much of the game. There were few chances. By the end of the Heat’s 88-65 win that gave them a 3-1 series lead, the placards littered the arena’s floor as Bulls fans trudged home after what could be the team’s final home game.
Game 5 will be Wednesday in Miami.
The previous two games of the series featured eight Bulls technical fouls and three ejections, but Monday’s contest was a much more staid affair. There were no elbows after the whistle nor highlight-worthy skirmishes. The only technical called on Chicago was for a three-second violation.
After being bothered by the Bulls’ hard-nosed attitude for much of the series, Miami was the aggressor from the outset in Game 4. The Bulls scored the first basket of the game but never led again after the Heat responded with an 11-0 run.
“They’ve been able to come out and jump on us,” said LeBron James, who led the way for the Heat with 27 points, 8 assists and 7 rebounds. “It was good to see us reverse that.”
Chris Bosh chipped in 14 points.
The Bulls looked little like the team that has repeatedly shaken off adversity and overcome long odds during this postseason. Chicago set playoff-record lows for points in a game, in a quarter (9 in the third), fewest field goals made (19) and lowest field-goal percentage (.257).
“We didn’t execute,” center Joakim Noah said. “We didn’t play well tonight. Our energy wasn’t good. Mentally, we were a little drained because we weren’t hitting shots.”
Luol Deng was active for the first time since having complications from a spinal tap after Game 5 against the Nets, but he did not play. Derrick Rose (knee) and Kirk Hinrich (calf) watched in street clothes from the bench.
Without reinforcements, the catalysts from the Bulls’ surprising run struggled.
Nate Robinson, the 5-foot-9 point guard who electrified the league with several memorable playoff performances, shot 0 for 12 from the field and did not score.
“I just didn’t make no shots tonight,” Robinson said. “That’s all.”
Jimmy Butler shot just 4 for 10 and scored 12 points. Noah, Chicago’s energetic leader who played through plantar fasciitis for much of the second half of the season, scored 6 points and was 1 of 6 shooting.
“They’re in a tough situation because of injuries and illnesses and whatever’s going on,” James said. “But that’s not for us to worry about.”
Indeed, the Heat systematically built on their early lead. It was 21-15 after the first quarter and 44-33 by halftime. The Bulls hung tough for the first half with 10 offensive rebounds, but an inability to handle the Heat’s pressure defense took its toll.
Miami put the game out of reach in the third quarter. Leading by 46-39, the Heat reeled off a 15-3 run that separated them from the lethargic Bulls. Dwyane Wade scored his only 6 points of the game during the run, which also included two baskets from Udonis Haslem and a James layup. Norris Cole beat the buzzer with a running 3-pointer to push the lead to 19 points.
Wade left the game briefly in the second quarter after a turnaround jumper that appeared to aggravate a bone bruise on his right knee. The injury has bothered him in the regular season and during the playoffs. He returned to play 29 minutes.
“Just a shooting pain,” Wade said. “It hurt, but eventually I was able to come back, retape my knee and try to finish.”
Heat Coach Erik Spoelstra had spoken repeatedly about the need for his team to impose its identity in a series that before Game 4 had the Bulls’ fingerprints all over it. Whether Monday night was the result of the Heat’s presence, the Bulls’ exhaustion or a bit of both does not matter. Chicago is on the brink of elimination.
www-nytimes-com/2013/05/14/sports/basketball/heat-romp-as-bulls-give-fans-little-to-cheer-html
“Next Man Up,” the placard read.
Fans waved them during warm-ups and when the teams were introduced. They held them in their laps, ready to raise them again for much of the game. There were few chances. By the end of the Heat’s 88-65 win that gave them a 3-1 series lead, the placards littered the arena’s floor as Bulls fans trudged home after what could be the team’s final home game.
Game 5 will be Wednesday in Miami.
The previous two games of the series featured eight Bulls technical fouls and three ejections, but Monday’s contest was a much more staid affair. There were no elbows after the whistle nor highlight-worthy skirmishes. The only technical called on Chicago was for a three-second violation.
After being bothered by the Bulls’ hard-nosed attitude for much of the series, Miami was the aggressor from the outset in Game 4. The Bulls scored the first basket of the game but never led again after the Heat responded with an 11-0 run.
“They’ve been able to come out and jump on us,” said LeBron James, who led the way for the Heat with 27 points, 8 assists and 7 rebounds. “It was good to see us reverse that.”
Chris Bosh chipped in 14 points.
The Bulls looked little like the team that has repeatedly shaken off adversity and overcome long odds during this postseason. Chicago set playoff-record lows for points in a game, in a quarter (9 in the third), fewest field goals made (19) and lowest field-goal percentage (.257).
“We didn’t execute,” center Joakim Noah said. “We didn’t play well tonight. Our energy wasn’t good. Mentally, we were a little drained because we weren’t hitting shots.”
Luol Deng was active for the first time since having complications from a spinal tap after Game 5 against the Nets, but he did not play. Derrick Rose (knee) and Kirk Hinrich (calf) watched in street clothes from the bench.
Without reinforcements, the catalysts from the Bulls’ surprising run struggled.
Nate Robinson, the 5-foot-9 point guard who electrified the league with several memorable playoff performances, shot 0 for 12 from the field and did not score.
“I just didn’t make no shots tonight,” Robinson said. “That’s all.”
Jimmy Butler shot just 4 for 10 and scored 12 points. Noah, Chicago’s energetic leader who played through plantar fasciitis for much of the second half of the season, scored 6 points and was 1 of 6 shooting.
“They’re in a tough situation because of injuries and illnesses and whatever’s going on,” James said. “But that’s not for us to worry about.”
Indeed, the Heat systematically built on their early lead. It was 21-15 after the first quarter and 44-33 by halftime. The Bulls hung tough for the first half with 10 offensive rebounds, but an inability to handle the Heat’s pressure defense took its toll.
Miami put the game out of reach in the third quarter. Leading by 46-39, the Heat reeled off a 15-3 run that separated them from the lethargic Bulls. Dwyane Wade scored his only 6 points of the game during the run, which also included two baskets from Udonis Haslem and a James layup. Norris Cole beat the buzzer with a running 3-pointer to push the lead to 19 points.
Wade left the game briefly in the second quarter after a turnaround jumper that appeared to aggravate a bone bruise on his right knee. The injury has bothered him in the regular season and during the playoffs. He returned to play 29 minutes.
“Just a shooting pain,” Wade said. “It hurt, but eventually I was able to come back, retape my knee and try to finish.”
Heat Coach Erik Spoelstra had spoken repeatedly about the need for his team to impose its identity in a series that before Game 4 had the Bulls’ fingerprints all over it. Whether Monday night was the result of the Heat’s presence, the Bulls’ exhaustion or a bit of both does not matter. Chicago is on the brink of elimination.
www-nytimes-com/2013/05/14/sports/basketball/heat-romp-as-bulls-give-fans-little-to-cheer-html
Join:
2006/12/07
Messages:
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"He gives us a guy who can help run our team, and gives us a defensive presence out front guarding the ball," Knicks coach Mike Woodson said. Woodson said Prigioni won't be on a minutes restriction on Tuesday.
"No, not at all," he said. "He's practiced the past few days and moved around real well. I think he's going to be fine."
Prigioni will start alongside point guard Raymond Felton in the backcourt. Iman Shumpert, Carmelo Anthony and Tyson Chandler will start on the frontline for New York, which beat Boston 85-78 in the series opener on Saturday.
The return of Prigioni is significant for the Knicks. The 35-year-old Argentine had started 16 of the Knicks' final 17 games and was a key cog during their 13-game winning streak late in the regular season.
"It just gives them another decision-maker," Celtics coach Doc Rivers said. "I mean, he's brilliant. He's another Jason Kidd-ish type guy and so it just gives them another smart player on the floor, and another guy that can create plays. That makes him really good. There's no coincidence that when he's in the lineup, they've played better because they have a lot of IQ on the floor at the same time."
Prigioni will guard Celtics point guard Avery Bradley. Bradley had four turnovers in Game 1.
Prigioni's return will force 6-foot-1 Felton to guard 6-7 forward Paul Pierce, who has been starting at shooting guard in Boston's bigger lineups.
Woodson said on Monday that he was comfortable with Felton guarding Pierce, who had 21 points and seven assists in Game 1.
"Ray's guarded a little bit of everybody all year," Woodson said. "Our team does that. It's OK. He'll be fine."
2013 NBA playoffs -- Pablo Prigioni (ankle) in New York Knicks' lineup for Game 2 against Boston Celtics - ESPN New York