The AP reports: Tony Parker scored 32 points to lead the Spurs to a 102-96 victory in Game 2 on Tuesday night after the Suns gave away another double-digit, first-half lead… On Tuesday, the Spurs were down by as many as 14 in the first half before outscoring Phoenix 27-11 in a breakout third quarter… Amare Stoudemire led the Suns with 33 points but struggled after halftime, when he shot 2-of-11 from the field. The Spurs went up by as many as 17 points in the fourth quarter after taking control in the third. But Steve Nash led a 10-0 run to bring Phoenix within 96-91 with 2:44 left on the clock… Tim Duncan, who finished with 18 points and 17 rebounds, had a monster dunk with 1:47 to play and Parker followed with a bucket to put San Antonio back up 101-93… Nash had 23 points and 10 assists for the Suns. Shaquille O’Neal had 19 points and 14 rebounds. Manu Ginobili, who won the NBA’s sixth man award on Monday, scored 29 points for San Antonio.
Month: April 2008
Apr. 22: Magic 104, Raptors 103
The AP reports: Two playoff games, two 20-point, 20-rebound outings for Dwight Howard. This time there was no question he was the difference maker. Orlando’s 3-point touch evaporated, but Howard’s 29 points and 20 rebounds powered the Magic past the Toronto Raptors, 104-103, Tuesday night for a 2-0 lead in their first-round playoff series… Chris Bosh had 29 points and 10 rebounds for Toronto, but missed a 19-footer with 1.9 seconds left that could have won the game. Jason Kapono scored 20 points, Jose Calderon had 18 and Carlos Delfino added 16 for the Raptors… Jameer Nelson and Rashard Lewis each scored 18 for Orlando. Hedo Turkoglu made the go-ahead layup and finished with 12 points and nine rebounds. Orlando won despite shooting 9-of-31 from 3-point range—including a combined 0-of-13 for Turkoglu and Lewis. The Raptors made 11 of 29 3s, four by Kapono.
Apr. 22: Hornets 127, Mavs 103
The AP reports: Chris Paul had 32 points and a franchise playoff-record 17 assists, leading New Orleans to a 127-103 victory over the Dallas Mavericks on Tuesday night that gave the Hornets a 2-0 lead in their first-round series… David West scored 27 points and Peja Stojakovic 22 for New Orleans, which took a double-digit lead in the second quarter, led by as much as 25 in the third and never looked back. Tyson Chandler had his second double-double of the series with 10 points and 11 rebounds, despite playing with foul trouble. Morris Peterson added 12 points and reserve guard Jannero Pargo had 10 for New Orleans, which was 10-of-18 on 3-pointers, with Stojakovic hitting 5-of-7… Dirk Nowitzki led Dallas with 27 points, but spent most of the night looking frustrated, yelling at no one in particular after he threw one pass out of bounds. Brandon Bass was another bright spot for Dallas, muscling inside for 19 points. Reserve Jason Terry added 16 points and Josh Howard scored 10… The Mavs hoped Jason Kidd would be a bigger factor in this game, but he finished with only seven points and eight assists.
Garnett named season`s best defensive player
The NBA announced today that Kevin Garnett of the Boston Celtics is the recipient of the 2007-08 NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award presented by Kia Motors.
The 6-11 forward led the Celtics in rebounds with a 9.2 average (7.3 defensive rpg), to go along with 18.8 points, 1.2 blocks and 1.4 steals. He recorded a team season-high seven blocks against Chicago on Dec. 12.
Garnett received 493 points, including 90 first-place votes, from a panel of 124 sportswriters and broadcasters throughout the United States and Canada. Denver’s Marcus Camby, who won the award last season, finished second with 178 points and Houston’s Shane Battier finished third with 175 points. Players were awarded five points for each first-place vote, three points for each second-place vote and one point for each third-place vote received.
More info about the results will be posted on insidehoops.com’s front page and awards section shortly.
Apr. 21: Cavs 116, Wizards 86
The AP reports: LeBron James scored 30 points, Zydrunas Ilgauskas added 16, and the Cavs played their best game since the Feb. 21 megatrade, blowing out the Washington Wizards 116-86 to take a 2-0 lead in an opening-round playoff series oozing with bad blood. The 30-point margin of victory was the largest in Cleveland’s 112-game postseason history, and the Cavaliers’ performance was perhaps their finest 48 minutes since November… The Wizards hardly bothered James, who finished with 12 assists and nine rebounds, barely missing his third career postseason triple-double. James went to the bench with 6:12 left… Wally Szczerbiak added 15 points for the Cavs, who have struggled with injuries and inconsistency since GM Danny Ferry dealt half his roster at the trading deadline… Gilbert Arenas went 2-for-10 from the field and Caron Butler and Antawn Jamison were both 4-of-13 as the Wizards’ Big Three combined for 28 points. The trio spent much of the fourth quarter sitting and thinking about what happened and the task ahead.
Apr. 21: Jazz 90, Rockets 84
The AP reports: Deron Williams shrugged off an ankle injury and scored 22 points and Mehmet Okur added 16 points and 16 rebounds as the Jazz beat the Rockets 90-84 on Monday night to take a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven series… Tracy McGrady, a seven-time All-Star who has never advanced past the first round of the playoffs, had 23 points, 13 rebounds and nine assists to just miss his first postseason triple-double. But he went 0-for-4 from the field and scored only one point in the final quarter as the Rockets lost to the Jazz for the eighth time in the last 10 meetings… Bobby Jackson rebounded from a 3-for-15 effort in Game 1 to score 18 points… Carlos Boozer added 13 points and Deron Williams had five assists for the Jazz, who closed the game with a 14-8 run.
Important Ginobili question
Manu Ginobili has won the league’s Sixth man of the year award. And he deserved it.
My question is, when he’s handed the award, is he going to flop backwards in an effort to draw a charging foul on whatever league official hands it to him?
I’m just kidding, of course. He’s a fantastic player. Who just happens to flop a bit more than a lot of other fantastic players.
Bucks name Scott Skiles head coach
General Manager John Hammond announced today that Scott Skiles has agreed to a multi-year contract to become the head coach of the Milwaukee Bucks. Skiles becomes the 11th head coach in the history of the franchise and comes to Milwaukee with eight seasons of NBA head coaching experience. “Scott is a proven NBA head coach who has shown an ability to win,” said Hammond. “He was a passionate player at all levels of the game and that thirst for success has served him well as a coach. We look forward to what he will bring to this franchise and we welcome him and his family to Milwaukee.”
Pistons name Scott Perry VP of basketball operations
Detroit Pistons President of Basketball Operations Joe Dumars announced today that the club has hired Scott Perry as Vice President of Basketball Operations. “We are pleased to welcome back Scott Perry to the Pistons basketball operations staff,” said Dumars. “Scott is familiar with the culture of our team and understands our goals we have as an organization. Given his past experience with the club, I feel the transition will be seamless.” Perry, 44, re-joins the Pistons after serving as assistant general manager for the Seattle Supersonics for the 2007-08 campaign. He first joined the Pistons organization as a college scout during the summer of 2000 and was promoted to director of player personnel in June of 2002. Perry will be responsible for directing day-to-day operations of the basketball operations department, handling player personnel issues and assisting in roster development.
Ginobili named best Sixth Man
Manu Ginobili of the San Antonio Spurs is the winner of the NBA Sixth Man Award presented by Kia Motors as the league’s best player in a reserve role for the 2007-08 season, the NBA announced today. Ginobili received 615 out of a possible 620 points, including 123 of a possible 124 first-place votes, from a panel of 124 sportswriters and broadcasters throughout the United States and Canada. Leandro Barbosa of the Phoenix Suns finished second with 283 points and Jason Terry of the Dallas Mavericks finished third with 44 points.