Month: May 2012

Celtics eliminate Hawks in six games to advance to 2nd round

kevin garnett

Kevin Garnett had 28 points and 14 rebounds, hitting a jumper to give Boston the lead with 31 seconds left, and the Celtics beat the Atlanta Hawks 83-80 in Game 6 on Thursday night to win their first-round playoff series and advance to the Eastern Conference semifinals for the fifth straight year.

The Celtics will play the Philadelphia 76ers, who eliminated East No. 1 seed Chicago in six games with a 79-78 victory earlier Thursday.

Garnett topped his regular-season high of 25 points and had five blocks and three steals for Boston, which has won at least one playoff series every year since the new Big 3 was assembled. Paul Pierce had 18 points despite playing with a sprained medial collateral ligament in his left knee, and Rajon Rondo had 14 points and eight assists.

Josh Smith had 19 points and nine rebounds for Atlanta, which failed to advance in the playoffs for the first time in four years. Joe Johnson had 17 points, Marvin Williams added 16 and eight rebounds and Al Horford had 15 points and nine rebounds.

But Horford missed the first of two foul shots with 2.3 seconds left after he was tackled by Marquis Daniels to avoid an easy dunk that would have tied the game. After he made the second, the Celtics got the ball to Pierce, he was fouled and made both free throws…

The Hawks went 5 minutes without scoring early in the fourth quarter as the Celtics turned a two-point game into a 74-65 lead. But Atlanta scored 10 of the next 12 points, with Horford scoring the last three baskets, making it a one-point game on an alley-oop pass from Smith with 3:52 left.

— Reported by Jimmy Golden of the Associated Press

76ers eliminate Bulls in six games, advance to 2nd round

andre iguodala

Andre Iguodala and Evan Turner hopped on the scorer’s table and played to the crowd as the catchy 76ers theme song blared in the arena.

Eight years of going home empty was over. The Sixers were ready for a long overdue postseason celebration.

Iguodala made the go-ahead free throws with 2.2 seconds left and Philadelphia rallied for a 79-78 victory over the top-seeded Chicago Bulls in Game 6 on Thursday night, advancing to the second round of the Eastern Conference playoffs for the first time since 2003.

The 76ers will face Boston, which beat Atlanta in six games, in the conference semifinals.

Omar Asik missed two free throws for the Bulls with 7 seconds left that would have sealed the win. Iguodala grabbed the second miss, sprinted the length of the court, and was fouled by Asik on the driving layup. He made both and 20,362 fans went absolutely wild…

Iguodala scored 20 points, and Jrue Holiday and Lou Williams each scored 14. The Sixers won even though the Bulls crushed them 56-33 on the boards…

Luol Deng had 19 points and 17 rebounds for the Bulls. Richard Hamilton scored 19 points and Carlos Boozer grabbed 13 rebounds…

The Bulls lost star guard Derrick Rose to a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee late in their series-opening victory. Center Joakim Noah was on the bench Thursday but failed to play in his third straight game with a sprained left ankle.

— Reported by Dan Gelston of the Associated Press

Blake Griffin has sprained left knee, Chris Paul has strained right hip flexor

Los Angeles Clippers All-Star forward Blake Griffin sustained a sprained left knee in last night’s 80-92 game five Clippers’ loss in Memphis last night. The injury occurred with 1:31 remaining in the third quarter. After being medically cleared to return to the game, Griffin finished the contest with 15 points, 11 rebounds and three steals in 39 minutes played. Griffin underwent an MRI today in Los Angeles which confirmed that there was no structural damage to the knee.

Clippers All-Star point guard Chris Paul suffered a strained right hip flexor with 5:16 remaining in the fourth quarter last night. Paul also returned to the game, finishing the night with 19 points, six rebounds, four assists and four steals in 39 minutes of action.

Both players will be listed as game time decisions for game six tomorrow night at 6:00 PDT vs. Memphis at STAPLES Center.

James Harden wins 2011-12 NBA Sixth Man of Year award

james harden

The Oklahoma City Thunder’s James Harden is the winner of the 2011-12 NBA Sixth Man Award as the league’s best player in a reserve role, the NBA announced today. Harden, who led all NBA reserves in scoring (16.8 ppg), came off the bench in 60 of 62 games he appeared in, helping Oklahoma City finish with the NBA’s third-best record (47-19).

Harden received 584 of a possible 595 points, including 115 of a possible 119 first-place votes, from a panel of 119 sportswriters and broadcasters throughout the United States and Canada. Louis Williams, who led the Philadelphia 76ers in scoring (14.9 ppg) despite not starting a single game, finished second with 231 points.  Jason Terry of the Dallas Mavericks, who won the award in 2008-09, finished third with 81 points.

In order to be eligible for this award, players had to have come off the bench in more games than they started. 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.

Harden, the third overall pick of the 2009 NBA Draft, was a model of consistency, scoring in double figures in 58 of 62 contests, while averaging 4.1 rebounds and 3.7 assists in 31.4 minutes per game. He topped the 20-point mark on 15 occasions, with the Thunder going 14-1 in those games. He shot .491 from the field, .846 from the free throw line, and .390 from three-point range.

Grizzlies force Game 6, beat Clippers 92-80

marc gasol

Marc Gasol scored 23 points and Zach Randolph added 19 as the Memphis Grizzlies avoided elimination by beating the Los Angeles Clippers 92-80 on Wednesday night, forcing a Game 6 in the Western Conference first-round series.

With Gasol and Randolph scoring early, the Grizzlies looked like the team that knocked off top-seeded San Antonio last spring and took Oklahoma City to seven games in the conference semifinals.

Game 6 is Friday night in Los Angeles. If the Grizzlies can win, Game 7 would be Sunday in Memphis.

Rudy Gay added 14 points for Memphis.

Mo Williams had 20 points for the Clippers while Chris Paul scored 19 and Blake Griffin had 15 points and 11 rebounds. Paul and Griffin both missed time in the fourth quarter with injuries.

Paul strained a groin muscle and appeared to jam a finger while Griffin hyperextended his left knee…

In the arena nicknamed the Grindhouse in honor of the Grizzlies’ bruising, blue-collar style, Memphis pounded the ball into the paint and banged on the Clippers all game long. The Grizzlies outscored Los Angeles 48-26 in the paint and had a 42-35 edge in rebounds.

— Reported by Teresa M. Walker of the Associated Press

Heat eliminate Knicks from playoffs in Game 5

lebron james

LeBron James had 29 points, eight rebounds and seven assists, Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade both scored 19 points and the Heat ousted the shorthanded Knicks 106-94 in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference first-round series Wednesday night.

The Heat won the series 4-1, and will meet Indiana in the East semifinals starting Sunday in Miami…

Carmelo Anthony scored 35 points for the Knicks, including a spinning jumper over James at the end of the third quarter that pulled New York within 81-67. It was far from being enough to stave off an all-too-familiar playoff result for Anthony, part of that 2003 draft class that also yielded James, Bosh and Wade.

Anthony has played 54 postseason games, being part of wins only 17 times. A misleading stat for certain – it’s hardly all on him – and no shortage of people in the Heat organization interrupted their celebrating of a series-clincher to tip their caps Anthony’s way afterward…

James shot 48 percent from the field in the series, Anthony shot 42 percent. James averaged 6.2 rebounds and 5.6 assists, Anthony averaged 8.2 rebounds and 2.2 assists…

Amare Stoudemire scored 14 points, Landry Fields and J.R. Smith both added 12, Mike Bibby had 10 and Tyson Chandler grabbed 11 rebounds for New York, which is 1-8 in playoff games with Anthony and Stoudemire as teammates…

Miami went 7-1 against the Knicks this season, including playoffs. The Heat won three of four games against Indiana this season.

— Reported by Tim Reynolds of the Associated Press

Don Nelson to get college degree after nearly 50 years

Don Nelson

Just a week after Shaquille O’Neal received his doctorate degree, Don Nelson will receive his Bachelor’s degree in physical education that was nearly 50 years in the making.

The winningest coach in NBA history, the now-retired Nelson, who turns 72 next week, will take part in commencement ceremonies this Saturday at Carver-Hawkeye Arena on the campus of the University of Iowa.

“The reason I coached all these years was that I enjoyed so much being around young, talented people,” Nelson told the Des Moines Register. “This will be like coaching my teams, really. I love talented, young kids.”

Nelson, who spent 14 years as a NBA player, followed by 31 seasons as an NBA head coach, needed to require foreign language requirements to finally obtain his long-desired degree, which he put on hiatus when he left Iowa in 1962. He was able to complete those language requirements through correspondence/online classes.

— Reported by the Sports Xchange

Long rest is helpful to Perkins, Thunder

kendrick perkins

Perhaps the best part of the time between games has been added recovery time for starting center Kendrick Perkins, who left in the first quarter of Saturday’s game with a strained muscle in his right hip. He has missed both practice sessions while getting treatment and is still considered day to day.

Brooks planned a lighter session Thursday to let his players recover.

”It’s always good to get some time off because you can rest and everybody has aches and pains when you go through a season – any season, not just this short season this year,” Brooks said. ”Just any season, it’s always a physical grind on your body.”

It’s not just keeping his team’s bodies in the right shape, though. Brooks also wants to keep his players mentally engaged, and he’s figured out a simple way to get the most out of them.

”Any time we put a scoreboard into the game, it raises up the competition. We do that with a lot of things,” he said, listing off everything from full scrimmages to free throws.

— Reported by Jeff Latzke of the Associated Press

Detroit Pistons hope to keep Jason Maxiell

Jason Maxiell

Pistons president of basketball operations Joe Dumars would like to have power forward Jason Maxiell return next season.

But as he put it at his season-ending media availability last month, the decision is up to Maxiell, who has until June 30 to let the team know whether he will pick up his option of $5 million.

“It’s a player option so that’s totally in his hands,” Dumars said. “Obviously we’d love to have Max back.

“I think clearly this was his best year. He was in the best shape of his life. He looked great.”

— Reported by Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press